You appear to be quite astute at fathoming out peoples' psychologies.
What trait would you associate with someone who refuses to engage with two individuals (publicly stating so), talks in such away that bores everyone to a point that they all ignore his posts, then creates posts that constantly and consistantly centre on the very two people he so proudly and publicly stated to ignore in the hope that said two people would engage with him?
Darnit Jim -- err, I mean Steve -- I'm a lawyer, not a psychologist. Lucky for you, though, while I don't have a BS in psychology, I do have a BA and a JD in B.S.
I am aware of the individual of whom you speak. While he is not a patient of mine, I have run a series of tests on him -- each one yielding the same result (which was odd since any normal person would have changed tactics after the first test). In addition to this, I have continued to observe his behavior, the irrational aspects of which have been becoming more and more acute.
My diagnosis is that this individual has Adult Spoiled Brat Syndrome, or ASBS. I am still working on the mechanism that causes SBS to become ASBS, but I have a theory. First of all, the subject must have had SBS as a child. While it is my belief that all children have the capacity for it, proper upbringing can suppress the symptoms until the condition has passed (it goes away when the brain finishes developing and the subject has a fully developed capacity for abstract reasoning).
A child with SBS is used to getting what he wants simply by demanding it. Since he is so accustomed, the only reason he ever has to use to justify something is that he wants it. If left uncorrected, this can stunt the reasoning centers of the brain, leading (I believe) to the onset of ASBS. When the SBS affected child is confronted with a situation where he cannot have what he wants simply be demanding it, his tactic will be to throw a tantrum and perhaps resort to name-calling and bullying to get what he wants. If this doesn't work, another tactic is to storm off in a huff and 'never speak to the offending person again'. (It is my observation that, where it is obvious to him that that the reason for not giving him what he wants is logically sound, these symptoms become even more acute.) Inevitably, the people who are the subject of the SBS child's declaration are thrilled. This was not in the child's plan, though. You see, the child is so egocentric that he thinks the offending person will give in if faced with the prospect of never speaking to the child again; and the child is shocked when this doesn't happen. The child will quickly grow lonely and bored, but cannot initiate direct conversation with the offending person because of his pride. He can't be seen as weak by going back on his promise never to speak to that person again. But this will not deter him from his passive-aggressive attempts to goad that person into engaging him directly. But the good thing about passive-aggressive behavior is that you have to go to it to be affected ;-)
A side effect of ASBS is, I believe, socialism. If SBS is left uncorrected, the child will enter adulthood believing that he has a right to whatever he wants simply because he thinks it's a good idea. He cannot understand the concept that he might actually have to work to earn something he wants. But the trouble is, his parents are no longer there to feed his SBS symptoms. What to do? Their solution is to yell, scream, cajole, and belittle the character of their opposition until the government steps into the role once filled by the parents. So, as you can see, we all have a responsibility to stop SBS in childhood, because ASBS has a detrimental effect on society as a whole.
Re: This one's for Niles
April 4 2005, 1:02 PM
ROTFL!
And I love the subtle twist at the end to have a go at Socialism (to which I agree with you).
The next symptom, however is to be locked out of the special room and whilst in the common room make one last scream before pretending to storm off. I say 'pretending' because no doubt he'll peep his head around the corner to see how people carry on without him.
My prediction is - a continuing of 'peeping' and then storming back to reiterate all the name-calling stuff and storming off to his "peep position" again.