Viewpoints in the Study of Human Behavior

a. Neurological – emphasizes human actions in relation to events taking place inside the
body, especially the brain and the nervous system.
b. Cognitive – concerned with the way the brain processes and transforms information in
various ways.
c. Psychoanalytical – emphasizes unconscious motives stemming from repressed sexual
and aggressive impulses in childhood.
d. Behavioral – focuses on external activities that can be observed and measured.
e. Humanistic – focuses on the subject’s experience, freedom of choice, and motivation

Factors that Affect Human Behavior

a. Heredity – It is determined by genes. Genes are segments of cell structures called
chromosomes by which parents pass on traits to their offspring.
b. Environment – Consists of conditions and factors that surround and influence on
individual.
c. Learning – Is the process by which behavior changes as aresult of experience or practice.

Characteristics of Behavior
1. Primarily native or learned
2. Evoked by external stimuli or internal need
3. Automatic, voluntary, conscious motor or intentional

Kinds of Behavior
a. Overt or Covert Behavior - Behavior that are outwardly manifested or those that are directly
observable are overt behaviors. On the other hand, the covert behaviors are behaviors that are
hidden and not visible to the naked eye.

b. Conscious or Unconscious Behavior - Behavior is conscious when act are within the level of
awareness. It is unconscious when acts are embedded in one’s sub – consciousness.

c. Simple or Complex Behavior - These are act categorized according to the number of nervous
involved in the process of behaving. Simple behavior involves less number of neurons, while
complex behavior involves more number of neurons, a combination of simple behavior.

d. Rational or Irrational Behavior - There is rational behavior when a person acted with sanity or
reason and there is irrational behavior when the person acted with no apparent reason or
exploitation.

e. Voluntary or involuntary Behavior - Voluntary behavior is an act done with full volition or will
such as when we discriminate, decide, or choose; while involuntary behaviors refer to the bodily
processes that function whether we are awake or asleep.

Personality Dimensions That Affect Human Behavior

a. Extraversion - The diversion that dictates conditionability and is therefore the principal factor
in anti – social behavior. It represents a central nervous system tendency that determines need
for stimulation and excitement.

- Extroverts not only have high needs for stimulation, but they also do not condition easily.
They frequently seek stimulation excitement and thrills, all of which can get them in trouble.

b. Neuroticism - It reflects an innate biological predisposition to react physiologically to stressful

or upsetting events. Basically, it represents emotionality. Persons high to neuroticism react
intensely much longer to stress and are generally moody, touchy, sensitive slights and anxious
or nervous.

- Neuroticism is most important in understanding some adult criminals, less important in

understanding adolescents and even younger children.

c. Psychoticism - It is characterized by cold cruelty, social insensitivity,

disregard for danger, troublesome behavior, dislike of others and attraction toward the unusual.
- The individual high on psychoticism tends to be impulsive aggressive individual without
appreciable conscience or concern for others.
Adjustment Defined

Adjustment, on the psychological point of views, can be defined simply as a process where the
internal demands of motivations are brought into harmonious relation with the external demands
of reality. As a means to adjustments, persons resorted to what is known as defense
mechanism or adjustment mechanism.

Defense mechanism or adjustment mechanism

- Used to defend the ego
- Unconscious strategies people use to anxiety by concealing the source from themselves and
others.

General Principles of Adjustment

a. Biological Level - Immunological defenses against disease and damage repair mechanism

b. Psychological and Interpersonal Level - There are learned coping patterns and self –
defenses

c. Socio – cultural Level - Groups of labor unions, religious organization and law enforcement
agencies.

Types of Defense mechanism

a. Repression - Unacceptable or unpleasant id impulses are pushed back into

unconsciousness. Repression is the most direct method of dealing with anxiety; instead of
handling an anxiety – producing impulse on a conscious level, one simply ignores it.

b. Suppression - Involve the individual’s and conscious attempt to stop anxiety – provoking
thoughts by simply not thinking about them.

c. Denial - Refers to a person’s refusal to perceive an unpleasant event in external reality.

d. Displacement –The expression of unwanted feeling or thought is redirected from a more

threatening, powerful person to a weaker one.
- Unconscious attempt to obtain gratification for id impulses by shifting them to substitute
objects that would directly satisfy the impulses are not available.

e. Scapegoating - Blaming other for his failure

f. Rationalization - It involves the inventing of excuses or reasons for behavior that is
inadequate, unacceptable, or damaging to personal integrity and status.

Types of Rationalization
f.1. Sour – Grape mechanism – this involved self – deception by adopting a conviction, and
giving up and relinquishing all efforts towards a goal because it is not worth the efforts anyway.
f.2. Sweet – Lemon mechanism – desirable qualities are found in what was not truly wanted.

g. Projection - The process of shifting the responsibility for an act or thought from oneself to
another person
- Attributing unwanted impulse and feeling to someoneelse.

h. Substitution or Transferred Compensation - A device which makes it possible to discharge

tensions by diverting one’s energies from a desired goal to a substitute one. Working on the
principles of substitution are:
h.1. Compensation – the mechanism where the individual devotes time and effort to a pursuit
with increased vigor in an attempt to make up for real or imagined inadequacy.
h.2. Overcompensation – the concentration of efforts on a narrow field at the expense of
well-rounded and complete adjustment to a variety of life’s demands.

i. Reaction Formation - Defense mechanism where urges that are not acceptable to the
consciousness are repressed and opposite attitudes or modes of behaviors are
expressed with considerable force.
j. Avoidance Mechanism - Way of adjusting to a threatening situation by escaping from it.

Types of Avoidance Mechanism

j.1. Fantasy – mental mechanism where a person substitute real satisfaction for imaginary
satisfactions.
j.2. Regression – process relieving anxiety or threat falling back on thoughts, feelings, or
behavior in which worked successfully during the earlier period of life.
j.3. Negativism – the refusal to participate in a tense situation. This is a type of avoidance
mechanism manifested through either active or passive resistance towards the external
demands on the individual.
- Active resistance – doing the opposite of what is supposed to be done.
- Passive resistance – doing what is expected to be avoided
j.4. identification mechanism where the individual enhance self – esteem by patterning
him/herself another person. This is done in fantasy or actual behavior.

k. Sublimation - People divert unwanted impulses into socially approved thoughts, feelings, or
behavior. This type of defense mechanism is particularly healthy and socially acceptable.

l. Intellectualization - Here, a person gains detachment from threatening event in order to

remain untouched by it emotionally. An emotional event is dealt with analytic, intellectual terms
as if it where something to study or be merely curious about, rather than to be emotionally
involved about.
- These adjustment or defense mechanisms serve a useful purpose in that they protect
the person against pain. Also, they are normal and universally use. However, defense
mechanism can be potentially pathogenic when they are used indiscriminately, compulsively,
and in ways that continually contradict