When we think of viewing a tiger, there are three possible scenarios.  Firstly, the tiger is in the cage and I feel safe.  Conversely, the tiger is without a cage and I feel terror.  And lastly, the cage is without the tiger and it’s just boring.  However, under certain conditions called protective frames even the tiger without the cage is okay.  What are these protective frames?

Our Three Protective Frames

Protective frames are self-created views about reality⁽¹⁾, a concept originally conceived by Michael Apter the founder of reversal theory.  Our three protective frames are the confidence frame, the safety frame, and the detachment frame.

“Confidence is contagious. So is lack of confidence.” – Vince Lombardi

The Confidence Frame

A confidence frame allows one to approach the edge of danger, while experiencing feelings of both high arousal and feelings of protection simultaneously⁽²⁾. The individual pushes and has no limits. They seek excitement and look for the exhilaration of danger.

The confidence frame can be appropriate or inappropriate and needs to be tested carefully for accuracy. This frame is not only relevant to people who work in physical danger but also to anyone who puts themselves at emotional or mental risk.

On a guided tour in Africa, with highly professionally trained guides and the protection of a barred vehicle, I can experience the tiger without the cage due to being in my confidence frame. 

I am seeking the excitement of the tiger in its natural state.  My confidence frame, as always, may be accurate or inaccurate.  I can get nose to nose with the tiger out of the cage with confidence because I am in the cage.      

“Confidence cannot find a place wherein to rest in safety.”  - Virgil

The Safety Frame

A safety frame allows the individual to feel there is no danger and no immediate possibility of slipping into danger. ⁽²⁾ The individual seeks security, avoids anxiety, and feels an absence from stress and strain. The safety frame can also be inaccurate and this sometimes leads to catastrophe. Date rape, home invasion, and unexpected redundancy are examples.

On this same guided tour of tigers in Africa, I am several hundred meters away from the tiger, out of the cage, but viewing the tiger through binoculars.  My sense of safety is heightened by the distance between myself and the tiger.  However, if I become too complacent with my safety frame by wandering for a closer look I may get into danger.

“The detached observer's view is one window on the world.” – Kenneth L. Pike

The Detachment Frame

A detachment frame allows the individual to participate in what is going on, but only as an observer. ⁽²⁾ The detachment can be manifest physically, mentally, or emotionally. The detachment frame features putting others at risk while standing back, a self-substitution, fantasy or make-believe, and retrospection or being stuck in the past. Although detachment may be positive at times, switching off at the end of a hard work day, this frame can also lead to ruminating and unrealistic fantasies.

On this same guided tour of tigers in Africa, I have decided to stay in the lodge and wait until the guides get back with video of their encounters with tigers in the wild.  I am okay with others taking the risk and will enjoy the benefits of their risk taking.  My detachment frame has allowed me to participate in the event but only as an observer, this is not unlike most sporting events viewed either on TV or from a distant stadium seat.

Possible Implications

Consider how many of your life experiences are viewed from a protective frame.  When faced with the decision to be confident, safe, or detached, which did you choose?  Was it the right frame?   

Going to an amusement park for example.  Did you ride the rollercoaster in your confidence frame?  Or, did you seek safety or detachment? 

When you are on the ski slopes, are you on the black diamond run, the beginner’s slope, or in the lodge watching others?  Why is this important?

When you are jogging with headphones on at night, are you in a confidence or detachment frame that might not be appropriate?  Can you hear or see the oncoming vehicle as it approaches you from behind?

Knowing your preference for protection is another form of self-awareness.  I might even learn over time that many of my protective frames are inappropriate or inaccurate and put me at risk. 

Maybe I am too confident in my ability to ski or board the black diamond run and I injure myself.  My injury is about my inappropriate confidence frame on the slopes.  On the other hand, my need for safety or detachment may be inappropriate and contributing to my feelings of disinterest, boredom or lack of fulfillment.    

Discovering one’s appropriate protective frames could facilitate a more productive and satisfying experience.  Conversely, failing to do so could end in some form of injury, either physical, mental or emotional.  “Well-being, in general, is increased when the experiences we are having align with those we prefer at that moment.” ⁽³⁾   Protection, however, may or may not match this preference.

References

^{1-Wilson, B. & Wilson, L. (1999).  Offense Mechanisms in Couples.  Journal of Family Psychotherapy, Taylor and Francis.}

^{2-Apter, M.J. (1992). The Dangerous Edge: The Psychology of Excitement. Free Press, 192 pages.}

^{3-Augustin, S. & Apter, M.J. (2016).  Architecture and the Protective Frame. Journal of Motivation, Emotion, and Personality Vol. 5 (2016), pp.8–17.}