Madure's Behavioural Inputs

From E- Business to E- Consciousness

 

An Unique programme of transformation  where HR could lead the way  when Organizations will make decisions @ speed of thought

 

 

Overview

 

Throughout the twentieth century, the dominant paradigm of management has been changing. As a consequence, there has been an evolution in the concept of leadership and in the way executives think about business strategy . The trend in both leadership and strategy began with an emphasis on the concrete or material aspects of business and focused on production. This was followed by progressively subtler interpretations of business enterprise that emphasized the importance of the human element.

 

Contemporary thinking about both leadership and strategy focus attention on the knowledge base of the firm and emphasizes the value of creativity and learning in organizations.

 

However , I wish to emphasize that in  the twenty- first  century, management surpasses   even this level and will be  based not only on knowledge but   on  “ knowingness” – a comprehensive consciousness based model which explores inner realities that touch sensitive core values hitherto unexplored.

 

The transition of management thought towards the emphasis on continuous learning and leadership at all levels in a learning organization is a progression beyond organizational processes. In the latter part of the century, management scholars attempted to identify the true depository of knowledge in organizations. Recognizing that organizations are indeed knowledge- based, they wanted to know how and where in an organization knowledge actually resides.

 

Historically the answer has been that it can be found in the databases, files, and accounting systems of the firm, because knowledge contained there is owned and fully controlled by the Institution. But a deeper analysis revealed that a company’s knowledge lies in the Human Resources.  These apply to all levels of staff. The true depository of knowledge in the institution is therefore the consciousness of the knower himself.

 

My own research has revealed that until and unless the inner core of a person is radically transformed, training undertaken at the outer superficial sensory  level  will not be sufficient enough to penetrate deep down and  make an inner transformation at the “Core” or at an  integral level. This is the level that human beings have often sensed, or have often felt a need for, which is broader or larger or fuller than the ordinary world, and in some sense lies “beyond” the threshold which normally bounds our existence.

 What are some of the results of transcendence experiences of the sort instanced above? In the first place, it is likely that these are experiences of a very high order, of the sort Maslow  terms “peak experiences”, in which the individual is most alive, most healthy, and at the peak of his capabilities. Maslow allows for gradations in peak experiences, and would fit this sort of experience high on the scale, perhaps as the intense most type of peak experience. The results that accrue as a result of peak experiences are: positive changes in the self image, positive changes in interpersonal relationships, remission of neurotic symptoms (at least for a time), increased creativity, increased spontaneity and self-expression, and so on, in the realm of psychological improvement. 

There is significant evidence that altered states of consciousness hold major personality growth, improved interpersonal relationships, and an enhanced potential for significant psychological benefit, i.e., that ASC experiences are often avenues leading toward therapeutic effect and psychological growth. Some ASCs, in other words, have therapeutic significance for the human person in that they effect positive psychological changes in the person, changes ranging in value from learning control over habit patterns (primarily with Deep Meditation , Bio- Feedback and hypnosis), all the way up to ability to live fully.

 

 Such personality changes, most of which are mediated via noetic insight (i.e., self understanding), may be called therapeutic changes if they result in the remission of psychological disorders (e.g., neuroses or psychoses), or the changes may be called personality growth if they are a movement from psychological normality to a state of being which is healthier than the normal.

 

Therefore , any outside developmental activities devoid of such inner alteration  will only yield short term results which  any Organization can ill afford at this juncture when every effort is being made towards accelerated development.

 

 Strategies with a  narrow focus would then leave much “ Head” knowledge but little or no “Heart” value shift, thus in the long term leaving the person with an inner sense of restlessness and emptiness  which contributes in no small measure to producing superficial leaders devoid of substance, highly stressed nervous systems and as it has been reveled in Criminology , the possibility of  latent criminal tendencies activated.

 

Today everywhere we witness a steady erosion of values and morals and  an immense shortage of leaders of substance. Our alcohol consumption, drug addiction, prostitution and suicide rates are leading indicators of our deep inner restlessness and a vacuum within. Vacuous minds can only produce vacuous thoughts so we witness a bandwagon of leaders who promote outer show to cover up their rotten inner core.

 

The recent international examples, such as, ruthless leaders of the caliber of Bin Laden or deceitful leaders like those in ENRON, make us question the very concept of leadership. It was reported that one top leader of ENRON, Charles Baxter had committed suicide a few days ago. At the superficial level Baxter was also a top leader, ruthless, Type- A, winning the admiration of his subordinates, kind and generous to staff- yet at the inner core he was unsettled and corrupt. ENRON was one of the companies that had the best industrial relations, vacations, bonuses and all that an employee dreamed of.  Alas, they turned out to be dreams only.

 

There was no harmony or inner calmness within -  but conflict consumed him and led to a depression that cost his life. Today in our own country and at various leading  organizations also there are hundreds of Managers and Executives who are driven by unrealistic demands that may reach their limit if the tendency is not reversed.  Ulcers , High blood pressure & coronaries have a close connection with a stressed up nervous system, and cancer at the root of hopelessness.

 

Organisation culture and management style can be a source of stress. Poor communications and indifferent leadership also create anxiety. Lack of competence causes stress too. This may arise from poor selection practices at the time of recruitment, promotion or transfer. It may arise because people have been inadequately trained for the new job. Social and economic events outside the employment relationship cause stress and need to be considered.

 

Research has found that the way people are managed is the biggest influence on employee attitudes. Adoption of enlightened management practices, (e.g. job design, skills development, involvement, work environment and culture, and effective occupational health programmes) is the basis for a positive psychological contract. In turn, a carefully thought through psychological contract supports organisational commitment and job satisfaction - which are associated with higher productivity and profitability.

