The topic of controlling behavior is an issue found in the DMM, but is it a central organizing concept? In the higher DMM attachment C-strategies, a top level term is obsessive coercion. In domestic violence theory, there is growing awareness of coercive control as a top level concept. DMM science identifies a list of coercive conduct which includes all the usual descriptions of DV coercive control, but of course goes into much more detail.
But top level terms for the higher DMM A-strategies involve compulsive prosocial conduct, such as caregiving, attention, compliance, and performance.
That begs a question. What does control look like in the DMM A-strategies? Does DMM literature provide a clear direction to think about this, or does it take some work to tease it out? Certainly, DMM science has identified control and angry outbursts in the concept of intrusions of forbidden negative affect. Coded as [ifna], these are described as occurring only or primarily in the A5-8 patterns, and involve rather extreme transformations of information where the emotional explosion is virtually impossible to recall or admit.
In this DMM Coffee House session, we will explore controlling conduct in the attachment A-strategies. What does A-control look like beyond an intrusion of forbidden negative affect.
Dismissive control
Apples to apples, is dismissive control a useful term to describe A-control, adn to compare to coercive control?
We’ll look at a real world case where a Chief Judge was gently invited to a conversation about problems from a lack of experience in the judicial officers he was responsible for. The Chief Judge’s response was an aggressive campaign to dismiss the topic and the person asking the question. The Chief Judge’s conduct was extreme, involved a consistent pattern of shutting down the topic, in part with false and made up facts, and had the effect of an attempt at existential dismissal. Was this an example of dismissive control?
Session details
Date and time: Tuesday, 2 July 2024. 9:00 a.m. in Seattle; noon in Miami; 5:00 p.m. in London
Host: Mark Baumann will initiate the topic discussion
Cost: Free, as always
Invitees: Any DMM Group Talk member, and by invitation
Recording: This session will not be recorded, to facilitate free and open discussion
To register: Contact us for a Zoom link.