[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-589832-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":73,"doc-detail-589832-en":122},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":66,"head_meta":68,"extra_data":70,"updated_unix":72},105,"en","when-the-going-gets-tough-implications-of-reactance-for-interpretations-of-experienced-difficulty-in-the-classroom","When the Going Gets Tough - Implications of Reactance for Interpretations of Experienced Difficulty in the Classroom","","The article tests how motivational messages about interpreting experienced difficulty with schoolwork affect students’ engagement and task performance. Two studies assess assimilation versus contrast effects when conditions are conducive to psychological reactance. In the absence of reactance, performance reflects assignment-consistent interpretation; with reactance, performance depends on message acceptance, showing bolstering via contrast for “impossible” interpretations and via assimilation for “important” interpretations. Findings are contextualized within adolescent autonomy sensitivity and increased risk for effort withdrawal.",{"@graph":14,"@context":65},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/when-the-going-gets-tough-implications-of-reactance-for-interpretations-of-experienced-difficulty-in-the-classroom/589832/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/when-the-going-gets-tough-implications-of-reactance-for-interpretations-of-experienced-difficulty-in-the-classroom/589832.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Cipher","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What performance pattern emerges from contrast versus assimilation?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Rejecting the message (contrast) strengthens performance when the message says difficulty implies the task is impossible. Accepting the message (assimilation) strengthens performance when the message says difficulty implies the task is important.","Answer","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":67,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":69,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":71,"site_id":7},589832,1792208582,{"code":4,"msg":74,"data":75},"success",[76,80,84,88,93,97,102,106,111,114,118],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":77,"show_sort_weight":78,"slug":79},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":81,"show_sort_weight":82,"slug":83},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":89,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":90,"show_sort_weight":91,"slug":92},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":98,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":99,"show_sort_weight":100,"slug":101},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":103,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},8,30,"research-report",{"id":107,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":108,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":110},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":109,"slug":113},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":115,"slug":117},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":119,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":89,"slug":121},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":74,"data":123},{"doc_id":71,"user_id":124,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":125,"doc_module":4,"category_id":103,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":126,"file_id":127,"file_url":128,"file_type":129,"file_size":130,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":131,"language":132,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":133,"faqs":134,"seo_title":135,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":136,"read_time":137,"preview_page_count":4},687208528416,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","AERA Open  \nJuly-September 2016, Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 1–11 DOI: 10. 1177/2332858416664714  \n© The Author(s) 2016. [http://ero.sagepub.com](http://ero.sagepub.com)  \nWhen the Going Gets Tough: Implications of Reactance for Interpretations of Experienced Difficulty in the Classroom  \nKristen Elmore  \nCornell University  \nDaphna Oyserman  \nUniversity of Southern California  \nGeorge Smith  \nUniversity of Michigan  \nSheida Novin  \nUtrecht University  \nUniversity of Michigan  \nThe motivational impact of messages about how to interpret experienced difficulty with schoolwork was tested in two studies. Students read that experienced difficulty with schoolwork is a signal either of the importance or of the impossibility of succeeding in school, rated how much they agreed, and completed a difficult task (Raven’s Progressive Matrices). In the absence of reactance (Study 1, N = 93), students’performance reflected an assimilation of the interpretation of experienced difficulty message to which they were randomly assigned. In the presence of conditions conducive to reactance (Study 2, N = 181), the effect on performance was more complex, reflecting contrast with or assimilation to message content depending on message acceptance. Contrast (rejecting the message) bolstered performance if the message was that experienced difficulty implies that the task is impossible, whereas assimilation (accepting the message) bolstered performance if the message was that experienced difficulty implies that the task is important.  \nKeywords: adolescence, school-based intervention, motivation, lay theories  \nEarly adolescence is a time in which youth are particularly sensitive to the possibility that their autonomy is being undermined rather than supported (Chirkov & Ryan, 2001; Grandpre, Alvaro, Burgoon, Miller, & Hall, 2003; Miller, Burgoon, Grandpre, & Alvaro, 2006; Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986) . It is also a time of increased risk, as youth attempt to make sense of what their experiences of ease and difficulty in academic, athletic, and social domains might mean for their possible futureselves (Oyserman & James, 2009) . Does experienced difficulty imply that schoolwork is not for them and that they should turn their attention to something else? This is an interpretation with risky consequences. Indeed, during adolescence, students report less effort and engagement with schoolwork, and withdrawal of effort and engagement increases risk of school failure (Barber & Olsen, 2004; Roeser, Eccles, & Freedman-Doan, 1999; Seidman, Allen, Aber, Mitchell, & Feindman, 1994). Low-income and minority adolescents maybe particularly at risk for these effort-undermining interpretations, given the negative stereotypes about their groups’potential for academic success (Fiske, Cuddy, & Glick, 2007) .  \nThe coupling of adolescents’ interest in autonomy with this increased risk presents a challenge for interventions aiming to encourage academic effort. Direct persuasion attempts run the risk of being challenged by teens seeking opportunities to demonstrate their independence from authority figures (e.g., Koepke & Denissen, 2012; Mazor & Enright, 1988; Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986) and social influence more generally (Hill & Holmbeck, 1986) . How should concerned adults proceed? Should they try to intervene to convince adolescents that experiencing difficulty with schoolwork signals that schoolwork is important and worth the effort? Or should they remain silent and hope that students do not interpret their difficulty with schoolwork as signaling that schoolwork is impossible and not worth their energy? The answer may depend on the likelihood of student reactance in response to messages about how to interpret experienced difficulty at school. The current studies examine the motivational impact of messages about the interpretation of experienced difficulty with schoolwork in both the presence and the absence of reactance.  \nCreative Commons CC-BY: This article is distributed under ","cbCaihmotySPGGrL","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihmotySPGGrL","pdf",718159,11,"English","# Introduction\n## Adolescent autonomy, risk, and interpretations of difficulty\n# Experimental Tests\n## Message acceptance, assimilation/contrast, and performance\n# Theory: Reactance and Boomerang Effects\n## Threatened freedom, anger, and counterargumentation\n## Boomerang effects in adolescent interventions","[{\"question\":\"What performance pattern emerges from contrast versus assimilation?\",\"answer\":\"Rejecting the message (contrast) strengthens performance when the message says difficulty implies the task is impossible. Accepting the message (assimilation) strengthens performance when the message says difficulty implies the task is important.\"}]","When the Going Gets Tough - Implications of Reactance for Interpretations of Experienced Difficulty in the Classroom | PDF",1792068217,28]