Aug
31
The Chicken or the Egg
Tags: attitude, change, prevention
Filed Under Uncategorized | By Tim Love
I’ve had this thought rolling around in my head (kind of like a song you just can’t stop singing to yourself) ever since our prevention institute. I’ve been wondering what comes first in primary prevention – is it the chicken or the egg.
Do people change their behavior only after they change their attitudes, or is it possible that behavior change might lead to attitude change over time? And wouldn’t we rather have people change their behavior because they believed it was the right thing to do rather than because we taught them how to behave?
Attitude change takes time. I, for example, have 36 years of messages and expectations to unlearn. That is probably not going to happen, not totally, in three months of programming once a week. If we want to begin to make an impact, waiting for that type of total attitude change becomes a barrier. In addition, attitude change alone will not necessarily lead to behavior change. Part of our prevention work is giving folks the skills to put their new attitudes into action. We can’t assume that people will act just because they know why they should, especially if they don’t have the skills to act. On the other hand, attitude change is necessary if we want people to maintain the changes in behavior they make.
Then there’s behavior change. We could just focus on teaching people how to act right and not worry about their attitudes. However, I think this approach will also fall short of long-term change. When we think about parenting, we talk about getting our youth to internalize our lessons. In other words, my daughters will not likely treat people with respect when they get older if they don’t actually respect different people. While they are around me, they may behave in a respectful manner because they know that is what I expect, or because they know there will be a consequence if they don’t, but do they really respect other people? On the other hand, it may be the case that other children who see my daughters acting respectfully toward everyone may change their attitudes and then their behaviors because of my daughters’ behaviors, regardless of my daughters’ reasons for behaving that way.
Remembering that primary prevention is a long-term venture, I think that we should carefully balance and integrate both approaches. We must constantly work to change the attitudes and beliefs that create a rape culture while also teaching the behaviors and skills we are hoping that folks will take on as their own.
What do you think? Can behavior change alone end sexual violence? What about attitude change – how important is that for lasting change?
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2 Responses to “The Chicken or the Egg”
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I guess this is one of those cases where I think it’s a both/and approach. In an ideal world, we’d have folks behaving in respectful ways and seeking equitable interactions because they believe in these concepts and understand them. This has the added benefit of giving them the option to explain their behavior to someone else who might be witnessing it. However, the change we create is very rarely ideal, right? So, while we work on both aspects, I guess I’m wondering if, all things considered, it’s preferable to have the behavior even without a full attitude shift. (Without giving up on the attitude shift, of course.)
I know someone who is fairly homophobic (but making great strides in that regard) but who also called out her son for making an overtly homophobic comment. She knew that what he said was mean and hurtful. I’m not even sure she could fully explain why it would be mean, nor do I think this is a sign that she suddenly became fully supportive of GLBT issues. However, this was a huge step forward for her in terms of the actual behavior, and I think it was an important move for other people to see, including her son. I really think that might be preferable to her changing her attitude but not being sure how to act on it or silently mulling her new beliefs over in her head without putting them into action. A lot of people do the latter. Change happens in action, not in our heads, no matter how social justice-y our thoughts are.
Wow. Great ideas to ponder. I personally feel it is important not to forget about the “X” factors in this whole argument. (Which is why I love TAASA’s prevention team!! they are on it!) In order to change attitudes and behaviors the conditions on the ground and those unique to individuals must be considered and addressed. And we as educators and etc. must not only recognize but respect these conditions and build from there in order to maximize our efforts in changing attitudes and behaviors. Good blog post.