Human Motivior : The Causes Of Human Behavior

“Etiquette is all human social behavior. If you’re a hermit on a mountain, you don’t have to worry about etiquette; if somebody comes up the mountain, then you’ve got a problem…” This quote from American journalist, Judith Martin, illustrates the concept that the presence of others creates or inspires expectations. Social norms, or specific cultural expectations for how to behave in a given situation, are practiced throughout various societies and cultures across the planet. People relay on social norms to provide order and predictability in social situations. Social roles are the part people play as members of a social group. With each social role one plays, the behavior changes to fit the expectations both you and others have of that role. It is most common for people to conform to the guidelines provided by the roles we perform. When one does not conform to the social norms, it is considered abnormal behavior. For this assignment, I faced the challenge to disregard expectations of social roles and norms in society.

Have you ever wondered why we hold the doors for those behind us? How about the reason we use utensils when we eat? What about why we always stand facing the doors in the elevator? These are all examples of what are known as social norms. According to Dr. Ward social norms are “basic rules of society that help people know what is and is not appropriate to do in any situation.” These basic rules of society are usually unwritten and unspoken and many of us pick up on them over time. Although, some social norms are very common throughout many cultures, there is a lot of them that vary depending on which culture you are apart of. For example, here in America, a major social norm that we have is when eating, the polite thing to do is to use spoons and forks, instead of digging in with your hands. For instance, we would not eat spaghetti with our hands but we would use a fork. In some Thiland cultures it is considered rude to put most foods in your mouth with a fork. Then there is also some cultures such as Chile in which it is impolite to use your hands for anything, even foods such as french fries, they use forks while eating.

Zatrow, C. &.-A. (210). Understanding human behavior and social enviornment (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

Human motivation is a physiological drive that we all have inside ourselves. There is no way to completely avoid it. Some drives we have are for basic necessities of survival, like the feelings of thirst and hunger. Obviously we must give into the drive that our body is signaling to us we must have because food and water are essential for us to live. When our behavior is directed by means of survival this is something known as homeostasis. “According to drive theory, the body maintains a condition of homeostasis, in which any particular system is in balance or equilibrium (C.L. Hull, 1951). Any departure from homeostasis, such as depletion of nutrients or a drop in temperature, produces an aroused condition, or drive, which impels the individual to engage in appropriate action such as eating, drinking, or seeking warmth. As the body’s need is met, the drive and associated arousal subside.” (Garrett, pg. 161)

In “The Surprising Science of Motivation”, Dan Pink explained how the 21st century is requiring people to become more creative and think outside of the box. Allowing yourself to view all the possibilities instead of restricting solutions can provide more positive rewards. As a result, I find myself understanding the concept that external rewards like money are not the best way to motivate ourselves or others. Therefore, motivation lies within everyone by giving them the power to examine three elements of motivation which include autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Those that follow this motivation are not receiving cash reward but a reward of accomplishing their own task. In summary, I know understand that a person can be motivated by their

Dan Pink also speaks of the discrepancy between what science knows and how we motivate others. The evidence he showed was giving an extrinsic reward produces substandard results when individuals where asked to complete a job where critical thinking was needed to complete the task at hand. Individuals become less creative and unable to solve problems when they are given a reward in the end. Dan showed that people are motivated by cognitive task than those who are rewarded.

Various studies and theories have developed to explain why and how people make decisions on why people do things and have hypothesised that people make both internal and external attributions of others, based on the relation to different contexts, or that people behave differently to what is expected, normally, conventionally or abnormally….in

person and depends on a wide variety of factors such as health, maturity, stability, experience,

Society exerts extreme pressures on people to act in specific ways whether or not they believe in the righteousness of their actions; many people act how society suggests they should in order to avoid punishment and judgement. A man chastises the Gossips for their lowly reasons for proper behavior: “’Is there no virtue in a woman, save what springs from a wholesome fear of the gallows?’” (Hawthorne 39). The women fear the death and punishment which the Puritan Society they live in threatens, and allow such threats to dictate the way they act. When people carry out actions simply to avoid punishment or gain rewards and recognition, their selfish motivations take away from their noble deeds. The mind and personal motivations must work in harmony in order for an individual to truly act in a highly moral way. Both specific, well thought out motivations for why an action exists as the right choice, along with the outward action itself must occur in order for one to achieve higher levels of morality. The fears of judgment, public punishment, and both physical and mental injury can cause people to simply act out of basic instincts and through egocentric motivations. Lawrence Kohlberg defines his early stages of moral development by simplicity of decision-making, and a fixation on punishment and reward: “The physical consequences of action determine its goodness or badness regardless of the human meaning or value of these consequences” (Kohlberg n.p.). In the early, pre-conventional

The naïve scientist (Heider, 1958) explanation can be used to explain our own and other people’s behaviour. This explanation theorises that we attempt to assign motives to behaviour in order to make logical sense of the world around us, which helps us

Being able to complete certain life goals requires time, effort, and resources that are interrelated to the individual who wants to meet the goal. People have goals that may be similar, but given that people are very different in their makeup and background, makes them have different outcomes. What makes everyone want to be complete in life is that each person has some type of motivating factor that helps a person plan and move forward. Chapter 16 of Ormrod’s Human Learning discusses motivation and affect, which is described as an internal state that arouses a person to action, pushes a person in certain directions, and keeps an individual engaged (Ormrod, 2012). Motivation causes an affect, which is an emotion or feeling that is the

According to the Attribution Theory, we tend to explain our own behaviour and the behaviour of others by assigning attributes (or inferences) to these behaviour. There are basically two sources for our behaviour; those influenced by external factors and those influenced by internal factors. Imagine walking into your boss

Human behavior plays a role in one’s everyday life. Humans form an opinion about one another based upon behavior. When having a conversation with a person, it could be considered rude or thought to be hiding something if eye contact is not made. Behavior is not always the same throughout life, it can vary. Early childhood experiences, future expectations, and beliefs have the greatest impact on human behaviors.

Distraction is the process of diverting the attention of an individual or group from a desired area of focus and thereby blocking or diminishing the reception of desired information. Distraction is caused by: the lack of ability to pay attention; lack of interest in the object of attention; or the great intensity, novelty or attractiveness of something other than the object of attention. Distractions come from both external sources, and internal sources. External distractions include factors such as visual triggers, social interactions, music, text messages, and phone calls. There are also internal distractions such as hunger, fatigue, illness, worrying, and daydreaming. Both external and internal distractions contribute to the interference of focus.

What is equitable treatment? According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary (1998), it can be defined as equity or fairness; just and right; fair; reasonable; equitable treatment of all. What are groups? Groups can be defined as---? Whether addressing groups, teams, or organizations there are countless facets and many temperaments we need to take into account. In modern day, progressive circles, groups are comprised of much diversity and an assortments of ideals. In his 1943 paper "A Theory of Human Motivation" in Psychological Review. [2]. Philosopher Abraham Maslow stated the third human interpersonal essential as the need to belong. (Include one more sentence commenting the need to belong in groups). Groups tend to form around many collectives including cultural, racial, religious, lifestyle, age, disability, and gender. In the interest of fairness and impartiality, we must thoroughly examine different categories and classifications of groups. Why equitable treatment is important depending vaguely upon who you ask and how the question is posed. Regardless, equitable treatment is a passionate, conversant subject that holds meaning in significant circles.