the definition of automatic obedience

cognitive
 
Excessive, uncritical, or mechanical compliance with the requests, suggestions, or commands of others.
 
Why is this important to understand??  Automatic obedience is the sixth movement through trauma.  
 
You can review all 7 movements on my review page.   Here

In the aftermath of trauma you might see a your friend not be able to make a spontaneous decision or gesture.  Overall, during the stage of automatic obedience, you will see a reduction of physical activity and interactivity with the external world.

This reduction in words or range of motion is known as automatic obedience.

Automatic obedience is often the only survival weapon a child has until they’re old enough or big enough to fight back. It also can explain why a person is frozen and compliant when a foe or cult leader tells them very specifically how they must act in a loyal fashion even if they are told to commit a crime. 

 

THE SUBMIT RESPONSE

In 1974, Patty Hearst, granddaughter of publishing magnet, William Randolph Hearst,was a sophomore in college. She was kidnapped and her life was threatened. She was the victim of isolation, cocercive persuasion, and thought reform. Before she was out of the grip of the SLA she was caught on camera speaking as a promoter of the concepts espoused by the the SLA.  Nineteen months later, in a confusing series of events, she was arrested and charged with crimes she committed with her captors. In her trial for terrorist crimes it was discovered that she acted out of of automatic obedience. 

The complex question the case posed was this:  What percentage of her actions was founded on choice? And what is the percentage that can be attributed to the submit response found as a common feature of trauma?

WHAT YOU MIGHT SEE

  • Less movement than a situation calls for.
  • A fixed gaze staring or “staring into middle space.”
  •  Halting Speech patterns

In the aftermath of trauma you might see your friend not be able to make a spontaneous decision or gesture. During the stage of automatic obedience, you will see a reduction of physical activity and interactivity with the external world. The submit response is related to the fawn response but it is as if the flip is switched to submit behaviors and it stays switched ‘ON’ for an extended period of time.  Fight, Flight and Freeze responses are immediate responses. Automatic obedience and submitting can carry on for days or weeks.

Another thing you may see is what has been called STUPOR or CATATONIA in the past.

It is important to register that you are witnessing the symptoms of a cognitive slow down.  This reaction is not a medical condition or biologically based paralysis.  It is a psychological defense the victim needs to employ in order to “buy time” so the victim of trauma can sort out what the trauma event means to them.

SPEECH PATTERNS

The fear of being re-victimized is so strong that the victim of trauma is unable to express their anxiety verbally.

FOUR SPEECH PATTERNS 

  • Manneristic speech: Where whispering (voiceless phonation) is incomprehensible
  • Fluent speech:  Comprehensible whisperings
  • Comprehensible whispering: When someone (also when speaks less than 20 words in 5 minutes)
  • Speech‐prompt catatonia:  

 

 

In this rare subtype of catatonia, you would see that the traumatized person provides verbal responses (typically a word or brief phrase) to questions but is otherwise mute.
THIS IS A RELIABLE INDICATOR that you are witnessing automatic obedience.  You can see a reflexive answer but only as a response to direct questions.

APA DEFINITON of Automatic obedience

vocabulary posts

not assigned The Trauma Experience

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