 

People who feel under excessive pressure are likely to be working long hours and have a poor psychological contract. Those who find pressure motivating on the other hand also have high levels of commitment, this suggests that a positive psychological contract can help reduce feelings of uncomfortable pressure and help people deal with circumstances. In turn, this will have a payoff in terms of increased performance, job satisfaction and enhanced well-being. However those with a poor psychological contract who are under continual pressure and working harder and longer are likely to suffer stress. This will result in increased sickness absence, job dissatisfaction and quitting the job.

Today we witness a  further alarming trend, a tendency towards cynicism . The only thing that matters is whether you succeed or not . everything is subordinated to success . At this level of reasoning, if you achieve the end the means do not matter. Now that is the hallmark of cynicism.

  

The teachers and trainers  cater to this group by arranging hundreds of hours of training , with scant regard to programmes that develop use of full brain potential, creativity, reversal of negative emotions of the past etc that releases a person’s true potential. With only the horrendous “Outer show”  and our tendency to focus on short term results, lack of strategic focus, the prospects are bleak and they stand as a monument to the repercussions that  will be felt for decades to come.

 

 Is there as way out  

 

Along with various value added training programmes that impart knowledge and diverse skills,  specific attention should be focused on the transformation of the leader himself  at the deeper level. With that  inner radiance  now released he or she will be able to lead a calmer, more focused life. This would facilitate an inner dialogue and correct any negative impressions of the past and open the valve of inner release. He will think for himself, develop assertive skills , creativity, higher job satisfaction, and move  away from the IQ trap to EQ – Emotional Intelligence and beyond to SQ , the spiritual intelligence.

 

Then you will come across an enlightened  leader.

 

This would also increase the creativity and inter- personal skills that would contribute enormously to bring about a society focused on higher values and maintaining unity in diversity, a sure way of laying a foundation for a culture of inner and outer peace. This truly would then become transformational leadership. Downplaying this element and engaging only at sensory level is bound to fail.

 

What is unique with E- CONSCIOUSNESS

 

For the first time I am happy to  introduce the concept of transformation from e- business to e-consciousness which will help tap the “ Collective Consciousness” of the organization to gain lasting results.

 

The elements discovered and the methodology are all unique and original. We encourage the participants to explore the inner realities and revisit Einstein’s famous equation E=MC ^2 now with consciousness added which emancipates and energizes both simultaneously while helping extinguish the raging fires within that makes one helpless if not hopeless.

 

The therapeutic effects of Altered States of Consciousness

 

There is significant evidence that altered states of consciousness hold potential for significant psychological benefit, i.e., that ASC experiences are often avenues leading toward therapeutic effect and psychological growth. Some ASCs, in other words, have therapeutic significance for the human person in that they effect positive psychological changes in the person, changes ranging in value from learning control over habit patterns (primarily with Deep Meditation , Bio- Feedback and hypnosis), all the way up to major personality growth, improved interpersonal relationships, and an enhanced ability to live fully.

 

 Such personality changes, most of which are mediated via noetic insight (i.e., self understanding), may be called therapeutic changes if they result in the remission of psychological disorders (e.g., neuroses or psychoses), or the changes may be called personality growth if they are a movement from psychological normality to a state of being which is healthier than the normal.

 

The concept of psychological growth is by no means a simple matter, for if we are going to say that a person has made psychological progress away from  disease and toward health, we must have some pre-established notion of what we mean by disease and health. In some cases, of course, there is very little of this theoretical problem. For example, a man suffering from compulsive eating habits which have lead him to excessive obesity seeks out a psychiatrist who hypnotizes him, suggests that the compulsion disappear, that he return to normal eating habits, and that his weight then slowly return to normal. The suggestion is effective, and within a year the man has returned to normal weight, his compulsion completely gone. The therapeutic process may, of course, have taken several sessions and may even have included some psychoanalysis, but the point I wish to emphasize here is that the compulsion was eradicated. In cases of this sort there is very little, if any, theoretical question about what is disease behavior and what is healthy behavior.

 

Similarly, there is very little, if any, theoretical problem in cases involving other sorts of compulsions, phobias,  anxieties, and the like, which can be helped with hypnosis, dream work, phantasy techniques, systematic desensitization, and other therapies which involve the use of ASCs. Nor does the theoretical problem about what constitutes disease and health arise in the case of manifest psychoses that involve extreme nightmarish, waking hallucinations of the most painful and terrorizing sort. In these cases, the subject wishes to terminate the symptoms, the psychiatrist considers them sick, and there is no question but that to terminate the symptoms would be a positive step toward greater mental health. Thus, when we are dealing with symptoms which are manifestly maladaptive, painful, and destructive, which both the patient and doctor would like to be rid of, there is no question about what constitutes a move toward health.

 

The question becomes a bit subtler, however, in the case of a “normal” individual who seeks “greater fulfillment”, or a “fuller life”, or “greater happiness”. In this sort of situation, the struggle is not form disease to health (as in the former cases), but is rather form a state of normally toward something healthier than just the average. Physicians have begun to think in terms of higher and higher degrees of healthiness, and psychiatrists (and psychologists) for a long time have been speaking of supra-normal psychological health. But how can we define that supra-normal psychological health? This will certainly be a concern if  we are ever to claim that one who is already “normal” now makes progress in the direction of greater psychological health, for it can legitimately be asked; just what constitutes greater psychological health?

