A dog named Spot had been frequently beaten by its master. One day Spot was wandering down the street when a boy picked up a stick to play fetch with him. When the dog saw him pick up the stick, it took off running with its tail between its legs.

See Spot run.

Although the boy just wanted to play, the dog had been conditioned to associate the stick with pain. The beatings as a puppy programmed Spot to assume that all people were out to hurt him.

            After we’ve received a few “beatings” from others, we’ll start viewing everyone with suspicion. We assume they have an agenda to hurt us, so we react by running away. Sore spots make us run. Although others may not intend harm, we misjudge their motives because we view them through wounded glasses.

(Kent Crockett, I Once Was Blind But Now I Squint, Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2004, 90)