{"id":36045,"date":"2021-05-27T17:16:43","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T21:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=36045"},"modified":"2021-06-06T21:21:53","modified_gmt":"2021-06-07T01:21:53","slug":"overcompensation-psychology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is overcompensation in psychology? How is it a part of antifragility?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Redundancy, a form of overcompensation in psychology, is that we tend to push back harder and continue doing the same thing when faced with adversity or challenge. It’s why banned books<\/a> become more popular and why some social movements become stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about overcompensation in psychology and how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Forms of Overcompensation in Psychology<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Redundancy <\/em><\/strong>is a form of overcompensation and therefore, of antifragility. <\/strong>Physically, humans (and many other organisms) have redundant systems to improve their chances of survival. For example, we have two lungs and two kidneys, though we could survive with only one of each. Humans developing an extra kidney is no different from the hydra growing an extra head after being injured\u2014it\u2019s a preparation for worse events that may happen in the future, but in the meantime, it makes us stronger and more efficient at filtering waste from the blood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, all organisms follow a similar pattern of redundancy and overcompensation. If you were to trace evolutionary trends throughout history, you\u2019d find that natural selection<\/a> tends to favor species that overcompensate for their environments, rather than those that adapt to meet the exact challenges of their surroundings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can also see redundancy in many places outside of organisms.<\/strong> Countries that stock supplies of food or oil in preparation for a future disaster are practicing redundancy, storing away more than they need now in case hard times hit later. Those supplies can also, if the opportunity arises, be sold at great profit to other countries who find themselves in dire need of them\u2014this shows again that the overreaction to hardship can strengthen the system in the long run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even abstract ideas can demonstrate antifragility. Riots and rebellions, for example, respond to any attempt to put them down with force by becoming stronger\u2014the people are outraged about their situation, and oppressing them more only fuels their rage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the other end of the emotional spectrum, there are countless stories of love demonstrating antifragility. Romeo and Juliet <\/em>is perhaps the most famous example\u2014the young lovers\u2019 feelings become stronger with every attempt their families make to keep them apart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Information, too, is antifragile.<\/strong> Attempts to ban books invariably make those books more popular\u2014just look at The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn <\/em>or the Harry Potter <\/em>series. Similarly, harsh criticism of books or ideas only serves to draw more attention to them; millions of people have read Ayn Rand\u2019s extreme libertarian works despite\u2014or  because of\u2014all the negative attention they receive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even some (though not all) careers are antifragile. There are accounts of actors paying journalists to write about their performances; many actors would pay for positive reviews, but the truly clever ones would pay for negative <\/em>reviews, knowing that those would attract much more attention. On the other hand, someone like a bank manager needs to have a clean reputation and would suffer terribly from bad press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A humorous rule of thumb is that the more flamboyantly someone dresses, the more antifragile his or her job is.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What is overcompensation in psychology? How is it a part of antifragility? Redundancy, a form of overcompensation in psychology, is that we tend to push back harder and continue doing the same thing when faced with adversity or challenge. It’s why banned books become more popular and why some social movements become stronger. Read more about overcompensation in psychology and how it works.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":36054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,9],"tags":[295],"class_list":["post-36045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","category-psychology","tag-antifragile","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nA Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The psychology of overcompensation explains how we respond to challenges. Often, we double down and push harder, leading to overcompensation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The psychology of overcompensation explains how we respond to challenges. Often, we double down and push harder, leading to overcompensation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-27T21:16:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-07T01:21:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"533\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carrie Cabral\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Carrie Cabral\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56\"},\"headline\":\"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-27T21:16:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-07T01:21:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/\"},\"wordCount\":532,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg\",\"keywords\":[\"Antifragile\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Lifestyle\",\"Psychology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/\",\"name\":\"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-27T21:16:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-07T01:21:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"The psychology of overcompensation explains how we respond to challenges. Often, we double down and push harder, leading to overcompensation.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":533},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World's Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56\",\"name\":\"Carrie Cabral\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Carrie Cabral\"},\"description\":\"Carrie has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember, and has always been open to reading anything put in front of her. She wrote her first short story at the age of six, about a lost dog who meets animal friends on his journey home. Surprisingly, it was never picked up by any major publishers, but did spark her passion for books. Carrie worked in book publishing for several years before getting an MFA in Creative Writing. She especially loves literary fiction, historical fiction, and social, cultural, and historical nonfiction that gets into the weeds of daily life.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/carrie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology - Shortform Books","description":"The psychology of overcompensation explains how we respond to challenges. Often, we double down and push harder, leading to overcompensation.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology","og_description":"The psychology of overcompensation explains how we respond to challenges. Often, we double down and push harder, leading to overcompensation.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2021-05-27T21:16:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-07T01:21:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":533,"url":"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/wordpress.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Carrie Cabral","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Carrie Cabral","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/"},"author":{"name":"Carrie Cabral","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56"},"headline":"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology","datePublished":"2021-05-27T21:16:43+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-07T01:21:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/"},"wordCount":532,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg","keywords":["Antifragile"],"articleSection":["Lifestyle","Psychology"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/","name":"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg","datePublished":"2021-05-27T21:16:43+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-07T01:21:53+00:00","description":"The psychology of overcompensation explains how we respond to challenges. Often, we double down and push harder, leading to overcompensation.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg","width":800,"height":533},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/overcompensation-psychology\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A Guide to Overcompensation in Psychology"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World's Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/2ababb7c63a94ff5d2190f71dc417d56","name":"Carrie Cabral","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e9aea3c95254368e6bf388b046b35bacb82e4167f4c62c0813620e3a4ec51126?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Carrie Cabral"},"description":"Carrie has been reading and writing for as long as she can remember, and has always been open to reading anything put in front of her. She wrote her first short story at the age of six, about a lost dog who meets animal friends on his journey home. Surprisingly, it was never picked up by any major publishers, but did spark her passion for books. Carrie worked in book publishing for several years before getting an MFA in Creative Writing. She especially loves literary fiction, historical fiction, and social, cultural, and historical nonfiction that gets into the weeds of daily life.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/carrie\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/peacock-blue-green-bird.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36045"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36064,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36045\/revisions\/36064"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36045"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}