"The Imp of the Perverse" is a metaphor of the desire to do exactly the wrong thing in a given situation. Impulse is compared to a "devil" (small imp - demon), which leads a worthy person to wickedness and in the most extreme case, to his death.

The phrase has a long history in literature and was popularized (and perhaps invented) by Edgar Allan Poe in his short story, "The Imp of the Perverse."

Poe explores this impulse through some of his fictional characters, such as "The Black Cak", "The Tell-Tale Heart" or other stories.

In other prose and poetry, "imp" is thought of as something small, invisible that whispers bad ideas in the ear. Eric Berne, a psychiatrist who studied human behavior, among other things, called it an example of "imp of the pervert", the case when, according to him, a "demon" constantly whispered: "Do not sell, buy" - So he abandoned a carefully planned campaign and lost all his capital. 

Examples of the phenomenon in everyday life are: When you are walking along a bridge and think of throwing the phone, when you are sitting by the balcony and think of pouring a glass of water, intentionally crashing into a car, when you ask yourself: 'What is happening now I am shouting in class ? ' etc. Hmm ... you see it is not as rare as it seems?