The article “The Coddling of the American Mind” by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, published in September 2015, describes the “vindictive protectiveness” present currently on college campuses. The authors define vindictive protectiveness as “creating a culture in which everyone must think twice before speaking up, lest they face charges of insensitivity, aggression, or worse.” This topic relates to cognitive behavioral therapy, because similarly to dealing with a disorder such as an anxiety, the articles suggests that you could also handle vindictive protectiveness the same way. The article states the steps of doing it: “Each time you notice yourself falling prey to one of them, you name it, describe the facts of the situation, consider alternative interpretations, and then choose an interpretation of events more in line with those facts.” Throughout the article, the authors give examples of people criticizing others, for what is framed as mild forms of harassment, all depending on the objective idea of what is offensive. Their key argument against this type of criticism includes the lack of preparation for professional life if these students are coddled beforehand.…show more content… The article concludes with a plan for the future, which includes the federal government releasing restrictions of universities, universities loosening up on speech codes and trigger warnings, and that “universities should rethink the skills and values they most want to impart to their incoming students.” Overall, “The Coddling of the American Mind” links cognitive behavioral terms and concepts to the idea of vindictive protectiveness in order to understand the concept and figure out how to fix its
