Tag Archives: human behavior

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Thinking

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How we think is key to the way we define ourselves.  Each individual has a unique way of thinking.  Thoughts drive our behavior which is core to how others perceive us.

How we think not only drives the perceptions of others but also how we perceive ourselves.  Our thoughts can bring us joy or sorrow depending on how we process and interpret them.

Our type of thinking typically falls into one of two major groups; emotional feelings or logical thoughts.  These are not independent of each other and combine to create an integrated behavioral outcome.

Emotions

Your subjective feelings are something that cannot be observed but are ultimately developed in your mind.  Your body, environment and thinking processes all influence them.

These feelings are unique to us but sometimes will be relatively the same as others who are experiencing the same influencing factors.  For example, if you are on an obviously sinking ship the majority, if not everyone will experience some form of fear.

Of course, on occasion the feelings are unique to us, love is an oft-cited example of this. That is the feeling of love for someone or something else can be very personal.

Logic

Using a system or set of principles of validity we develop an assessment based on reasoning.   Logic and emotional thought patterns and processes are very different.

Emotions can be more involuntary.  Logical thinking is typically both conscious and fully within our control.

Whichever type of thinking you are practicing at any given time, it defines you.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

My Opinion

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It is natural to form a view or conclusion based on the facts as we interpret them.  The factual analysis is most likely colored by our bias, conscious and unconscious.

These beliefs, or opinions are typically less strong than positive knowledge but backed by observation and data making them stronger than an impression.

Our own filters and personal perspective can make these conclusions unique.    Others may share your opinion, or not but exercise caution about treating an opinion as knowledge just because of what others think.

Benefiting from Opinions

To a large extent sharing your opinion and listening to those of others can provide you with valuable insight.  Often this can include a view you had not thought of.

This can come as direct feedback from others when you share your thoughts, or just a personal aha moment one your part triggered by someone elses opinion.

Ultimately opinions can form the germ of an nacient strategy.  However, it makes sense to validate the facts as you proceed before leaping full bore into a tactic in support of the strategy based on opinion alone.

The opinions value lies in the framework it creates.  In essence, a place to begin.  It is critical not to let the opinion alone drive action, the lowest risk approach being founded in positive knowledge.

Unforunately, reality bites and positive knowledge is not always at hand.  Hence the formation of opinions and their associated actions.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Nature versus Nurture

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Each of us has some traits genetically programmed.   These influence our behavior.

Additionally, from the day we are borne our behaviors are influenced by the things that happen around us, our environment.

Nature vs. Nurture ?

It is clear our genes define our basic being from physical body structure to the workings of our internal organs – nervous system, brain, heart liver, blood, etc.   The resulting behavior  is said to be derived from nature.

Our speech patterns, values, morals  and the associated behaviors become formed over time by the external influences around us.  Things like economic circumstances, climate, friends, family and so on.  The resulting behavior is said to be derived from nurture.

A key question for human behaviorists is how do nature and nurture factors influence each other.  Do these two main drivers work in conjunction, does one supplement the other or are they independent?

Are certain behaviors more impacted by one or the other of these factors.  For example are  values more derived from environmental circumstances or are you borne with them?

Twins

To help answer these questions a large number of studies have been conducted using identical twins separated at birth.  These subjects are great examples of identical genetic templates subjected to different environmental influences.

The most definitive conclusion from numerous studies to date is that a combination of nature and nurture drive the end state and neither nature nor nurture can be held up as the unique and only reason for a specific behavior.  That is to say, you could be borne with the potential for great intelligence but not exercise it fully due to your environmental situation or just the opposite, regardless of environment the intelligence potential could be realized and practiced.  It has not been possible to identify a single definitive cause (nature or nurture) that consistently associates with a particular result.

Free Will!

The good news from these studies so far is that the concept of free will is supported.  If you are a regular reader of these posts you would know I am a big believer in free will and constantly encouraging all to exercise theirs.

If nature or nurture cannot be consistently associated with a resulting behavior than it is intuitive that some level of free will must exist allowing, us to make our own choices dependent neither on nature nor nurture but just us.   This is what is means to be human.