Category: Human behavior

Introduction

There are various scholars who have shown interest in determining whether individuals’ behaviors can be predicted. It is worth mentioning that their different explanations provide insights into the topic. Rodney Stack argues tries to elaborate on the difference that exists between explanations that are scientific and those that offer casual justification concerning particular types of behaviors (Stark 87).

Free will versus human behaviors

Rodney Stack contended that people often confuse free will notion with that of human behavior being random as well as unpredictable. Basically, His argument seems to be off the mark. It can be sociologically explained that free will is the starting point to studying as well as making predictions on human behaviors.

Generally, human behaviors can be predicted to a larger extent. Human beings’ behaviors are guided by social interactions as well as socialization. Free will means that individuals have the freedom to make their choices given a particular situation. Rodney makes us believe that free will is incompatible with predictions about human behaviors (Stark 127).

Some scholars argue that an individual’s actions result from the antecedent behaviors, which in most cases are learned from society. Societies often put in place mores, norms, and values that people are supposed to follow as a guide to their behaviors. The do’s and don’ts of the community allow individuals to learn the expectations of the wider society. Therefore, they behave in a manner that can be predicted.

It is important to understand that individuals may be tempted to act in a particular manner following their free choices; however, they have to restrain themselves, therefore acting according to the expectations of the society. Consequently, free will of the individuals will also be guided by social aspects. Free will only act as the starting point to predicting how an individual is likely to behave in a particular situation since the society has its sets of standards that people are expected to maintain (Ritzer 212).

Sociological explanation of suicide

Early studies on suicide have demonstrated how people’s forms of behaviors can be elaborated through sociological perspectives. Emile Durkheim is one of the scholars who have been widely recognized for his approaches to suicide behaviors. His primary concern regarded how societies could be in a position to maintain order and integrity especially during modernization era where aspects such as religion as well as ethnic backgrounds were no longer able to maintain order in the society.

Durkheim’s studied suicide rates in the verge of explaining suicidal behaviors. In his study, it was apparent that the suicide rate was higher among the Protestants compared to Catholics. He also demonstrated that suicide was higher among the married men compared to those who were not married. In his study, Protestants were found to have weak social ties which led to weaker social cohesion as well as lessened social solidarity.

This was the cause of higher suicide rates among the Protestants. Therefore, it is predicted that Protestants are more likely to commit suicide, especially when preoccupied with suicidal thoughts than Catholics due to weak social ties. This clearly demonstrates that individualistic behaviors such as suicide can effectively be explained in a sociological perspective (Ritzer 132).

Conclusion

Human behavior can effectively be predicted due to the fact that it results from learned social behaviors. In most cases, human beings are socialized to certain norms and values which shapes their behaviors. They learn to behave only according to expected standards. Therefore, their free will to act in a certain way is only the first step to determining how individuals will behave in a particular situation.

Individualistic behaviors are significantly explained in a sociological manner. A good example is the suicide explanations given by scholars such as Emile Durkheim. Durkheim predicted that Protestants are likely to engage in suicide activities due to their loose ties as well as lack of solidarity.

Works cited

Ritzer, George. Sociological Theory. 3^rd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

Stark, Rodney. Sociology. 10th ed. California: Wadsworth, 2007.

Introduction

• The dynamics of acculturation and biosocial communication receives increased attention in modern literature.
• Key Concepts:
  • Culture – organized pattern of values beliefs and behaviors.
  • Ethnicity – “shared values behaviors and customs as well as patterns of thinking and feeling that distinguish one cultural group within a given society from another” (Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda, 2012, p. 138).
  • Majorityand minority – groups of unequal power, where one group is subordinate to the other.
  • Stereotype – an overgeneralized and rigid definition of group characteristics assigned to people of a certain group.
  • Discrimination – actions of a dominant group that harm the subordinate group.
  • Ethnocentrism– believing that one’s ethnic group is superior over others.

As the United States has become more racially and ethnically diverse in recent years, the dynamics of acculturation and bicultural socialization in the lives of ethnic and racial minorities has received increasing attention in the literature. The issue is that older theories of culture change have proven to be inapplicable universally. Therefore, the need for more advanced approaches to the interpretation of intercultural relations has appeared.

However, before delving into details about such theories, it is vital to appreciate key concepts. The chapter identifies six central ideas that are crucial for intercultural relations theories.

• Culture refers to the organized pattern of values, beliefs, and behaviors developed and transmitted over time by a social group.
• Ethnicity is very close to the concept of culture and includes shared values behaviors and customs as well as patterns of thinking and feeling that distinguish one cultural group within a given society from another.
• Majority and minority are groups of unequal power, where one group is subordinate to the other.
• Stereotypes are overgeneralized and rigid definitions of group characteristics that is assigned to people based on their membership in a group.
• Discrimination refers to actions carried out by members of dominant groups, or their representatives, that have a differential and harmful impact on members of subordinate groups.
• Ethnocentrism means considering one’s own ethnic or national group to be superior to others and using one’s own standards to evaluate all other groups.

Assimilation Ideology

• Anglo conformity:
  • Appeared in 1600s;
  • Linear process;
  • Culture of minorities changes to match the majority culture.
• Melting Pot Theory:
  • Formulated by J. Hector St. John Crèvecoeur in the 18th century;
  • “Individuals of all nations are melted into a race of new men” (Robbins et al., 2012, p. 135).
• Acculturation:
  • Formulated by Horace Kallen as cultural pluralism in 1915;
  • “Changing of one culture by incorporation of elements of another culture” (Robbins et al., 2012, p. 136).

Historically the process of cultural interaction was viewed from the stance of Anglo conformity. Anglo conformity is a belief base on the idea of the maintenance of English cultural patterns, institutions, and language was both desirable and necessary for colonists to prosper in the new world. The idea of Anglo conformity assumes that intercultural relations are a linear process leading to the disappearance of minority culture. In other words, minorities assimilate and embrace the values, views, and beliefs of the majority.

In the 18th century, Hector Crèvecoeur described another theory, which he named The Melting Pot Theory. According to Crèvecoeur’s idea, individuals of all nations are melted into a race of new men. America is seen as a new country were interactions of different cultures have led to the emergence of a new culture.

Later, in 1915, Horace Kallen described his theory of cultural pluralism, which is the cooperation of cultural diversities. According to this theory, during their interaction, two cultures acquire shared values and norms.

Deficiency Theory

• Emerged in 1900s, no identified founder.
• Cultural deficiency is a belief that some cultural attributes are the reason for being disadvantaged.
• Is applicable to explain low performance of African Americans and Latinos.
• Acceptance of Anglo-based norms to judge other countries.
• The theory leads to the idea of White privilege.

