We like to make core literature accessible and share our own publications here, as soon as they are published or preprinted. Please reach out to add literature that inspired you in resistance and reactance reserach.
The origins of reactance research
Brehm, J. W. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. Academic Press.
Brehm, S. S., & Brehm, J. W. (1981). Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control. Academic Press.
Reviews of reactance research
Miron, A. M., & Brehm, J. W. (2006). Reactance Theory—40 Years Later. Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 37(1), 9–18. https://doi.org/10.1024/0044-3514.37.1.9
Rains, S. A. (2013). The Nature of Psychological Reactance Revisited: A Meta-Analytic Review. Human Communication Research, 39(1), 47–73. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.2012.01443.x
Ratcliff, C. L. (2019). Characterizing reactance in communication research: A review of conceptual and operational approaches. Communication Research, 48(7), 1033–1058. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650219872126
Rosenberg, B. D., & Siegel, J. T. (2018). A 50-year review of psychological reactance theory: Do not read this article. Motivation Science, 4(4), 281–300. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000091
Steindl, C., Jonas, E., Sittenthaler, S., Traut-Mattausch, E., & Greenberg, J. (2015). Understanding Psychological Reactance: New Developments and Findings. Zeitschrift Für Psychologie, 223(4), 205–214. https://doi.org/10.1027/2151-2604/a000222
Related publications from the project team
Hajek, K. V. & Häfner, M. (2021). Paradoxes of Reactance During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Social-psychological Perspective. Javnost – The Public, 28(3), 290–305. https://doi.org/10.1080/13183222.2021.1969619
Hajek, K. V. & Häfner, M. (under review). Dynamics of Opposition – How Fear and Sorrow moderate Reactance Arousal during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Kobilke, L. (2025), Cross-cutting exposure. In Nai, A., Grömping, M., & Wirz, D. (Eds). Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Edward Elgar Publishing. Accepted version for download.
Kobilke, L. (2025), Viewpoint diversity exposure. In Nai, A., Grömping, M., & Wirz, D. (Eds). Elgar Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Edward Elgar Publishing. Accepted version for download.
Zerback, T. & Kobilke, L. (2022). The role of affective and cognitive attitude extremity in perceived viewpoint diversity exposure. New Media & Society, 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221117484