Discipline-Based Literature Review: topic of choice Operant and classical conditioning

The IUP Journal of English Studies • Vol. XIV, No. 1, 201926

The Traits of Reciprocal Determinism in Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk

Justy Joseph* and B Padmanabhan**

© 2019 IUP. All Rights Reserved.

* Research Scholar, Department of English and Foreign Languages, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore - 641046, Tamil Nadu, India. Email: [email protected].

* * Assistant Professor, Department of English and Foreign Languages, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore - 641046, Tamil Nadu, India. Email: [email protected].

Introduction Understanding human behavior is likely never to become a reality. Behavioral sciences attempt an investigation of human and animal behavior through controlled and naturalistic observation. There were studies conducted regarding the determining factors of human thoughts and actions. Thus the philosophical idea “determinism” gained importance in behavioral studies. Determinism is the philosophical position that for every event, including human interactions, there exist conditions that could cause no other event. The roots of the notion of determinism surely lie in a very common philosophical idea of sufficient reason “that everything can, in principle, be explained, or that everything that is, has a sufficient reason for being and being as it is, and not otherwise” (Hoefer 2016).

Reciprocal determinism is a theory set forth by psychologist Albert Bandura (Bandura and Walters 1963). When two events influence each other simultaneously, it causes

Determinism is the philosophical position that for every event, including human interactions, there exist conditions that could cause no other event. Albert Bandura, through his idea of reciprocal causation, accepts the chances of a person’s behavior being conditioned. Keith E Rice suggests that reciprocal determinism considers how what we do and who we spend time with—our behavior—impacts upon and changes the life conditions in the environment we experience and how we respond cognitively and emotionally, and possibly psychologically too, as a person to the environmental feedback we then receive. This paper attempts a study of Helen Macdonald’s heart-wrenching, talon-sharp memoir H Is for Hawk based on reciprocal determinism and triadic reciprocal causation.

27The Traits of Reciprocal Determinism in Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk

reciprocal causation. Bandura here accepts the chances of a person’s behavior being conditioned. Reciprocal determinism is based on the transforming of an individual’s behavior by cognitive processes and external social stimulus. “Triadic reciprocal causation” is a term introduced by Bandura to refer to the ascendancy of three sets of factors (Figure 1):

1. Personal Factors

a. Cognitive events (memory, anticipation, planning and judging)

b. Affective events

c. Biological events

2. Environment

a. Physical surroundings

b. Family and friends

c. Social influences

3. Behavior

a. Motor responses

b. Verbal responses

c. Social interactions

Rice (2016) suggests that reciprocal determinism considers how what we do and who we spend time with—our behavior—impacts upon and changes the life conditions in the environment we experience and how we respond cognitively and emotionally, and possibly psychologically too, as a person to the environmental feedback we then receive. This paper is a study of Helen Macdonald’s heart-wrenching, talon-sharp memoir H Is for

Figure 1: Triadic Reciprocal Causation

Behavior

Environment Personal

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Hawk based on reciprocal determinism and triadic reciprocal causation. The book is a kind of weird mixture of how the author deals with the sudden death of her father by training a notoriously difficult species of hawk. The book also includes a mini-biography of T H White.

Mutual Influence of Environment and Frequency of Behavior

Physical Setting on Motor Responses and Vice Versa

Physical settings affect our actions positively, negatively, or not at all. Being aware of the physical environment and its impact can help us create new areas or redesign the existing to meet our needs. Motor responses are voluntary movement response to stimuli, which may be internal or external. In H Is for Hawk, Helen accedes to the influence of physical setting on the motor responses saying, “Pieces of this place had disappeared since I was last here. . . . That morning I felt like the deer. I was in the grip of very old emotional ways of moving through a landscape, experiencing forms of attention and deportment beyond conscious control” (Macdonald 2014, 5).1 The narration here portrays how the behavior of Helen changes as she moves out of the comfort zone of Cambridge classrooms and libraries to the wilderness. Here, the environment shift (from Cambridge to the forest) affects the behavior (passive to attentive) of Helen. And the behavior (longing for isolation from human world) also affects the creation or the shift of the environment (Cambridge to the woods). Thus, behavior and environment are mutually coexisting factors.

