One of the first things you learn in Psychology 101 is the "Pavlovian response mechanism," or the "Pavlovian conditioning response." Most of us have heard of this phenomenon whether we've taken a class in psychology or not.
Just to refresh your memory--and mine as well--let's go over Pavlov's findings, and how he came to discover that certain behavior can be conditioned in dogs (and by extension humans) by manipulating actions and the environment.
"Ivan Petrovich Pavlov studied medicine in Russia and Germany, accepting posts in St. Petersburg as a professor in pharmacology and physiology. In 1889 Pavlov began experiments with dogs that proved their reflexes could be conditioned by external stimuli. Specifically, after they were conditioned by the ringing of a bell at feeding time, they would reflexively salivate upon hearing the bell, whether or not food was present. In 1904 Pavlov won the Nobel Prize for his work on digestive physiology, but he is most widely known today as an early influence on behavioral psychology."
In my own life, I've seen the power of "conditioned reflex," but this reflex wasn't induced directly but indirectly. We say people "push our buttons," but what we're actually saying is this: At various times in our life, we have--directly or indirectly--allowed the actions, behaviors, words, or attitudes of others, to trigger certain prescribed responses.
When the environment is suitable for such responses (certain stimuli is present), a prescribed behavior follows as certainly as night follows day.
For most of us, these responses go unchallenged, and unexamined. Were we to scrutinize them we'd fine that many of what we call normal or natural responses to stimuli in our environment are really nothing more than "conditioned responses," prescribed, almost automatic, reactions that come to the fore when certain things, or events occur in our environment. We're a great deal like the salivating dog in Pavlov's experiment--reacting to the "ringing bell" of our own making, whether the bell is heard as words, behaviors, or other stimuli in our environment.
But what does all of this have to do with Christmas? Believe it or not, this is a Christmas story, despite our delving into the mysteries of human and animal behavior, and our departure into the realm of human psychology.
Just to prove it, let me make a casual observation. The lovely Christmas card that's appended to the top of this blog entry is the Obama family official White House Christmas card, featuring the beloved First Dog Bo. Would you believe over at Fox News the card has become the subject of some controversy, nothing short of a "Pavlovian conditioned reflex response"?
In an article entitled, "No Christmas in White House Card," [1] the author--referencing the card--writes facetiously and humorously:
"It's all pretty non-controversial. Boring, even. Unless, of course, you're Fox News—in which case the bookshelf is filled with Lenin's B-sides, the Constitution is burning in the fireplace, Winston Churchill's bust is conspicuously absent, Bo has become dependent on the federal government for handouts, and the empty seat is a stirring reminder of President Obama's nonexistent leadership. I'm exaggerating, but only slightly."
Several of Fox News' talking heads--even one as neatly coiffed as Sarah Palin's--weighed in on the Christmas card:
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin told Fox News & Commentary that she found the card to be a bit unusual.
"It's odd," she said, wondering why the president's Christmas card highlights his dog instead of traditions like "family, faith and freedom."
...
Palin said the majority of Americans can appreciate the more traditional, "American foundational values illustrated and displayed on Christmas cards and on a Christmas tree."
As for the Obama card, she replied, "It's just a different way of thinking coming out of the White House."
As Pavlovian conditioning responses go, the Fox News one is comparatively a light-weight one, and not deserving of much attention other than to say that Fox and Company are in the GOP spirit this year--that is, Grinches On Parade.
The response that won my Pavlovian Christmas Award this year is not the Fox News Pavlovian attack on Obama, but the public response to the new Air Jordans that went on sale just days before Christmas, creating some troubling scenes from coast to coast, as anxious shoppers do whatever it takes to buy this pricey footwear.
You can watch some of it here", but videos aren't in short supply if you have the time to Bing or Google them.
In this season that celebrates the birth of Jesus, Joy, Peace on Earth, and goodwill toward men, we find our perennial villain, "conditioned response," lurking among Christmas decorations, scores of presents, festive colors, fake Santas, and merry carolers ready to pounce upon unsuspecting Christmas shoppers at the first sign that something they've been conditioned to do--"shop till they drop, and buy till they die"--reaches a fever pitch when items, as generally desirable as a pair of new Air Jordans, are placed within their immediate reach.
We have seen this buying craze with other items, and we have become witness to yet another soul-numbing impulse compliments of capitalism and the crass commercialism that undergirds it. And--can we say honestly--we want to share this "blessing" of the American Way with the rest of the world?
Are we sure?
[1]
6 comments:
It wasn't but a few hours ago that I commented about the Air Jordans on my facebook page. Here's what I said:
"Maybe it's just me, but whenever I hear about a buying frenzy, I head in the opposite direction as I'm figuring that everyone buying is overpaying. Of course, my position on that might be different if I'm behind the counter doing the selling.
In the waning days of Rome, they had bread and circuses for the people to keep them entertained and distracted from the dire circumstances that existed. There are many venues in America where bread and circuses are offered and this story illustrates this. Going out, getting trampled and getting into an altercation simply to spend $ 180 on a pair of shoes is entertainment for some I suppose, but it's really a reflection of the sad state of affairs in America."
Yes, in a way, we've been trained in Pavlovian responses to prompts to consume and to be honest that trait is going to make matters much worst over the ensuing few months as people begin to grasp the true nature of our economic dilemma. It will be far worst than anyone has imagined and thanks to this conditioning, many are just simply unprepared. As this sets in, many of these same folks will wish they had that $ 180 back when they realize that those shoes can't be eaten.
