full transcript

From the Ted Talk by TED-Ed: Should you care what your parents think?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


If I told you not to press this big red btotun, what would you do? For many people, there’s no greater motivation to do something than being told they can’t. So, what is it about being told “no” that triggers this response?

One of the most edinunrg enpnlxaaoits for this behavior is what psychologists call reactance theory. Reactance is a motivational state that occurs when people feel their freedom is being threatened, and it compels them to take atincos they see as restoring that freedom. Sometimes this emerges as general frustration or direct argument, but the most straightforward response is to simply do the thing they were told not to. This behavior plays out in public scaeps, like when ppeole ignore health campaigns they prcvieee as overbearing, and in private spaces, like parent-child relationships. However, there are situations where something being forbidden actually makes it less tempting.

Open Cloze


If I told you not to press this big red ______, what would you do? For many people, there’s no greater motivation to do something than being told they can’t. So, what is it about being told “no” that triggers this response?

One of the most ________ ____________ for this behavior is what psychologists call reactance theory. Reactance is a motivational state that occurs when people feel their freedom is being threatened, and it compels them to take _______ they see as restoring that freedom. Sometimes this emerges as general frustration or direct argument, but the most straightforward response is to simply do the thing they were told not to. This behavior plays out in public ______, like when ______ ignore health campaigns they ________ as overbearing, and in private spaces, like parent-child relationships. However, there are situations where something being forbidden actually makes it less tempting.

Solution


  1. button
  2. people
  3. spaces
  4. perceive
  5. actions
  6. enduring
  7. explanations

Original Text


If I told you not to press this big red button, what would you do? For many people, there’s no greater motivation to do something than being told they can’t. So, what is it about being told “no” that triggers this response?

One of the most enduring explanations for this behavior is what psychologists call reactance theory. Reactance is a motivational state that occurs when people feel their freedom is being threatened, and it compels them to take actions they see as restoring that freedom. Sometimes this emerges as general frustration or direct argument, but the most straightforward response is to simply do the thing they were told not to. This behavior plays out in public spaces, like when people ignore health campaigns they perceive as overbearing, and in private spaces, like parent-child relationships. However, there are situations where something being forbidden actually makes it less tempting.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
social network 3
romantic relationship 2
network effect 2
independent reactance 2
social networks 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
social network effect 2

Important Words


  1. actions
  2. argument
  3. behavior
  4. big
  5. button
  6. call
  7. campaigns
  8. compels
  9. direct
  10. emerges
  11. enduring
  12. explanations
  13. feel
  14. forbidden
  15. freedom
  16. frustration
  17. general
  18. greater
  19. health
  20. ignore
  21. motivation
  22. motivational
  23. occurs
  24. overbearing
  25. people
  26. perceive
  27. plays
  28. press
  29. private
  30. psychologists
  31. public
  32. reactance
  33. red
  34. relationships
  35. response
  36. restoring
  37. simply
  38. situations
  39. spaces
  40. state
  41. straightforward
  42. tempting
  43. theory
  44. threatened
  45. told
  46. triggers