In the United States, all the cultural studies are based on the values of the researchers rather than on the norms of studied culture. Therefore, in the early 1900s, the theory of cultural deficiency has emerged.

According to this theory, attributes of minority cultures have prevented them from assimilating and attaining social mobility within U.S. society. The theory was widely used in the middle 1900s to explain the inability of minority groups, such as Latinos and African Americans, to become successful in the United States. The theory was accepted because it was based on Anglo values that dominated US society. However, the theory can hardly be called objective since it judges the behaviors, values, and norms of minority group members on criteria that are not likely to be culturally relevant.

The idea of cultural deficiency has led to the development of the concept of White privilege. The concept refers to social structural and interpersonal benefits and advantages given to White Americans of European descent based on their racial identification. However, it is a politically incorrect idea that is not appreciated by US society.

Dual Perspective

• Developed by Dolores Norton in 1978.
• Individuals are to be viewed in two systems:
  • Nurturing system – individual, immediate family, extended family, immediate community.
  • Sustaining system – political power, the educational system, goods and services.
• Human development is seen as a combination of cultural influences from both systems.

To more accurately understand the life context of minority persons, in 1978, Norton has suggested that they must be viewed within two separate contexts, the nurturing system, and the sustaining system. The nurturing system is the primary context and includes the individual, the immediate family, the extended family, and the immediate community. The sustaining system is the secondary context, or larger society, and comprises political power, the educational system, goods and services, and so on. Children are first raised in their primary context and then transition to the sustaining system. From a dual perspective, human development is seen as a combination of cultural influences from both systems. Therefore, a lack of congruence between majority and minority cultures should not be viewed as inherent deficits or pathology.

Bicultural Socialization

• Bicultural Socialization emerged in 1991 in the works by Chau, de Anda, and Ho.
• Allows family culture to be viewed as one that may operate independently from the larger societal culture.
• Bicultural conflict – occurs “when an individual’s family values and behaviors are different from those of the society at large” (Robbins et al., 2012, p. 144).
• Bicultural tension – inability to adapt to dual sets of demands.
• Bicultural conflict may lead to bicultural tension in members of minority groups.

Norton’s dual perspective gave rise to bicultural socialization that was first described in 1991 by Chau, de Anda, and Ho. According to this perspective, family culture is to be viewed separately from the larger society. According to this theory, conflicting cultural norms left minorities with a deficit in socialization. The deprivation of socialization was due to bicultural conflict and bicultural tension. Bicultural conflict occurs when an individual’s family values and behaviors are different from those of society at large. It can lead to bicultural tension, which is viewed as an inability to adapt to dual sets of demands. The ability to cope with the conflict depends on the level of support or rejection from both systems. A person is to have a clear and secure sense of self-identity to deal with rejection or criticism from the majority group. A person who successfully adapts to both cultures and languages can a new sense of power emerges from these adaptive skills.

Ethnic, Racial/Cultural, and Minority Identity

• Conceptualized by Cross in 1991.
• Minority groups develop in the context of oppression, racism, and marginalization.
• There five stages of acquiring a positive ethnic or racial/cultural identity.
  • Pre-encounter.
  • Encounter.
  • Immersion-emersion.
  • Internalization.
  • Internalization-commitment.

Even though the idea of ethnic, racial/cultural, and minority identity has been around since the 1970s, it was conceptualized by Cross in 1991. The concept views the development of minority within the broader cultural and historical context of oppression, racism, and marginalization of people of color in the United States. All members of minority cultures face prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination.

According to Cross, there are five stages of acquiring a positive ethnic identity, including pre-encounter, encounter, immersion-emersion, internalization, and internalization-commitment. According to Cross, the process may first lead identity diffusion, typified by the rejection of the culture of origin and immersion in the majority culture. As the person grows older, she or he develops an awareness of the importance of primary group ties and becomes immersed in the culture of origin. Finally, the internalization of personal and group identity leads to the acquisition of positive ethnic or racial/cultural identity. The theory proposes that cultural identity clarity as being the primary factor that promotes psychological well-being in people who faced racism and discrimination.

The theory was revised by Helms and Cook in 1999. The researchers also described five stages, including conformity, dissonance, immersion/emersion, internalization, and integrative awareness. Similar to

Cross’model, the final and most sophisticated stage is one in which the person develops a positive racial self and is able to integrate aspects that may be characteristic of other groups as well.

Multidimensional Transactional Model of Culture Change

• The multidimensional model incorporates all the concepts described previously.
• Galan proposed the multidimensional model in 1990.
• Four types of adaptation:
  • Marginal;
  • Traditional;
  • Assimilation;
  • Bicultural;
• Social class depends on the level of adherence to social norms of the majority culture.
• Two-dimensional model is insufficient to understand the complexity of the theory.
• Three-dimensional model helps to appreciate the dynamics.
• Three-dimensional model shows that a bicultural person may move between types of adaptation.

In order to acquire a greater appreciation of the life of minorities, it is vital to understand ethnic identity, the dual perspective, the dynamic nature of bicultural socialization, the existence of bicultural conflict and bicultural tension, and the contextual nature of cultural adherence. Therefore, in 1990, Galan proposed a multidimensional model that can be seen in Figure 5. This model describes four types of adaptation.

Marginal adaptation refers to minorities that failed to adapt to either nurturing and sustaining systems. Such people experience culture conflict, and since they are unable to deal with the conflictual demands of the two systems, they end up rejecting the norms and values of both.

Traditional adaptation describes a strong commitment to family values that are usually present in the first generation of ethnic minorities and new immigrants. In its nature, traditional adaptation is high adherence to the values and behaviors of the ethnic family culture, and low (or absent) adherence to values and behaviors of the society.

Assimilation is the rejection of family norms in favor of the majority culture. Such adaptation usually happens in younger minorities after being educated in a new culture. Such people may feel pressured to drop their cultural values and behaviors to survive the perceived or actual discrimination of being ethnically different.

Bicultural adaptation, or acculturation, refers to minority persons with a strong bicultural orientation who have high levels of adherence to both nurturing group values and behaviors and sustaining societal values and behaviors. As seen from Figure 5, the social class often depends on the level of adaptation to the norms of the majority culture. Therefore, assimilated and acculturated individuals are more likely to be financially successful in life.

