Disruption: What is it?

      According to Tolman (1932), the term disruption designates a breakdown and upset in behavior produced when a change is introduced into a given environment. This alteration may be a change in discriminada, in manipulada, or in means-end-relations. It will be followed by learning and can be used as an indictor to discover and define the characters of the expectations (q.v.), as to “discriminada”, “manipulada”, and “means-end relation,” we were immanent in the behavior which preceded the disruption (Tolman, 1932, p. 442). 

When does a goal disruption occur?

       A goal disruption occurs when a goal violation (belief or expectation) arises and causes psychological disequilibrium. These changes can occur through perceptual adjustments within the individual or changes that occur from the outside environment. Not all goal violations will result in a goal disruption.  Specifically, disruption will occur when an unexpected goal violation increases an individual's level of psychological disequilibrium. When these changes affect a highly important goal and the expectations related to that goal, the goal framework is likely to induce disruption. A goal violation may lead a person to experience goal disruption but this does not happen in every case.