History Main / ReversePsychology

-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'', "Saturdays of Thunder"

* In episode 7 of ''Manga/{{InitialD}}'', after being indirectly challenged to race Nakazato and his R32, Takumi at first refuses. His boss, Yuichi, noting him to be as stubborn as the AE86's driver's father, Bunta, exploits this, telling him that his AE86 has no chance of beating the R32, and that nobody would call him out on fleeing. Takumi becomes driven (no pun intended) to beat Nakazato, which is what Yuichi wanted from the beginning.
* In an episode of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', [[IdiotHero Ash]] thinks that Elite 4 trainer [[ActionGirl Prima]] is doing this when she seems to ignore his battle challenge. He also thinks it's called ''perverse'' psychology.

* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''. Colonel Tigh pulls a brilliant one on Starbuck, whom he has an ongoing feud with. The AcePilot is laid up with a knee injury. She has recovered enough to move, but stays in bed anyway.

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "Sarcophagus", Avon and Tarrant are bickering over who should be TheCaptain. When the MonsterOfTheWeek takes over the ship, Avon tells Tarrant they shouldn't just charge onto the flight deck and confront it. Tarrant proceeds to do just that, whereupon Avon (who ''hasn't'' followed him) gives his trademark mysterious smirk.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': Troi and Riker do this to Picard, persuading him to spend time on Risa in "Captain's Holiday".

[[folder:Web Comics]]

** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130710 Demonstrated]] when Agatha stumbles upon a fearsome monster in an enemy's abandoned lab and shouts that she is '''not''' [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters its creator]], after some confusion it lets her go.
** Naturally, the creator shows up later and says the exact opposite. [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130805 Guess what happens to him.]]

** {{God}} finds out that the Israelites have started worshiping the Golden Calf and tells Moses "Now leave Me alone, and My anger will be kindled against them so that I will annihilate them" (Ex. 32:10). Rabbinic commentary notes that Moses hadn't had a chance to object yet, so God has no reason to say "leave Me alone" -- except to inform Moses that He ''wouldn't'' destroy them if he ''did'' object.

* In "Oops, My Mistake" from ''Series/BearInTheBigBlueHouse'', Bear dials Lois, the Woodland Valley telephone operator, asking to speak with "Old Doc Hogg." She first transfers him to Jacques' Logs and then to Big Old Bullfrog. Finally, Bear calls hear again and asks her to connect him to "Jacques' Logs." She repeats this verbatim, but nevertheless connects him with Doc Hogg, as he wanted.

* In the ''ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes'' "Legends of the Dead Earth" annual, Wildfire is trying to recreate both the Legion and the UP spirit of inter-species cooperation. He doesn't expect his current group of trainees to do it, instead pinning his hopes on their descendants, who will be ''raised'' with Legion values. To ensure there ''are'' descendants, he tells them they're forbidden to "fraternise".

* ''Wiki/SCPFoundation'':

* ''Series/YoungSheldon'': In "A Pink Cadillac and a Glorious Tribal Dance", Mary balks at buying the Mary Kay sales starter kit, she'll have to discuss it with her husband. Lundy says he likes it that men make the decisions and women make the beds. Of course this has the intended effect of making Mary go ahead and write a check for the kit.

* Literature/TheBible"

* WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts: In ''Fathers Are People'', Goofy tries to use reverse psychology to convince his son to pick up his toys, which ends up backfiring.

* WesternAnimation/ClassicDisneyShorts'': In ''Fathers Are People'', Goofy tries to use reverse psychology to convince his son to pick up his toys, which ends up backfiring.

* The StreisandEffect is often an unintentional version of this trope in action. A big name tells you to stop looking at a picture they don't want put out, and sudenly the picture is everywhere despite their efforts. Sometimes publishers invoke it on their audience by running it with some mention of "the picture they DON'T want you to see!".

* Parodied by the ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' film, where Daphne confuses the heck out of some guy who tells her not to go to a haunted house by wondering aloud whether he's using reverse psychology, reverse reverse psychology, reverse reverse reverse psychology, or something else entirely. Upshot: she's going to look for clues there.

** [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20130710 Demonstrated]] when Agatha stumbles upon a fearsome monster in [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters an enemy's abandoned lab]].
--->'''Agatha:''' I am '''not''' your creator! You were '''not''' created to serve me -- and I do ''not'' expect you to obey my commands ''or'' crush my enemies!\\
'''Huge Monstrosity: ''GRA--''''' [[BeatPanel ...]] ''[snorts and waddles off]''

** ''VideoGame/Portal2'' contains a segment in which the BigBad offers you a chance to voluntarily [[BetterToDieThanBeKilled kill yourself rather than face certain doom in his lair]]. He even goes so far as to point out that you dying now would be his "just desserts", as he would be properly furious that he'd gone to all the trouble to set up his deadly lair only to have you die anticlimactically twenty feet from the door. In fact, he ''does'' want you dead by any means possible, but by this point he's so frustrated with your ability to survive his {{Death Trap}}s that he'll try anything. For bonus laughs, he is very pleasantly surprised if you actually take him up on the offer.

* There exist spam mails where everything is just gibberish - the sender, the subject and even the text. Not even an attempt to slip you malware or sell Viagra. But hey, there is a valid URL in the text! You now possibly feel the urge to click. Don't.

!!You could see these examples, but I'm telling you [[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife it's a waste of time]]:

* In ''Webcomic/{{Sinfest}}'', [[http://www.sinfest.net/archive_page.php?comicID=2702 Satan disdains Seymour's renouncing him, causing Seymour to trail after him, accusing him of reverse psycholoyg and how it won't work.]]