Understanding and Supporting Behavior: Why Different Individuals Exhibit Different Behaviours (Essay Sample)

Understanding and supporting behaviour
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What is behaviour?
Broadly defined, behaviour refers to all the interactions and reactions exhibited by an organism in its environment as well as with other organisms. According to Skinner (1978), whatever an organism does qualifies as behaviour. Human behaviour refers to what people are thinking, feeling as well as doing. Thus, behaviour comprises of intelligence and personality traits.
Importance of behaviour
Expressing behaviour is crucial for individuals to survive. Persons need to be successful in their quest for food, shelter, communication and interaction with others, as well as in doing everything necessary to attain and sustain a sophisticated society (Hall, 1997). Teaching and learning of nearly all behaviours necessary for the maintenance of the societal structure are possible while others are acquired naturally. Simple biological wants like hunger prompt some behaviour. It is the reason most persons demonstrate behaviours that are predictable when they respond to hunger. Some behaviours are sophisticated skills necessary for individuals to be socially functional. Extreme behaviours are damaging to both the persons exhibiting them and the society. For example, extreme mental retardation may be seen as a case of extremely low intelligence and may be caused by the failure of a physiological process to happen in its normal manner. Also, behaviour directly as well as indirectly impacts on a person’s well-being and length of survival (Bouton, 2007). For instance, chronic conditions like heart ailments and diabetes are subjective to a person’s behaviour and lifestyle habits. As such, it is fair to say that behaviour impacts on all aspects of human existence.
Why different individuals exhibit different behaviours
Everybody is different. There are differences in all human traits; behavioural and physical. The existence of these differences is important because it allows individuals to adapt and survive when faced with various conditions. For instance, a high level of risk-taking behaviour may be a disservice to a person’s survival chances when such behaviour exposes the person to (more) danger (Skinner, 1978). However, risk-taking behaviour may be at times necessary to ensure eventual survival. Evolution provides a mechanism for choosing the variants of every generation which can best deal the environmental challenges, and thus the individuals having the advantageous behaviours or adaptations survive.
Behaviour as a socio-cultural construct
Behaviour and culture have a close connection. Different cultures of various societies enforce patterns or codes of behaviour (Daniels, 2005). The consequence varies from individual to the other, with some depicting aggression, dominance or even violence in their behaviours, and yet others show acquired human traits. Socialization enforces desirable behaviour as well as discourages unwanted behaviour. Socio-culture comes into effect in determining what is wanted and what is objectionable behaviour (Wells, 1999). The implementation of socio-culture takes various forms to make certain that members of the society follow a certain accepted pattern of behaviour. This behaviour becomes the social norm. Contravening the norm usually leads to negative responses like seclusion, scorn, abuse, being looked at disapprovingly, punished or even violence. When individuals do not perform the role they are expected to, they are usually termed as mad. Adherence to societal norms as well as the proper performance of one’s roles may be rewarded with admiration and even a greater status in the society.
Various societies institute different cultures. Acceptable behaviour in one society is not necessarily acceptable in another. Taking alcohol is largely acceptable in western culture and unacceptable in the Middle East. Similarly, polygamy is largely the norm in the Middle East but it is frowned upon in western societies. There are as well myriad and explicit differences in normal etiquette amongst the cultures. Socialization teaches what is (not) acceptable in one’s culture of upbringing. It aims at making the infant a proper member of that society.
There are as well numerous similarities in different cultures. Every culture has a form of family structure. Every culture comes with an organized means of production and distribution of the things the society needs. Every culture has a government for the maintenance of order as well as institutions for teaching the society’s cultures and traditions to the members. All the societies with their varied cultures aim at solving four basic problems, i.e.; cultural, kinship, political and economic. Various societies have applied differing and at times similar solutions to these basic problems. The chosen solutions constitute the society’s culture (Daniels, 2005).
Socio-cultural theory
"Children’s capacity to choose appropriate behaviour is influenced by their developmental ability, temperament, interactions, life experiences and environmental factors.”
(Government of South Australia, 2004).
As the quote above by the Government of South Australia (2004), asserts, children genetic makeup or temperament, interactions or exchanges with other societal members, individual life experiences, and environmental elements impacts on a child’s capacity to select the appropriate behaviour. Indeed, the sociocultural theory by Lev Vygotsky (2012) holds that societal interactions ought to be comprehended as part and parcel of the culture as opposed to separately, so as to appreciate the contribution of exchanges with members of the society towards a child’s cognitive development as well as thinking. Rightly, the theory maintains that an interactive guided participation by adults is crucial for children’s capacity to select proper behaviour and cognitive development.
According to this theory, parents and caregivers should scaffold – guide the thinking and learning in children using language (Berk & Winsler, 1995). With successful scaffolding, children’s performance and mastery level can improve significantly and thus they can complete tasks with ease. When roles become too hard for children, adults should intervene by giving hints as well as asking questions that help children to complete the tasks and solve the issues. Vygotsky (2012) termed these stages of indirect guidance as ‘zones of proximal development.’ While in the zones of proximal development, indirect guidance enhances powerful learning. A sociocultural theoretical perspective holds that a child’s capability to select the proper behaviour is strongly enhanced by the provision of peer interactions as well as an inherent developmental ability.
In comparison to Jean Piaget’s cognitive-developmental theory, Vygotsky asserted that social environment plays a crucial role in children’s cognitive development (Newman & Holzman, 2013). On the other hand, Piaget holds that children are by themselves the most crucial source of cognitive development and thinking. Piaget emphasizes the natural line towards human cognition while Vygotsky maintains the cultural path towards development.
The role of biology in determining behaviour is obvious since the brain and the rest of the nervous system control every behaviour. Genes design the brain’s development by transcription and translating the DNA into proteins. Wells (1999) says that genes impact on the brain’s molecular structure at all levels including neurotransmission, brain anatomy, receptors, as well as neuron interconnections. The environment crucially modifies or disrupts genetically encrypted actions. Differences in genes controlling brain development cause differences in behaviour. An individual’s experience, as well as other features of the environment, also influences behaviour. The environment here refers to culture, experiences, as well as friends and familial interactions. The environment also comprises of anything non-genetic such as prenatal contact with toxins, being hit on the head by a brick or having a pathogenic infection that may impact on the person’s central nervous system.
Children’s behaviour in learning environments
Children’s social interactions result in an on-going step by step transformation of their thoughts and behaviour. As put forward by Vygotsky, cognitive development in children hinges on interactions with the various persons as well as the particular culture in helping the young on...