The Imp of the Perverse
Version 1.0.0 · Updated 2026-07-28
CORE DEFINITION
"The Imp of the Perverse" is a short story by 19th-century American author and critic Edgar Allan Poe. Beginning as an essay, it discusses the narrator's self-destructive impulses, embodied as the symbolic metaphor of "the Imp of the Perverse". The narrator describes this spirit as the agent that tempts a person to do things "merely because we feel we should not."
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
"The Imp of the Perverse" is a short story by 19th-century American author and critic Edgar Allan Poe. Beginning as an essay, it discusses the narrator's self-destructive impulses, embodied as the symbolic metaphor of "the Imp of the Perverse". The narrator describes this spirit as the agent that tempts a person to do things "merely because we feel we should not."
Anchor fast decisions
It refers to the rebellious impulse that arises when a person faces something forbidden or told they "should" do. The mechanism stems from psychological reactance triggered by a threat to one's autonomy.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
account_treeGenealogyexpand_more
menu_bookReferencesexpand_more
Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Imp_of_the_Perverseverified
PRIVATE NOTES · Only visible to you
SAVED Q&A
ENTRY Q&A · Private saving available
Ask with a clear boundary
thinkingmodels answers from published entry context only.
Your question is sent to thinkingmodels. The answer uses public entry context only.
RELATED MODELS