Alder Safeguarding 1
Alder Safeguarding Techniques Within Scripture
Public disgrace is inevitable. It causes feelings of shame and doubt. No one likes to
experience an event in which they feel the heavy weight of public criticism. An individual that
finds themselves in a situation like this will do everything in their power to protect themselves
against public negativity. Alder defines safeguarding tendencies as a protective device that
people use to protect their sense of self-esteem from public criticism (Feist et al., 2020, pg. 42).
There are three different safeguarding tendencies defined by Alder. The three tendencies are
excuses, aggression, and withdrawal.
Examination of Safeguarding Tendencies
Through each safeguarding tendency they each provide their own mechanisms on how
they work to protect an individual. According to Alder’s findings, the most common tendencies
are excuses. Excuses are used in the common formats of “Yes, but” or “If only” (Feist et al.,
2020, pg. 42). People who use excuses tend to first state what others would like to hear but
follow up that statement with reasoning as to why they cannot complete the first statement. The
second tendency is aggression. The aggression tendency can be divided into two categories,
depreciation, and accusation. Depreciation aggression is the tendency to value one’s
achievements more than other peoples. The accusation tendency is used to put the blame on
others behind the reason why one has failed. Lastly the withdrawal tendency is described as the
halted development of personality due to one running away from difficult obstacles. While
safeguarding techniques may seem beneficial in the eyes of an individual, it can cause a halt in
overall personal development.
Negative Effects of Excuses
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The safeguarding tendency that will be discussed in further detail is the excuse tendency.
While an excuse may help an individual in the moment to avoid further discussion, in the long
run it can hinder one’s growth and development. Not only are the removal of excuses beneficial
for an individual, but also to those surrounding the individual. Excuses simply are a way to
become blameless yet fall short of justification (Madison 2017). One might use an excuse in
instances where one truly is in the wrong. The individual uses the excuse to shift the criticism
they might receive to a more bearable one. This hinders personal growth because instead of
taking accountability one conforms to the idea that they are excused so their actions are okay. As
a result, an individual creates no room for growth. Take for example, when there is a task to be
completed by a certain date, instead of setting time aside to get it complete, one waits until the
last minute and risks missing the deadline and having poor quality in completion. When the
deadline is missed, excuses are made, and one falls into a never-ending cycle or doing only the
bare minimum and not reaching their full potential.
Excuses in the Bible
Safeguarding tendencies are part of the human experience. In scripture there are many
instances in which many of the characters used these tendencies themselves. In the story of
Moises, it begins with God telling Moises that he was going to be the person to help free Israel
from Pharoah. God begins with showing Moises many signs of His power. God confirms to
Moises that the same signs He shows him, He will show the Egyptians and then they will know
He is with Moises. Moises hesitates and makes many excuses. He tells the Lord, “Pardon your
servant, Lord. Please send someone else” ( 1978/2011, Exodus 4:13). New International Version,
Moises reasoning for his statement was because he was always slow to speak and not good with
his words. God ultimately tells Moises that he will send his brother Aaron to speak for him. This
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allowed Moises to stay in his comfort zone and to not fulfill his duty in being the one to speak
with Pharoah. In this situation if the excuse tendency was not used, Moises could have faced his
fear and taken the opportunity to work on his speaking and confidence.
To conclude, while our human nature may look at these tendencies as a way to protect us,
there should be a personal reflection in analyzing if using a safeguard tendency will actually be
beneficial or harmful.
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References
Feist, J., Fest, G. J., & Tomi-Ann Roberts. (2020). . McGraw-Hill Theories of personality
Education.
Madison, B. J. (2017). On justifications and excuses. , (10), 4551–4562. Synthese 195
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-017-1418-8
New International Version. (2011). New International Version Online. https://thenivbible.com
(Original work published 1978)
