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Coercion and Its Fallout
Do you use Coercion? No? When you have finished this book, you are going to be very surprised; you are going to know some things about yourself that you never knew before. We use coercion almost exclusively to control each other; many find it hard to imagine any other way. The author asks, Does the death penalty deter potential murderers? Is harsh retaliation the answer to the discipline problem in our schools? Do the standard coercive practices work? - in law enforcement, behavior therapy, education, the family, business, the armed forces, diplomacy. Behavior analysis has shown that they do not work. Coercion is in the long run self-defeating. Punishment eventually proves counterproductive. Sidman presents a rational discussion of matters in which emotions usually run strong. He proposes that what we have learned in the laboratory can provide guides both for personal conduct and public policy
300 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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357 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
October 31, 2019
First, I'm deeply saddened by the passing of Murray Sidman - what a loss for our field.
The field of behavior analysis has come a long, long way from our early behavior modification days of using primary reinforcers and punishers to crudely manipulate responses. That being said, there are many practitioners out there that do not understand punishment well - their understanding is an overly simplified "RE'FORCEMEN' GOOD PUN'MISHMENT BAD" without understanding the side effects or justifications for either procedure, nor, truly, what category various procedures fall into. Just like any field, there are plenty of bad or ignorant practitioners that think NCR is a reinforcement procedure, that a DRO is reinforcement, or that RIRD is "just a bit of practice!" On top of that is the massive animal training community that thinks punishment is just peachy and you will need to pry their prong collars and shock devices out of their cold dead hands.
And all of those people need to read this book before they hurt someone (or hurt them more).
Sidman writes in a way that is clear for students and practitioners - technical language is there but it is used in a looser, more jargony way. This isn't a lack of expertise on Sidman's part, just writing for maximum accessibility. There's also a palpable passion - and compassion - in the book throughout. Every statement has the behavioral logic walked out and several examples to illustrate. It effectively forces people to re-evaluate their procedures and interactions when they otherwise would be intellectually or ethically lazy, and that is so, so important.
The only weaknesses in the book, in my opinion, are the repetition and lack of citations. Some later chapters seem a bit redundant with the previous ones.
That being said, its been a big hit in my intensive practicum course and has been consistently rated highly by students. Highly recommend.
The field of behavior analysis has come a long, long way from our early behavior modification days of using primary reinforcers and punishers to crudely manipulate responses. That being said, there are many practitioners out there that do not understand punishment well - their understanding is an overly simplified "RE'FORCEMEN' GOOD PUN'MISHMENT BAD" without understanding the side effects or justifications for either procedure, nor, truly, what category various procedures fall into. Just like any field, there are plenty of bad or ignorant practitioners that think NCR is a reinforcement procedure, that a DRO is reinforcement, or that RIRD is "just a bit of practice!" On top of that is the massive animal training community that thinks punishment is just peachy and you will need to pry their prong collars and shock devices out of their cold dead hands.
And all of those people need to read this book before they hurt someone (or hurt them more).
Sidman writes in a way that is clear for students and practitioners - technical language is there but it is used in a looser, more jargony way. This isn't a lack of expertise on Sidman's part, just writing for maximum accessibility. There's also a palpable passion - and compassion - in the book throughout. Every statement has the behavioral logic walked out and several examples to illustrate. It effectively forces people to re-evaluate their procedures and interactions when they otherwise would be intellectually or ethically lazy, and that is so, so important.
The only weaknesses in the book, in my opinion, are the repetition and lack of citations. Some later chapters seem a bit redundant with the previous ones.
That being said, its been a big hit in my intensive practicum course and has been consistently rated highly by students. Highly recommend.
February 25, 2016
I thought this was an informative and accessible read. Broadly, this book is about the use of coercion (defined by Sidman as negative reinforcement and the removal of positive reinforcement) and its consequent effects on individuals and society.
While I thought the book poses many powerful points, it's difficult to fully adopt Sidman's perspective that we should limit coercion as much as possible. Though a world filled with positive reinforcements initially seems ideal, coercion is often the product of contingencies outside of our control (Sidman himself provides nature as a great example of this). In addition, it is worth noting that even positive reinforcement has its limitations. A behavioral intervention should be guided by considering its long-term consequences and efficacy, not just the methodology of the intervention itself. For a detailed discussion on this, I suggest reading Perone 2003 (see link).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
Generally speaking, however, I thought this was book was thought-provoking and incisive, especially for considering the populations most susceptible to behavioral control and coercion, such as prisons or psychiatric hospitals.
While I thought the book poses many powerful points, it's difficult to fully adopt Sidman's perspective that we should limit coercion as much as possible. Though a world filled with positive reinforcements initially seems ideal, coercion is often the product of contingencies outside of our control (Sidman himself provides nature as a great example of this). In addition, it is worth noting that even positive reinforcement has its limitations. A behavioral intervention should be guided by considering its long-term consequences and efficacy, not just the methodology of the intervention itself. For a detailed discussion on this, I suggest reading Perone 2003 (see link).