 

 Now I do not wish to minimize the importance of this problem, rather I wish to emphasize its importance for the difficult task of assessing personality growth. Yet, on the other hand, it seems to be the sort of question that is best answered by the theoretical psychologists. I shall rely specifically on the ideas of the humanistic school of psychology, sometimes referred to as “third force” psychology, represented by the work of Gordon Allport, Carl Rogers, Fritz Perls, Victor Frakl, and Abraham Maslow. I shall rely specifically on one central concept that has been developed in that school of thought and that is the concept one full humanness, or rather the concept of approaching full humanness. That concept declares that some persons are more or less fully human than others, i.e., that some persons have actualized more of their potential for humanness than others. Maslow, in this connection, speaks of self-actualizing persons, applying the term to those persons who are well involved in the process of actualizing their potential for full humanness. Without examining the matter in all its detail, it will suffice here to mention only a few of the characteristics of self-actualizing persons. They are generally more creative, more spontaneous, are very much engaged in what is to them a life-important task, they seek solitude and enjoy it more than average persons, are more able to fully engage themselves in a task or project or concern, and are less ego-conscious and timid. They are generally more concerned with the traditionally “higher” or nobler values (Maslow’s B-values), such as truth, justice, liberty, moral goodness, beauty, authenticity, and so on. Their interpersonal relationships are more fruitful than most, less superficial, and more in line with Buber’s concept of the I-Thou way of being (Maslow’s B-Love, Rogers’ unconditional positive regard). Self-actualizing persons, to add one final characteristic, are more acceptant of them selves (in Fromm’s sense of self love, or self-esteem), more acceptant of others, and generally more acceptant of the cosmos and their being in it. They are, in other words, healthier persons than the average, and they are healthier in the sense that they are more human, more free, more fully expressive of their personhood.

 

With this notion of full humanness in mind, for which notion I have relied on the work of the psychologists we can now considered the theoretical question mentioned earlier: what does it mean to say that a person has experienced therapeutic benefits from ASCs, or what does it mean to say that he has undergone personal growth? In light of the above considerations, I take it to mean that he has made progress toward approaching fuller humanness. Perhaps he has removed some obstacles of blockages (therapeutic remission of neurotic or psychotic symptoms), or perhaps he has found the strength to take steps he had never before taken, or perhaps he discovered something which allowed him to move in a direction that he had previously not been able to see.

For whatever reason, personal growth means the movement toward a greater actualization of human potential; in Maslow’s terms, toward greater self-actualization.

 

Keeping this in mind, it can now be said that in innumerable cases ASCs are responsible for personal growth. In fact personal growth occurs, to one degree or another, in ASC experiences at all experiential levels, from the more shallow sensory level to the most profound integral level. It must also be said, however, that the deeper the level of the ASC experience, the more profound and thorough-going will be the personality growth. For example, the growth that occurs as a result of peak experiences at the sensory level will be far less profound, far less thorough-going, and likely to concern only certain aspects of the personality; whereas growth that occurs as a result of ASC experience at the deepest integral level is likely to be more profound, more lasting, more complete, and likely to concern one’s entire person hood from top to bottom. One is liable, in that case, to find his whole being re-oriented, liable to find that his foundations have been shaken and rebuilt anew, and that he has been, so to speak, reborn as a new person. So personal growth occurs as a result of ASC experiences at all of the various levels, but is more profound, lasting, and complete if it occurs as a result of ASC experiences at the deeper levels.

 

The personal growth that occurs as a result of ASC experience at the sensory level, the lightest of the four levels, is likely to be along the lines suggested by Maslow as after effects of peak experiences: the person will feel more integrated, less at odds with himself, more creative, more expressive of himself, more perceptive, better able to relate openly with other persons, more acceptant of self and others, etc. This in fact is what is meant by personal growth, but at this more shallow sensory level, the change will likely not be so fully profound as in deeper levels. At the recollective-analytic level, the level of human consciousness that Freud was so aware of with is emphasis on dreams, free association, phantasy, hypnotic revivification, and the like, similar personal growth can take place. Freud was well aware of this, and was also aware that the completeness of growth depended on how deeply a person was able too go into his subconscious, and then how well he was able subsequently integrate that material into his waking consciousness. Freud was well aware that personality growth depends on integration of the different layers of human consciousness, but he was aware of only two of these layers, the waking consciousness and the personal sub consciousness (which is the layer probed at the recollective-analytic level of ASC experience). Personal growth, thirdly, can take place as a result of ASC experience at the symbolic level of consciousness, one stop deeper than the first two, and growth that occurs at this level will be far more profound than at the previous two levels. It is at this level, as C.G. Jung was well aware, that the person experiences the more primitive, the more ancient levels of this being, the deep primordial foundations of his being, foundations which underlie everything that has more recently been built upon them. It is at this symbolic level that the person plunges far deeper than the level of his personal subconscious, and begins to explore the vast regions of the collective unconscious, the regions in which are found the great symbolic archetypes described so effectively by Jung. Here again personal growth occurs, though now it will be far more complete and fundamental than that which occurs at earlier, shallower levels of consciousness. And here again, as Jung was also fully aware, growth occurs as a result of integration of the different levels of consciousness. It is not enough that one simply experience these various levels, but he must somehow assimilate their contents, and integrate the matter found there with the other levels of his being. Profound personal growth toward fuller awareness, fuller humanness, fuller being in the world, can occur as a result of such integration. Finally personal growth can occur at the most fundamental level, the integral level, and here the growth is most profound, most complete, and most lasting, as a survey of the great mystics will quickly show. James and Poulain and Underhill have recorded such profound changes in a person’s being as a result of mystical experience. Here the experiences are most fully integrated into the total being of the person (hence the term “integral” level), and affect all the various dimensions of his self, and his relations with the world. At this level a person finds himself able to integrate all the various layers of his existence, all the various levels of his consciousness, and able to orient them in   a unified way toward the life goal at which he wishes to aim his being. It is at this level that his foundations will have been shaken most profoundly and the structures rebuilt a new; a new person is born.

 

We have seen now that personal growth occurs at all the various levels of consciousness, and that the deeper the layer that is experienced, the more fundamental and thoroughgoing will be the growth achieved.

 Inside an Elusive Mind - Prabhakaran: the first profile of the world's most ruthless leader: MR Narayan Swamy
New Delhi: Konark Publishers, 2003 Pages 290

Narrating a story interesting enough to capture the reader's attention requires skill. Narrating a story that has been told by hundred others but continuing to receive the reader's undivided attention requires Narayan Swamy. The book, Inside an Elusive Mind - Prabhakaran: the first profile of the world's most ruthless guerilla leader is not only a testimonial to the author's narrative talent, but also one of the finest descriptions of contemporary Eelam history and the crisis looming large over the small island country of Sri Lanka.

