why do we press harder on a remote control even we know batteries are dead?  

I am a man that would rather rip apart the house for hours to look for a TV remote control then go five feet from the couch and manually change the channels. Now that I have shared my credentials, let me give you a reason for your question. We press really hard on those remote control buttons and even extend our arms so far out that the remote almost touches the TV because we are in denial.

Our brains believe that there are a few more clicks left and that the possibility of the batteries going dead can't possibly happen in rel life. You see, remote controls don't usually need the batteries replaced as much as any other battery powered device in our home because it only get used when we are changing channels or adjusting the volume. Sometimes those batteries can be in the remote for years and we never think about them actually expiring at some point.

Only when the TV becomes unresponsive we begin to behave like crazy people and pretend that we didn't push the buttons hard enough on the remote or we are not aiming it correctly. This is the beginning of needing lots of therapy. Lots and lots of therapy. lol!

I really think we are hoping that it was just a "fluke" and the batteries are really not dead after all. Then we would have to go searching for the triple "a" or double "a" batteries that we won't be able to find even though we know that we bought some awhile ago. Last resort, we would have to find another clock or something that we would have to remove the batteries from to use in the remote. I guess it just takes too much time and effort . . . so we just keep clicking away.

I don't have a response except to say, Thanks for making me laugh.

For the same reason we flip the light switch on and off a dozen times when the power goes out. In the fleeting hope that maybe, if I try THIS it will work.

why do we press harder on a remote control even we know batteries are dead?

Lol its true thats exactly what the heck we do!!!
I dont know why we do it
Most likely in the hope that it will suddenly work and save us getting up and looking for new batteries.