By Gabrielle Benitez

Updated September 27, 2019

Reviewer Lauren Guilbeault

Humanbehaviorisaninherentlycomplexsubjectmatterwhichpertainstothemannerandreasonsbehindpeople'sactions.Ofcourse,therearecountlesstheoriesassociatedwithhumanbehaviorandvarioustypesofconduct.Understandinghumanbehaviorisveryimportantinsociety;theknowledgeshedslightonpatterns,thereasonspeoplemakecertaindecisions,andmuchmore.Ofcourse,themoreoneunderstandsabouthumanbehavior,thebettertheycanpositionthemselvesandcomprehendhowotherssee,interpret,andadapttotheirvariousenvironments.

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Oftheoriesabouthumanbehavior,oneofthemostprevalentonesofallisthatofconditioning.Conditioningoccurswhensomeoneisgroomedintobehavinginacertainmanner.Therearetwomaintypesofconditioning,anddifferentpeoplemaybemoreimpactedbyoneformovertheother.Ofcourse,conditioninghumanbeingstobehaveinacertainwaycanhavepromptethicalormoraldebates,especiallywhensomeoneisconditionedtoactinamannerwhichfailstosuittheirbestinterests.Then,othersmaintainthathumanbeingsareallinherentlyprogrammedtobehaveinonewayoranother.

ClassicalConditioning

Classicalconditioningoccurswhensomeonecomestoassociatespecificstimuliwithvariousoutcomes.Inturn,thismannerofconditioningoftenencouragespeopletobehaveinwayswhichwillbringthemjoyandpleasure.Forinstance,ifsomeonefindsthattheytendtodowellwhentheyfollowtheirinstinctsasopposedtofollowingtherules,theyarelikeliertobeanonconformistandtakerisks.Classicalconditioningdoesnotalwayshavetooccurfromtheactionsormanipulationsofaspecificindividual.Sometimes,thistypeofconditioninghappensfromsocietyorfromtheenvironmentinwhichsomeoneisroutinelyexposedto.

OperantConditioning

Quitesimply,operantconditioningcontrolshumanbehaviorviapositiveandnegativereinforcement.Apersonwhofindsthemselvesconstantlyintroublewiththelawwhentheybreakcertainrulestypicallylearnstoassociaterule-breakingwithlegalissues.Likewise,anindividualwhoregularlystudiesforexamsandacesthemcomestoassociatestudyingwithpositivegrades.Whenitcomestohumanbehavior,peopletendtosteerclearofwhatcausesthempainandgravitatetowardspleasureandpersonalsatisfaction.Thesearesomeofhowconditioning,bothclassicalandoperant,istheorizedtoimpacthumanbehavior.

Cognition

Intherealmofhumanbehavior,cognitionisaveryprevalenttheorywhichmaintainsthathumanbehaviorisdeterminedbyanindividual'sthoughts,innerjudgment,personalmotivations,etc.Thisparticulartheoryplacesgreatemphasisonpeople'sinternalstatesandmaintainsthatwhatapersonisfeeling,thinking,orbattlingwilleventuallyimpactthebehaviorwhichtheworldsees.Ofcourse,cognitivetheorieswhichpertaintohumanbehaviorareheavilysupportedbymentalhealthstudies,psychologicalstudies,andmore.Muchofwhatexistswithinthetangible,externalworldtodayoriginallyexistedwithinanindividual'smind.

Manytheoriesofhumanbehaviorarewidelyusedandacceptedintoday'sworld.Understandingthesetheoriesmakesadifference,butsodoesunderstandingthetypesofhumanbehaviorandthefactorswhichdrivethem.Asauniquespecies,humanbeingswillcollectivelyandindividuallyfallintodifferentorevenmultiplecategories.Certainpeoplemaybeinclinedinonedirection,whereasothersaredrivenbysomethingelseentirely.Nevertheless,thefollowinginformationisrequiredtounderstandwhathumanbehavioristrue.

Personality-Based

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Howpeoplebehaveislargelyimpactedbytheirpersonality.Someindividualsmaybepatientandeasygoing,whileothersareimpatientandhot-headed.Inmostcases,youcannottellsomeone'spersonalityrightoffthebat.Usually,ittakestimetogettoknowthem,interactwiththem,andtrulygetafeelforwhatyou'redealingwith.Somepersonalitiesarefriendlierthanothers,andthereareaseriesoffactorswhichcanshapeoraltersomeone'spersonality.Culture,environment,thepeercaninfluenceanindividual'spersonality,andsomuchmore.

Interest-Based

Aperson'slevelofinterestsignificantlyplaysaroleintheirhumanbehavior.Interestcandeterminewhetherornotsomeonebehavesinawaywhichisnotconsistentwithwhotheyare.Furthermore,interestoftendetermineswhetherornotsomeonetakesrisksorpursuesagoal.Moreoftenthannot,whensomeoneisinterestedinapersonorsubject,theyaremorelikelytodevoteattentionthaniftheywerenotinterested.Gaugingaperson'sinterestinsomethingcanbeaverygreatwayofpredictingortheorizingforthcominghumanbehavior.