The narrative begins with the seemingly insignificant but emotive incident that eventually snowballs into the first anti-Tamil pogrom - Seelan's death. Fleeing from Sri Lankan soldiers who were on his tail for an ambush weeks earlier, "Seelan kept running, painfully realizing that the bullet wound he had suffered in the knee during an earlier attack on a police station was slowing him down.... Panting and unable to run any further, he asked his friend to kill him. The friend was stunned by the bizarre request. He pleaded with Seelan that they only had to run a few minutes before they reached a village where they could hide. But Seelan would have none of it.... 'shoot me, please' he begged, gasping for breath. The friend had no choice, and time. His hands trembling, he aimed his rifle at Seelan's forehead. He saw tears welling up in the eyes of the self-condemned man. Seelan, though begging for death, seemed wanting to be alive to continue to fight on for the cause." (p.4) Seelan was not only a close confidant of Prabhakaran, but also his good friend. Naturally, Prabhakaran decided to strike back and he did it with the help of Chellakili, another close and trusted confidant. The revenge was the ambush on the Sri Lankan army resulting in the death of 13 soldiers - the worst casualty suffered by the Sri Lankan army since the beginning of insurgency - which in turn precipitated the anti-Tamil pogrom that followed. Prabhakaran lost Chellakili in the ambush - a loss that left Prabhakaran inconsolable having lost Seelan only a fortnight earlier. "Prabhakaran broke down, sobbing inconsolably. It was the first and last time anyone saw Prabhakaran cry." (p.9)

Through adept narration of this poignant episode, Narayan Swamy establishes a few characteristics of Prabhakaran as well as the struggle for Eelam that is manifest in the entire book through various incidents. One, the rebels are no fanatic robots carrying out the orders of a megalomaniac leader. Each cadre is as passionate for the cause as the leader himself, and, to this end they will readily give up their life. Many have wondered how the Sri Lankan insurgency continues unabated for more than two decades with the same fervor it started despite heavy losses. Maybe the reason lies in the fact that every fighter is as committed to the cause as the leader; and Prabhakaran has ensured that it stays that way by ruthlessly weeding out the doubting Thomases.

Two, Prabhakaran will have his vengeance. There is no escaping it. His retribution has been strongest when it involved betraying the cause of the Tamils. This is apparent in the execution of Amirthalingam, the TULF leader, who Prabhakaran perceived to the have sold out the Tamils and their just cause to Sri Lankan chauvinism. Even his close confidants and deputies have not been spared, especially when they have questioned Prabhakaran's orders or advocated the need for an alternative end to the struggle. Uma, once chairman of the LTTE, was stripped of his position and thrown out of LTTE. Mahattaya, deputy leader of LTTE, was not so lucky and was executed after a kangaroo court sentenced him to death. And the list goes on.

Three, Prabhakaran is susceptible to human emotions as any ordinary person notwithstanding his generous display of ruthlessness. Seelan's loss brought tears to Prabhakaran's eyes. This did not remain a momentary feeling. Prabhakaran named his first son Charles after Charles Lucas Antony alias Seelan. He mourned the death of Kittu, another ruthless LTTE leader and loyal friend of Prabhakaran since childhood. Shankar's death left an indelible mark on Prabhakaran. Shankar, wounded in a battle in Jaffna, was shifted in serious condition to a hospital in Madurai (Tamilnadu). "The LTTE chief held Shankar's hands and then took his head in his lap even as the wounded man kept calling him by his nickname thamby.... 'They kept gazing at each other...' Nedumaran recalled. 'Prabhakaran kept looking at him intently, as if he was silently pleading with him not to go away.' And then, Shankar died." (p.72) Year after year, 27 November, the day Shankar died, is celebrated as heroes' day and the LTTE remembers its martyrs - Shankar and countless others after him - with great reverence. Prabhakaran's directives and stubborn means to achieve Eelam may have resulted in the death of many cadres. However, Narayan Swamy's narrative reveals that each life lost is precious to Prabhakaran as made apparent by the importance he gives to the martyrs. It is probably this respect for human lives that compels LTTE cadres, especially the Black Tigers to make the supreme sacrifice for the cause of Eelam.

Narayan Swamy explains in his preface the impetus behind his current volume: A chapter on Prabhakaran in his previous volume Tigers of Lanka was the first published account on the LTTE chief. Sri Lanka watchers wanted more, and hence this book. Weaving through the profile of Prabhakaran is the story of the Lankan crisis, which heard a hundred times, still interests the reader not because of the content alone but because of the narrative talent of Narayan Swamy to thread the tale along with its main protagonist - Prabhakaran. While his previous work is a narrative account of the militancy, Inside an Elusive Mind dwells deeper into why Prabhakaran does, and will continue to do, the things he does.

While the ruthless side of Prabhakaran is most apparent, what Narayan Swamy has achieved most efficiently is to expose the little known informal side of the LTTE leader.

As a child, Prabhakaran was a loner with a shy disposition. His solace was reading and books his favorite companion, though he showed little interest in studies and eventually dropped out of school. As he grew up, his shyness developed into reticence; almost everyone who interacted with Prabhakaran has revealed that their first impression of Prabhakaran was that he was a very quiet, unassuming and shy person. Adele Balasingham, recalling her first meeting with Prabhakaran and his confidant Baby noted: "Their appearance belied their reputation. Both were short, neat little men who looked like butter wouldn't melt in their mouths." (p. 53) However the restiveness in his heart has been very apparent in his eyes, which, again, almost everyone has noted. For the Tamilnadu politician Janardhanan, "Prabhakaran looked shy but restive young man with big piercing eyes." (p. 29) Prabhakaran enjoyed cooking and many a times treated his fellow cadres to good meals. An excellent marksman he liked to showing off his talent to visitors at his camp. He fell hopelessly in love, which resulted in the removal of the LTTE bar on love and marriage.

