Groups can also have a strong impact on behaviour. This can be better explained with the phrase ‘majority influence’. Majority influence is a type of influence that is based on an individual’s desire to be accepted by others, this includes changing your own behaviour, beliefs and views to be socially accepted into a group even though on the inside those views are unchanged. This concept was studied further by Solomon Asch, a social psychologist in the early 1950s. To test the effects ‘majority influence’ Asch carried out the following test where he got six confederates; people who are acting according to instructions to help with the experiment, along with one participant who knew nothing about the actual experiment being conducted. As follows the participants were told that the nature of the experiment was to test visual perception, testing whether the length of a line shown to the individuals matched the length of any of the other three lines (a, b, c) shown to them. All the 7 participants were sat around a table in a horseshoe arrangement, the experimenter would start by asking the first participant whether he thought the line matched any of the other lines, where he would respond by shouting out the answer. This would be repeated all the way around the table leaving the genuine participant always the last to answer. This was repeated eighteen times with a different size lien each time, twelve out of eighteen times the confederates were told to all give the same wrong answer even though the correct answer was obvious. Out of one hundred and twenty three genuine participants twenty eight percent gave an incorrect answer more that eight times showing how much a group can influence on the way you behave. Seeing all the other participants giving the same answer, even though it is obvious it is incorrect the genuine participant also changes his answer to ‘fit in’ with the crowd even though inside he knows the answer he has given is incorrect and the only reason for giving this answer is to not stand out from the crowd and be accepted by others in the group.
There are many effects of culture and society on our behaviour. Culture can be defined as the values, norms, language, customs and practices that are shared amongst a group of people that are all brought together through something that is big and important to them. Culture can refer to different groups of people from different countries, but also different groups of people within the same country and society which is referred to as sub-groups. Different socioeconomic groups within the United Kingdom have different values that they all follow differently according to their culture. For example, in some cultures it is tradition to eat dinner together at a table whereas in others ‘tv-dinners’ have become more socially accepted. Individualism is strong amongst society within European cultures, where we are taught from an early age to be self-dependant, self-reliant and assertive about the choices we make in life. Culture plays a big part in how we act and behave within society, this is achieved by having our parents make it their duty to teach us these characteristics so that we grow up with socially accepted traits. However this would differ from many Eastern and Asian cultures where the above are not so valued in comparison with traits of their own, such as putting the needs of the group before their own in order to be as respectful as possible towards other people. This can be shown through an example where the same situation can be perceived differently amongst two different cultures; if a forty year old man was found to be still living at home with his parents in European cultures this would be frowned upon. This is because exceeding your stay at home with your parents for longer than necessary shows that you are unable to stand on your own feet, something which you are expected to do within that culture. However in Asian cultures this would be considered as mundane behaviour that is admirable amongst individuals. This behaviour is said to show both respect and courtesy for your parents and elders within the community.
The self-fulfilling prophecy is an important concept and statement in psychology that refers to the way we behave and act towards others, it alters our actions and therefore makes it come true. It can suggest for example, if a person states “I’m probably going to have a lousy day,” it might alter his or her actions so that such a prediction is fulfilled by the prior actions. This may be an unconscious gesture, something that may not even make him realise what he is doing. A person who might approach a self-fulfilling prophecy in a positive way could say “I’m going to have a great day,” might act in ways that will actually make this prediction true.
The role theory is very similar to the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’, it suggests that we alter our behaviour based on the different roles that we uphold at different parts of our lives adopting different behaviours depending on the role we are currently in. We all live in different societies, cultures and social groups, which help us prepare and adopt the different roles we have to take up by influencing us in all different ways. There are many roles an individual has to take up Each social role comes with a set of rights, duties, expectations, norms and behaviours that an individual has to face and fulfill. The many different roles can include mother, co-worker, friend. Each of the roles has different behavioural aspects so the same individual would be expected to act and behave in different ways depending on the role that they are currently in.
Albert Bandura was an American psychologist that developed the observational learning theory. Observational learning is when we observe someone behaving in a certain way and remember that behaviour. Through this method we can learn both positive and negative behaviours from those around us. Bandura suggested that we are more likely to imitate the behaviour of somebody we admire whether that be a celebrity or somebody close to us this person is called a role model; an individual that has characteristics that we admire which makes us want to copy their behaviour. The process of imitating this behaviour is called modelling where we base our behaviour upon the individual we admire. It is seen however that individuals are more likely to copy behaviour if the role model has been positively reinforced for it, which would make us want to copy to get the same result. We are less likely to copy behaviour that has effects of negative reinforcement because we would want to avoid the punishment that was given for behaviour.
