In the grocery store one day you spy a mother and her two unruly children.She consistently threatens that she is going to spank them when she gets them home.They ignore her threats.Finally,she swats one of them on the butt,making the other child laugh,suggesting that she has lost control of the situation.This could be called:
A) coercion.
B) idle threat.
C) the paradox of authority.
D) Keynesian authority.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The situation described in the question is an example of the paradox of authority, which occurs when a person in a position of authority, such as a parent or teacher, threatens punishment but does not follow through. In this case, the mother consistently threatened to spank her children but did not actually do it until later, which led to the children ignoring her threats and ultimately laughing at her when she lost control. The paradox of authority can be harmful as it undermines the credibility of the authority figure and can lead to further disobedience and misbehavior.

In the Grocery Store One Day You Spy a Mother