These words often are presented as describing the ideal response to any attack on us by another person. I'm not so sure. Consider, if you will, the circumstances under which one man might slap another across the face. An involuntary behavior is different to a lawyer than it might be to a psychologist. The lawyer sees an involuntary behavior as one that is performed under duress.
Reflexes involve no decision-making.
Decisions take too long where an immediate response is required. What actually occurs under most circumstances is that the person who behaves 'involuntarily' is acting in response to a negative incentive. An example of such a behavior would be where the victim of a robbery reveals the combination to a safe under the threat of being killed if he doesn't. The consequences of not performing the act may be terrible, but the option not to do so is nevertheless there. All rights reserved.