Human Behaviour Psychology
According to Sigmund Freud, (1856-1939), human beings are just mechanical creatures, whom he views as prisoners of primitive instincts and powers, which we can barely control. He states that our purpose is to control these instincts and powers. Freud explained these concepts by comparing the human spirit to an iceberg. The visible part of the iceberg (spirit) is the conscious part, which consists of everything we know and remember and the thinking processes through which we function.
The unconscious part is made up of everything we have ever learned or experienced, including that which has been “forgotten”. A part of these forgotten things are really gone, but the largest part of the unconscious has just been shut out, because it would be annoying to be consciously reminded of it.
The influences of Helmholtz are also visible at other points. According to Freud, the material in the unconscious contains psychic energy. This psychic energy is constantly trying to get into the conscious part, while the conscious part keeps using energy to suppress undesirable discoveries. An expression of unknown powers is, for example, slips of the tongue. These expressions show that our unconscious was not strong enough to keep these powers outside the conscious part. Philosophers in the seventeenth and eighteenth century (like Descartes and Hobbes) shared a mechanistic view.
They thought that some of our actions are the result of internal or external forces, which are not under voluntary control. Hobbes, for example, claimed that underlying reasons for behavior are the avoidance of pain and the quest for pleasure. The extreme of the mechanistic view is the theory of instincts. An instinct is an innate biological force, which commands the organism to behave in a particular way.
The main advocate of the instinct theory was the psychologist McDougall. He hypothesized that all thinking and behavior is the result of instincts, which are fixed from birth, but which can be adjusted by learning and experience. By changes and combinations of instincts he tried to explain the whole repertoire of human behavior. Human behavior psychology is one of the theories of learning based upon the central idea that all human behaviors are attained through conditioning. This is also known as behaviorism. Conditioning happens through the interaction of human beings with the environment. According to human behavior psychology, human behavior can be studied in a systematic, methodical, recognizable and observable manner with no deliberation of internal mental states. Strengths of human behavior psychology/Behaviorism
•Human behavior psychology is based upon observable and noticeable behaviors, thus easier to quantify, collect empirical data and information while conducting research.
•Behavioral intervention, token economies, and discrete trial training are some of the effective remedial techniques which are all rooted intensively in human behavior psychology, also commonly known as behaviorism. These techniques are very helpful in changing maladaptive, detrimental or harmful behaviors in both children and adults. Criticisms of human behavior psychology/behaviorism
•Many detractors point out that human behavior psychology or behaviorism is an exclusively one-dimensional approach to human behavior and thus such human behavioral theories do not account for free will and internal influences such as moods, thoughts, feelings, etc. •Behaviorism or human behavior psychology does not account for further types of learning, in particular learning that occurs lacking the use of reinforcements.
Also individuals are able to adapt their human behavior when new information is brought in, even if a previous behavior pattern has been established over a period of time through reinforcement. Human behavior refers to the range of behaviors exhibited by humans and which are influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics.
The behavior of people (and other organisms or even mechanisms) falls within a range with some behavior being common, some unusual, some acceptable, and some outside acceptable limits. In sociology, behavior in general is characterised as having no meaning, being not directed at other people, and thus is the most basic human action. Behavior in this general sense should not be mistaken with social behavior, which is a more advanced action, as social behavior is behavior specifically directed at other people.
The acceptability of behavior depends heavily upon social norms and is regulated by various means of social control. Human behavior is studied by the specialised academic disciplines of psychiatry, psychology, social work, sociology, economics, and anthropology. Human behaviour is experienced throughout an individual’s entire lifetime. It includes the way they act based on different factors such as genetics, social norms, core faith, and attitude. Behaviour is impacted by certain traits each individual has. The traits vary from person to person and can produce different actions or behaviour from each person.
Social norms also impact behaviour. Due to the inherently conformist nature of human society in general, humans are pressurised into following certain rules and display certain behaviours in society, which conditions the way people behave. Different behaviours are deemed to be either acceptable or unacceptable in different societies and cultures. Core faith can be perceived through the religion and philosophy of that individual. It shapes the way a person thinks and this in turn results in different human behaviours.
Attitude can be defined as “the degree to which the person has a favorable or unfavorable evaluation of the behavior in question.” One’s attitude is essentially a reflexion of the behaviour he or she will portray in specific situations. Thus, human behavior is greatly influenced by the attitudes we use on a daily basis.
