If you want someone to do something, is it more effective to frighten them or to inspire them? Is fear an effective motivator? Why or why not?
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Fear is a very effective tactic for pursuing people. Inspiration is effective but not even close to the effectiveness of fear. If people are told that in order to live they must do a certain task the majority of people would complete that task without question. Also people would always choose the side that guarantees them to be safe. Inspiration may work for some people who want to achieve certain goals. The tactics that Johnathon Edwards uses are highly effective. He basicly says if you do not become a calvinist then you will go to hell and god will spite you. Fear is the ultimate persuasion tactic
I agree with Matt in that fear is a much more effective tactic for motivation than inspiration, but in the long run it is not as effective. This is because if people are scared into doing something, they become accustomed to only working hard when they're scared, not inspired. Although fear is more effective than inspiration, fear only brings out the bear minimum of people, so they will do just enough to get by, whereas when people are inspired by their own means, they work hard to do their best, and great things come from it. Leonardo DaVinci wasn't afraid of nature, he was inspired by it, and with his inspiration he made great artworks and inventions.
I agree with what Drew said about how people who are inspired by something will continuously work to achieve their goal and will really put their whole heart into what they are doing where as people who are scared will only do enough to get by. Although fear is effective, it may not be as effective as inspiration is. Fear will cause someone to become paranoid and intimidated and force them to act a certain way but inspiration and maybe question themselves on whether they are doing the right thing or not. Where as inspiration will cause someone to feel encouraged and know that what they are doing is the right choice and they feel better about doing it knowing that they weren’t forced into it.
I agree with jenn. People who are inspired to do something will acheive with a great amount of confidence and the feeling of a goal being acheived. People who are scared will do the least possible to get it over with what they are doing and to pass. They will not go farther than they have to, and do the mimimum amount of work possible. Even though fear is effective , it is not as effective as ispiration. Fear shows that you do not really have a idea of what you are doing, and inspiration shows you that you know what you are doing. Ispiration leads to something that you can be proud of when you are finished.
I agree with Drew's point of fear being an effective tactic for motivation, but not as effective as inspiration is over a long period of time. I however, disagree with his statement that fear only brings out the bare minimum of a person's potential. I think that for the majority of people, when they are threatened, will put all of their effort into avoiding the threat. This can be just as powerful as inspiration, but will not always last. People who are inspired will work just as hard, and at the same time be satisfied with their lives. Historically, people under a dictator's rule, or prisoners in a concentration camp frequently attempted to fight back after they decided that there was no other way out.
I agree with Matt. While both fear and inspiration are good methods used to persuading people, fear can be so much more effetive. For example, if your mom tells you that if you don't do your homework, she will take your cell phone away,you are much more likely to end up doing your homework than if she told you that doing your homework will help you learn more and be prepared. Inspiration is still a very good tactic used to convince people to do something because it can help show people what they will ahieve by doing this an make them feel good about themselves. But fear can almost get someone to do anything. Another example would be in all those TV shows like NCIS etc. all use scartactics to get the information they need to solve the crime. Overall, fear is the best, most effective way to persuade someone to do something.
I agree with Drew that fear is not as good in the long run. Fear will definiately cause people to react quickly. However, when one is inspired, they truly want to do what is asked of them. This means that in the long run their heart will still be in it and they will still be doing this task to their best of their ability. In addition, like Warren said, with the pursuing tactic of fear comes the response of revolting and people not being afraid to stand up and say no. This means that you are putting the task getting done to chance rather than being positive it will happen if the person is inspired to do it.
At first, I agreed with Matt but now I agree with Drew that inspiration will always be the best tactic in pursuasion but fear ends up being the most successful. If someone is inspired by math class, they will automatically perform better than someone else who is threatened to peform well in that class. Obviously, when one's parents threaten to ground him if he gets a bad grade, he will study to make sure he gets a good grade. This is effective but he did not gain any interest in the subject. If he was inspired by the subject, he would not just be trying to only get good grades, but actually want to learn the subject. Jonathan Edwards is effective with his tactics of fear but is basically forcing people to become Calvinist and not proving to people why it is good to be a Calvinist.
I agree with Matt that fear is indeed an "effective tactic." I believe that fear does in fact motivate and inspire people to succeed and reach their utmost goals. I disagree with Drew that fear does not inforce inspiration. Fear is that extra push that most people need to become inspired and motivated. Without fear of failure people have no drive to succeed. I would also like to point out that fear is not the same thing as intimidation. Fear is an emotion, while intimidation can deplete a persons self confidence.
I agree with Matt that fear is indeed an "effective tactic."fear can control peoples actions greatly. it can make them overcome or do things that they would never dream about accomplishing. Using fear is probably the greatest tactic someone could use to get people in their side
When commanding followers to do as the leader says, fear is by far, the more effective way of gaining command of one's army. I agree with Drew's logic behind my opinion as well. If you give some one an incentive to do something, they will get it done as soon as possible. Inspiration makes people who believe in the cause willing to help. Therefore there will be a smaller army. With fear as the incentive, it is like Matt says, if people are told that in order to live they must do a certain task the majority of people would complete that task without question. Also people would always choose the side that guarantees them to be safe. People are more likely to think of themselves and their own safety. They may think of themselves and their family's safety and in order to achieve these, they have to follow whichever side will guarantee them safety. Though it may seem cowardly and shallow, it gets the job done effectively.