Physical Setting on Verbal Responses and Vice Versa

Physical setting can be the primary source of mood, symbolism, or conflict. A person is often judged by his/her verbal responses at various environments. Mabel was irked by the shift in the terrain and Helen reacts to it voicing, “I hate him for upsetting my hawk – actually hate him, am outraged by his existence. . . . It’s her first time out of the house, and she’s still scared of people” (100). The shift of physical setting (from the closeness of a home to the openness of a road) affects the behavior (passive to aggressive) of the hawk and Helen as well. Hawk reacts to it through continuous bating and Helen responds verbally. But this environment shift is created by Helen herself. She was aware of the aftereffects of the shift in environment but was ready for an adventure.

Physical Setting on Social Interactions and Vice Versa

Physical setting assures one with security, shelter, social contact, task instrumentality, symbolic identification, pleasure, and growth. Social interaction, being the building block of a society, is an interaction between two or more individuals. The author in the due course of narration attempts to bring out the mutual regard of physical setting and social interactions. Revamping of the abode repeals Mable’s rapport with Helen. And she displays her joy saying, “I opened the curtains the next morning. The brightness of the room made me clearer, which concerned her for a while. . . . This room is not a dungeon and I am not a torturer. I am a beneficent figure, one who crouches and stoops in anxious genuflection,

1 Subsequent citations from this source include only the page numbers.

29The Traits of Reciprocal Determinism in Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk

bearing delicious treats of steak in my hand” (92). The shift in the nature of the physical setting (dungeon to bright) alters the aggressiveness of the hawk. It shows a wave of friendship with Helen and this even changes the attitude of Helen. The result is that Helen’s relation with the hawk as well as with her family and friends improves. Thus, it is evident that shift in the physical setting can result in shift in the pace of social interactions of an individual.

Social Factors on Motor Responses and Vice Versa

Social factors such as religion, family, or wealth are things that affect lifestyle; these dynamic processes tend to change overtime. The shift in the above factors can result in a sudden voluntary response. Operant conditioning and vicarious learning of T H White is portrayed by Macdonald thus: “It reminds me of a paper by the psychoanalyst D W Winnicott, the one about a child obsessed with a string. . . . For the boy, the string was a kind of wordless communication, a symbolic means of joining. It was a denial of separation” (49). Here, the social factors (being abandoned) result in the adaptation of a sudden defense mechanism (tying things with a thread). The social factor as well is worsened by the response of the boy. The boy accidently kills his sister and is thus left abandoned, which is worse than before.

Social Factors on Verbal Responses and Vice Versa

Social factors can influence a person’s personality, attitude, and lifestyle. The response given by an individual in oral or written form can be influenced by these changes. The author regards the bereavement as a personal event and articulates the pain thus:

Robbed. Seized. It happens to everyone. But you feel it alone. Shocking loss isn’t to be shared, no matter how hard you try. ‘Imagine,’ I said, back then, to some friends, in an earnest attempt to explain, ‘imagine your whole family is in a room. . . .’ I was puzzled by the pitying, horrified faces, because it didn’t strike me at all that an example that put my friends’ families in rooms and had them beaten might carry the tang of total lunacy. (13)

The fear of becoming socially insecure after her father’s death forces Helen to explain the pain she is undergoing then. But the response is not properly comprehended by the listeners. This increases the intensity of pain, insecurity, and alienation experienced by Helen. The verbal responses and social factors can thus mutually influence each other.

Social Factors on Social Responses and Vice Versa

Social factors which affect an individual can be facts or experiences, and they influence the ethical framework in which one reacts to the society. Helen narrates the insecurity she experiences after her father’s death, which alters her social responses as follows: “Kindness and love. I remember thinking ideally as I drove . . . the love was about my father and me” (57). Here, the loss of her father affects her interaction with the entire human community. The worsening of the social factors results in her seclusion from the society. The loss of love and kindness and identifying a single man as the embodiment of

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both breaks her trust in the rest of the world, and she shuts herself away from the world. The pain in turn increases in the self-imposed isolation. Thus, it can be presumed that social factors and social interactions are mutually influential.

Mutual Ascendancy of Personal Factors and Behavior Personal factors can cause a person to behave in challenging ways. Behavior does not evolve all of a sudden; it is related constantly to the past and also to the conditions in the present. Better understanding of an individual’s experiences is necessary for understanding his behavior.

