Behaviour Modification

Some exchanges I've had on another site have made me think more carefully about behaviour modification - what it is, how it works, and it's place in my two main themes - therapy and D/s.

Behaviour modification uses the scientific theory of operant conditioning which was developed by E.L. Thorndike and B.F. Skinner. It describes how a desired behavioural response can be reinforced either by giving a pleasant, rewarding stimulus or by removing an unpleasant, aversive stimulus. An unwanted behaviour can be reduced by punishment (an aversive stimulus) or by withdrawal of a pleasant stimulus (frustration). Thus there are four ways of changing behaviour through operant conditioning. Behaviour modification has a wide range of applications - for a fuller description there is an online book at http://uwf.edu/wmikulas/Webpage/behavior/intro.htm.

There is nothing particularly esoteric about behaviour modification- we all do it and experience it all the time, as we try to influence the behaviour of those around us. A baby's smile instinctively rewards and reinforces it's mother's maternal caring behaviour. The "two for the price of one" offer in my local supermarket encourages and reinforces my buying behaviour. The "£30 unauthorised overdraft fee" imposed by my bank is a punishment for my overspending behaviour, but could alternatively reinforce my switching-to-another-bank behaviour. However much I try and avoid it, I'm involved in behaviour modification. If I charge my clients for missed appointments I'm punishing them, if I don't I'm rewarding their appointment-missing behaviour and am likely to end up with more missed appointments in the future.

Therapists are (rightly) constrained by their codes of ethics in the way they can use this technique. In an earlier post on behaviour therapy I illustrated this with some quotations. However therapists are no more immune than anyone else from influencing the behaviour of their clients, in fact that is a large part of what they do.

Doms are under no such constraints, in fact powerful rewards and punishments are at the centre of D/s. Of course it is not always clear-cut how a stimulus will be experienced - pain can become pleasure and vice versa. If a Dom is well-intentioned and understands the principles, there is potential for a positive outcome which is beneficial to the sub, and the possibility for achieving change that therapy can't because of it's constraints.

However I can't help feeling that there is the potential for things to go badly wrong. I'm not particularly thinking here about the dominant who is just plain bad, because this person will do damage whatever techniques he is using. I'm more concerned about the possibility of the well-intentioned dominant (who I believe make up the majority) doing harm inadvertently.

Let me illustrate with an example. Suppose a Master and sub agree that the sub needs to lose weight, and the Master puts in place a dietary regime to achieve this. Perhaps the sub is to eat no more than 1000 calories per day, with a reward if she is successful, and the promise of punishment if she breaks the diet. Calorie restriction diets are now known to be counterproductive - they create numerous side effects that actually make it harder to lose weight, they tend to produce binge eating, and can ultimately lead to eating disorders such as bulimia. Without the external control of the Dom the sub would probably abandon the diet fairly quickly, and little harm would result. But with the submissive contract in place and the rewards and punishments being used, there is the possibility of her continuing the diet beyond her normal limits, and doing long-term damage to herself. This is not just conjecture - a landmark study of the effects of food restriction (the "starvation study") conducted at the University of Minnesota 50 years ago used conscientious objectors who volunteered as an alternative to military service, and documented significant long-term psychological and physical changes..

I am not aware if anyone has done any research into D/s lifestyles and their long term benefits or problems. Many writers speak positively of the experience, but I have not seen the hard evidence of D/s making long-term beneficial changes to the personality. This is not to say that it isn't happening, just that no-one appears to be studying it rigorously enough for it to count as evidence. I also fortunately see very few examples of people being harmed by this sort of activity, although this has to be interpreted carefully, as absence of evidence doesn’t prove that harm is not happening, A sub who suffers psychological harm may not feel in a fit state to post to a blog.

In writing these comments it is not my intention to criticise the D/s lifestyle, just to point out certain pitfalls and the need for the Dom to know what he is doing. I would be very interested to hear from anyone who can shed more light on their experiences, both good and bad.