diff --git a/src/apps/molresponse/FrequencyResponse.cpp b/src/apps/molresponse/FrequencyResponse.cpp
index 70d2a4d0a20..20e1e3d9b79 100644
--- a/src/apps/molresponse/FrequencyResponse.cpp
+++ b/src/apps/molresponse/FrequencyResponse.cpp
@@ -638,7 +638,7 @@ Tensor<double> QuadraticResponse::compute_beta(World &world) {
         cout << beta << endl;
     }
 
-    return 2 * beta;
+    return -2.0 * beta;
 }
 
 std::pair<X_space, X_space> QuadraticResponse::compute_first_order_fock_matrix_terms(World &world, const X_space &A,