The third type of psychological perspective is the psychodynamic approach. This approach was developed by the Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud. Freud looked into and developed the theory of psychodynamic psychology and the treatment psychoanalysis. Freud made various assumptions that are now included in the psychodynamic approach including that our behavior and feelings are powerfully affected by unconscious motives. Our behavior and feelings as adults (including psychological problems) are rooted within our childhood experiences. All behavior has a cause (usually unconscious), even slips of the tongue. Therefore all behavior is determined. Personality is made up of three parts, which is the id, ego and the super-ego. Behavior is motivated by two instinctual drives; Eros (the sex drive & life instinct) and Thanatos (the aggressive drive & death instinct). Both these drives come from the “id” part of the personality. Parts of the unconscious mind (the id and superego) are in constant conflict with the conscious part of the mind (the ego). Personality is shaped as the drives are modified by different conflicts at different times in childhood (during psychosexual development).
Freud was one of the first to suggest that we are not always aware of ourselves and that there is always much more deep inside our minds that we cannot access but sometimes can appear through our dreams and slips of the tongue, these are stored in a part of our mind called the ‘unconscious’. The tip of the iceberg was Freud’s way of explaining how the unconscious mind works, saying that only small parts of the mind was available and easily accessible he called this the preconscious, where it’s retrievable information but not yet stored in our conscious minds. Freud argued that the there was a great importance for the unconscious mind as it helped psychologists dig deeper and find out information a patient wouldn’t be able to retrieve themselves.
Erik Erikson was a german psychologist that agreed with many of Freud’s theory and ideas, however Erikson believed that we developed through a series of stages that continued throughout our lifetime. He believed that Life is a series of lessons and challenges which help us to grow. Erikson believed that we go through different psychosocial crisis throughout our lives with there being a different social focus at each stage. Stage one is from birth - 1 year, with the key focus being how the infant is parented. If a child is able to pass this stage successfully they will learn to trust that life is okay and have basic confidence in the future. If however they fail to experience trust and are constantly frustrated because their needs are not met, they may end up with a deep-seated feeling of worthlessness and a mistrust of the world in general. The important person, the social focus at this stage is the mother who provides this trust and care. Stage two consists of the years from one - three with the key focus being enabled to do things by yourself. At this stage children have the opportunity to build self-esteem as they gain more control over their bodies and acquire new skills, learning right from wrong. For example one of skills learnt during this stage is the ability to use the powerful word "NO!" It may be pain for parents, but it develops important skills of the will. It is also during this stage, however, that children can be the most vulnerable. If they are shamed in the process of toilet training or in learning other important skills, they may feel great shame and doubt of their own capabilities and suffer low self-esteem as a result. The social focus at this stage is the parents. Stage three from the ages of three to six focuses of the interaction with the world. During this period children experience a desire to copy the adults around them and take initiative in creating play situations. They also begin to use that one word for exploring the world around them- "WHY?" this helps them understand and learn new things. The social focus in this stage is the immediate family that helps the child understand their surroundings. Stage four from six - twelve years focuses on understanding how things work and how they are made. During this stage, children become more capable of learning, creating and accomplishing numerous new skills and knowledge, thus developing a sense of industry. This is also a very social stage of development and if they experience unresolved feelings of inadequacy and inferiority among their peers, they could have serious problems in terms of competence and self-esteem in the future. As connections for the child become bigger parents though they are still important are no longer the social focus rather the school takes this role. The last stage, stage five is from twelve - eighteen years with the key focus being developing a consistent sense of identity by experimentation. Up to this stage, according to Erikson, development mostly depends upon what happens to the individual. From here on out, development depends primarily upon what they do. And while adolescence is a stage at which we are neither a child nor an adult, life becomes more complex as they attempt to find their own identity, struggle with social interactions, and grapple with moral issues. the most significant relationship is with our peer groups during this stage.
The next approach I will be talking is the humanistic perspective. This looks at different human experiences from the point of view of the individual, mainly focusing on the idea of free will and belief that we as humans are all capable of making choices. There are two main psychologists associated with this perspective these are Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers.
Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist that proposed the idea that an individual is motivated by a ‘hierarchy of needs’, suggesting that basic needs are more important and must be met before higher ones can be satisfied. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs goes as follows; Psychological, the need to satisfy hunger and thirst; Safety making sure you are safe and secure ensuring one’s security; Belongingness and love, the importance of being loved by somebody else and avoiding the idea of loneliness; Esteem, being able to achieve something, getting recognition for your work and so boosting your self esteem; Self-actualisation, being able to realise your own full potential to achieve something. Self-actualisation is what Maslow described to be the best that we can possibly be- spiritually, physically, emotionally and intellectually. Maslow believed that we would have to pass through each stage of the hierarchy of needs before we could reach self-actualisation
Carl Rogers studied the idea and concept of self. The two main ideas he worked on are self-concept and Ideal self. Self-concept is the way we as humans view ourselves including both physical and biological aspects and attributes about ourselves such as our gender; being male or female, the colour of our hair, our height as well as personality traits such as being kind, helpful, humble, assertive or hard-working. For example if a child is told they are silly and naughty they will have these aspects contained in their self-concept, however if a child is praised and encouraged to do well they will have a positive self-concept of themselves and see themselves as worthwhile. The other concept of self is ‘ideal self’ this is what we as individuals would like to be. When there is a difference between our actual self and ideal self we become confused and troubled with our thoughts, making us unhappy.
