A Personal Perspective: Why do we insist on holding people accountable for traits they have not chosen?
Intrinsic motivation is predicated on a number of neuronal networks working in symphony.The notion of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps is so built into the American ethos, the American myth, that challenging it is often bitterly attacked, or categorized as being somehow subversive. But challenge it we shall.
But there’s the rub. In making said judgments, we assume we understand the motivations, and the source of said motivations, of the people in the two groups.Let’s take the metaphysical first. Let’s ascribe every one of us a soul. A being separate from our physical selves. One that may even live on after we have shuffled off our mortal coils. How did we come by such souls?
Those of us awarded the superior souls have lucked out in the great cosmic lottery. Those who haven’t may not be equipped to pull up bootstraps or any other form of straps, for that matter., ethics, behavior, and performance are predicated on a stunning milieu of factors, much of which has to do with each individual’sstorage and retrieval, chill fight-or-flight tone, balanced emotional valence, finely tuned motivational salience, and more, combine to make star performers.
And ultimately, how can I assume that those who we assert need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps are actually equipped to do so?Whether we come by our qualities by blessing or quantum luck, I wonder if we as a society might do better by backing off on the disparaging language and attitudes, making judgments on people’s motivations, and considering what incentives might affect the behaviors we wish to propagate.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Personal Perspective: Oregon has an overdose problem prisons won't fix.Personal Perspective: Oregon is set to repeal its drug decriminalization measure. Here's why that's a mistake.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: How may unprocessed grief be holding you back?Personal Perspective: Do you find yourself feeling stuck or held back by strong emotions? You may have unprocessed grief that is the source of some difficulties in your life.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: Analyzing Donald Trump with help from Greek mythology.A Personal Perspective: Like the Greek god Dionysus, Donald Trump draws strength from efforts to eliminate him.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: Heal with the wisdom of nature.A Personal Perspective: Spending much time with old-growth forests, I find time and again that nature is a powerful salve that assists in healing and providing wisdom to wounds.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: Gullibility in a theory of aesthetics.Why are some modern art works worth many millions of dollars while others of equal quality are almost worthless? This is a topic that social psychologists to explore.
Read more »
Personal Perspective: When mental health professionals have problems to solve.Even our mental health providers—our psychiatrists, psychologists, counselors, and coaches—sometimes have problems to solve and need someone "confidential" to talk to.
Read more »