Coercion and Its Fallout (Revised Edition) [Paperback]

Murray Sidman (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1888830018 | ISBN-13: 978-1888830019 | Publication Date: December 1, 2000 | Edition: Revised

Do you use Coercion? No? When you have finished this book, you are going to be very surprised; you are going to know some things about yourself that you never knew before. We use coercion almost exclusively to control each other; many find it hard to imagine any other way. The author asks, Does the death penalty deter potential murderers? Is harsh retaliation the answer to the discipline problem in our schools? Do the standard coercive practices work? - in law enforcement, behavior therapy, education, the family, business, the armed forces, diplomacy. Behavior analysis has shown that they do not work. Coercion is in the long run self-defeating. Punishment eventually proves counterproductive. Sidman presents a rational discussion of matters in which emotions usually run strong. He proposes that what we have learned in the laboratory can provide guides both for personal conduct and public policy

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Authors Cooperative; Revised edition (December 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888830018
• ISBN-13: 978-1888830019
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #117,880 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, exciting and urges the reader to reflect, June 28, 2000

By 

Gunilla Melkersson (Upplands Väsby, Sweden) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Coercion and Its Fallout (Hardcover)

This book is too good not to have a review, so here it comes. It containes a great amount of information about positive reinforcement vs punishment, how these two principles effect laboratory rats as well as us humans, like students, criminals, children, employees, soldiers. It even explains how the Nazis were able to control the Jews in the concentration camps.

If you struggle with these questions, either from a philosophical point of view or in real life, for example when bringing up your child (or even your dog!)or trying to make your employees work harder - this is a great book for you. To me it's as exciting as a good novel. It's not hard to read, but contains so much information that you can't digest it all at once. It's a book to go back to many times.

But the best thing about this book is that, without delivering all the final answers, it makes you think about the frequent use of coercion and punishment in the human society and if there are better ways.

Another book much in the same spirit is Karen Pryors "Don't shoot the dog", also highly recommended.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent discussion of aversives, and why not to use them, February 3, 2002

By 

Bobby Newman (Long Beach, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coercion and Its Fallout (Hardcover)

Murray Sidman is undoubtedly one of the most influencial of the applied behavior analysts. In Coercion and its Fallout, he provides the most in-depth discussion yet regarding the unanticipated and unfortunate side effects of the use of aversive stimuli (punishers). While I might have a bit of a disagreement with him regarding the way punishers are defined (not in terms of the stimuli's effect on behavior), the arguments are persuasive. This is a must read for anyone designing behavior change procedures.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Priceless Knowledge, April 30, 2010

By 

W. E. Baehr "whipperin1" (Nomadic, From Sea to Shining Sea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Coercion and Its Fallout (Revised Edition) (Paperback)

If you want to get the very best knowledge ever about behavior, human or animal, that you can possibly find in one succinct book, you have found the goldmine. Yes, you can get this book much cheaper, you can buy this book for $25.00 at the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. The knowledge contained in this book is worth trillions; it's worth the future of mankind. You can learn more from this one book than you will learn in lifetimes of college, business or life. Everyone should read this book; it's a lifesaver.