145 Meaning Influences Behavior

Meaning: “conveying a significance that is not directly expressed . . .”

Personal Finding #4: Meaning influences behavior, emotion, and will (commitment).

Definition: Behavior— from the verb behave—“to act in a particular way that expresses general character, state of mind, or response to a situation or other people (Encarta).”

Broadly speaking, meaning-making, like the simple pebble cast in a pond, spreads wide ripples throughout individual behavior and group behavior.

For one, meaning can distort or clarify situations, relationships and communication. Consider how two people can, by the exchange of a minimum of words, quickly determine what means what to whom. Consider how such evaluation can tip the scale of the relationship from the comfortable range to the uncomfortable range, or vice versa. Consider how such an evaluation can forecast good or ill in ever making any headway in reasonable discussion. Ripples! Ripples! Ripples! Imagine the ripples when this same scenario is repeated between friendly or opposing nations!

But that’s not all, meaning-making can fashion behavior specifically by establishing or altering life choices, time allocation, work, study, personal goals and recreational habits, to name but a few. There are only 24 hours in a day. Hours I give to God daily cannot be used for other purposes at the same time. Those hours will influence my life choices, have already influenced my time allocation, will influence what kind of work I am willing and able to do and how well I will perform that job. Investment in those hours will influence what else will interest me in life and what I would like to see come of my life. It will influence how much and how I will use leisure time, and so on.

Meaning-making can also influence interpersonal emotional connections, and in that way, can separate or unite family, neighbors, peoples and nations, man and God. Emotion is very poorly understood (the meaning and function of emotion is poorly grasped) in any general way among human beings. Most people just “do” emotions as they come to them, accepting their feelings as some kind of register of truth. Unfortunately, as we have seen in blogs past, because of distortions in emotional fabric from convoluted meaning-making, feelings can routinely misrepresent the truth. For example, one person may righteously endorse physical punishment as a method of control. Another person may indignantly object to such a method. In this example, what might work on an individual level (physical aggression) could create a climate of repression and terror in a public situation—one need look no farther than the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, People’s Republic of China, 1989, for a snapshot of that.

Finally, meaning-Making can result in valuable or destructive intentions and initiatives. Individuals with convoluted meanings motivating them can give birth to cults. Nations with convoluted meaning-making preferences can promote behaviors totally unacceptable in diverse and civilized international relationships, leading to the havoc of war. Conversely, individuals with valuable understandings can inspire people world-wide—take Mother Teresa for instance. Nations standing on meanings based on respect for others make great allies. One need look no further than Great Britain’s support of America for proof of that.

I always loved the Broadway song “Brotherhood of Man,” Gentle Reader. The lyrics are from the Broadway Musical “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying,” 1961. The lyrics combine with a rousing tune and proclaim the following: “There is a brotherhood of man, a benevolent brotherhood of man, a noble tie that binds all human hearts and minds into one brotherhood of man. Your life-long membership is free. Keep a-giving each brother all you can. Oh, aren’t you proud to be in that fraternity, the great big brotherhood of man?”

Well, I have called your attention to this particular lyric just to show you how meaning by way of song even, can have lasting influence, in this case lasting inspiration. At least it certainly does for me. I have remembered this song all my life as a worthy meaning-in-life song. Not incidentally, “How to Succeed. . .” ran for 1,417 performances, won 7 Tony Awards, the New York Drama Critics Award and the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. And a new revival is scheduled for March 2011.

But I digress, Gentle Reader. What is truly important here is that meaning-making, rich as it is in emotion and purpose, can and will color opinion, attitude and behavior patterns and practices. It can ruin lives or preserve, protect and promote them. It actually can increase personal satisfaction and happiness or result in seemingly endless torment. The range is great.

Meaning-making is a significant activity, Gentle Reader, one that assuredly can and will elevate or debase both thinking and behavior.

Meaning matters!

To be continued . . .