In many movies there comes a point where the hero has to do something crazy. It has almost no chance to work! Why is he or she doing it? Well, there is no choice. If we don’t, everyone in the world, plane, building, or whatever is going to die. Often, the hero is arguing with a skeptic, but the skeptic gives in, and they go for it. It can’t get any worse. What other choice do we have?
As behavior analysts, we also tend to think that we can save the world, but we are taking a long view. By saving the world, we mean things like having an impact on climate change. I have been a professional behavior analyst for 25 years, and in my professional career, I have never faced a situation that where I had to do anything to save the world – at least not anything that required urgent and dramatic action.
But I have frequently used and faced end of the world logic:
“There are 200 aggressions per day, it can’t get any worse.”
“The school district said no to a 1-1, there is nothing else we can do.”
“We need to use X procedure. There is no other choice”
End of the world logic goes like this: There is crisis, and due to this crisis, we have no choice but to do (insert something risky and dramatic here).
In the heat of a meeting, stressful emergency situation, or other pressure, it is easy to fall victim to end of the world logic. We need to realize that end of the world logic is always wrong. Listen for it in difficult situations and it almost always appears.
End of the world logic seems convincing. We’ve seen it a thousand times in the movies. When you hear EOTW logic, it should be a signal to slow down, think, call a mentor, or review the research literature. Poogi is always possible.
Maybe the solution proposed is a good one. Maybe not. But don’t accept EOTW logic as the reason for doing it.