Talking about behavior, I can easily conclude that it is who you are. However, that will look too vague for anyone who is truly thirsty of knowledge. Due to that, I will explain the scholarly submissions of people about behavior. Starting from the most accessible source, Online Dictionary defines it as “the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially towards others.” That is, the way you act while interacting with others is your behavior. Invariably, it would be most appropriate for you to always listen to people for feedback about yourself. This is because they are the ones that feel the brunt of every act of yours. While in some cases, you might think you are doing the right thing, others might have a polar perception of such a thing. Imagine a teacher who thinks being high-handed makes the students to fear him or her. The students might not see this as an act of discipline but wickedness which will make them create resentment towards such a teacher.
The Online Dictionary also gives another definition of behavior as “the way in which an animal or person behaves in response to a particular situation or stimulus.” This interprets that what determines our behavior per time is the event at hand. This is in line with self-control and ability to be conscious of what one says when faced with certain circumstances. For instance, if a student annoys you and you flare up irritatingly but the same student annoys a colleague of yours in the same way, but instead of the colleague to flare up, they have compassion over the student, hug them and give them a listening ear, that alone will form the student’s perception about the behavior of the two of you. More so, the memory of that single experience will be with him or her till something happens again to erase it off.
Hemakumara and Rainis (2018) define behavior as “the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems, or artificial entities in conjunction with themselves or their environment which includes the other systems or organisms around as well as the (inanimate) physical environment.” From the definition given by the scholars, it is crystal clear that behavior of a person is not developed out of void; there are factors that contribute to dictating a person’s behavior. In fact, apart from the “other systems” mentioned by the scholars, they also refer to the physical environment of a person as a huge factor in determining their behavior. A teacher who grew up in Italy will behave differently from one that was raised in Africa. This is because the culture and ways of life of those two places are very different from each other and there is no how one can disassociate one’s self from the manners one is used to. A teacher who has been used to teaching students from the same background will find it very difficult to perfectly handle a class of students from diverse backgrounds. This is because everyone has their peculiar demands and it cannot be met by applying a universal principle.
Lynn et al (2014) postulate that behavior is the 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. This definition opens our minds to a new point of view. That is, behavior is a combination of both voluntary and involuntary actions. The involuntary actions are those that are processed over time which have become a part of us without our awareness. Human behavior is believed to be influenced by the endocrine system and the nervous system. It is most commonly believed that complexity in the behavior of an organism is correlated to the complexity of its nervous system. Generally, organisms with more complex nervous systems have a greater capacity to learn new responses and thus adjust their behavior (Gregory, 2015).
Shristi (2018) notes that human behavior is influenced by a number of factors.The behavior of living organisms is always influenced by a number of factors. Some forms of human behavior are influenced by a large number of factors while other forms of behavior are influenced by a fewer factors. For instance, you are walking along a road when three boys start making fun of you. Here your behavior will be determined by a number of factors. If you are alone and if the other boys appear to be bent on giving you trouble and if you are also in a hurry to reach your destination you will probably ignore them and quietly keep proceeding. On the other hand if you have friends with you and feel that you can face the situation and you are also not in a particular hurry, then probably you will pick up a fight with them (Shristi, 2018).
These factors can even be individual differences. Human behavior is influenced by a number of factors and these factors vary from one person to another and even from one group of people to another group of people. People differ in their physiological and bodily conditions, in their past experiences, in their abilities, in their background and in short, in everything. It is, therefore, natural that if ten people are put in the same situation all of them do not behave alike. Each person’s behavior differs from that of others in some respect or to some degree (Shristi, 2018).
So a teacher who reacts angrily to a student’s behavior might not be totally regarded as being aggressive because one cannot deduce what their past experiences were like. If they were brought up in a harsh, non-tolerant environment, this will always reflect in their behavior. However, while differences which arise from hereditary or inherited factors affecting the bodily processes cannot always be eliminated, much of the differences arising from past experience, social background, etc. can be minimized if not totally eliminated (Shristi, 2018).
Most times, behavior is always purposeful or goal-driven. A person who accommodates the ill-behaviors of students is to endear them to his or her heart so as to be able to help them.
References
Gregory, A (2015). Book of Alan: A Universal Order. ISBN 978-1-5144-2053-9.
Hemakumara, G &Rainis, R. (2018).Spatial behaviourmodelling of unauthorized housing in Colombo, Sri Lanka. KEMANUSIAAN the Asian Journal of Humanities 25(2): 91–107, https://doi.org/10.21315/kajh2018.25.2.5
Lynn R. et al. (2014). Belief Systems, Religion, and Behavioral Economics. New York: Business Expert Press LLC. ISBN 978-1-60649-704-3.
Shristi, D (2018). 9 General Characteristics of Human Behavior. Retrieved from http://www.psychologydiscussion.net/behaviour/human-behaviour/9-general-characteristics-of-human-behaviour-psychology/2817