BEHAVIOR AND ITS MODIFICATION TECHNIQUES

Presented by: Rangarajan MSW 1st year Shift II

Introduction

• Aims to understand self and others• To determine how and why people behave

the way they do and to plan for solution in case of problems

• Is a complicated phenomenon influenced by many factors

• A collection of activities influenced by culture, attitude, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion and coercion (co-er-sion)

Cultural behavior

17 Year old Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of Shivnarine Chanderpaul taking guard like his father, its a Caribbean old school pratice.

Attitudinal behavior

Psychologists define attitudes as a learned tendency to evaluate and behaviour things in a certain way

Social psychologists have found that attitudes and actual behaviour are not always perfectly aligned. After all, plenty of people support a particular candidate or political party and yet fail to go out and vote.

Emotional behavior

The outward expression or display of mood or feeling states.

Values behavior (Personal)

Ethical behavior (Institutional)

Authority behavior

Rapport behavior

Hypnosis behavior

The induction of a state of consciousness in which a person apparently loses the power of voluntary action and is highly responsive to...

Example: mesmerism - trance - hypnotism

Persuasion behavior

Persuasion is underneath the umbrella term of Influence. In other words, persuasion is influence, but it requires communication, whereas influence doesn't necessarily

I don't care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on

shooting –Che Guevara In a gentle way, you can shake the world.Mahatma Gandhi

Coercion behavior

the act of compelling by force of authority.

Innate behaviour (God element?) Instinct or innate behaviour is the

inherent inclination of a living organism toward a particular complex behaviour

Human needs and behaviour

Physical needs: The human being has needs, related to the structure and processes of the physical organism, for food, drink, sex, sleep, warmth and shelter, activity, sensory stimulation. 

Personal needs: The need to love and be loved, The need to understand and be understood, The need to be self-directing and to be freely engaged with the directions of a greater whole.

Classifications of Human Behavior

Conscious - State of awareness of thoughts, feelings, perception and what is going on in the environment.

Unconscious –is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence our behaviour and experience, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences.

Overt - Open to public observation.Covert - Unseen objects such as thoughts, feelings or

responses which are not easily seen.Rational - Pertaining to reason, influenced or guided by reason

rather than emotion.Irrational - Illogical

Cont.

• Voluntary - Intentional• Involuntary – Doing something against your

will, action made without intent or carried out despite an attempt to prevent them (disorders)

• Simple – ex. What you see is what you get.• Complex - compound complicated behavior.

ex. Drinking alcohol and using drugs

Psychoanalytic Theory

• This theory explained that human behavior is motivated by an inner force called the human mind. This theory was introduced by SIGMUND FREUD

• SIGMUND FREUD (1856-1939) was an Austrian physician who worked as an neurologist. Early in his career, he used hypnosis to treat people with physical and emotional problem. From his work with these patients, he began to conceptualize a theory of human behavior

• Freud theorized that people have two (2) basic instincts – SEXUAL and AGGRESSION. These two (2) basic instincts are not always socially acceptable. When people exhibit behavior that is nor acceptable, they often experience punishment, guilt and anxiety

• Freud’s theory describes a conflict between a person’s instinctual needs for gratification and the demands of society for socialization. For Freud, a person’s core tendency is to maximize instinctual gratification while minimizing punishment and guilt• Addresses the relationship among inner experience, behavior,

social roles & functioning. This theory proposes that conflicts among unconscious motivating factors affect behavior

Description of Human Behavior

• Human behavior is motivatedMotivation – driving force behind all action of an organism

• Human behavior has multiple causes - Influenced by culture • Human behavior can be adaptive and maladaptive

o Human are social beingso Any person depend upon each other for survivalo People need interaction

• People play an integral part in creating their experience

• Human lives are continuous process of change• Every person is different yet the same• Individual is a unique person

Theoretical approaches about the factors that cause, maintain, alter behavior, and mental process:

1. PSYCHODYNAMIC APPROACH Is based on the belief that childhood experiences greatly influence

the development of late personality traits and psychological problems. It also stresses the influence of unconscious fears, desires and motivations on thoughts and behavior.

