"Perform the following tasks:"
Step 1: Who’s to Blame – The Individual or Society? Reginald Barfield, 22, was arrested for DUI and taken to jail. A judge set bail at $500, and his mother came to the jail to post bond for her son. She didn’t have much money, so she used the services of a bondsman who charged her a $70 fee and arranged for Reginald’s release. As she drove her son home, she began yelling at him, telling him that he had turned out just like his father, who had a long-standing problem with alcohol. “You’re just like your father,” she said. “And if you don’t change, you’ll end up just like him – dead.” Reginald became very angry and blurted out that he drank because that was all he had known as a child. “What do you mean?” his mother asked. “Whenever dad had a problem, or when you two fought,” Reginald said, “dad broke open a bottle and killed the pain. It worked for him. It works for me. So, you’re right, I’m just like him. But it’s not my fault. I learned it from him. You didn’t stop him. And you didn’t stop me.”
Step 2: Answer one of the four questions below: Is Reginald right; did he learn his problem behavior from his father? What other factors might have contributed to his excessive use of alcohol? Might the concept of reaction formation help explain Reginald’s behavior? If so, how? If you were Reginald’s mother, to what degree would you hold your son responsible for his problem drinking behavior? To what degree would you hold him responsible if you were a judge hearing his case in court?
Step 3: Read other students' posts and respond to at least two other students.