Padriag
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Joined: 3/30/2005 Status: offline
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Was sitting here sorting through some old notes on behavior modification and came across something I thought relevant here. Brehm's theory of reactance deals in part with the ways an individual may react to having their behavior controlled, or as Brehm puts it, having a freedom restricted. The article referenced in the OP touches on a few possibilities. Here are a few more taken from my own notes. By-Products of Control Escape – The individual may simply run away from the controller. The hermit escapes from the control of the ethical group by physically withdrawing from it, as the boy runs away from home; but the controllee may be “withdrawn” without being actually separated. Escape from religious control is represented by disbelief and defection, and from various forms of governmental control by desertion, evasion, renunciation of citizenship, and breaking jail. Revolt – The individual may counterattack the controlling agent. He may respond to criticism from the group by criticizing it in turn; the liberal accuses the group of being reactionary, the libertine accuses it of being prudish. Vandalism is a more concrete example of counter aggression – toward the group as a whole or toward a specific subgroup, as in the willful destruction of school property. Religious revolt may be directed toward a specific agency, as in protestant reform, or against the theological system used in control, as in atheism. Revolt against governmental control is exemplified, not only by political revolution, but, when the structure of the group permits, by impeachment or a vote of no confidence. Passive Resistance – Another result, far less easily described, consists of simply not behaving in conformity with controlling practices. This often follows when the individual has been extinguished in efforts to escape or revolt. The behavior is epitomized by the mule which fails to respond to the aversive stimulation of the whip. The child, unsuccessful in avoiding or revolting against parental control, simply becomes stubborn. The employee, unable to escape (by resigning) or to revolt in vandalism or other acts of violence, simply “slows down,” “sits down,” or “strikes.” Thoreau’s civil disobedience, practiced perhaps most conspicuously by Gandhi, is the parallel reaction to governmental control. Emotional By-Products of Control Fear – The controlling practice which leads the individual to escape also gives rise to the emotional pattern of fear. Reflex responses in glands and smooth muscles are first elicited by aversive stimuli used in punishment and later by any stimuli which have occurred at the same time. The responses may be accompanied by a profound change in operant behavior – an increase in the strength of any behavior which has led to escape and a general weakening of other forms. The individual shows little interest in food, sex, or practical or artistic enterprises, and in the extreme case he may be essentially “paralyzed by fear.” Anxiety – A common accompaniment of avoidance or escape is anxiety. Fear of a future event may be aroused by specific stimuli which have preceded punishing events or by features of the general environment in which such events have occurred. Anxiety may vary in intensity from a slight worry to extreme dread. The condition includes both responses of glands and smooth muscles and marked changes in operant behavior. We imply that the condition is due to controlling practices when we call it shame, guilt, or a sense of sin. Anger – The emotional pattern which accompanies revolt includes responses of glands and smooth muscles and a well-marked effect upon operant behavior which includes a heightened disposition to act aggressively toward the controlling agent and a weakening of other behavior. The emotion may be displaced from the controlling agent to other people or to things in general. A mild example is a bad temper; an extreme one, sadism. The temper tantrum appears to be a sort of undirected revolt. Depression – Emotional responses associated with passive resistance are of several kinds. The stubborn child also sulks; the adult may be depressed, resentful, moody, listless, or bored, depending upon minor details of control. (Boredom arises not simply because there is nothing to do but because nothing can be done – either because a situation is unfavorable for action or because the group or a controlling agency has imposed physical or self-restraint).
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Padriag A stern discipline pervades all nature, which is a little cruel so that it may be very kind - Edmund Spencer
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