Why Change is so Hard
As humans, we would like to believe that we are a bit more advanced than other members of the animal kingdom. And in some ways we are. Our capacity for self-reflection and self-awareness, our ability to use tools, communication and language. However, many of the principles that explain behavior in non-human animals are very similar to the rules that organize how humans make choices. What really sets us apart though from the rest of the animals is our capacity to observe and reflect on these principles at a distance, which inherently allows us greater dominion over making intentional changes in our lives. Insight is a prerequisite for change, but it’s not the 400 level course.
The ABCs of Behavior
To be able to change our behavior, we first need to understand what maintains it. To do that, behaviorists are interested in the “ABCs” of behavior. When we’re feeling fancy, we sometimes call it a functional analysis. “A” stands for antecedent or the event that came before the “B,” which stands for behavior. “C” stands for consequence. Sometimes the word consequence has a negative connotation; in this context, it just means the thing that happens after a behavior occurs, a response to the behavior. If a consequence leads to a behavior being more likely to occur, we call this reinforcement. When a consequence makes a behavior less likely to occur, we call this punishment. Stay tuned for a future blog post on punishment. For today, we’re just going to focus on how a behavior is learned and gets locked in.
Antecedent →Behavior → Consequence
Positive Reinforcement
Now, to put this into more relatable terms, if you’ve ever been around a recently adopted puppy, you know that a food-motivated dog is a more easily trained dog. If you want the dog to sit, you give the dog a treat each time it sits back on its haunches after you say the word, “sit.” This sequence of events is referred to as positive reinforcement. Any time we provide a reward following a behavior, it increases the likelihood of that behavior occurring again, especially in the presence of the stimulus that preceded the behavior.
Antecedent →Behavior → Consequence
A: Dog Hears “Sit” → B: Dog Sits → C: Dog Gets a Treat
The “positive” in positive reinforcement just means that a consequence is being provided, whereas negative would mean that a consequence is being taken away. Again, consequence just means what comes after behavior. For this dog, the treat is very rewarding, so he’s much more likely to sit again.
Negative Reinforcement
In contrast, negative reinforcement is when we remove something that’s unpleasant and that increases the likelihood of a behavior recurring. An example of the ABCs of negative reinforcement with our brand new, hypothetical puppy learning the boundaries of an electric fence is below:
Antecedent →Behavior → Consequence
A: Mild shock when crossing boundary → B: Dog backs away → C: Relief from shock
Applying the Principles to Us
These ABCs explain much of why humans do what we do too, especially when it comes to making sense of mental health disorders. Here are some human examples using some of the situations that lead folx to seek specialized treatment:
Antecedent →Behavior → Consequence
A: Intrusive Thought → B: Compulsion → C: Relief Negative Reinforcement
A: Awareness of Pimple → B: Popping Acne → C: Satisfaction Positive Reinforcement
A: Anxiety → B: Avoidance → C: Comfort Negative Reinforcement
A: Nightmare → B: Checking Locks at Night → C: Relief Negative Reinforcement
If I always experience relief or pleasure when I engage in a particular behavior, I am much more likely to keep engaging in that behavior. These behavioral sequences can get really locked in there. Fortunately, because we are not just pigeons pressing levers to get a food pellet or dogs staying inside our electric fences, we possess the ability to look at what’s happening at a bit of a distance.
Strengthening Learning
For new learning to take place, the more consistent the consequence is, the faster a new behavior will be acquired. As time goes on, the occasional absence of the expected consequence can actually make a behavior even more likely to occur. Think of the puppy that sits eagerly in front of his owner even if he does not get a treat and then pulls out all the stops for cuteness until that treat finally appears. Or, the dog that is now staying even closer to the house than the electric fence’s boundary permits to avoid the possibility that it will experience the shock again. This pattern is called intermittent variable reinforcement, which means that the consequence comes periodically and unpredictably. It is the same principle that explains why people stay in toxic relationships waiting for that long-awaited breadcrumb of affirmation. It’s the same process that explains why people keep seeking reassurance, even when their loved ones miss the mark or the relief is fleeting and unfulfilling.
More Associative Learning
Another interesting thing starts to take place over time that has more to do with a different behavioral principle from classical conditioning. Over time, the more the ABCs occur in sequence together, the more the (b)ehavior actually tends to also bring on more of the (a)ntecedent. In other words, compulsions tend to bring on more intrusive thoughts, avoidance tends to bring on more anxiety, popping acne tends to bring on more awareness of pimples (and sometimes even more pimples!), etc. The very things we are doing to try to get out of a mess are the very things that tend to bring on more mess. In other words, if you don’t want it you’ve got it. The solution has actually become the problem.
Making Changes
Fortunately, humans are incredibly adaptable. To borrow a quote from Walt Whitman, “I am large. I contain multitudes.” Humans can both observe our thoughts and generate them. We can both engage in behaviors and reflect upon them. We can be trained and untrained.
The concept of neuroplasticity can help us understand how new learning takes place. Neuroplasticity has two parts: “neuro” meaning brain and “plastic” meaning changeable, moldable. Rather than continuing down the deep rabbit hole of behaviorism terminology, let’s turn here to an apt metaphor: the highway system in many metropolitan areas.
When the world was a bit more new, herds of buffalo and other wildlife migrated over the same hills and through the same fields, carving paths into the natural landscape with their hoofbeats. With repeated treks through the same terrain, eventually grass would be less likely to grow where they walked. Long before colonization and urbanization, the indigenous peoples of the Americas sometimes followed these animal tracks as a part of hunting practices, trade routes, and other reasons, further slowing growth of grass, making the trails more visible and preventing paths from becoming overgrown. When the Europeans arrived, with heavy and repeated use of these trails, the paths became even more engrained and defined. In many metropolitan areas, our modern highway systems of today actually reflect what was once the migratory trails led by the animals that have been solidified through people following them over and over and over.
If our ancestors repeatedly walked a particular path and found what they were looking for at their destination—the rewarding experience of a warm meal or connecting with loved ones or, alternatively, the relief from life-threatening hazards—of course they would continue to walk those roads. You can kind of think of your own behavioral patterns as well worn paths in your brain. While it would be quite difficult to “off-road” abruptly now due to the presence of things like medians, oncoming traffic, etc, it still is possible to construct a new route. Much like a true highway, the existing lanes of traffic are much more well-worn and familiar, representing the path of least resistance. It is very easy to follow a well-worn, cleanly paved road with the flow of traffic than to carve out a new route.
Specialized behavioral treatment for anxiety, obsessive-compulsive and traumatic stress disorders focuses on helping us construct new routes toward the lives we want to live and hold space for whatever new scenery we encounter along the way. Not only can we make our new paths more appealing and block off old roadways that no longer serve us, but we also possess the ability to look at the map from the bird’s eye view, ironically, a uniquely human ability when it comes to relating to the terrain of our behaviors and all the stuff that goes on inside of us. While our animal brethren can give us great insight into why we do what we do, something that sets us apart is our ability to look at it from above, to relate to our thoughts, feelings and urges differently.
There is as great quote, often ascribed to Viktor Frankl, the father of logotherapy, that summarizes our potential for change and what makes humans unique: “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” While change is hard, it is not impossible. Anything that can be learned can be unlearned. We can know the roads, rise above, and begin to forge new paths.
