PSYCHOLOGISTS have spent many years studying the techniques that can be used to influence behaviour. The organism under investigation, be it pangolin, pigeon or person, is viewed merely as a stimulus-response machine, lured and shoved by the various rewards and punishments operating in its environment.
The champion of the ‘science of behaviour’ was Burrhus Frederic Skinner (1904-1990). It was his pioneering work which attempted to explain behaviour in terms of the circumstances in which the behaviour occurs.
Today we have delicate little descriptions of our ‘choice environment’ or the ‘choice architecture’ in which we live our lives. Manipulate the environment and the architecture, the thinking goes, and hey presto, you can manipulate the behaviour to the desired ends. However, the questions arise . . . which ends, and whose desires?
If you are obsessive-compulsive, or phobic, and desperate to be rid of your incessant hand-washing, or your fear of spiders, the behavioural psychologist will offer his services to help you to overcome the obstacles to a happy life which your neuroses are throwing up in your path.
But the rules and laws governing behaviour are open to all. They are not a secret. Anyone can learn them and the techniques derived from them, and – if paid enough – put them into practice.
As an ex-behavioural psychologist, let me give you some information gratis (or you can make a donation to a favourite charity if that will make you feel better).
Psychologists are employed to nudge. That is what they do. They are not interested in what you want for yourself. They are interested in producing the behaviour change that they have been paid to bring about.
Please let that last paragraph sink in. Repeat it to yourself a few times if necessary.
Would a behavioural psychologist ever tell lies?
You’ve got to be kidding me!
When you have a client who is under a behaviour modification programme, the last thing you are going to tell them is precisely what you are up to. That would jeopardise the outcome. And we can’t have that. No. Behaviour modification techniques are deployed with subtlety and craft. Behavioural psychologists have their pride, you know. We don’t want to carry on like Svengali.
How can you know if you have fallen under the influence of a behaviour modification programme? Are there any tell-tale signs?
There are, but this is where you need to be very much in tune with your internal environment. Your instincts. Your gut feelings. Your loyalties. Your principles.
Some people are virtuosos in this regard, and you can no more nudge them than you could nudge the Great Pyramid at Giza. But many people – especially the oh-so-polite, touch-your-forelock, know-your-place, yes-sir-no-sir-three-bags-full-sir British – are very easy to manipulate, because they are so obsequiously trusting of authority: figures such as doctors, scientists, TV personalities, or even canvassers who knock on front doors with clipboards and a lanyard: ‘I’m just doing a survey . . . We’ve been making calls in this neighbourhood . . . Would you like to donate . . . We have a special offer running at the moment . . .’
So the red flag that you need to become alert to is any person, organisation, process or situation that is not inquiring of your needs, but making you feel coerced. Telling you what to do or what to think.
The English language has some quite good verbs which describe this process: badger, browbeat, bulldoze, bully, dragoon, nag, pressurise, railroad, stampede . . . to say nothing of the nastier techniques such as shame and threaten. I’m tempted to include butter-up, flatter and sweet-talk, but they are easier to resist, in my opinion.
Do not respond in any way to pressure. Do nothing. Close the door gently and politely. Say that you would like to think about it, and would they mind allowing you some time for reflection. (You can determine the duration. I would suggest 36 months as a minimum.)
Do not gamble on the benevolence or honesty of someone you do not know. Do not assume that they have your best interests at heart. Take responsibility for yourself. Do your own research and look into it yourself. Do not hesitate to be unco-operative. Do not follow ‘orders’.
We must all learn to think critically and independently, and to say a gracious ‘no’ if we have any doubts, and to not be intimidated by anyone or anything. Nor to be afraid of being brusque. Or rude. Or sarcastic. Or witty if you can think of something pithy. Getting a laugh is a good ploy, and may win you the admiration of bystanders.