2. HUMANISTIC APPROACH Emphasizes that each individual has great freedom in directing

his/her future, a large capacity for personal growth, a considerable amount of intrinsic worth & enormous potential for self-fulfillment.

3. BEHAVIORAL APPROACH Studies how organism learn new behavior or modify existing ones,

depending on whether events in their environment reward or punish these behavior.

4. COGNITIVE APPROACH Examines how we process, store, and use information, and how

this information influences what we attend to, perceive, learn, remember believe and feel.

5. BIOLOGICAL APPROACH Focuses on how genes, hormones & nervous system interact with

the environment to influence learning, personality, memory, motivation, emotions at coping techniques.

list of some of the universal behaviors (behaviors shared among all cultures) that you can think of…

• Communicate both verbally and nonverbally

• Enforce rules of etiquette• Avoid incest• Fear snakes / heights• Exchange gifts• Modesty in sexual behavior and

bodily functions• Labor divided by age and sex• Men- more aggressive than women• Women provide more child care• Tools for work• Belief systems- death, disease• Plan for the future• Taboos- crimes and legal

punishments• Marriage• Laugh / smile / mimic / joke / flirt /

sympathize / tease / dance / • Music /Myths / folklore / poetry• Games• War

Every person is different yet the same

What ultimately shapes our behavior?

• Genetics and Evolutionary Psychology• Parents• Gender• Culture• Social environment

Environmental Influence

• what traits does environment influence?• Values• Manners• Faith / religion• Politics• Social views

Rat Studies

• Rosenzweig and Krech• Isolated, impoverished vs. social, enriched environment• Young rats

• Findings:• Obvious differences in behavioral activity and curiosity• Heavier, thicker brain cortex (brain weight increased 7-

10 percent and # of synapses increased 20%!)

Impoverishedenvironment

Rat braincell

Rat braincell

Enrichedenvironment

Social modification techniques

Behaviour modification has been successfully used to treat anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and enuresis (bed-wetting). Some methods of behaviour modification require preparation and attention, where others are just common sense. Find out what you can do to shake your nasty habit today.

Techniques:

Positive Reinforcement Some of us want to know, “What do I get out of

this?” Positive reinforcement answers this question. This practice involves the addition of a gratifying experience in reaction to something someone has done. Many adults respond to praise and recognition. Treat yourself to a night out every time you avoid the behaviour you are trying to modify.

Negative Reinforcement

With negative reinforcement, the method of training involves a negative reinforce. This could be a behaviour or event with which the reinforcing properties are associated with its removal. Opposing behaviour is shunned by performing an action, and as a result of this, the action is repeated prior to the adverse reaction.

Punishment

One of the toughest things we can do as adults is to punish ourselves. Punishment is a form of behaviour modification that discourages the unwanted act by application of an unpleasant stimulus in reaction to the behaviour.

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)

Also known as Meridian Tapping, EFT is based on the premise that negative emotions or behaviours stem from short circuits in the body’s energy system. These techniques are done by drumming on certain areas on the body to balance and release the short circuit.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)

The NLP technique is a study of communication; how we communicate with others and ourselves, and how that affects the way we react and behave. This communication can be altered through sub modalities, metaprograms, etc. to change a behaviour.

Meditation

Meditation has been used for centuries to help the brain make physiological changes for the better. Not only does it improve brain function and memory, it enables “whole brain synchronization”, a process that allows the left brain portion to interact and be in focus with the right brain hemisphere. Meditation is one of the best behaviour modification systems in existence. It alleviates anxiety and depression, causing a remarkable improvement in a person’s sense of well-being.

Don’t Give it Attention !

You can modify a behaviour through ignoring the act. By ignoring the behaviour you will often reduce its tendency for appearing again. Don’t give someone attention who is engaging in a behaviour that needs stopped.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a psychotherapeutic approach that addresses maladaptive behaviours through a number of goal-oriented systematic procedures. The common hallmarks of CBT are the focus on the “here and now”, a structuring of the sessions and path, a guidance role by the therapist, and on alleviating both the patient’s vulnerability and worrisome symptoms.

“Change is the only thing that is constant”

Human Behavior is complex and it changes by experience

Good Luck !

Thanks for the time and patience !