Galan’s model is a three-dimensional model since two dimensions are no not enough to describe the process of bicultural adaptation. A three-dimension model represented in figure 6 helps to appreciate the dynamics of the process. It helps to picture how values and behaviors of one person change through time. Some situations, such as those at the workplace, may require adapting and acting in more acculturated or assimilated ways, whereas other situations, such as those in family gatherings, may call for more traditional behaviors. Therefore, a flexible person is able to move from one type of adaptation to another depending on the circumstances and personal will.

Theory Application

• Dual Perspective and bicultural socialization have found its use in social work practice:
  • Definition of the helping situation;
  • Assessment and practice strategies.
• Multidimensional model helps to understand:
  • The problem of adapting to a new culture in critical growth periods such as adolescence;
  • The issue of ethnic identity– and social role–related dilemmas;
  • Intergenerational conflict caused by differential acculturation, including adultification and spousification.

While the theories are beneficial for understanding the process of cultural change, they are rarely used in research and practice.

Dual perspective, deficiency theory, and bicultural socialization concepts are currently used in social work practice. First, dual perspective and bicultural socialization theories help to identify the social issues of minorities. In particular, the theories help recognize if a bicultural conflict of bicultural tension is present by determining the values, behaviors, and norms of an individual. Second, these theories suggest technics for assessing the presence of support mechanisms in both the nurturing and sustaining systems. Such an assessment may define deficiencies and help to use an efficient strategy to address the problem. For instance, in order to be effective, the person must include a care provider into the nurturing system. At the same time, the theories may suggest individual, family, organizational, or community interventions. Legislative advocacy may also be a focus of practice.

As for the multidimensional model, it is applied to research of conflict situations in bicultural families. First, the theory helps to appreciate the problem of adapting to a new culture in critical growth periods such as adolescence. The model suggests that transitioning to an efficient adaptation type may be delayed or hampered by age changes such as puberty. Second, the concept helps to understand the problems of adults transitioning to a new culture since they may lose their status. This may end up in a revision of family roles, which can weaken the support mechanisms. Third, the theory helps to understand the phenomena of adultification and spousification. Adultification occurs when a child assumes adult roles before adulthood. Spousification occurs when a child becomes adultified by the nurturing or sustaining systems.

Even though the applications of the theories are scarce, they have become an object of close attention due to globalization. Therefore, additional spheres of application may emerge in the nearest future.

Application to Social Issue of Interest

• Research question: “What is it like to live through the experience of first-generation Latinos in transition from the military to civilian life?”
• Assimilation ideology based on Anglo conformity, melting pot theory or acculturation are inapplicable to my research question.
• Ethnic, Racial/Cultural, and Minority Identity can help to identify the stage of development and explain the problems.
• Deficiency theory can help to understand the failure to become prosperous and successful among veterans.
• Bicultural socialization theory helps to identify if bicultural conflict and bicultural tension had an impact on the experience of veterans.
• Multidimensional transactional model of culture change can help to understand the events in veterans’ lives were affected by adaptation type.
• Dual perspective model can help to identify how supporting mechanisms from nurture and sustaining systems helped to cope with problems.

Theories are valued for their applicability to specific research questions. The question of my present research is “What is it like to live through the experience of first-generation Latinos in transition from the military to civilian life?” Not all the concepts reviewed today can play a role in the social problem of my choice.

Assimilation ideology based on Anglo conformity, melting pot theory or acculturation are inapplicable to my research question. The reason for that is they have be proven to be generally deficient. They are usually used to understand the historical background behind modern theories.

Ethnic, Racial/Cultural, and Minority Identity can help to identify the stage of development and explain the problems. However, I believe that this theory is hardly beneficial for my research question, since it represents a linear process. Modern theories are more flexible and have the ability to understand social issues with greater accuracy.

While deficiency theory can help to understand the failure to become prosperous and successful among veterans, it will not be applied to my research. I consider the theory to be racist and unethical.

In short, all the theories gathered on this slide are of little importance to my research question.

Bicultural socialization theory helps to identify if bicultural conflict and bicultural tension had an impact on the experience of veterans. It would help to assess how the presence (or absence) of coping mechanisms with such conflicts have facilitated or obstructed positive outcomes.

Multidimensional Transactional Model of Culture Change can help to understand the events in veterans’ lives were affected by adaptation type. It would be the most appropriate framework for my research. However, the concept is overly complicated and it is rarely used in current research; therefore, it would be difficult to find relevant examples to replicate the approach.

Dual Perspective model seems to be the most convenient for my research question, since it is actively used in modern academic literature and the idea is straightforward. This theory can help to identify how supporting mechanisms from nurture and sustaining systems helped to cope with problems.

In summary, half of the approaches may be applied to the description of experiences of Latino veterans.

Conclusion

• Theories guide research and help to understand social phenomena.
• The reviewed theories are:
  • Assimilation Ideology;
  • Deficiency Theory;
  • Dual Perspective;
  • Bicultural Socialization;
  • Ethnic, Racial/Cultural, and Minority Identity;
  • Multidimensional Transactional Model of Culture Change.
• Most of the theories, excluding Norton’s Dual Perspective, are rarely applied to practice.
• Half of the reviewed approaches can be utilized for describing the experiences of Latino veterans.

Theories guide research and help to understand social phenomena of interest. The theories overviewed in Chapter 6 in the book Contemporary human behavior theory include Assimilation ideology; Deficiency theory; Dual Perspective; Bicultural Socialization; Ethnic, Racial/Cultural, and Minority Identity; Multidimensional Transactional Model of Culture Change. Most of these theories excluding Norton’s Dual Perspective, are rarely applied to practice. Half of the reviewed approaches can be utilized for describing the experiences of Latino veterans. However, for my research, I used the phenomenological approach to evaluate the opinions of individuals.

Reference

Robbins, S., Chatterjee, P., & Canda, E. (2012). Contemporary human behavior theory (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

Introduction

In the beginning of the 20th century a new idea has emerged that contradicted the scientific method and denied the objectivity or reality.

Key concepts:

• Ontology – explanation of reality;
• Epistemology – the theory of knowledge;
• Causal processes – theories of causality and change;
• Phenomenology – a study of the creation of what is taken to be real;
• Bracketing – disbelieving that the world is naturally ordered.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a new idea has emerged that contradicted the scientific method and denied the objectivity or reality. The idea supported the creation of many theories that emphasized the importance of cultural, situational, and socially constructed aspects of human experience. Today we are going to touch upon these theories in great detail. However, before we start, it is beneficial to make sure that everyone understands the terms that will be used during today’s presentation. Ontology is the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being and explanation of reality.

Epistemology is the theory of knowledge, especially with regard to its methods, validity, and scope, and the distinction between justified belief and opinion.

