When a reminder feels like an order

Some people describe wanting to push back when a reminder reads like an order. Researchers call this reaction psychological reactance. In an experiment in which smokers read messages about quitting, highly controlling language elicited reactance, which caused negative attitudes and eventually reduced intentions to quit in both countries studied ¹. None of the research below tested reminders, and none of it tested people with ADHD.

What the evidence says

Controlling wording drew pushback. In a study of COVID-19 vaccination messages, high levels of the features tested, controlling language among them, resulted in greater perceptions of a threat to freedom, more reactance, more derogation of the source and less positive attitudes towards the message ². In an online experiment in which people read notifications from a hypothetical smart thermostat that changed its own settings, authoritative language and a lack of transparency were among the things that induced significantly higher reactance ³.

Message fatigue counted too. In an online experiment with 648 US adults about flu vaccination, perceived threat to freedom and message fatigue were both significant antecedents of reactance, and reactance was associated with increased vaccine refusal ⁴.

The pushback can point the wrong way. In an experiment, an aggressive text asking people to stop eating meat drew the most reactance, and meat eaters who reported more reactance then found more meat-related words in a word grid ⁵.

Naming the choice changed how a message landed. In an online experiment with people who had concerns about COVID-19 vaccination, emphasising freedom of choice significantly increased the perceived credibility of the message and, ultimately, vaccination intentions, and a decrease in reactance mediated these effects ⁶. In a study of university syllabi, those written in autonomy-supportive language were perceived as more attractive, fair and respectful from the student’s perspective ⁷.

What we don’t know

We found no study of reminder wording in adults with ADHD. The studies above cover health messages, a thermostat and course documents.

The results also disagree. In a study of vlogs, emerging adults experienced less controlling intent when the language was autonomy-supportive, but that language was not effective in altering sustainable consumption intentions ⁸. In studies of US populations, requiring vaccination strengthened intentions to vaccinate compared with free choice, across levels of trait reactance ⁹.

The closest link to ADHD in our sources is indirect. In an exploratory study of 63 children referred to a specialist clinic in the UK, using parent ratings, only emotional dysregulation, ADHD traits and age predicted scores on a questionnaire about what its authors call extreme demand avoidance ¹⁰. It did not test reminders.

Things to try

These are options drawn from research in other groups, not from ADHD trials.

• Say why. In the thermostat study, reactance was mitigated and user acceptance was higher when the device’s operations were transparent ³.
• Name the choice. The evidence is the study of people with concerns about vaccination, where freedom of choice was emphasised ⁶.
• Reword reminders you write for yourself. The evidence here is how students perceived syllabi, not reminders ⁷.
• Cut repeats. Message fatigue was an antecedent of reactance in the vaccination promotion study ⁴.