Dwelling On Our Problems... Or Not... Human Behavior

Learning about the behavior and psychology of our own species is a funny thing. Those who are aware of the reality of the human animal's tendency to control and manipulate other members of their group are more likely to see analysis for what it is, but those who are not aware, or who are invested in such control behavior in their daily lives, often react emotionally to discussions about human behavior, and misinterpret it as lamentation, "dwelling in the past", wallowing, and whining. Fascinating, since most humans do not react to discussions about the behavior of OTHER species in this way. Since it's removed from them personally, they can understand that it's observation. So when we talk about the social dynamics of Grey wolves, for example, most people can simply talk about it without reacting with defensiveness or condescension, or projecting "motivation" onto the observer/researcher. They can read and hear about how both Alpha males and females lead packs, how both genders often oversee the behavior of both sexes in the rest of the pack, how they discipline and teach their pups, and how occasionally a wolf will get ostracized, driven out of the pack. They can hear about the general behaviors of Polar bears, or of Elephants, Cheetahs, and simply learn and discuss without assigning some kind of emotional "motivation" to those who study, observe, and write about their observations. They seem to know the difference when it comes to the study of other species.

But when it comes to reading about the behaviors of their own species, many tend to jump to conclusions about anyone who observes and writes about human behavior. This is another form of PROJECTION. They are placing their OWN motivations upon those who observe Human behavior. This projection is somewhat understandable, since many humans take any kind of observation of the species personally, especially when they feel they recognize themselves in the observations. If they don't see themselves in the observations, they may not have a defensive reaction at all, or feel compelled to assign and project an emotional or ulterior motive.

Uncle Bob's Treehouse

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