PhronesisCompulsive topic-switching is here defined as a habitual conversational maneuver in which an interlocutor, upon approaching the threshold of genuine depth or emotional contact, introduces a lateral redirect that forecloses sustained engagement. We formalize this behavior within a displacement framework in which the ground state S^0 represents calibrated conversational depth—the register in which meaning is most faithfully exchanged—and departure from S^0 is tracked by a displacement functional D(), whose time-integral = D()\,dt measures accumulated avoidance.
We introduce the Wrong Attractor W as a self-reinforcing basin in which compulsive switching behavior perpetuates itself through redirect-reinforcement loops. Nine formal propositions characterize the geometry of this basin, the mechanics of the deflection architecture, and the conditions under which return to S^0 becomes possible. The framework connects naturally to clinical observations regarding ADHD, anxiety, conversational narcissism, and intimacy avoidance, and yields actionable criteria for recognizing when a conversation has entered the foreclosure basin and for re-establishing the ground-state register.
The primary claim is that topic-switching is not neutral conversational maneuver but a structured avoidance behavior with a computable cost.