REPLY Society Strategy Development (SD7083)

[SDMAIL Wehrenberg, Stephen]

Posted by  "Wehrenberg, Stephen" <Stephen.B.Wehrenberg at uscg.mil>

"Everyone's behavior makes sense to that person" (unless there exists a 
pathology, of course) is among the small number of rock hard facts in the 
behavioral sciences.  As Carl Rogers suggests, if you could see the 
situation through the other person's eyes, you would probably reach the 
same conclusion they reach.  That implies that you need to change the mental 
model or causal map the other individual holds so as to provide alternate 
pathways to different conclusions.  Rogerian psychotherapists work that way.  

(I think Jack Harich might suggest here that helping people detect lies would 
be in this arena.)

John, I will add a third way to change behavior -- change the structure. I 
would post a cartoon here, but I think it would be a copyright violation, so 
I'll describe it.  The artist is Leigh Rubin, and the comic is Rubes.  The 
image is a fellow standing at the door of the Institute for Behavior 
Modification.  He's trying to get in, and is groping for the doorknob.  The 
doorknob is up near the top of the door, not its usual place.  Pretty profound, 
I think, particularly for those in SD who recognize that the structure creates 
the outcome, and you have to change the structure to change the outcome.  
Here's a link:

http://www.creators.com/comics/rubes/19925.html

So back to Peter's comment, which I will paraphrase here as "Why do people do 
what they know to be bad for them and not do what they know to be good for 
them?"  What perverse structure sustains this behavior?  

Steve
Posted by  "Wehrenberg, Stephen" <Stephen.B.Wehrenberg at uscg.mil>
posting date  Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:48:17 -0400