Causal process is an idea that one process contributes to the production of another process.

Phenomenology is an approach that concentrates on the study of consciousness and the objects of direct experience.

— AND —-

Bracketing is setting aside the idea that the real world is naturally ordered.

Overview

• Theories:
  • Phenomenology:
    • Transcendental Phenomenology;
    • Phenomenology of Everyday Life;
  • Social Constructionism;
  • Hermeneutics;
• Ethnomethodology.
• Post-Modernism.
• Theory Application.

Today we are going to discuss three theories or philosophies that prevailed in the middle and at the end of the 20th century. The theories are Phenomenology, which can be subdivided into Transcendental Phenomenology and Phenomenology of Everyday Life, Social Constructionism, and Hermeneutics. These theories had a lot in common; however, there were differences in some crucial points concerning the dualism of objective and subjective and the concept of self.

We will also discuss Ethnomethodology, which is an applied method of phenomenology. We will also briefly touch upon postmodernism, which is a collective name for all the theorists of the late 1900s.

Finally, we will discuss how these theories can be applied to social work and my research question.

Transcendental Phenomenology

• Founder: Edmund Husserl.
• Year: 1936.
• He noted “surreptitious substitution of the mathematically substructed world of idealities for the only real world” (Robbins, Chatterjee, & Canda, 2012).

At the beginning of the 20th century, Positivism was a trending philosophy that was utilized by the majority o scientists. It emphasized that the reality is singular, knowledge is authorized as valid by logic or reason, and learning is a linear process based on cause and effect. However, there were anti-positivists who had contrasting views on ontology, epistemology, and causal processes.

In 1934, Edmund Husserl published a book called “The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology.” In this book, he noted surreptitious substitution of the mathematically substructed world of idealities for the only real world. The book claimed that every person’s reality is individual, knowledge is behavioral and emotional as well as cognitive, and learning and development involve refinements and transformation of mental representations. The book has given rise to many theories, which emerged later in the 20th century.

Phenomenology of Everyday Life

• Formulated by Alfred Schutz in 1967;
• Opposed Weber’s dualistic viewpoint;
• Distinguished between first-order processes and second-order processes;
• Intersubjective manner of phenomenology;
  • “We-relations” and “they-relations”;
• Underlined typification.

Husserl’s follower, Alfred Shutz, developed the idea of transcendental phenomenology. Shutz elaborated a theory which was called “Phenomenology of Everyday Life.” The theory opposed Weber’s dualistic viewpoint and claimed that humans could not percept objective reality.

Schutz distinguished between first-order processes by which we interpret our own and others’ actions in everyday life and second-order processes by which a social scientist seeks to understand the first-order processes. Second-order processes are interpretations that take place to a great extent in terms of the first-order categories by which we make sense out of ordinary life.

Such views led to the idea that phenomenology is not transcendental, but rather social or intersubjective. People share experiences through face-to-face communication of “we-relations.” At the same time, people can interact with impersonal contemporaries, which is seen as “they-relations.” Through such interactions, people acquire typifications, which are constructs, or recipes, that we gain through socialization that help us use typical actions for typical situations in daily life.

Shutz’s ideas are believed to be overly complicated. This has led to many interpretations.

Ethnomethodology

• Ethnomethodology was introduced by Harold Garfinkle in 1967.
• Considered micro-phenomenology.
• Analysis of commonplace everyday activities in social settings.
• Phenomenology spread to the US though Garfinkle’s ideas.

Ethnomethodology is a concept coined by Harold Garfinkle in 1967. Inspired by Schutz, Garfinkle believed that research and theorizing are to be done in conjunction, such that the theorizing is tied to the materials generated by the research. He developed experiments aimed at disrupting the flow of normal events to demonstrate the fragility of social reality. For instance, he asked the students to act like they are guests while being at home. The reactions of family members demonstrated the importance of shared definitions and shared assumptions.

Garfinkle’s ethnomethodology is considered micro-phenomenology because it examines how everyday life situations are the products of our collective actions.

Today, ethnomethodology is viewed as an analysis of commonplace everyday activities in social settings. It was vital for spreading German thought to the West Coast of the US.

Concept of Self

• The self is viewed as a process;
• Intentionality of consciousness;
• Postmodernist phenomenology introduced by Dreyfus in 1987;
• Unchanging foundations of self shifted;
• No universal or trans-historical self, only local selves.

The concept of Self is of extreme importance to all theories and philosophies. In phenomenology, Self is viewed as a process in which the Self is the “originator of experience within a biographically determined situation. However, unlike symbolic interactionists, phenomenologists viewed Self as a conscious subject. Consciousness, at the same time, is viewed as an intentional process rather than involuntary.

During the last decades o the 20th century, many theorists have emerged, which were grouped and named postmodern. Even though there is no official founder of the post-modernistic thought, Dreyfus may be considered a founder since he introduced a postmodernist view on the concept of Self. He argued that there is no unchanged foundation of Self, and there is no universal or trans-historical self, only local selves. Cultural conceptualizations and configurations of Self are formed by the economies and politics of their respective eras.

Social Constructionism

• Introduced by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann in 1967.
• People are the products of the very society they create.
• Dualism of objectivity and subjectivity.
• No criteria for truth.
• Michel Foucault stated that subjective truths are used for exercising power.

Social constructionism is another branch of Husserl’s transcendental phenomenology. It was formulated in 1967 by Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann. They stated that humans create a society, and society creates people. People are born in a pre-existing society, and, as they grow, they continue to contract society. Unlike phenomenology of every day, Social Constructionism believed that society is objective, but there is no method for reaching objectivity. In other words, constructionists believed in the duality of objectivity and subjectivity. At the same time, they emphasized that people can operate only with subjective matters since they are forced to live by the rules the society has created.

Unlike Weber, Berger and Luckmann offered to criteria for truth. In fact, in post-modernistic developments of constructivists’ thought, Michel Foucault denied the existence of truth. Instead, the truths are multiple and are used to manipulate society and exercise power.

Hermeneutics

• Emerged at the end of 20th century.
• Study of understanding.
• Central concept: self-interpretation.
• Criticized detachment of self from society.

Hermeneutics emerged at the end of the 20th century. Even though there was no founder of the philosophy or the exact date of its formulation, it has become wide-spread in the 1990s. Initially, it was a philosophical movement that studied understanding. The philosophy identified the concept of Self as a constant process of interpretation. In other words, rather than being identified by others, people identify and interpret themselves influenced by the opinions of the others.