~Zenia
I agree with Andrew. To expand on his idea, people in fear of someone will sometimes turn that fear around and rebel. If one happens to have a teacher they hate to fear, they may decide, "no, I'm a rebel, I;m not going to do the homework." On the other hand, an inspirational teacher will motivate a student to work hard and feverishly to be successful in that field. They also make the subject more interesting. People under the inspirational leaders will support them, while controlled under fear, they will not.
I agree with Drew when he says that fear isn't better in the long run. Yes it may be true that fear will make people do what they are asked but they will only be thinking about how quickly they can get it done. It does not nessesarily mean it is quality work. People will be put into fear to do what others want them to do but after a while they will realize that they don't want to live in fear anymore. No one wants to go day by day scared into doing work and will eventually look elsewhere to work. Being inspired to do something is a much more deep achievement. Not only does it feel good once accomplished but one can be interested in the work and be a lot more dedicated to give better work or results or whatever the project may be. To sum up, inspiration is better insentive to get things done because living in fear isn't ideal to anyone and eventually people will fight back.
It can go both ways. I agree that fear can be used as a great motivator, but I think the effects of being motivated by inspiration are greater than the effects of being motivated by fear. Inspiration gives one the strive and passion to fight for their point, which is more than what fear could do. One would do more for something they want to do than something they have to do no matter the consequences, because as a good human being, morals would outweigh their fears, which is where the other side comes in. Ultimately, I think that fear is more powerful for weaker human beings and inspiration is more motivative for stronger ones.
I am agreeing with numerous people, but inparticular Hanna and Scott, because both fear and inspiration can be used to make people do something. It depends on the situation and refers back to the 5 basic relationships set up in enlightenment times. If you are friends with someone you would preferably not want to scare them into doing something, but really make them want to do it and put their heart into it by inspiring them. However if someone is lesser then you or you are not a friend of, fear can be the way to go because you do not care about there feelings and you just want your task completed.
I agree with Emy when she talks about the cell phone situation. If someone is threatening you to do something that will benefit you by taking away something important to you, that person will succeed. By simply saying, cleaning your room is good and you should do it, makes you not want to do it even more. By telling you that you are not allowed to leave the house until your room is clean makes you want to get it done as soon as possible. However fear might not always be the better choice. If you want to become a professional baseball player for the Red Sox, saying "if you don;t hit this ball then you will become homeless" won;t help as much as "you can do it, just focus and stay calm." A lot of the times fear brings on an amount of pressure to a person causing them to become even more stressed than they already are. Inspiration can help a person release some of his stress by reminding him that he is the best he can be. Although fear is usually the most effective tactic for pursuing people, sometimes inspiration can be a better choice.
I agree with emy and hanna. While inspiration is a strong tactic to motivate someone to do something, fear is more pursuasive because it can threaten a person and they're decisions. Usually when a person is inspired to do something, they will strive and try to accomplish it. However, when one feels fear, a person is more likely to feel forced to accomplish what needs to be done. Inspiration is a strong motivator, but it gives off the impression that one can choose to do something. If one is fearful of something, a person usually feels like there is no choices.
I think that both tactics can be effective in different situations. Fear tends to have better results when the "victim" doesn't have anything to gain from the situation. Fear is easier to use in that situation because of its lack of needing to be justified. Fear is, in most cases,a sense of force, and people respond to that without any questions. However, in a situation where there is a reward for the "victim", inspiration works better because of its prospect of looking forward to something for the "victims".
I agree with Matt and Drew I agree that fear is a much more effective tactice. Unfortuantly inspiration doesn't seem to have the same effect. When a definate consuquence is laid out people are more likely to get things done. I agree with Jen because when people aren't pressured to do somthing they feel more confident about their work, knowing that they did it on their own time. Fear only works as a form of motivation for so long eventually people will get fed up and revolt inspiration is a much more gental form of getting what you want done.
I agree with Matt and Drew, when they say that fear is stronger then inspiration, because not all people are susceptible to inspiration, for example, some might just not want to get involved in something, therefore there is not inspiring them. However, if you scare them in order to make them think that the way you want it to go is the safer, and better choice, fear will easily do a better job of this. I definitely also believe that, if you are inspired, it will work out better in the long run because you are truly working towards this goal, and you will reach it faster and in a better way, while if your forced into it with fear, you will do the "bear Minimum" as drew said, just to get by and reach said goal.
Preston LaLiberte is KittensandCats. yeah man
I agree with Karole that fear is a greater motivator than that of inspiration. Take a football game for example, in movies people always see the coach giving an inspirational speech before the big game that is supposed to motivate the players to preform better. What people do not see is the fear that the players have of loss, that if they were to lose that they would be punished with a brutal practice the next day. With this example one can see that though inspirational speeches help motivate in the short term, it is fear that is the underlying motivator in most cases.
