How do you get someone to do what needs to be done with the minimal of authoritative command?
Vector of Command
This is an issue of the vector of desire (direction and strength) and the vector of need (direction and thrust). The vector of command is simply the difference between those two that will be added by the authority to the vector of desire (already present in the person) in order to accomplish the needed thrust in the needed direction.
So to find the difference in vectors, one simply subtracts the components of the vector of desire from the vector of need. And the result is the appropriate command vector to be applied.
In the simple case of a single desire directly opposed to a need, the appropriate command vector is simply the opposite of the desire with a thrust sufficient to cause the need. If a child wants to crawl to the left but the need is to crawl to the right, the appropriate command vector is enough pressure to cause crawling to the right, no more nor less. And although it doesn’t take a scientist to know such a thing (just about every mother does it instinctively), it is a very relevant and often overlooked concern.
Inappropriate Vector
When too much pressure is applied against an incumbent desire such as to be perceived as seriously threatening, a trauma can easily form as a particle in the emotional mind that rarely goes away. Traumas are a particular problem because they do not simple dis-inspire action toward a single direction, but inspire confused, somewhat random, action in every other direction, “associative fear”.
The problem with knowing how much command to apply is one of measuring both the influence of the command as well as the state of the individual. The influence of an action concerning any living entity is an issue of the Perception of Hope and Threat, “PHT”, not a presumed objective reality. During the 50-60’s a great deal of USA children were infected with neurological diseases that caused them to have what is today called “ADHD”, “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” and varied degrees of autism, psychological and psychiatric disorders.
Parents, being unaware of the state of their children would freely use common and normally acceptable punishment techniques to correct minor misbehaviors, such as yelling and/or spanking. Because they didn’t realize the heightened sensitivity in their children, they often caused lifelong traumas in their children, further complicating learning ability issues and misbehavior.
A very large part of Western society today is what it is due to inappropriate magnitude of vectors of command by parents, teachers, other children, police, and media. And by the 1070’s, the effort to repair the problem gave way to merely dealing with it, “if you can’t fix the problem, deal with it”. Chaos was not merely accepted, but embraced and inspired so that higher goals could be reached without worrying about individuals. Artificial traumas and catharses were induced as a means to ensure chaotic disorder. Most of you reading this are the resultant victims of that era either directly or indirectly.
Often, rather than the magnitude being inappropriate, it was/is the direction of command that is inappropriate. At times, by applying pressure to the right, a person will go to the left or any direction other than the right. Again it is an issue of being aware of the state of the child and the degree of influence being applied.
Appropriate Vector
On the brighter side, by applying the appropriate minimal vector of command, a team effort or functional social group can be formed and be very stable with very little, almost undetectable authoritative command. By carefully applying the right degree of pressure in the right directions, desires and needs become aligned, all but removing any need for authoritative command.
But as always, being aware of the state of each individual is crucial and gaining that awareness is actually a part of the equation for determining the vector of command. And with expert design, a communal particle can be formed that never dies out (a Social Anentropic Molecule, “SAM”). The key is to be sure to apply only the amount of pressure necessary to obtain the needed goal. And to do that, one must be aware of how much is too much and too little. If one is not aware, one should not presume authority.
This subject can get extremely technical and mathematically precise but I just wanted to introduce a little of the mathematics and science in today’s psychology.