Classical Conditioning on Friends and Family

When we embrace friends into our lives (family we're kinda just stuck with) we are forced to deal with the frustrations of their actions.Why can't everyone just be like you and I? Seriously. When you love someone, you just want them to behave the way you do. We all know as we get older the majority of anger our parents directed towards us were out of worry. I got grounded when the entire high school showed up at my house for a party not because my parents wanted me to be unpopular- but because they worried I would turn into a drugged out kid from some 1980's teen flick. I could have turned out like Winona Ryder in "Heathers" or something. But now I feel those maternal yearnings for my loved ones to just behave in way so harm can stay far far away. 

If only we could take the Pavlov's dogs approach. Classical conditioning to teach them a lesson! Or, the more common tactic used on cats: spray water bottles. We follow our friends or family member around and every time they do something we deem harmful we spray them with the water bottle. Spray spray spray until they huddle in a corner sopping wet. Then, the next time they decide to perform such activity they remember the water bottle brigade and decide not to make such a stupid decision. Then I don't have to waste the energy I should be using on something important to worry about my dumb-ass friend acting like a kicked off castmate from "The Real World."

So there (with love).