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Behavior Modification

As a teacher a large part of my job involves behavior modification, rewarding useful study habits and not rewarding useless ones. We don't talk about it much but I am aware how much I try to modify the behavior of my colleagues and superiors, and how they try to do the same with me. This is not evil; it is how we advance our priorities. 

In academia we (truly or otherwise) tell ourselves that we achieve this through making arguments with merit based on research. We are also part of an organization with superiors and occasionally subordinates, where we attempt to modify behavior, nominally in support of the institution's mission.

We are human and all fall short of the ideal. I am often wrong but having nothing else to work with I base my goals on my sense of what's right in attempting to modify the behavior of others.

Every now and then I run into a colleague who does not think in these terms. They tend to be less successful. I think the key is to face it head on as part of living in a community.

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