Hermeneutics criticized the stance of phenomenologists, social constructivists, and post-modernists, which supported sharp separateness and detachment of the individual Self that modern thought believes to be necessary for human freedom and moral autonomy. The followers of hermeneutics believed that such an attitude could lead to emotional isolation and emptiness.

Application

• Narrative therapy:
  • Deconstructive listening;
  • Deconstructive questioning;
  • Questioning assumptions and beliefs;
  • Building on coping abilities and strengths;
  • Externalizing the problem.
• Solution-focused therapy.

All three theories are extensively used for various therapies.

Narrative therapy emphasizes storytelling, followed by a series of purposeful questioning techniques, reflections, and probing aimed at introducing new ideas and elucidating parts of the client’s story not previously emphasized.

Some commonly used techniques in narrative practice include deconstructive listening (listening for other possible meanings); deconstructive questioning (to help clients see how stories are constructed); questioning assumptions and beliefs (to bring forth problematic beliefs, practices, feelings and attitudes); building on coping abilities and strengths; understanding internalized conversations (to help clients reframe their experiences into a positive light to find new stories that are more empowering to tell); externalizing the problem; and tracking influences.

Solution-focused therapy emphasizes the process and future behaviors that will help clients accomplish their goals. The primary focus is to help clients construct a set of behavioral tasks that lead to a rapid solution. Solution-focused therapists use a wide variety of methods to help clients achieve change.

The table presented on this slide can help to acquire a better appreciation when the theories can be used.Phenomenology, social constructionism, and Hermeneutics can be used in mental health centers and private practices for re-evaluating career goals. For this matter, narrative therapy and self-reflective journaling are used.

The approaches can be used for university-based mental health services to students anxious over coming out as gay. Personal beliefs about sexual orientation may be explored during individual counseling.

Family service centers can also benefit from the described frameworks in family therapy. A therapist can deconstruct family patterns and reconstruct new patterns to avoid conflict over family roles and rules.

City task force on cultural diversity can also use the theories for addressing racist stereotypes for anti-racist education programs.

Application to the Issue of Interest

• Research question:
  • “What is the lived experience of first-generation Latino service members, who remained in U.S.A. after transitioning?”
• All the reviewed theories can be applied to interpret the findings of my research question.
• Social constructionism and phenomenology can help to understand how a detached self helped to isolate form reality.
• Hermeneutics can help to identify how interaction with other people could help to construct new reality.

As you may remember from my previous presentations, my research question is: “What is the lived experience of first-generation Latino service members, who remained in the U.S.A. after transitioning?”

Since the discussed theories have a lot in common, all of them can be applied to interpret the findings of my research question.

Social constructionism and phenomenology can help to understand how a detached self helped to isolate from reality if veterans experience depression, isolation, and emptiness.

Hermeneutics can help to identify how interaction with other people could help to construct a new reality. The experience of the veterans can be deconstructed to understand what beliefs helped or obstructed them from being successful.

Conclusion

• Key concepts discussed.
• Theories overviewed.
• Applicability to social practice demonstrated.
• Relevance to research question identified.

Theories are vital for guiding studies and evaluating the research results. Today we discussed three key theories introduced in Chapter 11 of Contemporary human behavior theory, including phenomenology, social constructionism, and hermeneutics. All the theories are applicable to social work in vocational counseling, student counselling, family therapy, and community education and outreach. All the theories can be used for my research to interpret the findings.

References

Robbins, S., Chatterjee, P., & Canda, E. (2012). Contemporary human behavior theory(2nd ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.

It is common knowledge that people all over the world have different lifestyles, diverse beliefs, and each of them looking or hearing something views the thing in the way typical only to him/her. Human behavior and especially studies of the origins and development of human society has always been a subject of sociology. The examination of the individuals influenced by groups is the study of sociology whereas its main goal is to understand human behavior in the context of society and, after succeeding in this, trying to generalize and predict human behavior. Everybody knows that our society consists of people who can be named social actors as each of them plays his role in this life and each is an important link in the chain called society. Like every actor, the social one cannot function only by himself as he needs somebody else to make the performance complete. No doubt that other actors influence him greatly and sometimes he even does what he would have never done if he were alone. The members of a society have a certain impact on each other and under the effect of a great quantity the individuals change all the time reviewing their ideas and beliefs and comparing them with those of other people helping each other and sometimes doing harm by this helping just like on a stage when one actor forgets his cue and somebody prompts him without being sure that he is right which causes misunderstandings sometimes. This little theatre playing an endless performance never remains without an audience and in our case, this audience is sociology which observes, analyzes, and predicts the actions of this or that social actor. This is why studying sociology can be important for several reasons.

First of all, sociology prepares you for a lifetime of change. Knowing more about people and studying their behavior all the time keeping your knowledge up-to-date you will always be able to predict misunderstandings and different problems which may arise on the way to reaching your goal. As it is known, the one who knows more than the others will never be defeated.

Secondly, sociology helps us get a more objective view of the society we live in. It’s not a secret that ignorance of the law does not exempt you from responsibility as well as knowing more about the society you live in gives you an extra idea of what is fair or unfair towards people. Thus you will be able to view people’s behavior objectively rather than under the influence of your emotions.

And, finally, studying sociology gives you a great chance to get the job you deserve. Today’s people are career-oriented and a degree in sociology will be of great relevance for you in the future as it opens you wide horizons and promises you a job in the educational or governmental spheres which is very honorable and implies the most effective path to your career progress. It seems that studying sociology when it is likely to help you become a worthy person makes this science by itself an important part of each person’s life.

In conclusion, sociology is a science which as it seems to some people is of no significant value today but which opens its secrets to those who are ready to perceive that understanding a person is a key to success and knowing more about society will help you become a worthy member of it.

Historical highlights from the development of behavioral theory

The behaviorist position on the relationship between animals and humans is a rather popular position among psychologists. Beginning from the 1910s and even a few decades earlier, such well-known psychologists as Watson, Dashiell and Weiss argued that there existed a close connection between the behavior of animals and human behavior (Wozniak, 1997). They stated that not taking mind into account, human behavior is very similar to animal one. However, to support the conclusions that parallels in human and animal conduct does exist, it is important to make a few assumptions about similarity between humans and animals.

The assumptions which should be made to believe that research with animals can give us information about human behavior

The idea that animal behavior studies can become a basis for making conclusions concerning human behavior requires a few assumptions which may seem outrageous for the majority of people. Firstly, an assumption should be made that humans, just as animals, are governed by strong impulses which can be also called instincts (Hunt, 2007). Secondly, human intellect which makes us unique living creatures on the Earth should be underestimated and equaled to animal instinctive wisdom. Finally, human morality and spirituality which are believed to be vital foundations of human society should be neglected because animals do not have such categories in their world.

