Behavior Change in Transitional Roles (Classic Reprint)

Most methods for changing human behavior are primarily concerned with the alteration of psychological processes within the individual. They customarily give little attention to the social environment in which the attempts to change behavior occur. Yet human behavior is constantly immersed in a social context. Our actions are predicted and controled by our associates and we likewise demand that others fulfill our expectations. It is, in fact, through these stable and mutual patterns of expectation that we are able to function in highly developed and specialized society. Individual personality change creates a problem for these mutual expectation and interaction patterns. If changes in behavior are to be maintained, the social environment must be altered to integrate the new identity and reestablish that equilibrium which allows others to predict our actions and empathize with our feelings. The social environment influences and is influenced by any change in behavior from the alternation of insignificant habits to the total reorganization of personality. A typist who finally masters the typewriter makes it inappropriate for her boss to vent his frustrations by ordering much-erased letters to be redone. A former drug addict, if his abstinence is to be maintained, must develop a new circle of associates who will lead him to the non-addict world of a steady job and to life with the squares he formerly despised. Changes such as these in the behavior and desires of individuals are potentially disruptive to social interaction, and as a result can create emotionally hazardous situations for both the changing individual and his associates. An ex-addict will undoubtedly be quite uncomfortable in a middleclass suburban neighborhood. Inquiring neighbors who learn of his past will fear for their children, and the pusher will fear for the safety of his disquised identity w
(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)