Puritan about cleanliness, Prabhakaran "dressed up neatly and expected other LTTE members to do so as well.... His fetish for cleanliness became an obsession. Only a handful of LTTE guerillas were permitted to grow beards." (p. 69) "At the LTTE office in Madras, he would often run a finger under the windowsill or the armrests of chairs to feel for dust. If he found any dirt he would react angrily." (p. 105) "His fetish for cleanliness continued even in the forests of Mullaitivu where flies were a major nuisance. Prabhakaran did not like pesticides, instead he asked young cadres to swat them. There was even a competition to see who swatted the most number of flies." (p. 205)

Even as Prabhakaran grew, did he plan and prepare himself to lead the struggle for Eelam? Narayan Swamy narrates few incidents that suggest that this could be the case. "To anyone who cared to see, even at that early age Prabhakaran was already showing signs of being different from the rest of the crowd. Some of his actions and behavior betrayed an evolving ruthlessness that was to become the hallmark of his terror campaign later in his life. He would often stun his family members by tying himself in a gunny bag, lying in the sun the whole day.... He would wrap himself with bags used for carrying red chilies or insert pins into his nails. If all this appeared to foreshadow a man preparing himself for a life that demanded great levels of physical endurance, Prabhakaran added a twist to it by pricking insects to death with needles.... In hindsight it seems disconcerting that he could have charted his life ahead with so much cold calculation. It was a measure of how much he was thinking ahead that he took away or destroyed all of his photographs in the family album. The apparent logic was to create elusiveness about himself since he knew what he was planning to become." (p. 27) And, this logic actually proved correct years later as the Sri Lankan forces were hunting for Prabhakaran without knowing how he looked, and no "wanted" poster in the early resistance days carried his photo for the simple reason the police did not have any.

Prabhakaran's meticulous planning is also apparent in a particular episode narrated by Narayan Swamy. "Once Janardhanan took Prabhakaran to a quiet spot along the vast seaside in Madras. Prabhakaran was fascinated by what he saw: 'This is the kind of place we need for military training.' Janardhanan ignored him, not quite recognizing the import of that comment." (p. 30) Prabhakaran was still in his teens when he made this remark and still a long way off from heading a guerilla outfit that eventually received training along the shores of Tamilnadu.

Through his narrative, Narayan Swamy has made Prabhakaran more human beset with his share of emotions and weaknesses. This not only helps the reader to associate with Prabhakaran better, but also in some way justify his behavior. "It is doubtful however if Prabhakaran could have traveled thus far but for the obduracy of the Sri Lankan establishment and a perverse Sinhalese-Buddhist majority mindset that consistently refused to accept the moderate Tamil leadership and put a lid on the boiling ethnic volcano. Instead, the problem was allowed to fester. Today, many Sri Lankans readily admit that Sinhalese chauvinism went to absurd lengths to impose its will on the Tamil minority - with catastrophic results. The refusal to shake hands with moderate Tamil politicians led to a vacuum in the Tamil society that mushroomed militancy. The militants saw violence as an answer to state repression. Prabhakaran was thus made." (p.267)

Narayan Swamy's book is about profiling Prabhakaran. So how does one answer two serious questions that the author raises in his preface: Will Prabhakaran give up his claim for separation and settle for autonomy? Will the man, in a burst of fury, unleash again, with all the power at his command, his self-styled war for separation, as he did thrice before after professing to renounce the path of violence? After reading the book, the answer is apparent. Prabhakaran will never give up his demand for a separate Tamil Eelam. To this end, he will not hesitate to unleash another war for separation if that is the one thing that will help achieve Eelam. Prabhakaran's profile reveals that he, his cadres and the Tamil people have sacrificed too much to settle for anything less.

The volume is well priced, affordable and finely produced. And any reader, informed or otherwise, can enjoy it as much as Narayan Swamy, who seems to have enjoyed scripting it.

 

Virginia Tech attack April 2007- Perpetrator Seung-Hui Cho

One of the photographs of Seung-Hui Cho sent to NBC News on the day of the massacre.

The shooter was identified as 23-year-old Seung-Hui Cho, a South Korean citizen with U.S. permanent resident status living in Virginia. An undergraduate at Virginia Tech, Cho lived in Harper Hall, a dormitory west of West Ambler Johnston Hall. A spokesman for Virginia Tech has described him as "a loner." Several former professors of Cho have stated that his writing was disturbing, and he was encouraged to seek counseling. He had also been investigated by the university for stalking and harassing two female students. In 2005, Cho had been declared mentally ill by a Virginia special justice and ordered to seek outpatient treatment.

According to Cho's great-aunt in South Korea, Cho's parents said his behavior was the result of autism, no known record of Cho being diagnosed with autism exists. Cho's flat emotional affect was evident through middle and high school years, during which he was bullied for speech difficulties. "Relatives thought he might be a mute. Or mentally ill," reported the New York Times. Cho's underlying psychological diagnosis remains a matter of speculation. Media outlets routinely compared Cho's motives and mental state to those of the Columbine killers, despite the fact that Harris and Klebold's motives and mental states were not even similar to each other.

Early reports had suggested that the killing resulted from a domestic dispute between the killer and his supposed former girlfriend Emily Hilscher, whose friends said had no prior relationship with Cho. In fact, there is no evidence that Cho had ever met or talked with Hilscher. In the ensuing investigation, police found a suicide note in Cho's dorm room that included comments about "rich kids", "debauchery", and "deceitful charlatans". On April 18, 2007, NBC News received a package from Cho time-stamped between the first and second shooting episodes. It contained an 1,800-word manifesto, photos, and 27 digitally recorded videos, in which Cho likened himself to Jesus Christ and expressed his hatred of the wealthy.

