BEHAVIOR AS A CONCEPT

1. BEHAVIOR AS A CONCEPT Lesson 1 Lecturer: Victoria FEDERIUC

2. BEHAVIOR • Actions of a system or organism, usually in relation to its environment, which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the physical environment • Response of the system or organism to various stimuli or inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary. • Any action of an organism that changes its relationship to its environment.

3. BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

5. Factors influencing human behavior • Biological basis • Nervous system • Genetic influences • Hormones • Psychological factors • Motivation • Cognition • Perception • Memory and attention • Imagination and thought • Using language • Intelligence • Emotions • Social factors • Social influences

6. Nervous system • The most complex system of the human body (min. 10 billion neurons) • Active every moment of the day 3 general functions: • Sensing specific information about external and internal conditions (ex.seeing) • Integrating that information (ex.understanding) • Issuing commands for a response from muscles and glands

7. Behavioral genetics -examines the role of genetics in animal (including human) behavior Behavioural geneticists study the  inheritance of behavioural traits Genetics alone is never enough to explain behavior Aristotle described the effects of behavior in birds when removing testes Sexual motivation is influenced by hormones testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, vasopressine Effect of hormones on sexual orientation Hormones Genetic influences

8. Driving force of human behavior (goal achievement) Abraham Maslow theory: driving forces for human actions are human needs Intrinsic (internal) and extrinsic motivation (external) Motivation vs volition Motivation = goal setting, forming behavioral intentions Volition = goal pursuit, from intention to actual behavior Motivation

9. Cognition • Complex mental phenomenon that refers to knowledge, to the way people acquire and use their knowledge Includes: • Perception • Attention • Remembering • Producing and understanding language • Solving problems • Making decisions

10. Perception • Process of attaining understanding of the environment by organizing and interpreting information from the traditionally and nontraditional senses Traditional senses: Ophthalmoception (sight) Audioception (hearing) Gustaoception (taste) Olfacoception (smell) Tactioception (touch) Nontraditional senses: Thermoception (temperature) Proprioception (kinesthetic sense) Nociception (pain) Equilibrioception (balance) Kinesthesioception (acceleration)

11. Memory and attention • Memory = ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences • Attentionis the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether deemed subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of limited processing resources.

12. Imagination and thought • Imagination = ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses Reproductive vs constructive imagination • Reproductive imagination = power of reproducing images stored in the memory under the suggestions of associated images • Creative (constructive) imagination = recombining former experiences in the creation of new images directed at a specific goal or aiding in the solution problem • Imagination vs thinking • Thought = any mental or intellectual activity which relates with processing of information, with the producing and arrangements of ideas accordingly with one’s needs, attachments, objectives, plans, commitments, ends and desires

13. Using language • Language = mental faculty that allows humans to undertake linguistic behavior: to learn languages and produce and understand utterances • Formal system of signs governed by grammatical rules of combination to communicate meaning • System of communication that enables humans to cooperate

14. Intelligence = ability of problem solving • Aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment (David Wechsler) • Set of skills of problem solving enabling the individual to resolve genuine problems or difficulties that he or she encounters and, when appropriate, to create an effective product (Howards Gardner) • Goal-directed adaptive behavior (Sternberg & Salter) Binet’s method MA = mental age CA = chronological age Lewis Terman IQ = Intelligence Quotient IQ = MA / CA x 100

15. Wechsler Intelligence

16. Emotions • Felling that is private and subjective • State of psychological arousal an expression or display of somatic and autonomic responses • Actions commonly “deemed”, such as defending or attacking in response to a threat 4 groups of emotions (by Plutchik): 1) Joy/sadness 2) Acceptance/disgust 3) Anger/fear 4) Surprise/anticipation

17. Social influences • Common beliefs • Values • attitudes • behaviors • social tradition, laws, ethical codes • educational system, • juridical system, • massmedia system, • religious institutions • Family, School, Community, Friends, individuals and peers

18. Normal vs. Abnormal behavior Abnormal = deviation from the norm • Statistical abnormality (deviation from statistical norms) • Violation of socially-accepted standards • Maladaptiveness of behavior (related to personality development) • Subjective abnormality (ex.psychotic people) • Legal approach (not able to judge between right and wrong) • Biological injury (ex.brain tumors, strokes, heart disease, diabetes, epilepsy, genetic disorders)

19. Specific behavioral disorders • Divided brain (split brain) • Schizophrenia • Alzheimer’s Disease • Autism • Phobias

20. Divided brain

21. Schizophrenia • Disturbance of thought and attention • Disturbances of perception • Disturbances of affect • Withdrawal from reality • Delusions and hallucinations

22. Alzeimer’s Disease