Stop Asking Why Someone Behaves in the Way They Do

<p>Your small child throws all of their toys out of their pram. You may be tempted to ask as the one who has to pick them up.<br /> &ldquo;Why did you do that?&rdquo;</p> <p>Your school-age child hides in a cupboard for three hours and reappears just as you are going to ring the police.<br /> &ldquo;Why did you do that? Didn&rsquo;t you realise how worried we would be?&rdquo;</p> <p>Your teenager doesn&rsquo;t eat anything for three days?<br /> &ldquo;Why are you doing this? What do you hope to achieve?&rdquo;</p> <p>Your Spouse walks off one morning, switches off their phone and doesn&rsquo;t return for 24 hours.<br /> &ldquo;Why?&rdquo;</p> <h2>What AI has to say</h2> <p><img alt="" src="https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:560/1*uV_IClydKZhXPc5VVZ6llA.png" style="height:308px; width:700px" /></p> <p>A question asked of Bing AI</p> <blockquote> <p>NB. No other part of this article is generated by AI unless specifically stated</p> </blockquote> <h2>The question &ldquo;why?&rdquo; is loaded.</h2> <p>The question in itself brings a whole load of baggage with it. The person to whom the question is directed can feel it as a poison arrow. Let&rsquo;s look at some of the possible imagined subtexts.</p> <p><a href="https://medium.com/age-of-empathy/stop-asking-why-someone-behaves-in-the-way-they-do-5c9b65708b76">Website</a></p>
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