Childhood and adolescence

In September 1992, Seung-Hui Cho immigrated to the United States at age 8 with both of his parents and his older sister, Sun-Kyung Cho. Cho's family lived first in Detroit, Michigan before moving to Centreville, an unincorporated community located in western Fairfax County, Virginia about 25 miles (40 km) west of Washington, D.C. Cho was a permanent resident of the United States and a South Korean national whose permanent address was in Centreville. His parents are Christians and Cho himself was raised as a member of the religion.

Behavior as a young child

Cho's maternal great-aunt, Kim Yang-soon, described Cho as "cold" and a cause of family concern from as young as 8 years old. According to Kim—who met him only twice—Cho was extremely shy and "just wouldn't talk at all." He was otherwise considered "well-behaved," readily obeying verbal commands and cues. The aunt said she knew something was wrong after the family's departure for the United States because she heard frequent updates about Cho's older sister, but little news about Cho.

During a New Year's telephone call in 2006, Cho's mother told the elderly aunt that Cho might have autism, a developmental disability marked by profound social isolation and delayed speech acquisition. No autism diagnosis could be verified with Cho's parents, and no records or other evidence have surfaced to indicate such a diagnosis was made or relied upon by U.S. school authorities. Cho's relatives thought that he was mute or even mentally ill. According to Cho's uncle, Cho "didn’t say much and didn't mix with other children."

Behavior in elementary school

Cho studied at Poplar Tree Elementary School in Chantilly, an unincorporated community in Fairfax County. According to Kim Gyeong-won, Cho's friend in elementary school for three years who now attends Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea, Cho finished the three-year program at Poplar Tree Elementary School in one and a half years. Cho was noted for being good at mathematics and English, and teachers pointed to him as an example for other students.

Kim met Cho in the fifth grade, where Kim and Cho were among three Korean students at the school during that time. Both Kim and Cho attended the same classes and rode the school bus together. Back then, according to Kim, nobody hated Cho and he "was recognised by friends as a boy of knowledge ... a good dresser who was popular with the girls." Cho kept a distance from others because he chose to do so. Kim added that "I only have good memories about him."

Behavior in middle school and high school

Cho attended secondary schools in Fairfax County, including Stone Middle School in Centreville and Westfield High School in Chantilly.

In middle school and high school, Cho was teased and picked on for his shyness and unusual speech patterns. Some classmates even offered dollar bills to Cho just to hear him talk. According to Chris Davids, a high school classmate in Cho's English class at Westfield High School, Cho looked down and refused to speak when called upon. Davids added that, after one teacher threatened to give Cho a failing grade for not participating in class, Cho began reading in a strange, deep voice that sounded "like he had something in his mouth." "The whole class started laughing and pointing and saying, 'Go back to China.'" Another classmate, Stephanie Roberts, stated that "[t]here were just some people who were really cruel to him, and they would push him down and laugh at him. He didn't speak English really well, and they would really make fun of him." Cho was also teased as the "trombone kid" for his habit of walking to school alone with his trombone, other students recall crueler names and that most of the bullying was because he was so alone. Christopher Chomchird and Carmen Blandon, former classmates of Cho, stated that they heard rumors of a "hit list" of other students Cho wanted to kill. Blandon stated that she saw the "list" as a joke at the time. While several students recalled instances of Cho being teased and mocked at Westfield, most left him alone and were not aware of his anger. It is unknown if or how much his experience at Westfield contributed to his mental breakdown. Cho graduated from Westfield High School in 2003.

To address his problems, Cho's parents took him to church. Cho was bullied in his youth group, especially by "the rich kids." According to a pastor at Centreville Korean Presbyterian Church, Cho was an intelligent student who understood the Bible, but he was concerned about Cho’s difficulty in speaking to people. The pastor added that, until he saw the video that Cho sent to NBC News, he never saw him complete a sentence. The pastor also recalled that he told Cho's mother that he speculated Cho was a little autistic and he asked her to take him to a hospital, but she declined

 

 

In the following summary I will try to briefly explain some of the main themes that answer this question and how we can try to convince people to keep to the rules to ensure their own safety and that of those around them.

Rules

Human behaviour is largely constrained by the rules that govern particular situations and environments. We are constantly obliged to behave in a particular way, or to avoid certain behaviours. These rules may be formal regulations such as laws, or they may be informal rules of 'social etiquette', which are not written down but are implicit within the situation itself.

'Moral' rules exist to safeguard our own welfare, and the welfare and the rights of other people around us, whereas others, 'social-conventional' rules, merely exist in order that our system can continue to operate with as little conflict as possible. This fundamental distinction concerns the perceived consequences of rule violations for other people; why does a particular rule exist? We must differentiate here between moral rules and social-conventional rules (eg: Smetana, 1981). Transgressions of moral rules result in direct infringements of people's rights and welfare. For example, we have formal laws forbidding assault and theft, and informal rules about not cheating on one's partner or shouting unwarranted verbal insults. Social-conventional transgressions are considered to be less serious. They violate the arbitrary and agreed-upon conventions that co-ordinate the behaviour of individuals within social systems; for example, failing to make a tax return, TV licence evasion or talking to yourself in public places. There is strong evidence (eg: Smetana, 1985) that children are able to distinguish between these types of transgression from an early age and throughout early adulthood, and that moral transgressions are considered far more serious than infringements of social-conventional rules.

In general, moral transgressions trigger one of the 'moral emotions'; guilt, shame, remorse or empathy (eg: Blair, 1995). These emotions act as internal 'cues' to prevent future transgressions. Social-conventional transgressions do not directly initiate these internal emotional cues, but depend on the threat of legal punishment or social disapproval to maintain appropriate behaviour.

In general, if people adhere to the rules, then any system will work smoothly, every individual will co-operate with one another, and everyone's welfare will be ensured. After all, this is why the rules exist. However, people don't always keep to the rules. 'Accidents' happen, generally because a rule has been broken somewhere along the line. Breaking a rule reduces the safety margins that rules inherently provide, and increases the likelihood of an 'accident'. Frequently this rule-breaking behaviour is not the result of a deliberate act, but is committed without conscious intent. What causes this behaviour, and how can it be prevented?