Attitude-Based

Likepersonalityandinterest,individualattitudealsodeeplyaffectshumanbehavior.Attitudescanberightorwrong,byone'sdevelopmentorbyoutsideinfluence.Nevertheless,thereisnodenyingthataperson'sattitudedeterminesthechoicestheymake,thewaytheyinteractwithothers,andtheirgeneralhumanbehaviorinanutshell.Apositiveattitudecanmakesomeonemoreopenandreceptivetoacertainpersonorsituation.Likewise,anegativeattitudetendstocauseindividualstoavoidorshutoutwhattheyviewdisfavorably.

Emotion-Based

Emotionsaredeeplyrelevantwhenitpertainstohumanbehavior.Somanyactionsanddecisionsinlifeareemotionallycharged,evenwhenpeopledon'trealizethisonthesurface.Apositiveemotionalstatecancausesomeonetobeopen-minded,morelikelytotakerisks,andotherwiseengageincertainbehaviors.Likewise,anegativeemotionalstatecanleadtodestruction,isolation,oraperson'sdecisiontowithdraw.Virtuallyallmannersofhumanbehaviorcanbetracedbacktoemotionsofsomesort,evenifadditionalfactorsareinvolved.

Amorethoroughcomprehensionofhumanbehaviorhaspositivelycontributedtosocietyonsomanylevels.Thisisanundeniablefact,andyet,inspiteofthedefinition,theories,andtypesofhumanbehavior,self-controlisstillverymuchrelevant.Howyoubehavealwaysmakesadifferencebecausewhenit'sallsaidanddone,youareaccountableforyouractions.Behavingwellandcontrollingyourselfisveryeasywheneverythingisgoingwell,andyourbackisn'tagainstthewall.However,behaviorinthefaceofstress,worries,andchallengesisoftenwhatturnsouttobethemostdefining.

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Self-controlmattersbecauseitdetermineswhetherornotyoustaygroundedeveninthefaceofadversityortoughtimes.Someonewholacksself-controlwillhaveasignificantlyhardertimestayingoutoftroublethansomeonewhoknowshowtomanagethemselves.Exercisingself-controldoesn'tmeanthatyouwillneverfeelangry.Itdoesn'tmeanthatyourpersonality,interestlevels,andattitudeswon'tcomeintoplay;however,whenyouhaveself-control,youcanmanagethesefactorsinsteadofallowingthemtomanageyou.

Consequences,whetherpositiveornegative,areinevitablefactorswhenitcomestohumanbehavior.Thechoicesyoumakeandhowyouchoosetobehavedeterminewhetherornotyouexperiencedesirableorundesirableoutcomes.Self-controliswhatallowsyoutomanageyourbehaviorandavoidnegativeconsequenceswhichyoudon'twanttobeexposedto.Therearecountlesssituationswherepeoplehavelookedbackandeitherwishedthey'dexercisedbetterself-controlorfeltthankfulthattheydidexerciseself-control.

Ifyoufindyourselfstrugglingwithmanagingyourbehavior,thenthiscouldverywellbeasignofadeeperissuewhichneedstobeaddressed.Evenwhensomeoneisfeelingfrustratedorundertheweather,therestilltendstobeadegreeofself-control,whichallowsthemtomanagethechoicestheymakeandhowtheyinteractwithothers.

Issueswithpersonalhumanbehaviorcouldbeindicativeofunresolvedissuesorpasttrauma.Sometimes,peoplefindthemselvesonnegativedownwardsspiralswhentheyhaven'tdealtwithveryimportantissueswhichhavethepowertoimpacttheirlife.Unresolvedtraumacanimpactsomeone'spersonality,levelsofinterest,attitude,emotionalstate,andsomuchmore.It'snothingtomessaroundwith,andtheworstpartisthatmanyindividualsarenotconsciouslyawarewhentheseadverseimpactsarehappening.Alltheycanseeisthesymptomsoftheproblem,hencetheinabilitytomanagetheirbehavior.

Ifthisissomethingwhichresonateswithyou,thensigningupforonlinetherapywithBetterHelpcantrulychangeyourlifeforthebetter.Onlinetherapycomeswithmultiplebenefits;firstandforemost,you'llhaveaccesstoatherapistregardlessofwhoyouareorwhereyoulive.Secondly,you'llhavethesupportsystemandprofessionalguidance,whichcanprovideinsightintoyoursituation.Finally,byworkingwithatherapist,youopenyourselfuptonotonlylearningmoreaboutyourselfasanindividualbutalsounderstandingimportantdetailswhichimpactthequalityofyourlife.

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Regardlessofwhoyouareorwhatyoumaybegoingthrough,youdeserveaccesstothebestcarepossible,andyoudeservetheopportunitytomaketherestofyourlifethebestofyourlife.

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