March 28, 2016

March 28, 2016

Written by Maximus Peperkamp, M.S. Verbal Engineer

Dear Reader,

The question why religious behavior is so stable obfuscates the role our way of talking plays in this process.  In “Religion as Schedule-Induced Behavior” (2009) Strand explains “At first glance, stability in the context of shifting reinforcement contingencies may seem contrary to the socially mediated reinforcement hypothesis; but it is not. That is because, according to this view, malleability occurs primarily in childhood, after which beliefs become fixed as contingency-based behavior gives way to rule-governed behavior.” 

Whether we end up having more Sound Verbal Behavior (SVB) or Noxious Verbal Behavior (NVB) depends how others talk with us. Likewise, whether we end up having a Christian, Jewish or Hindu belief is determined by the fact that others speak with us. However, what keeps escaping even most behaviorists is that it makes a great difference to what extent our religious behavior was taught with either SVB or NVB. The person who was taught Christianity with a lot of SVB, but with little NVB is very different from the Christian who was taught with a lot of NVB, but with little SVB. 

As we all know, there are very loving, but are also very hateful Christians. A person’s love has nothing to do with his or her religion, but has everything to do with the extent to which he or she was talked at or talked with, while he or she was growing up.  The former is an example of NVB and the latter is an example of SVB. The Jew who grew up experiencing and enjoying a lot of SVB will be entirely different from the Jew who was mostly involved in NVB. 

Schoenfield’s statement (1993) that “Environment molds men, brainwashes him from infancy, and instills religious habits of such strength that they persevere in the face of powerful counter-active pressures” is seen in a  different light when we are familiar with the SVB/NVB distinction. The strength of our belief is a function of the NVB, the coercive communication, which was used to brainwash us. To the extent to which we engaged a lot in SVB, we are more open to other ideas than the ones that we grew up with