Fear and inspiration both influence people's actions. Fear is a result of the loss of security, and the actions that follow reflect a desire to reestablish security. Inspiration is a result of the desire to better one's situation. I contend that both of these forces are equal in strength. Fear is effective as long as people are afraid, as is inspiration as long as people are inspired. Fear and inspiration both greatly vary in magnitude, depending on certain circumstances. In fact, I might even contend that the two are nearly the same. The loss of security demands the betterment of situation in order to reestablish security. In this way, fear and inspiration are practically inseparable and therefore form what I believe to be an influential complex.
as matt stated Fear is a very effective tactic for pursuing people. Inspiration i fin this to be be very true but drew also makes a good point by stating that fear will make people only work hard when under the pressure of fear. I still have to go with matt due to the fact that if you in force the fear all the time the results will be the best all the time. as a wise man once said when the game is on the line champions want the ball this shows that when under pressure the best will shine
I agree with what Jenn had to say. People do respond more to inspiration than to fear. When someone has to put all their energy into an activity, and they complete it they feel great because they achieved something by themselves. IF they were forced to do an activity by fear, it would lead them to feel incomplete because they were controlled and didn’t have a choice. Fear is not the way that anyone should use to get others to do something. If you inspire people, then they will pass it along to others. With fear though, you hurt the person inside and teach them to threaten others.
I agree with what Drew said, that fear is more effective in the short run of things, I also agree with Warren when he says that when threatened people “will put all of their effort into avoiding the threat”. I believe that fear gets results much faster than inspiration like with the situation Emy said involving homework. But it is only a matter of time until the fear no longer works. No one wants to live in fear everyday so it will lead to eventual revolt. Also I agree with Preston about how fear can be that extra nudge that is needed to get a person going, some people are just uninspired and have no desire to get anything done. With that type of situation only fear will get a person going. Inspiration works off a person’s own desires while fear can affect a community. Inspiration can be built off of fear, the inspiration to do well, or in other worlds the fear of doing badly, but because inspiration is more personal it will work for much longer than fear.
I agree with Matt and Drew that fear is a very effective tactic. although this is true, it is not always the best tactic. the problem with fear, especially in a situation like the one that Johnathan Edwards used fear with, is that people dont put their heart and faith into it. People may say that they are Calvinist, simply to avoid the consequences, in this case, going to hell. Inspiration can be much more effective because the people affected will be faithful and completely in agreement. what is potentially lost in numbers, is made up for in integrity.
I agree with what Scott said. People will only be scared of something for so long. After that, you need to try to continue to find new things that will scare them. One can only do this for so long. Also, fear wouldn't make someone intrested in what their doing. If they are inspired they will pay more attention and work harder than they would otherwise. Some people said that if your parents threatened to punish you if you didn't do your homework or something, you would do it. But the question is, you that make you care about the homework or put a lot of effort into it and the class. The answer is mostly no and that is why overall, inspiration is a better tatic.
I agree with Scott's opinion. Although fear can be used to motivate people in the short term, people will be willing to do much more when they are fully inspired by or believe in a cause. I think so because people who believe in a cause often will suffer the things that they are afraid of in order to express what they believe in. For example, the Japanese Kamikaze pilots of World War II were all volunteers. It is not possible to force someone to go on a suicide mission by ordering them or threatening them with a punishment because they are going to die anyway. The Kamikaze pilots and the Islamist suicide bombers all are willing and happy to die for their causes. That is an example of why I think inspiration is more powerful than fear.
I disagree with Scott & co. Fear is a more effective motivator than inspiration for one basic reason: we are born preinstalled with a feeling of fear. Fear is a primal instinct, invoking the fight or flight response - in contrast, all inspiration can do is act as a civilized counter to fear. Inspiration only works when rational thought is working - fear works all the time.
i agree with matt/drew and co. with the fact that fear is effective form of motivation. It is a quick way to get someone to do something you want them to. It is persuasive, until people rethink your ideals and turn against you instead of being with you. In the long run, inspiration causes people to want to work harder and achieve more, constantly pushing to their own limits of ability. With fear, people are pushed to do what they have to do in fear of the fact that if they don't, they will be severely punished.
I agree with most of the previous statements including Matt's. Inspiration is a very effective tactic in motivating people to do something. But there is no substitute for fear. It is the ultimate motivator because fear is something that can get people to do something regardless if they want to do it or not. Motivation is a strong tool when someone has some previous drive to do a task, but is someone just doesn't want to do something, no matter how much you motivate them, they just wont do it. And if they do do it, they aren't going to put their heart into it and it wont be done to the best of their ability. Now if you instill fear in someone, they are very likely to give it their all.
In a way I agree with both Matt and Drew in the way that I believe fear is a very effective tactic for pursuing people and getting them to do what you want. However, I also disagree with them in the way that I think that inspiration can be just as effective in getting people to do something. With inspiration comes the wanting to do something, along with the enthusiasm, which then gets things done. With fear, there's the obvious threat of one's life at stake.
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