Critical analysis of the main concepts of behaviorism

Judging on the above-mentioned assumptions, I believe that the position of behaviorists is not well-judged. Of course, some humans may be likened to animals on the reason of their degradation. Such people forget about their exalted inner qualities including intellectual potential, conscience and morality, and start serving their sinister inclinations and instincts. However, these people cannot be accepted as typical humans whose behavior concepts are followed by the majority in human society. Human conduct is far more complicated than animal one.

References

Wozniak, R. (1997). Classics in the History of Psychology. Web.

Hunt, M. (2007). The story of psychology. New York, NY: Anchor Books.

Scientists argue that the different phases of moon not only affect our environment but also humans. It is believed that when the moon is full it creates an upward pressure which causes the sea level to increase while the dry land is pressed downwards which in return develops sea tides. Humans are also perceived to be influenced by the this phase of moon because the water occupies the majority of human body and therefore the upward pressure that is exerted to water inside humans causes induces them to behave violently.

This is hallucination because some people still behave strangely even when the moon is not full. In fact there are people who take advantage of the full moon because they know they have an existing scapegoat which will help them evade prosecution.

Diefendorf argues that people should exercise self control and quit from blaming the moon when someone breaks the law (32). If all people were to be exempted from prosecution because they were induced by the moon then the world would be a living hell because people intending to commit crime would wait until when the moon is full to carry out their missions.

Do the same scientists reckon that there are very many things that happen when the moon is full? For instance there are children who are born, people get promoted and some get new jobs but people tend to focus only on the negative things? If the full moon is to be blamed for the rise in murder cases what then would be blamed for the murders that happen when the moon is half or simply absent.

Authorities should address the causes of crime rather than natural happenings because the moon was created by God to light the skies at night. From another perspective the full moon and the increase in violence are just a coincidence such that the moon happens to be present when people behave strangely but that’s not its intended purpose because the moon is just serving its designated role in the skies and the people prefer to do wrong things at night.

Studies indicate that there are several factors that contribute to strange behavior. First when someone is under the influence of alcohol his judgment is impaired and depending on the volume of alcohol he has consumed he may not know what is sane and insane because to him they don’t matter.

Attewill argues that such people tend to be provocative and when the party that is being insulted can not take it any more that’s when fights start and this usually occurs during festivities such as Christmas holidays when most people indulge in alcoholic drinks (1). If one is keen he or she will realize that during these holidays many people mess up their lives. For instance, there are many road accidents that happen during festive seasons because most drivers are not sober.

Women also get unwanted pregnancies and illnesses because they did not use protection when they were having sex and yet they knew very well the dangers of unprotected sex. Barr asserts that there are other people who do not consume alcohol but they use other drugs whose effects are similar to those of alcohol. Then there are people who were born to be violent even when they are sober because they like poking their noses into other people’s behavior (29).

Authorities should exercise their powers completely and should punish people who blame the full moon for their actions and in fact such an excuse should not be accepted in a court of law. Governments should conduct campaigns to sensitize people about self control during festive holidays such as distributing condoms to drinking joints because when people are drunk they don’t feel like buying such items.

Works Cited

Attewill, Fred. “Police Link Full Moon to Aggression.” The Guardian. 05 June 2007. Web.

Barr, W. “Lunacy Revised: The Influence of the moon on the health and quality of life.” Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Service. 38(2000):28-35.

Diefendorf, David. Amazing…But false! Hundreds of “facts” you thought were true but aren’t. New York: Sterling Publishing, 2007.

Human behavior is a concept that is often discussed along with questioning its origins, reasons and consequences. No one is absolutely sure where human behavior comes from, but there have been several philosophers and psychologists who have offered explanations.

Rene Girard is one of the theorists and writers who have extensively written on the particulars of human behavior. His major points include scapegoating amongst people, mimicry and interconnection between culture, religion and human desire to repeat previous behaviors, as well as reach for similar and same objectives.

Behavioral competition and rivalry

The fact that all human beings are connected through social and family or individual ties is apparent. Thus, the repetition of behaviors and mimicking are observed in many instances. Rene Girard explains that people observe others and develop an idea for own desires. One person becomes a “model” for another and a similar behavior or pattern in the attitude emerges. In “Mimesis and Violence” it is described how people’s wants and needs eventually align into very common desires (Girard, 1978).

Individuals start wanting the same thing and this leads to competition. As there is a limited and hard to get to amount of material objects, moral satisfactions and other acquisitions, people’s competition becomes more aggressive and in the end, violent. As such, the aggression becomes mimicked also, and a person focuses on the negative and competitive behavior their rival exhibits towards them. This is a valid point that is constantly seen in any social setting.

Often, people want to have the life that others have, which is characterized by the amount of material possessions, emotional happiness and general success in life. From one perspective, people do give each other ideas of what their own dreams can be made of, but from another there is a constant modification and increase in desire. Considering an example of material objects such as cars, boats and houses, even though everyone wants to have one which is bigger than their neighbor’s is, they also want it to be “prettier” and more original.

One of Rene Girard’s podcasts brings up the point that the more similar individuals and their personalities are, the closer their desires will be which in turn, leads to a more similar rivalry and tighter competition. The observation of others and their success makes people strive for the same level of evolvement, getting them closer in rivalry and goals (Cayley, 2011). But, the competition and comparison between individuals becomes a healthy motivator that leads to a creation of new and previously unseen objects and concepts.

Even in the moral sense, people want to have deeper and richer experiences with their loved ones and the external environment. An individual cannot fully learn the internal intricate nature of their own being and so, it becomes a constant development and evolution of emotional knowledge and comprehension. As a result, even though people base their goals and dreams on similar and alike models, a great part of human behavior comes from own imagination and individual differences in character.

Culture, scapegoats and religion

Rene Girard mentions another important connection between modern society, all of humanity and its past. History plays a significant role in the way people view the world today, and many laws, as well as social norms and schemes are linked to the past and other cultures.

This is connected with scapegoating and true reasons for such behavior. Throughout human history, there have been individuals who are weaker or less fortunate than others. Those with more power and resources have and take advantage over larger numbers of people who are not as successful.

This makes some humans stronger and their behavior becomes abusive of those who can be used as “scapegoats”. Not only individuals can display this sort of attitude, great numbers of people and whole societies could unite against a single or several individuals and make them “scapegoats”. Rene Girard connects this to religion and how people rely on the organization of beliefs in social life. As discussed in “Mimesis and Violence” there are many religious rituals that come from finding a victim.