Attitudes vs behaviour

Attitudes have generally been considered as 'steering' behaviour in some fairly concrete way. Traditionally, it is thought that if you change someone's attitudes, then their behaviour will also change to fall in line with those changes. However, although there is evidence showing that this approach can work (eg: Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), it has been suggested that it is not often the case, and even when it is, those changes in behaviour are not as great as one would expect (Howarth, 1988). In addition, there is a problem in measuring attitudes - the attitudes that an individual claims to support are only true at the moment that they are requested. A large number of factors will affect those stated attitudes. Consider a Fire Officer asking a youth about their attitude towards smoking in bed, after they have just attended a talk on the dangers of domestic fires. Can we assume that this measure is accurate and likely to predict behaviour? It is unlikely, and although this is an extreme example, the same effects can be seen whenever a measure of attitude is taken.

Habits

An attitude is essentially a 'behavioural intention'; how we would like to behave at the time that we are asked. The trouble is that there are a huge variety of things that stop us from behaving in the way we say we would like to behave. One of the strongest influences is habit (Ronis, Yates & Kirscht, 1989; Ouellette & Woods, 1998); how we have always behaved in the past when a particular set of circumstances has arisen. We may think that smoking in bed after a few beers is potentially dangerous, but if that is what we have always done when we get home from a night out, then we will continue to do so regardless. Throughout our lives, habits form the strongest basis for predicting behaviour (see Verplanken & Aarts, in press).

Why do habits form?

Humans have only a limited cognitive capacity (Miller, 1956); we can only think about a certain number of things at a time. The less thought that goes into our day-to-day lives, the better. As a result of this, we have adapted the way in which we use this finite capacity. Habits enable us to deal with situations that we have encountered before (and possibly had to think about quite carefully), without expending too much of that precious cognitive capacity. We don't have to think particularly hard about what we are doing; we don't have to pay too much attention to our environment or to our actions. We can think about other, more important things, while still being able to live our day-to-day lives.

How do habits form?

Over a period of time, we learn to behave in a particular way when we encounter a set of circumstances that we recognise. There is evidence that suggests that habits start off as 'implementation intentions' (Gollwitzer, 1993), or decisions that state, "when X happens, I will do Y". For example, "When I have got home from a night out, got undressed and into bed, and before I turn the light out, I will smoke a cigarette", or "When I get home from work, I will slump in front of the TV all evening or go to the gym or take my wife and kids to the cinema". These implementation intentions are likely to be strongly influenced by our personality, as it is our personality traits that dictate how we perceive the world around us and how we react to the things that we experience. This is particularly true of habits that involve rule-breaking behaviour.

The effects of personality

To the majority of the population, the transgression of a rule generally has an implicit aversiveness that prohibits acts of rule violation (Lykken, 1995). We don't break rules because it 'doesn't feel right' to do so. Some elements of personality can determine whether we will break rules or not, particularly when the moral/social-conventional distinction is taken into consideration (Burgess, 1996).

We all have urges to do certain things, to behave in a particular way that might involve breaking rules. The personality characteristics that determine these urges would predict behaviour very well if no rules existed to constrain our behaviour - the situation involves no rules, there is nobody to get hurt and no price to pay for rule transgressions. If we are certain that there will be none of these negative consequences, we might engage in the kind of behaviour modern society considers to be antisocial and illegal.

Assuming that an individual has the urge to behave in such a way, this is where a second set of personality characteristics becomes important. These traits will determine how likely an individual is to consider themselves bound by the rules. Some people will follow the rules to the letter, some will follow only those rules that they consider legitimate and justified, and a very small proportion will not abide by any rule that prevents them from achieving their goals. Using pen-and-paper personality scales it is possible to predict, with a fair degree of accuracy, how an individual will perceive the rules and how likely they will be to abide by them.

However, all this assumes that we are conscious of the rule-breaking behaviours that we are engaging in, and are able to think logically and rationally about it. The trouble is that the existence of a habit will prevent this logical, rational process from taking place. Simply recognising certain elements of our environment will trigger our habitual response and we won't think about our subsequent behaviour any further.

Habits can become established quite early in life and, as described earlier, personality characteristics may have a large part to play in determining the nature of these habits. However, certain elements of personality change as we get older, especially those elements that determine our drives and urges. Once a habit is established it will determine our behaviour, even though the initial motivations for that behaviour may no longer exist. The fact that the behaviour is 'automatic' means that even if we are breaking rules, we can largely ignore those transgressions because we are no longer 'in control' of those behaviours.

What effects do habits have?

One of the fundamental reasons that we develop these habits is to reduce the amount of information in our environment that we need to attend to in order to decide how to behave. As a result, we are able to do more things, or more complex things, and most of the time we can do them successfully. However, we tend to generalise the circumstances in which we engage in these habitual behaviours. In other words, we miss things in the environment, 'external cues', that might tell us that the habitual behaviour is not appropriate in that specific set of circumstances. In addition, the behaviours we engage in become less complex and varied, as we ignore the 'fine detail' of situations and as a result end up with a limited number of rigid patterns of behaviour that are resistant to change. This increases the likelihood that the behaviour we choose will be inappropriate, simply because we are not taking all of the environmental and situational information into account before we act.

'Mind-sets'

It is likely that we will establish a collection of habitual responses to a variety elements in the environment. We can describe this set of habits as a 'mind-set' (Gollwitzer, 1993, 1996). This mind-set will direct our conscious attention only towards particular types of relevant information in the environment. For example, when someone is considering a choice of goals, a 'deliberative' mind-set may be activated that comprises an open mind for new information and promotes relatively objective information processing - in other words, we are thinking; "How do I sort this one out then?". However, an 'implemental' mind-set will focus attention on particular information regarding where, when and how to act, and is characterised by closed-mindedness, or; "I know what to do - let's get on with it". Once a behavioural act is initiated, an 'actional' mind-set will focus the individual's attention exclusively on aspects of the self and environment that sustain that behaviour; in other words, they will be thinking something like, "This bit goes there, and then I do that". Recent research (Verplanken, Aarts, van Knippenberg, & Moonen, A.; 1998) has suggested that a habitual mind-set may enhance the perceptual readiness for habit-related cues, and prevent the individual from being distracted and adopting other, less efficient courses of action. This mind-set acts as a kind of enduring 'default' cognitive orientation that is inherently associated with the habitual behaviour, although it may be present all the time, and not only during the time that a habitual action is actually executed.

