The Pennypacker effect

We are aware that whatever we nurture grows. On the flip side, whatever we stifle may even grow more.

Let's call this the Pennypacker effect. In 1903, Samuel Pennypacker was angry about being depicted as a parrot in cartoons, so he outlawed cartoons that portrayed people as animals and threatened to make publishers of newspapers personally liable.

The result? More creative cartoons about him and other political figures. This time, depicted as trees, turnips, and other absurd things.

One of the most fascinating things about human nature is that the more examples of behaviors observed in the past, the more likely you’ll find similar behaviors now and in the future.

You might be familiar with this.

When someone tries to hide information from the public, it becomes more visible and viral.

When a group of people is shamed for an action, others aspire to do the same thing.

Attempts to discredit someone makes people more curious about knowing more about that person, and become sympathetic to their plight.

When people are threatened and forced into a new behavior, they find ways to gain status by making it non-applicable. This creates more of the old behaviour.

This applies everywhere - in families, organisations, communities, and nations. Real change happens when we seek enrolment, and respect the power everyone has. Not when we apply force.

Using force or coercion to change a narrative doesn’t always yield good results.

What you actively nurture grows. And what you actively suppress might grow even more. The energy you invest becomes the energy you get back.

This applies to human behaviour, emotions, censorship, innovation, and wherever you seek behavioral change. Focus on what you want to grow, not what you want to suppress.