There is often a single figure who suffers more than others, thus becoming an object whom people unite against (Girard, 1978). This sort of concept might have both positive and negatives inclinations, but more importantly, it serves as an example to great numbers of people. The same can be seen through rituals and the repetition of traditions and other pre-set actions by the following generations.

People will base their behaviors and prohibitions on the sacrifices that their ancestors have made, which will be the origin for their beliefs and cultural regulations. Even the suffering of greater proportions on the global scale, such as natural disasters, repeats itself through the written religious texts. Not to mention that folklore, legends and tales that each society has, give basis and examples of the way people lived and how the present must be aligned with the past human behavior.

For a very long time, religion has been one of the major determinants of people’s attitudes and causes for action but the modern times have seen a shift. Presently, people mimic originality and look for something new and unique. The more one person is unlike the other in their choice of physical attributes and moral standards, the better, which is a feature that leads to more differences and ways to accomplish one’s dreams.

Perspectives and natural order

Philosophy and psychology have long tried to pinpoint the definitive and singular reasons for human behaviors and attitudes. There are very many common variables, but each individual is unique in the end. Mimicking others is one of the links in an enormous chain of individuality that makes each person up.

It is very true that proximity of individuals heightens the sensitive nature of interaction within the human world. In a podcast, Rene Girard says that “the closer people are, the greater their rivalry becomes” (Cayley, 2011). It is clear that people are very much connected to the family, relatives, friends and partners and so, they gain great knowledge and illustration of what these people want in their life. This gives a person a closer look and comparison in regards to own personality and wants.

A suggestion is made that there is a possibility of the person who is most admired becoming the “obstacle” for the observer. This suggests a negative nature of closeness and relation between people. But, an important point is that humans are social beings, and cooperation, together with mutual dependence and help are inevitable. There are many examples of people being more successful through positive competition and unity of interests where one person does not let greed and egoism to overtake their existence.

The wisdom of many societies and religions teaches people to respect the dreams and lives of fellow humans, and only through honor and respect can one come to the realization of own dreams and wants. It is very much possible that elimination of positive competition and rivalry will halt the progress of evolution and there will be nothing new developing for humanity.

People will not want to take an extra step and effort to better themselves and the world around. It becomes clear that people will always compare themselves to their environment and others, which will lead to new efforts and imagination of each individual and the collective humanity. Another confirmation that mimicry and competition is an important and needed part of the world is that it is present throughout animal kingdom, where cruelty and violence should not be necessarily labeled as greedy and selfish.

Often, animals compete for resources and power, which goes to show that all living organisms strive to evolve and develop new characteristics. It is interesting that lower animals and humans have been known to mimic each other in behaviors and instincts. This shows that repetition of seen behaviors is one of the simplest forms of action evident in all of nature (Rogers, 2013).

The similarities between human behavior and the results that originate through observation show that people depend on each other for evolution. The force that finds advantageous uses through similar behavior is key to survival. Mimicking and repeating give rise to imagination and originality which are an inseparable part of any society. All the advances and incomparable divinity of features between individuals and societies make the world as unique as it is.

References

Cayley, D. (Producer), & Kennedy, P. (Presenter). (2011). The Scapegoat: René Girard’s Anthropology of Violence and Religion, Part 1–5 [Podcast radio programme]. Toronto: CBC. Web.

Girard, R. (1978). Things hidden from the foundation of the world. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Rogers, A. (2013). Human behavior in the social environment. New York, NY: Routledge.

Introduction

The research article of Kozma, Harter & Achunala (2007) presents the rather interesting notion that when subject to particular constraints via an external environment or increased task difficulty the human brain actually shows a rather amazing ability to adapt to a given task at hand despite the increasing arduousness of the endeavor (Kozma, Harter & Achunala, 2007).

From their perspective, cognition is a dynamic process and as such through complex trajectories in a high dimensional attractor landscape a person is capable of continuing to adapt to increasingly difficult situations or actions as a direct result of this inherent aspect of the human brain (Kozma, Harter & Achunala, 2007).

Such a perspective actually reflects the views of Dutt (2011) which examined the correlation between human performance during tests (i.e. quizzes, exams and cognitive decision making problems instead of playing Tetris as utilized by Kozma, Harter & Achunala (2007)) (Dutt, 2011).

Decision Making Process

For Dutt (2011) human decision making is inherently dynamic in that it can happen “on the fly” so to speak wherein in the face of a several possible outcomes in performing an immediate action the human brain is able to tune out all other possible variables and pick the solution it perceives as the most accurate, all of which is done within a split second.

While such a feature is also present in animals as evidenced by the study “Decision ecology: foraging and the ecology of animal decision making (2008)” as well as De Waal (2005) which both examined animal responses in light of sudden inexplicable changes to their environment the fact is that it is only in humans that a measurable degree of cognitive decision making can be made using complex tests that animals would otherwise be incapable of performing (Decision ecology: foraging and the ecology of animal decision making, 2008) (De Waa, 2005).

Human Performance

It must also be noted though that studies such as those by Lubinski (2004) and Roberts (1999) indicate that there are inherent limits to the degree of cognitive adaptability that humans are capable of performing (Lubinski, 2004) (Roberts, 1999).

Such a situation was seen in the Kozma, Harter & Achunala (2007) study wherein their model of human performance was able to show both the inherent adaptability of human performance in light of increasingly difficult tasks and its inherent limitations with performance ratios dropping significantly when the speed of the Tetris blocks was increased as well as the general availability of certain block types were reduced. As such it can be stated that their model fit the human performance data rather well.

Solution Algorithm

When it comes to determining what their solution algorithm consists of, you must first examine the data results from their experiment and the subsequent methods they utilized to obtain their desired result. What Kozma, Harter & Achunala (2007) were trying to accomplish was to measure the degree in which human performance changes as new external factors are introduced.

For the purpose of this experiment this came in the form of increased block speed, limited block resources and noise. When applying such factors as variables in the experiment the results showed how particular performances were affected when subject to certain variables.

They then attempted to utilize human results as the basis for subsequent computer algorithmic tests in order to mimic the response mechanisms of humans under a similar condition. Based on the process utilized to compare both results it can be stated that their solution algorithm utilized error reductions between input and output states as the means of producing a quantifiable data result.

Reference List

Decision ecology: foraging and the ecology of animal decision making. (2008). Cognitive, Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience, 8(4), 475-484.

