Thread by @sunnshiiny

PART 1

Sunday, I wrote a thread in response to what I initially thought was an honest inquiry. While still composing a response, I realized it was an attempt to discredit the premise & me.

So it’s half answer and half cheeky retort.

https://twitter.com/sunnshiiny/status/1391477905742450690

But the premise of my narrative is firm. There is an abundance of evidence supporting the observation and conclusions I wrote about. For both the UCP behaviour and the attempt to discredit it.

Here’s more. While it’s anecdotal, hospitals typically don’t receive bomb threats.

That’s how serious this has progressed in 1 year. Those who oppose restrictions are at a precarious point in their delusions of govt oppression, denial of a pandemic reality & self control.

https://twitter.com/Patricia_Ann_E/status/1391808593188380676

The denial and fear of the removal of Charter rights many are exhibiting is being turned to more violent resistance.

If you believe that’s organic and unplanned, you’re in denial of reality as well.

A nurse documents her personal experience of being honoured as a hero when covid emerged as a global plague. A year later, medical professionals are being threatened with extreme violence.

How did the public’s sentiment change so much in 12 months?

I’m not a behavioural scientist. But I’ve studied behaviour modification techniques enough to recognize behaviour modification schedules.

So I’m going to try to teach readers behavioural psychology.

Reinforcement & punishment can be presented or withdrawn to shape behaviour.

I encourage readers to look up these articles or any other article on behaviour modification using reinforcement and punishment.

As parents we all use these techniques. Pet owners do as well.

Our government is using them to shape the electorate’s behaviour.

So find out how.

The average person often confuses negative reinforcement with positive punishment.

All of these graphics explain positive and negative (addition or subtraction of stimuli) and whether behaviour is increased or decreased (reinforcement or punishment).

Operant conditioning isn’t usually what an electorate expects to be used to gain or suppress political support and shape voting behaviour.

But that’s exactly what Conservatives have been using relentlessly since Jason Kenney moved back to Alberta.

Many may believe their thoughts and behaviours are self generated, but conservatives have been using military grade psychological operations for decades. If not longer.

It’s well documented that US military has used PSYOPS on adversaries and allies.

Propaganda and the control of communication of information is used to shape political thoughts, attitudes and behaviour.

This is why Facebook’s breach of trust by allowing users individual personal data to be copied and accessed by Cambridge Analytica was so diabolical.

Cambridge Analytica is the tip of the iceberg. There are thousands of other corporate entities that pay handsomely to access our data.

It’s the Silicon Valley business model. That’s how tech industry makes billions.

Access to our personal data is a common modern feature.

But it’s not just personal data. It’s aggregated and analyzed to discern our individual weaknesses and strengths.

So we can be behaviourally manipulated.

Using access to our most intimate thoughts and beliefs against us.

Without our knowledge or consent.

When I was in university, I studied behavioural science. There I learned the strongest behavioural modification schedule is variable. Because it is the best method of adding or suppressing behaviour and the most resistant to extinction. That means it’s very difficult to change.

Parents are familiar with extinction. You put your child to bed, using a bedtime routine to indicate what the expectation is (go to sleep) and then a well meaning MIL or babysitter screws it up by altering the routine.

The resulting difficulty reestablishing the bedtime routine is due to behaviour extinction. If MIL interferes often, it’s a variable reward schedule.

We have all stood and waited for an elevator. Pushed the button to call for the elevator, wait, then it comes.

The number of times you push the button to call the elevator is due to behaviour extinction. Push it once and wait is the norm. Push it a second time, after waiting a few minutes, just to be sure, normal. Push it repeatedly and you’re in an extinction burst.

An extinction burst is when your behaviour increases in intensity and frequency to try to reestablish the reward your brain has associated with that behaviour.

It’s generally accompanied by negative emotions like frustration and anger.

Reinforce during an extinction burst, and that level of behaviour becomes the behavioural base line expectation.

Give your kids candy when they throw a temper tantrum, and you’ve just made your life a living hell. They now have been reinforced to belligerently demand candy.

Try to extinguish that nasty behaviour and it’s guaranteed to increase in intensity and frequency until it eventually becomes extinct or is variably (unexpectedly) reinforced again. Which will just make it worse. The intensity & frequency goes up a notch or two.

Well, that’s what conservative governments have done to generate hate and violent behaviour towards healthcare professionals.

To see the behaviour schedule you’ll need to review provincial conservative govts policy choices over the past year. And support from Social Media.

Initially the public adhered to restrictions. Celebrating those who were risking their lives to care for covid patients.

We learned who was truly essential and who was not.

When people began to complain about restrictions, it was about 6 weeks in.

That’s when social needs overtook our rationality.

Provincial con govts positively reinforced libertarians’ biological social needs by gradually relaxing restrictions earlier than recommended at a variable (arbitrary) rate. Restriction protests were positively reinforced.

When covid wave 2 hit, a long delay in con govt response was the reaction. No restrictions were imposed until progressive’s public pressure was increased. Negative punishment for progressives’ extinction burst to remove criticism.

But at the same time inducement of extinction behaviour for libertarian supporters. Which some con govts negatively rewarded with gradual addition of stricter covid measures.

That’s known as a variable negative reinforcement schedule.

@threadreaderapp please compile