Cognitive Factors

Cognitive factors refer to the characteristics of a person that affect performance and learning. Factors like memory, anticipation, planning, and judging are considered to be cognitive factors, and they serve to modulate performance in such a way that it may improve or decline.

Memory on Motor Responses and Vice Versa

Memory is the process by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. It can affect an individual’s sudden responses and vice versa. The usual sight of a mint in an ice-cream induces the memory of a cut in Helen’s father’s forearm. She says “Touched and bewildered that a waiter had thought that free cake and ice cream would comfort me, I looked at the cut at the end of the mint. It reminded me of something . . . farewells and was gone. The cut would not heal” (13). Memory here stimulates a motor response. And this motor response stimulates the memory lane. Helen is reminded of her father and these memories increase her pain. Thus, memory and motor responses are mutually influential.

Memory on Verbal Responses and Vice Versa

Memory is an associative mechanism which molds the personality of an individual, and human beings are judged through the verbal responses they produce. The mutual effect of memory and verbal responses is impersonated in the text in many instances. One such is where Helen retraces a childhood memory about her father as she writes, “He’d come home from work strangely disheartened one winter evening. We asked him what was wrong. ‘Did you see the sky today? . . . Remember you saw that. You’ll never see it again’” (71). Here the memory (childhood) results in verbal response (“Look up, look at that. Remember you saw that. You’ll never see it again”), and this verbal response affects the intensity of the memory. Thus, it can be implicated that memory and verbal responses are mutually influential.

Memory on Social Interactions and Vice Versa

Memory is not just a unitary process, but it is a result of social interactions and can affect the social interactions of an individual. In H Is for Hawk, memory functions as an extraordinary factor influencing the thought process of Helen. She says, “But for all his demonstrations of bravado and skill, Mr. White . . . was terribly afraid. . . . Because I am

31The Traits of Reciprocal Determinism in Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk

afraid of things, of being hurt, and death, I have to attempt them” (36). The memories of a horrible childhood force Mr. White to withdraw from social interactions and leave him afraid of things, of being hurt, and death, and these memories are a result of his previous social encounters.

Anticipation on Motor Responses and Vice Versa

Excitement is generated about something which is about to happen due to recollection of something that happened in the past. It is the remembrance of similar incidents in the past that leads to the arousal of anticipation reactions, and anticipation results in the remembrance of past. Helen identifies herself with the hawk. Her apprehension to be in unison with Mable is narrated as follows: “The hawk was everything I wanted to be: solitary, self-possessed, free from grief, and numb to the hurts of human life . . . my not being myself” (85). The expectation of the author (to attain the qualities of the hawk) results in the immediate response. And this response decreases the anticipation of the author. Thus, anticipation and motor responses mutually coexist.

Anticipation on Verbal Responses and Vice Versa

Expectation always results in verbal responses and verbal responses give rise to anticipation. In the memoir, when the falconer speaks about the aggressive sisterhood between hawk and Helen, she exhibits the agony of broken anticipation saying, “He’s saying because I’m training a female hawk, there’s some bond of sisterhood between us… It is a smile that is a veneer on murder” (111). The anticipation, when broken, results in aggressive verbal responses and vice versa. Thus, it is true that anticipation and verbal responses mutually interact.

Anticipation on Social Interactions and Vice Versa

Expectations can also affect the social interactions and vice versa. The author’s presumption of overcoming the loss is browbeaten, and this affects her social interactions, which is narrated as follows: “An uneventful, slow climb back into life after loss. It’ll be healed soon . . . when he worked out how broken I was. His disappearance rendered me practically insensible” (86). The expectation of overcoming loss fails, and this leads to Helen’s alienation from the society. And this alienation is one of the reasons behind the failure of her anticipation.

Affective Factors on Motor Responses and Vice Versa Affective factors are emotional factors which influence learning. They can have a negative or positive effect on the motor responses. Motor responses can also result in the formation of affective factors. The author incorporates in the memoir a biography of T M White, in which she says, “When White took up his position . . . To gain approval, to avoid trouble, he had to mirror what was around him: it was how he had tried to win love from his mother as a child. It was a life of perpetual disguise (31). A childhood lacking love leads to an adulthood of disguise. Thus, the affective factor leads to motor responses and vice versa.