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/artic...
Generally speaking, however, I thought this was book was thought-provoking and incisive, especially for considering the populations most susceptible to behavioral control and coercion, such as prisons or psychiatric hospitals.
February 17, 2018
One of those life changing books that every person in the world should read.
I have read this book at high school, and for sure is one of the best books I've ever read. It changes your relations, your compassion and even your self esteem.
It's easy to read, but is a book that question a lot about what society thinks, so you are probably going to argue a lot with the autor.
I have read this book at high school, and for sure is one of the best books I've ever read. It changes your relations, your compassion and even your self esteem.
It's easy to read, but is a book that question a lot about what society thinks, so you are probably going to argue a lot with the autor.
January 21, 2020
Li uma versão em português. É maravilhoso. Eu fico de cara de como um livro de 1989 tem muito a dizer sobre o mundo em 2020. Cada vez mais acho a Análise do Comportamento uma área linda. E mesmo aos meus amigos não-psicólogos, recomendo a leitura. É daquelas de mudar sua visão de mundo e sua vida.
May 17, 2021
This book has not aged well in my opinion. From the behaviour analysis perspective it's good and informative and honestly describes the fallout of coercion, especially at the beginning of the book. I really didn't like how the author stigmatises psychiatric drugs and talks about "retarded children". I was also really bored by the author's attempts to analyse and fix our society despite him not being a sociologist. I agree that we can apply more positive reinforcement in our interpersonal relationships but I feel like the author's way of doing that is really... Soulless. As a person who already spends a lot of time in dog/animal world discussing the ethics of using aversives, this read was not so important as I thought it'll be.
December 19, 2017
Murray Sidman is undoubtedly one of the most influencial of the applied behavior analysts. In Coercion and its Fallout, he provides the most in-depth discussion yet regarding the unanticipated and unfortunate side effects of the use of aversive stimuli (punishers). While I might have a bit of a disagreement with him regarding the way punishers are defined (Sidman does not define punishment in terms of the stimuli's reducing effect on target behavior), the arguments are persuasive. This is a must read for anyone designing behavior change procedures.
August 6, 2017
A superb presentation of what is meant by coercion, why this process for controlling human behavior is undesirable, and what we and our systems can do in place of coercion. The author is a renown behavioral scientist and peerless in his credential for addressing this topic. A "must read" for those who design policies for countries, corporations and community programs.
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September 13, 2012uma literatura OBRIGATÓRIA aos analistas do comportamente. IMPECÁVEL!
February 11, 2023
Bit of a random pop-psychology book that made its way onto the syllabus of a class of mine. It’s definitely dated, but has some pretty insightful analysis of the dysfunction caused by punitive impulses in all sorts of relationships. I feel like it’s best viewed as self-help literature that encourages careful consideration of ordinary violence within interpersonal relationships—which it does quite well tbh. However, it doesn’t have a strong material, structural, or historical analysis of punitive practices that you might expect from sociological or anthropological writing (had a bit of an underdeveloped understanding of policing and incarceration for example). It was worth the read tho!
March 10, 2021
I skipped through chapters, as not every chapter was interesting for me. Still, a very valuable book if you can get your hands on it. Sidman makes a compelling presentation on the negative companions when coercion is used to change behaviour and the constructive alternatives available in the Analysis of Behavior. I would say that this could be considered "a must-read" for leaders and activists for a better world.
February 18, 2023
One of my favorite books. There is power in behavior analysis and in society. Sidman reflects on the responsibilities of society to avoid the use of coercion. He reviews possible side effects and counter control. I believe this is a must read for people in power and for behavior analysis.
August 25, 2017
ESSENTIAL
November 2, 2019
Really profound way of viewing societal issues.
February 14, 2021
Is it possible to rate a book zero or a negative number. I am just glad that I read this book for free online, but I would have been so much happier if I had never encountered it in any form.
March 27, 2022
It may be because I’m currently studying behavior analysis, but this book was definitely eye opening for any person in all walks of life.
June 2, 2022
A must-read to understand human behavior and punishment.
September 2, 2013
This book is a detailed discussion of how we all use coercive practices--punishment, threats and relief from punishments and threats--in all kinds of settings, and why this is bad. It's a tricky proposition: Coercion appears to produce immediate gains, but at the cost of long-term cooperation and productivity. This book described the results of years of research into punishment and other coercive techniques, and why they fail to achieve their ends. The far better approach is to use findings from the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, with its emphasis on using positive reinforcement to build desired behaviors.
May 17, 2011
Good solid concepts about negative conditioning, escape, and positive conditioning. This is good information especially for parents and teachers.
November 5, 2011
Would you like to learn more about behaviourism? This book is the book.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews