Should visitors observe mobile rats in a lab, I think they’d consent straightaway, B.F. Skinner hit the nail on the head when he described ‘behavior’ as ‘movement’; (12) the conditioned stimulus, a symbol, can literally move us and touch us, emotionally: mobile or not, reactions - loud or silent - involve muscles, brain cells and heartbeat. Thus, angered adults may stand, wave, shout, or look furious, and the cause may well be: one person’s hostility serves as the goad - or a stimulus - for another to act likewise.
Yet people also placate: they may reduce tension and strengthen each other, verbally.
___________________________________(12) " By behavior, then, I mean movement of an organism or of its parts in a frame of reference provided by the organism itself or by various external objects or fields of force." [1938] By chance, that is exactly what I saw. Thanks to Skinner, I can also spot circular argument: "Why is he yelling?"; "He's angry."; How do you know?"; "Because he's yelling." I no longer object. I ask people, "Why is he angry? What did he see? What did he hear?" Then we discuss the needs and the interests of those involved and weigh interventions for possible treatment.
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