Communal reinforcement is a
social phenomenon
Social phenomena or social phenomenon (singular) are any behaviours, actions, or events that takes place because of social influence, including from contemporary as well as historical societal influences. They are often a result of multifaceted pro ...
in which a concept or idea is repeatedly asserted in a
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
, regardless of whether sufficient
empirical evidence
Empirical evidence is evidence obtained through sense experience or experimental procedure. It is of central importance to the sciences and plays a role in various other fields, like epistemology and law.
There is no general agreement on how the ...
has been presented to support it. Over time, the concept or idea is reinforced to become a strong
belief
A belief is a subjective Attitude (psychology), attitude that something is truth, true or a State of affairs (philosophy), state of affairs is the case. A subjective attitude is a mental state of having some Life stance, stance, take, or opinion ...
in many people's minds, and may be regarded by the members of the community as fact. Often, the concept or idea may be further reinforced by publications in the
mass media
Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication.
Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...
,
books
A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...
, or other means of communication. The phrase "millions of people can't all be wrong" is indicative of the common tendency to accept a communally reinforced idea without question, which often aids in the widespread acceptance of
factoids
A factoid is either a false statement presented as a fact, ''or'' a true but brief or trivial item of news or information.
The term was coined in 1973 by American writer Norman Mailer to mean a piece of information that becomes accepted as a fac ...
. A very similar term to this term is community-reinforcement, which is a
behavioral
Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions of individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as well as the inanimate p ...
method to stop drug addiction.
In addiction treatment
The community-reinforcement approach (CRA) is a
behaviourist alcoholism
Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...
treatment approach that aims to achieve abstinence by eliminating
positive reinforcement
Positive is a property of positivity and may refer to:
Mathematics and science
* Positive formula, a logical formula not containing negation
* Positive number, a number that is greater than 0
* Plus sign, the sign "+" used to indicate a posit ...
for drinking and enhancing positive reinforcement for sobriety. CRA integrates several treatment components, including building the client's motivation to quit drinking, helping the client initiate sobriety, analyzing the client's drinking pattern, increasing positive reinforcement, learning new coping behaviors, and involving significant others in the recovery process. These components can be adjusted to the individual client's needs to achieve optimal treatment outcome. In addition, treatment outcome can be influenced by factors such as therapist style and initial treatment intensity. Several studies have provided evidence for CRA's effectiveness in achieving abstinence. Furthermore, CRA has been successfully integrated with a variety of other treatment approaches, such as family therapy and motivational interviewing, and has been tested in the treatment of other drug abuse.
Community reinforcement and family training (CRAFT) is an adaptation of CRA that is aimed at giving the Concerned Significant Others (CSOs) of alcoholics skills to help them get the alcoholic into treatment.
In other applications
In
Chris E. Stout's book ''The Psychology of Terrorism: Theoretical Understandings and Perspective'', Stout explains how community reinforcement is present in the psychotic state of
terrorists. "The individual would feel less charged, validated, courageous, sanctified, and zealous, and would feel exposed as an individual." It is believed that the group mentality of a
terrorist organization solidifies the mission of the group through communal reinforcement. Members are more likely to stay dedicated and follow through with the event of terror if they receive support from fellow terrorist members. An individual might abandon the mission in terror, but with the reinforcement of his peers, a member is more likely to stay involved.
See also
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References
{{Conspiracy theories
Belief
Community
Conformity
Group processes
Social phenomena