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Affective Factors on Verbal Responses and Vice Versa The emotional factors can affect the verbal responses of an individual and vice versa. Macdonald pens down the craving for amenity through the image of an abandoned child who cries out, “Look at me, Ruth, I am a pirate chief! Look, I am an aeroplane! Look, I am a polar bear!” (39). Longing for attention forces the boy to get transformed into safer selves which will able him to be loved. The mutual coexistence of affective factors and verbal responses is thus evidently portrayed in the memoir.

Affective Factors on Social Interactions and Vice Versa

Affective factors can influence the social interactions of an individual. The abandoned childhood of White is narrated by Helen as follows: “He thinks he will leave. School life is unreal. All this is unreal. He has had enough. He can’t bear his colleagues. He can’t bear the boys anymore either. . . He has to get out. He’ll live on his writing” (34). The effect of a deserted childhood makes White hate Company. He wants to leave school. He cannot bear people. This behavior affects the affective factors that are his memory of a tortured childhood, and the affective factors influence the behavior too.

Biological Factors on Motor Responses and Vice Versa

Biological perspective on behavior emphasizes the internal, physiological, and genetic factors that influence personality. These biological factors can affect the motor responses and vice versa. The author in the biography of T M White says, “And back in India, right at the beginning, where he remembered lizards and fireworks. . . . It was not a safe kind of childhood” (37). It is biologically proved that Monoamine Oxidase A (MAOA) genes carry the childhood memories. Even if they are not remembered, they influence the individual’s character and personality. Here, White’s horrible childhood results in this biological action and thus leads to the motor response (aggressiveness). And his aggressiveness also adds to this biological factor. There is a genetic link to impulsive aggression through the impact of a gene on the production of an enzyme called MAO-A. The MAOA genes reduce the production of MAO-A, leading to increased incidents of impulsive aggression. Considering childhood as tabula rasa is a wrong notion as it is where the behavior of an individual is formed with the interaction of MAOA genes. No behavior occurs without a reason. Every action of an individual coexists with some experiences or facts which they were familiar with in the past. Every behavior of a person is related to his/her past. Thus, biological factors and motor responses can be considered to mutually exist.

Biological Factors on Verbal Responses and Vice Versa

Our personality traits can be manifested through biology and processes in brain. Eight percent of a person’s behavior is analyzed through verbal responses. Biological factors can affect a person’s verbal responses and vice versa. As Macdonald narrates in the memoir, “The humans, White thought, were disgusting, their cries ‘tense, self-conscious, and hysterically animal.’ But the hounds were not. ‘The savagery of hounds,’ he wrote, ‘was deep-rooted and terrible, but rang true, so that it was not horrible like that of the

33The Traits of Reciprocal Determinism in Helen Macdonald’s H Is for Hawk

human’” (43). The biological factors (MAOA genes) cause the aggressive verbal response of White, and this biological factor is the result of the verbal responses. Thus, biological factors and verbal responses are mutually influential.

Biological Factors on Social Interactions and Vice Versa

Psychologists agree that social factors interact with genetic factors to form personality. This mutual interaction is discussed in the memoir through White’s regard for human community: “He could not imagine a human love returned. He has to displace his desires onto the landscape. He found himself always in the dilemma of either being sincere and cruel, or false and unnatural” (39). The biological factors (MAOA genes) lead to the lack of social interactions, and this is the reason for the aggressive nature of the individual.

Conclusion The memoir, H is for Hawk, thus serves effectively as a study of reciprocal determinism. The behavior of the individuals in the memoir shows an evident symmetry with the notion of triadic causative determinism. The behavior of an individual does not occur without a reason. As we can change our behavior, we can change its determining factors too. The study proposes, through reciprocal determinism, to transform individual behavior by allowing subjective thought processes transparency when contrasted with cognitive, environmental, and external social stimulus events.

References Bandura, Albert, and Richard H Walters. 1963. Social Learning and Personality

Development. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Hoefer, Carl. 2016. “Causal Determinism.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward N Zalta. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2016/entries/ determinism-causal/.

Macdonald, Helen, 2014. H Is for Hawk. New York: Grove Press.

Rice, Keith E. 2016. “Reciprocal Determinism.” http://www.integratedsociopsychology.net/ theory/reciprocal-determinism/.

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