De Waal, F. M. (2005). How Animals Do Business. Scientific American, 292(4), 72.

Dutt, V. (2011). Explaining Human Behavior in Dynamic Tasks through Reinforcement Learning. Journal Of Advances In Information Technology, 2(3), 177-188.

Kozma , R., Harter, D., & Achunala, S. (2007). Dynamical aspects of behavior generation under constraints. Cogn Neurodyn, 1(213), 213–223.

Lubinski, D. (2004). Introduction to the Special Section on Cognitive Abilities: 100 Years

After Spearman’s (1904) “General Intelligence,’ Objectively Determined and Measured”. Journal Of Personality & Social Psychology, 86(1), 96.

Roberts, R. (1999). Individual differences in speed of mental processing human and cognitive abilities: Toward a taxonomic model. Learning & Individual Differences, 11(1), 1.

As a human being grows through the stages of childhood and young adulthood, he or she develops identities. These identities define the position of the individual in the society. Social status, personal identity, and gender identity are some of the forms of identity that are developed within the growth period at the beginning of human life. Hutchison discusses gender identity at length in the book, “Dimensions of Human Behavior”, and defines the process of developing gender identity.

Distinctive gender identity develops at adolescence when sexual differentiation takes place. A child identifies with a certain gender and is conscious of other people of similar gender. An individual at this stage categorizes other people according to their gender.

Depending on culture, gender identification may heavily rely on the roles of the respective genders. While all cultures identify people as men or women, some cultures put considerable emphasis on the role of respective genders. This influences an individual’s perspective on the issue of gender. However, all cultures have some distinct definition of roles of different genders (Hutchison 238).

Currently there is a gradual shift of understanding of gender roles in modern societies. The distinct and rigid definition of gender role is slowly becoming more malleable and open to change. This does not mean that the biological definition of gender is changing, but the roles that define gender are continuously changing in a more complex society (Hutchison 174). Due to the pressure of obligations in the modern society, there is a tendency for individuals to deviate from the roles that culture defines so strictly.

People adopt new methodologies of keeping in line with culture, and at the same time dealing with compelling obligations. This makes gender identity through roles of an individual a difficult task. Since some societies put less emphasis on roles as a way of identifying a certain gender, individuals from these communities experience a culture shock when they interact with other societies that have distinct gender roles (Hutchison 154).

The complexity of gender identity emerges where there is a growing realization that biological differentiation may not distinctly define gender in an individual. An individual with an ill-defined biological gender orientation will have some difficulty in identifying the proper role that he or she should assume. Self-esteem of an individual may be affected by the relationship between his or her personal attributes and gender (Hutchison 237).

Several other theories describe identity development. It is difficult to establish the theory that is most appropriate for development of the identity of an individual. The theories depend on the culture and beliefs of the particular society in which the individual lives.

The afro centric theory defines collective groups rather than personal identities (Hutchison 194). In this theory, an individual has a single identity, which is assumed by people of the same gender, and with similar roles as the individual in the society. This approach contrasts with western theories that are more liberal, and allow some variations in definition of gender and identity development.

Social theory defines a situation where a person’s identity is influenced by a society’s existing culture. This theory presents a complex and continuous process of identity development, which depends on the age of the individual. Age is an important factor since it determines the people interacting with the individual at any particular moment (Hutchison 287).

The issue of personal identity is a complex issue, and is poorly understood by many people. Identity development depends on factors in the environment, as well as the biological and anatomical formation of an individual. While many people define identity and gender by observation of anatomical features, it is evident that there are many factors that determine the course of identity development, with gender being the primary basis on which ideas concerning identity are built.

Works Cited

Hutchison, Elizabeth D.. Dimensions of human behavior. 4th ed. Los Angeles: SAGE, 2011. Print.

There are a lot of factors which influence the way human behavior develops, Some of this factors include hormones and heredity. The way we react to various things and experiences in our life solely depends on heredity and hormones. Nature and the way we were brought up affect our behavior.

When an individual is born he or she inherits some genes from his or her parents. These genes which usually undergo combination during fetus development end up resulting to an offspring who has unique genetic make up from each of his or her parents. It is this uniqueness that results due this combination which makes an individual to have certain physical traits later in his or her life. These traits can also be blended by environmental influence (Morris et al, 2005).

There are several behavioral traits which are attributed to heredity. A family line which is associated with certain tendencies such as diabetes, mental disorders, depression, anxiety and many more can possibly be passed on to the next generation and even to the proceeding ones. Various researches have found out that certain behavioral and disorders can be inherited, Maisto and Morris in the year 2005 found out that conditions such as depression, anxiety suffering from schizophrenia always have a family lineage follow up, this researchers also found out that children of individuals suffering from schizophrenia are eight times more likely to develop the condition than those children who were born of normal parents (Maisto, 2008).

Maneuvers to link the behavioral aggression to the gene that causes it has never yielded sufficient findings. This is made hard because of the part that environment also plays in shaping an individual’s behavior. The only studies which have yielded substantial evidence are those which show the association of extra or missing chromosomes with the incidences of certain disorders and physical malformations.

Hormones influence many human bodily functions such as development and growth, reproduction, sexual desire and metabolism. Apart from these functions they impact a lot on human behavior development and manifestation especially the behavior of having different moods. Hormones also have a huge impact on human behavior especially the manifestation of different moods.

At puberty stage, hormones play a critical role in the behavior development of individuals. At this stage in a person’s life the body develops rapidly and undergoes through many chemical and physical changes. A good example of the hormones which changes a persons behavior are Estrogen which causes ladies to start developing sexual desires and attraction to men and testosterone which makes boys at the puberty stage to start getting attracted to girls and develop sexual desires towards girls. The hormone, called testosterone also causes the development of aggression in boys and men. This makes the men and boys to become hyper and regard themselves with higher ego. Depression in women is sometimes caused by the drop in the levels of estrogen; this drop is usually resulted due to the offset of ovulation (Russell, 2001).

Hormonal changes in a human body can cause many shifts of human behavior and as we have already seen the hereditary factor is also an important factor as far as human behavior is concerned as long as the environment also makes it conducive for these factors to come into play. Hormones on the other hand do not necessarily depend on environmental influences so as to have affects on behavior. Hormones and heredity work in conjunction with each other to help in creating personality which is very unique in each individual.

References

Maisto, A. Morris, C. (2008).Understanding Psychology. USA: Pearson Education Publisher.

Morris, C. and Maisto, A. (2005). Psychology: An Introduction. USA: Prentice Hall publishers.

Russell G. G. (2001). Human aggression. Buckingham: Open University Press.