David McRaney has a great post on the You Are Not So Smart Blog.
He’s talking about conditioning, and our ability to act with “free will,” specifically in his post, with regards to diet.
McRaney mentions the work of BF Skinner, the “father” of Operant Conditioning.
“Skinner became convinced conditioning was the root of all behavior and didn’t believe rational thinking had anything to do with your personal life. He considered introspection to be a “collateral product” of conditioning.”
I’m not sure if that’s 100% true or not, but it’s an interesting viewpoint.
There is leverage, I believe, in what you choose or disagree to become conditioned to/by.
The author makes a distinction between three types of conditioning states:
Classical Conditioning – An “unconditioned stimulus” (a neutral stimulus such as a bell ringing) is used in coordination with a “conditioned stimulus” (one that generates a certain response, such as meat) to create a “conditioned response.” The classic example is Pavlov’s dog salivating with the ringing of the bell. Food was placed before the dog (conditioned stimulus), and a bell was rung (unconditioned stimulus) when the dog began salivating. Over time, the dog would salivate merely when the bell was rung (conditioned response).
Operant Conditioning – The alteration of behavior punishment or reward (“reinforcement”) of normal behavior. For instance, give the pigeon a food pellet every time it presses a lever, or a shock if it presses the “wrong” lever. Obviously, animals usually seek behaviors that lead to reinforcement responses, and avoid behaviors that lead to punishment responses from their environment.
Extinction – Is an element of Operant Conditioning in which a behavior is neither punished nor rewarded. The behavior declines in frequency.
An “extinction burst,” according to the author, is when you have a strong negative reaction to the lack of expected response from your environment.
The author finishes by saying:
“To give up overeating, or smoking, or gambling, or “World of Warcraft,” or any bad habit which was formed through conditioning, you must be prepared to weather the secret weapon of your unconscious – the extinction burst.
Become your own Supernanny, your own Dog Whisperer. Look for alternative rewards and positive reinforcement. Set goals, and when you achieve them, shower yourself with garlands of your choosing.
Don’t freak out when it turns out to be difficult. Habits form because you are not so smart, and they cease under the same conditions.”
Yes, I couldn’t agree more with this. But how do you do that? How do you “weather the storm?”
Goal-setting has always seemed extremely arbitrary, and less than motivating to me. The process has always been my concern – right here, right now.
I prefer to focus on something that grounds me to the present in order to weather my “extinction bursts.”
For me, that comes from a practice of increasing sensitivity, and awareness, or sensitive-awareness, through deeper connection to my physical being (which, for me, is also – spiritual, mental/emotional, environmental, communal/social).
I think this practice also leads to the shedding of “unnatural” habits.
