What Motivates People to be Contrarians?

""When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure." - Peter Marshall Contrarians are people who adopt beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that are different from the norm. These individuals are challenging but also necessary. If we were all into being conformists there would never be any change. So, what motivates people to be contrary or non-conformist? Recent research (1) has identified five motives for contrarianism. What are these five motives? Could there be any positive payoffs for being contrary?"

"1-A desire to be unique and autonomous This first motivation seems rather obvious. When we go against the status-quo we are setting ourselves apart from the world. We are not accepting what others do not even question. Our autonomy is about our belief to be self-directed rather than directed by others. Our uniqueness is assured through our willingness to be different than what it is popular to be. Here, respect for one's independence and originality is more salient than the need for the social approval of conformity."

Contrarians adopt beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours that differ from the norm and often provoke resistance. Contrarianism can produce necessary change and innovation by challenging the status quo. Motivations for contrarian behaviour include a desire for uniqueness and autonomy and a disdain for conformity, among other identified motives. Autonomy emphasizes self-direction and originality over social approval. Conformity provides security, shared norms, and social cohesion. Both conformity and contrarianism serve functions: conformity stabilizes society while contrarianism introduces novelty, creativity, and progress.

Read at Psychology Today