Cognitive behaviorism: theory and applications

Behaviorism -- Advice columns

With the objective of analyzing several advice columns using the framework of consensus, consistency, and distinctiveness of the person's reactions, allow me to make some conceptual clarifications. Consensus, in this paper, refers to the "decision making process that works creatively to include all persons making the decision… [it] takes into account and validates each participant" (Corcoran, n.d., pars. 1-4) while consistency is defined as the "absence of contradictions -- [and] has sometimes been called the hallmark of ethics. Ethics is supposed to provide us with a guide for moral living and to do so it must be rational, and to be rational it must be free of contradictions" (Velasquez et al., 2008, par. 1). Distinctiveness, on the other hand, is a useful concept because it allows us to predict variations or deviations in the equilibrium (Principia Cybernetica, 1995).

The articles that I will be presenting and analyzing were gathered from the Chicago Tribune, dated March 8-9, 2009, particularly from the Dear Abby column which author Jeanne Philips keeps.

Case 1: The reader is asking for an advice on what to do with her father who is in a relationship with a 19-year-old. She disapproves of this relationship because she thinks that this girl is just after her dad's money. The author advised this reader to give his father and this girl's relationship a chance, and advised her to allow his father to get to know the girl better. In terms of the financial aspects of this relationship, Phillips tells the reader to let the lawyers take care of the matter (Phillips, 2009a).

The actor in this situation is behaving in such manner because the 19-year-old who's in a relationship with her father breaks the equilibrium (as she has already mentioned that her father has never been in a relationship since her parents' divorced). This is the distinctive component of the problem. On the other hand, we can see that the advice of the observer lacks consistency on the part of the social actor. As a matter of fact, Phillips' advice contradicts the reader's behavior, i.e. By saying that instead of discouraging the relationship, she should give her father and his girl a chance. Lastly, the advice has not reached any sort of consensus because of the pertinent inconsistency between the advice and the reader's feelings. Understand that the behavior of the reader was not, in any way, reinforced by Phillips.

Case 2: The reader is asking for advice because while she is very open on the fact that she and her boyfriend met online, her boyfriend is embarrassed by it. Her boyfriend would rather that his family would not know that they met online. Phillips' advice was rhetorical in nature, asking if her boyfriend is unaware of the ubiquity of online dating, she also underscored the fact that several online matches ended up in happy marriages (Phillips, 2009b).

The distinctive component of this article lies in the fact that there is a contradiction between the reader's behavior and her boyfriend's. The reader's openness to the idea of online dating was matched by her boyfriend's embarrassment. Unlike in the first article, we can see that Phillips' advice (or behavior) is consistent with the reader's. The reader's liberal view on online dating was reinforced by Phillips', particularly when she said "Joining a dating site is nothing to be ashamed of, and I have known several online matches that have led to happy marriages" (ibid, par. 4). Hence we can say that the consensus being painted in this article is towards the popularity and normality of online dating in today's time and age.

Case 3: A year and half ago, before turning sixteen years old, the reader has decided to set some dating guidelines which involved being in a relationship with someone who is not controlling and would treat her well. She also decided to defer her first kiss until she finds someone special. However, she is faced with the fact that most people her age are already sexually active. She's asking for an advice on whether the boundaries she has kept to herself are way too far, or if it is reasonable. For Phillips, she believes that indeed, the first person that someone should kiss would be that special person. The columnists asserted that the reader should do what is right for her and lauded the fact that the reader has set some boundaries at the expense of refusing to do something out of conformity (Phillips, 2009b).