[Selenay]

Originally Posted by evolveme

I like the way that you're thinking (usually do; you know this) and while I see the validity of your point here, it's also true that repeated behaviors (good, bad or otherwise) can create neuron pathways in the brain, leading to automatic behavior (as opposed to in-the-moment creative behavior). It's fascinating that our brains can literally be changed by our behaviors, yeah? I'm not necessarily suggesting that the choice to cut class every Monday could become an example of such a brain change toward auto-pilot behavior, but I do believe that regularly chosen poor behaviors (and corresponding attitudes) can be.

What do you know of Exchange Theory? One of the criticisms of that paradigm is that for it to be entirely plausible, we would have to weigh the benefits of every single action we do--and some don't believe it's possible to do that. Others believe that when you make decisions on a frequent enough basis that you unconsciously make a decision based on your experiences. So yes, I understand your belief that the neural paths are branded by our common behaviors, but I cannot believe that any teenager could have made the decision to step on the rights of others enough time to create a new pathway contrasting what they (theoretically) have been taught about right and wrong; I think that takes more than eight years of conscious decisionmaking.