The upshot of all this is that when we find ourselves in a familiar environment, it is very likely that we will think and behave in a habitual, preordained way, without looking around us for unexpected elements of the environment. This will obviously leave us open to making errors of judgement in our behaviour, which may have serious consequences for our safety, and that of those around us.

How do we stop inappropriate habits from forming?

There is very little that can be done to persuade the small percentage of the population that will not abide by the rules regardless of the consequences. However, some rules are broken by a large proportion of the population, due to the way in which those rules are commonly perceived. The rules' legitimacy and the justification for abiding by those rules should be emphasised in the strongest possible way. Highlighting the negative consequences for other people ('moral' basis for the rules) will reinforce this justification, and make compliance more likely. It is important to emphasise other people's rights and welfare, because otherwise it is only the individual's personal safety that is at risk. Personal safety is inherently nobody else's business but our own, and therefore if someone imposes rules on us 'for our own safety', we are likely to feel patronised and ignore them. If someone wants to risk their own safety, then why shouldn't they? However, in threatening the welfare of other people, the rule transgression emerges from the 'personal' sphere into the 'public' sphere, thus becoming subject to the legitimate concerns of others (see Verkuyten, 1992; Verkuyten, Roodpijpers, Elffers & Hessing, 1994). Emphasising the effects of particular rule transgressions on others makes those transgressions more aversive, and therefore less likely.

Because habits are formed fairly quickly as a result of experience of a particular environment or set of circumstances, it is important to introduce the moral justification for the relevant rules from the moment the individual enters the new environment or experiences the new set of circumstances for the first time. In the majority of cases, this means as early as possible in the life of the individual.

How can we change existing habits?

Again, by emphasising the moral justification of particular rules we can make compliance more likely. Furthermore, we can counteract the effects of the mind-set by deliberately drawing attention towards elements of the environment that might otherwise have been considered irrelevant and ignored. Drawing attention to specific safety-related elements can counteract the deficiencies in our cognitive capacity by providing the basis for new, safer habits. After a time, these habits will require no more conscious attention than the inappropriate ones, but will reduce the likelihood that rules will be broken and consequently reduce the risk to the individual.

Obviously the specifics of each rule and situation will dictate exactly how this is achieved, but the theme is consistent. People ignore vital information in the environment which, if taken into consideration, could cause them to question their habitual responses. Given a strong enough argument in favour of change, reminders in the environment and perhaps some form of additional incentive, people's inappropriate habits can be changed, and more appropriate behaviours take their place.

Cris Burgess BSc (Hons) MSc : School of Psychology:University of Exeter

References

Blair, R.J. (1995) A cognitive developmental approach to morality: Investigating the psychopath. Cognition, 57, 1-29.

Burgess, C.N.W. (1996) Identifying the Wilful Traffic Offender Unpublished MSc dissertation, University of Exeter.

Fishbein, M. & Ajzen, I. (1975) Belief, attitude, intention and behaviour: an introduction to theory and research. Addison-Wesley: Reading, Mass., US.

Gollwitzer, P.M. (1993) Goal achievement: the role of intentions. European Review of Social Psychology, 4, 141-185.

Gollwitzer, P.M. (1996) The volitional benefits of planning. In P.M.Gollwitzer & J.A.Bargh (Eds) The psychology of action: Linking cognition and motivation to behaviour. Guilford: London

Howarth, C.I. (1988) The relationship between objective risk, subjective risk and behaviour. Ergonomics, 31, 4, 527-535.

Lykken, D.T. (1995) The antisocial personalities. Lawrence Erlbaum: Hillsdale, NJ, US.

Miller, G.A. (1956) The magic number seven, plus or minus two: some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81-93.

Ouellette, J.A. & Woods, W. (1998) Habit and intention in everyday life: the multiple processes by which past behaviour predicts future behaviour. Psychological Bulletin, 124, 54-74.

Ronis, D.L., Yates, J.F., & Kirscht, J.P. (1989) Attitudes, decisions and habits as determinants of repeated behaviour. In A.R.Pratkanis, S.J.Breckler, and A.G.Greenwald (Eds.) Attitude structure and function. Hillsdale, New Jersey, US: Erlbaum.

Smetana, J. (1981) Pre-school children's conceptions of moral and social rules. Child Development. 52, 1333-1336.

Smetana, J. (1985) Children's impressions of moral and conventional transgressors. Developmental Psychology. 21, 715-724.

Verkuyten, M. (1992) Why do people follow (formal) rules? Some social psychological notions. Unpublished manuscript.

Verkuyten M., Roodpijpers E., Elffers H., Hessing D.J. (1994) Rules for breaking formal rules - social representations and everyday rule-governed behaviour. Journal of Psychology, Vol.128, No.5, Pp.485-497

Verplanken, B., Aarts, H., van Knippenberg, A., & Moonen, A. (1998) Habit versus planned behaviour: A field experiment. British Journal of Social Psychology. 37, 111-128.

Verplanken, B., & Aarts, H. (in press) Habit, attitude and planned behaviour: Is habit an empty construct or an interesting case of goal-directed automaticity? In press: European Journal of Social Psychology. 10.

Webley P., Verkuyten M., Hessing D.J., Elffers H. (1998) Studies on minimal rule behaviour: Formal rules in public places. Psychology Crime & Law, Vol.4, No.4, pp.309-321