Conditioning

What is Conditioning?

Conditioning is a process of behavior modification by which a subject comes to associate a desired behavior with a previously unrelated stimulus. It's doing things to encourage behaviors you want and discouraging those you don't.


We do this to people around us every day in simple subtle ways.  A sigh, a specific facial expression, or a shift in tone can alter your partner's behavior even in a vanilla relationship.  Most people do this sub-consciously, so the idea of conditioning is to see what it is and begin to do it intentionally, purposefully. If used effectively you can fully change the way a person acts not just when they are with you but all the time. 

By the time a person reaches adulthood most people have developed their own style of responding to life's challenges.  They've also acquired quite a number of individual attitudes and beliefs.  Everyone responds differently so that there are no two identical personalities.  

The reason for these differences are moth due to nature and nurture... nature refers to influences already determined through birth.  Things that present themselves as a habitat that surround a person.  The nurture element includes 'conditioning' by those who aid in the persons growth through their life. 

There are two types of conditioning.... let's look at them now.

Classical Conditioning 

Even if you've not taken any psychology courses I'm sure you've most likely at least heard about Pavlov's dogs.  In his famous experiment he noticed dogs began to salivate in response to a tone after the sound had been repeatedly paired with the presentation of food.   He quickly realized that this was a learned response and began studying the conditioning process.  Classical conditioning involves pairing a previously neutral stimulus (sound of a bell) with that of an unconditioned stimulus (taste of food).  This unconditioned stimulus naturally and automatically triggers salivating as a response to the food. 

After associating this neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus the unconditioned can be removed yet the intended behavior modification still exists becoming a conditioned response.( ie remove the meat and the dog still salivates when the bell is rung.)

Operant conditioning

Operant conditioning's focus is on increasing or decreasing a behavior using either reinforcement or punishment.  Through this process an association is formed between the behavior and the consequences for that behavor.  For example, say I want to teach slave to bring in the newspaper every morning.  When he does this successfully he receives praise and a reward such as a pat on the cheek or kiss. When he fails to retreive the paper praise is withheld.  Eventually slave forms an association between his behavior of getting the paper and receiving the desired reward.  

A simple way to remember the difference in classical and operant conditioning is to focus on whether the behavir is involuntary or voluntary.  Classical conditioning involves making an association between an involuntary response and a stimulus.  Operant conditioning is about making an association between an involuntary behavior and a consequence. 
Operant conditioning is rewarded with incentives while classical doesn't involve such enticements.  Also, classical conditioning is passive on the part of the learner while operant conditioning requires the learner to actively participate and perform some time of action in order to be rewarded or punished.

Now, as a Mistress I take this knowledge of psychology and learning theory to apply it in the context of the M/s.  But be forewarned that negotiating and receiving consent is absolutely necessary.  Meddling with a person's personality is possibly the most extreme form of power exchange and in ethical BDSM practices we always get consent first... Always.


On a side note I want to say that conditioning is not at all brainwashing.  Brainwashing is a whole different system.  It may include conditioning as part of it's process but it also includes mind altering psychotropic chemicals, electroshock therapies, hypno-therapies, etc....The end result is a person who will do anything including self destruction upon the orders of another.