(Or,
Why Parents Yell at their Kids)
January
25, 2015
Konrad Lorenz, in his studies on imprinting, noticed that the
goslings that got stepped on or otherwise roughly treated by their mothers
seemed to imprint better. I think of that at various times, such as the
following:
“Don’t leave plastic on the cooktop. It’s
dangerous.” (Said in a normal tone of voice.)
“Okay.”
A few
days later: “Seriously, don’t leave plastic on the
cooktop. All it takes is for somebody to turn on the burner without thinking,
and then we have a mess.” (Still in a reasonable tone of voice, but less
sweet.)
“Okay.”
A few
days later: “STOP LEAVING PLASTIC ON THE COOKTOP!!!”
“Oh. Okay.” (Finally gets the picture.)
I think Lorenz was on to something.
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