The cognitive/information processing perspective looks at the role of the three stages of memory (sensory, short-term, and long-term) in retrieving information and then transferring it to store and then recall in memory. The two main theorists that work on this perspective are Jean Piaget and George Kelly.
Jean Piaget was a Swiss psychologist that was the first person to make a systematic study of cognitive development. His contributions to psychology include a theory of cognitive child development, detailed observational studies of cognition in children including the stages of development, and a series of simple but ingenious tests to reveal different cognitive abilities. The stages of development consist of four stages, stage one being the sensori-motor, from the birth of the child to the age of two. The key features in this stage is that the world in experienced through motor activity and through the senses. Stage two, known as pre-operational is from the ages of two through to seven, this is where language develops along with our memory. The child at this stage is still egocentric and is unable to conserve. Stage three is from the ages of seven to eleven known as concrete operational this is where the child is able to communicate properly and able to understand conversations but yet cannot solve problems mentally. The last stage, stage four is known as formal operational which consists from the ages of eleven upwards, this is where the child is able to use different and abstract thought and solve problems mentally with ease.
George Kelly’s theory suggests that we make sense of the world as a series of comparisons between elements. It's called personal construct theory because its both personal and it is about how we construe or form mental constructs (abstract) about elements. People use “constructs” to categorise people and situations they encounter. They are frequently bipolar adjectives such as intelligent-dull, friendly-unfriendly, stable-unstable. Each of us develop of own set we use in different situations to make evaluations. Our construct systems make our world more predictable; Our construct systems reflect our constant efforts to make sense of our world; Our construct systems can grow and change; Our construct systems influence our expectations and perceptions; Some constructs, and some aspects of our construct systems, are more important than others. For example, we may consider our friends (if we consider each one an element) and differentiate by seeing some as 'fun' and others as 'boring'. If we do we can create, 'fun-boring' as a personal construct. 'Cool- uncool' may be another.The theory is often taught by getting someone to take sets of three elements (for example friends again) and say what makes two more similar to the third. When you do this a lot you get your main constructs for thinking about your friends.
The biological perspective is an idea that focuses on the physical and biological causes of human behavior. The biological perspective of psychology has strong links with some of the biological sciences, in particular neurology and genetics. The maturational theory suggests that the effects of our surrounding environments are minimal. The biological perspective suggests that nature has a larger effect on the development of a newborn child rather than nurture. Ideas include that a child does not need to be dependant on the environment to mature, with the genetic instructions that has been passed down from his or her parents and the cognitive, physical and other development processes develop overtime on their own without the need for any environmental factors to influence or effect this.
Arnold Gesell believed the idea of the maturational theory. followed the works of Darwin and other evolutionists, eventually developing the Gesell Maturational Theory. His theory contends that development in childhood and adolescence is primarily biological, or genetic, in origin. Biology and genetic inheritances determine predictable patterns of biological behavior that Gesell termed norms. He felt that children's development patterns opened automatically by biology, as the unfolding of a flower does because it is genetically programmed to do so in the right environment. As the flower requires proper soil and rain, children require a nurturing, stable environment, and little else to mature both biologically and psychologically. Gesell was among the first professionals to compile developmental stage information with which parents could learn to understand their children. Because childhood and adolescent development is the product of millions of years of evolution, he mainly advocated sensitivity and understanding as parental approaches to development. Biology has already given children what they need to understand their own development.Gesell worked in a lab at Yale University, studying children and their developmental stages. He cataloged children's behavior at various ages and described the norms in their collective development. As such, his theory is often grouped with normative-descriptive approaches, because it uses norms of development to describe the process of maturation.Gesell's theory was groundbreaking because it implied that learning, illness, injury and life experiences were secondary, if at all influential, to biology and the evolution of the genetics that program a child's development. Unless the child's environment were so distorted as to be harmful, he felt that children were born with all the information their bodies needed for development and maturation. Genetics determine the developmental process and the timing of maturation, and parents could affect very little of this, except by being sensitive to cues learned from the descriptive norms.
Our genes play a big part on our behaviour. There are many disorders that affect our behaviour that are caused by genes such as Huntington’s disease which is caused by a single dominant gene in our DNA which can be passed down to the child from either parent. Other diseases such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anaemia are passed down to the child when both parents are carriers on the gene. Disorders that are affected by our genes have no effects or influences from the environment.
by
ravkhosa (student)
