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Free Tutorial in Basic Psychology - Human Behavior

Posted Date: 28 Feb 2024 |Updated: 28-Feb-2024 |Category: Syllabus |Author: |Member Level: Diamond |Points: 50 |


Human behavior is a complex entity. It is very difficult to predict human behavior in a particular situation as different people behave differently. This article tries to understand the basic behavioral types in humans.

Introduction

Different people have different behavioral patterns. Behavior is the peculiar characteristic of a person. Human behavior is a complex entity. It is not easy to predict someone's behavior in a particular situation as different people behave differently.

Different people have different personalities. Their thinking patterns are different. A person having a leadership quality will behave differently than a person who has introverted tendencies. An optimistic person will see scope and brightness in life everywhere while a pessimistic person will see only the negative aspects of things. The behavior of all these people will be different from each other because of so many factors that contributed to their upbringing and development.

When we want to understand and analyze the behavior of a person then many questions arise in our minds - why a person is behaving like that, why another person is not behaving like that, why different people are behaving differently in the same situation, and finally why human behavior is so unpredictable?

Psychologists use various methods and experiments to study and analyze the behavior of people. It is believed that behavior is a reflection of the mental state of a person and is driven by the mix of the conscious and subconscious mind. It means that knowing the mental state of a person can help in deciphering his behavior.

Types of human behavior

Every person will have a behavior towards any external stimulus and it would be different based on his upbringing, education, and training. That is why in our day-to-day life when we interact with many people, we see them behaving differently. If we observe their behaviors minutely then we will find that they fall under certain broad categories. Scholars in Psychology have tried to demarcate human behavior in the following categories -
  • Molecular and moral behavior: Molecular behavior is generated naturally by the body and its structure. For example, if we enter a dusty environment our eyes try to close. The body wants to protect the eyes from dust. The instantaneous reaction of the body to dust is a molecular behavior.
    On the other hand moral behaviour is defined as the behaviour which is done after thinking about the matter. For example, if we are verbally abused by a person in front of some people then we would first think why he is doing so. What are the reasons for him doing so? Is he insane? Or angry? What are the reasons for him being angry?

    All these questions will flash in our mind and based on the history of that person and all the information about him in the background of our minds we will react to him. This reaction is not instantaneous but based on thinking. It is our moral behavior. Our moral behaviors are based on our experiences, knowledge, prudence, patience, and many other such factors that compel us first to think about a matter or a problem and then only react to that.

  • Overt and covert behavior: When we are doing an activity that is being observed by people whether they are family members or outsiders then our behavior during this activity is called overt behavior. There are many examples of overt behavior that is observable like when a person is riding a bicycle and going from one place to another, a person taking part in a sport or game, a person giving a speech to a group of people, a person working in a workplace, etc. During all these activities people observe each other and see their behaviors in various matters either through interactions or just by watching each other.

    On the other hand, covert behaviour is something that others cannot see. Many people at times think about a problem, ponder over it, and make some decisions in their minds. Even if we observe them physically we cannot make out what is going on in their minds. So covert behaviour is that part of behaviour that cannot be seen physically from outside.

  • Voluntary and involuntary behavior: Our voluntary behavior emerges from all our actions that we plan and decide to do. These actions are depending on our requirements and desires and we can plan and control them as we like. For example, if we want to write a letter to someone then we know very well who that person is and what we have to write and accordingly, we write a letter and post it. This activity is done under our control and we take care that there are no errors or misleading sentences in the letter. This is a voluntary activity that we thought, planned, and carried out.

    But some involuntary activities are also going on in human bodies without the person planning them. A simple example is our breathing day and night and the heart pumping blood 24/7 to all the parts of our bodies.

Conclusion

Human behaviour is a complex entity and it is not possible to predict the behaviour of a person in a particular situation. Knowing about types of behaviors and their patterns we can analyze and understand why the behaviour of different people is different even in the same situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one copy the behavior of another person?
It is not possible to copy the behavior of another person. Behavior is a complex entity. At the most one can copy the voice, mannerisms, and apparent habits of the other person.
Is there anything like good behavior and bad behavior?
Behaviour is the net result of the many actions of a person. If it is pleasing and cordial, then it is said to be good behaviour. On the other hand, any offending or repulsive action will be taken as bad behaviour.
How animal behavior is different than human behavior?
Animals have a low level of consciousness as compared to humans. Their behaviour is quite simple and often predictable. On the other hand, human behaviour is based on logic, rationality, and analysis.
Why two children in the same family have different behaviour?
Every individual is biologically different from one another. Even in the same upbringing conditions, the emerging personalities can differ.


Comments

Author: DR.N.V. Srinivasa Rao29 Feb 2024 Member Level: Diamond   Points : 7

The behavior of a human depends mainly on two factors. Genetic factors play an important role in the behaviour of a person. The second factor is the environment. The environment around a human will have a lot of influence on the psychology of the individual. We see an aged man behaving very jovially with kids when they are playing, and the same person will be very inspiring to others when he is with other grown-up personalities. It is complicated to predict how a person behaves under a certain condition. Psychologists conduct studies and experiments to find out the behavioral psychology of individuals.

A human being will have four different types of personalities embedded in them. These four are namely envious, optimistic, pessimistic and trusting. Every person will have all these four personalities. Different people will exhibit any one of the above 4 personalities in different situations,

Generally, people with envious personalities try to be better than people around them. People with optimistic personalities always see the light at the other end. They always hope that they will be successful and always try to get more and more positive results. Pessimistic people always find difficulties only and they always think of failure and they may not try anything with a fear of failure. People with trusting personalities will trust other people and always try to help others.

Human behavior is a complex subject and the author has come out with a good article about the basics of the subject.

Author: Neeru Bhatt01 Mar 2024 Member Level: Diamond   Points : 5

Yes, to some extend genetics may also play some role but that is a subject matter of great research. Many experts believe that there is a basic framework of neuron assemblage in the brain that may affect the behaviour of a person but eventually it is the upbringing, learning through the growing up period, traits and attributes acquired, and other such things which make a person a composite unique personality behaving in a particular fashion. The matter becomes more complex when the same individual starts behaving differently in almost same situation having a different set of persons around.
As the subconscious level of humans is very high and the embedded intelligence plays a role everywhere, it becomes difficult to decipher the human behaviour.

Author: DR.N.V. Srinivasa Rao01 Mar 2024 Member Level: Diamond   Points : 2

Thank you, Neeru Bhatt, for your clarification. I read some articles online earlier in which it was mentioned that genetics play an important role. At the same time, it is not the only issue which decides the psychology of a person. As you mentioned there may be many other factors that are contributing to the behaviour of an individual. I think the environment plays an important role. That is why a person behaves differently in a similar situation with different persons or at different times.

Author: Umesh01 Mar 2024 Member Level: Diamond   Points : 3

This appears to be a useful resource for students who want to learn some basic concepts in Psychology.
Human behavior is mostly the result of circumstances and environment during growing up period. The child learns and develops habits and mannerism during this period only. That is why Psychologists emphasize on providing a good and conducive environment to the growing children in the house. No doubt, parents have a great role to play in this and there are some parents who are able to guide their children in the correct path. As already mentioned in the discussion above there are many factors that decide the making of human behaviour and it is very difficult to predict it as it changes to a great degrees in a situation.



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