We explain what behavior is, its differences from behavior and the types that exist. Also, animal behavior.
What is behavior?
It is normally understood by behavior how a living being responds to stimuli in its environment whether you do so consciously or unconsciously, voluntarily or involuntarily, proportionate or not.
In everyday speech, this term usually implies a more or less permanent or defining condition, that is, an individual has a behavior or a certain way of behaving, and we usually expect it to always be more or less the same way.
However, the behavior actually is influenced by various factors mediate or immediate, of the genetic, social, cultural, psychological, economic and emotional order.
Depending on the specific perspective from which behavior is studied or analyzed, we will have more or less specialized definitions of it, coming from psychology, statistics, politics, biology, etc.
In each case, an attempt is made to understand the set of evident patterns of behavior of individuals, as a way of understanding their motivations, their desires, their characteristics.
Behavior and conduct
Depending on the approach used, the terms behavior and conduct may or may not be synonymous. In principle, the word “conduct” comes from Latin with- (“next to”) and ducere (“guide”). So in its original sense it implies that individuals act motivated or guided by something specific, internal or external, that is taking place at the moment.
“Behavior” is a word used in biology, which tried to understand how animals thought, and later borrowed by psychology.
On the other hand, when thinking about behavior, the totality of the individual's behaviors is usually covered, that is, it is a much more general concept, which covers the observable aspects of the individual's way of acting (again, his or her behavior), and those unobservable aspects, such as mental or emotional aspects.
In short: Behavior encompasses the totality of an individual's behaviors.
Types of behavior
According to certain theories of social psychology, there are four different types of behavior, whose acronyms make up the mnemonic word “disc” (in English). These are:
- Dominant Typical of people who often take the initiative, who know what they want and where they want to go. They assume active, sometimes even aggressive, roles, oriented more towards results and towards the “what”, than towards the “how”.
- Influential Behavior very focused on interpersonal relationships, so the concepts of empathy, openness and influence are central. Influential people create connections easily and can demonstrate great leadership skills, so they tend to surround themselves with people and be very “popular.”
- Stable A type of calm, peaceful behavior that places great importance on one's own safety and therefore tends to play a passive role in most situations. They may seem shy, insecure, and focus much more on the “how” than the “what.”
- Compliant Perfectionistic behavior, with an enormous capacity to contemplate details, typical of observant, methodical and analytical people, who can be perceived as “cold” by others, since they are not usually guided by their internal or emotional life.
animal behavior
Ethology is the discipline that studies the behavior of animals. It is a branch of biology and experimental psychology, which attempts to perceive the behavioral changes of living beings in their habitats or in different environments.
It especially focuses on concepts such as instinct, behavior, social life, mating, etc. Human beings, considered for these purposes as an animal species, may or may not be included in this approach.
Continue with: Organizational behavior
References
- “Behavior” on Wikipedia.
- “Behavior” in Psychology Dictionary.
- “Conduct” in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Conduct or behavior. Beyond terminological disquisitions” in Scientific Psychology Magazine.
- “Ethology” on Wikipedia.