Christmas, as practiced here in America, is a created holiday designed specifically to benefit the retailers and all of the trappings are all about sales, marketing and getting our money. What sense does it make to give someone else a present on your birthday? When you stop and think about it, that makes no sense, but operant conditioning is all about eliciting the desired reaction rather than getting one to think.
"Would you believe over at Fox News the card has become the subject of some controversy,"
Let me think about that for a second.....HELL YES. It's Fox News. It's who they are and what they do.
Until the left gets it's own Fox News we are going to continue to fight an uphill battle with ignorance in action due to misinformation.
@Redeye: "Until the left gets it's own Fox News we are going to continue to fight an uphill battle with ignorance in action due to misinformation."
If Fox News is where millions go to get their "daily bread," small wonder that Fox News viewers are some of this nation's most uninformed, and factually challenged.
Not only does my brother-in-law keep his snout in this trough (Was that too harsh?), he eagerly bashes Obama in public, and freely castigates liberals as the cause of all the world's troubles.
Fox News has ridden high in the ratings, beating out MSNBC and CNN for the top spot, regardless of the time slot, and demographic.
I've said this before: What disturbs me more than a sly Fox News, are those who, because of their biases and bigotries, are drawn to this kind of rancid fare, and from it daily partake.
Greg L: "There are many venues in America where bread and circuses are offered and this story illustrates this."
You're right, of course--there are more "venues" to distract and entertain folks, than there are outlets to inform and educate. For them--these venues--the propagation of ignorance to the masses is just as important as the money they receive to perpetrate this fraud and farce.
Continuing your analogy, the Occupy Wall Street protesters are the Christians of our time, falling under the blade of gladiators, and the maw of lions, as the crowd roar its approval, its ears gladdened by such words as, "They're just dirty, lazy, sex-starved hippies, getting what they deserve at the hands of the nation's peacekeepers."
OWS protesters are sounding the alarm, and Fox News and other Republican are using their sacrifice as an opportunity to deride them--thereby diminishing their message--while at the same time offering up "bread and circuses for the people to keep them entertained and distracted from the dire circumstances that existed."
People need to be reminded: Rome, and its decadence, eventually turned to rubble, as the empire went through years of decline, a fate that may soon be visited upon this nation.
Even our politics has a gladiatorial feel to it, as each Republican candidate compete to be more outrageous than their fellow candidates, hoping to win the favor and accolades of those packing amphitheater seats to view the arena spectacle below.
"It ['our economic dilemma'] will be far worst than anyone has imagined and thanks to this conditioning, many are just simply unprepared."
This "unpreparedness" will bring its own measure of challenges for the nation--for the individual, law enforcement, and our political readiness to deal with mass disaffection.
We've been conditioned to believe that all setbacks are temporary, that America's greatness will never be challenged, and our military might will remain unparalleled in a world where we furnished many of the weapons that may be used against us.
Rome, no doubt, felt the same: so convinced of its own greatness, not understanding that the enemy within was far greater than the enemy without, it became a victim of its own seeming invincibility--and was eventually overthrown by barbarian invaders.
"When you stop and think about it, that makes no sense, but operant conditioning is all about eliciting the desired reaction rather than getting one to think."
Precisely. The manipulators don't want people to think for themselves, as they crave to do the thinking for them--Rush Limbaugh with his legions of "Ditto-heads," and Fox News with it countless "little foxes, that spoil the vines."
>>>We've been conditioned to believe that all setbacks are temporary, that America's greatness will never be challenged, and our military might will remain unparalleled in a world where we furnished many of the weapons that may be used against us.
Rome, no doubt, felt the same: so convinced of its own greatness, not understanding that the enemy within was far greater than the enemy without, it became a victim of its own seeming invincibility--and was eventually overthrown by barbarian invaders.<<<
Well said and this is precisely where we're at right now. We're at the cusp of a huge change that no one is prepared for save for those few who raped and pillaged with abandon knowing what was coming down the pike. America is really at a crossroads with some stark choices; accept the truth and reform or reject it and continue to bum rush the lifeboats. It looks like we're opting for the latter (as measured by resource wars and the like).
Fox news and clowns who masquerade as politicians are a reflection of this bread and circuses scenario at another level. Unfortunately, folks have come to expect this and would actually demand it in the unlikely event that these guys would stop.
All of the empires ultimately crumble under their own weight and such will be our fate.
@Greg L: "America is really at a crossroads with some stark choices; accept the truth and reform or reject it and continue to bum rush the lifeboats."
To see the truth, the American people would have to see pass its own press releases: American exceptionalism, America's supposed God-ordained place in the world (God favors our undertakings), and the high regard given to democracy and capitalism.
The Occupy Wall Street movement protesters are sounding the alarm in the streets, and for their effort are being pepper sprayed at close quarters.
No, the American people "can't handle the truth," as evidenced by how we're treating those who have tasked themselves to awaken the others.
"All of the empires ultimately crumble under their own weight and such will be our fate."
I have to agree. I've thought about this eventuality long and hard, even from a historical perspective. I see no way we can extricate ourselves from the inevitable: Ours is a global economy, with almost every action taken elsewhere in this economy, having global ramifications.
For example, if one member within the Eurozone fails, the whole European Union fails, sending a tsunami wave of economic destruction up against our shores, a nuclear-fallout scenario, although we're not a member of this union.
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