Importance of Studying Individual Behavior - Essay Example

College Modeling individual behavior Behavior is the response to a stimulus alias the pattern of reaction to an action. It canbe an immediate effect or can take time to manifest depending on the intensity of the causative factors. This essay will discuss the theory of modeling human behavior, problems of using theory to model individual behavior and factors difficult to build in game theory which consumers exhibit. Causative factors vary depending on the social environment. First is the culture of an individual. Culture is the cumulative effect of the shared patterns of interactions and behavior cognitive constructs and understanding of the social organization of a particular group. It is these shared patterns that make individuals identify with a particular group and not another. Attitude also affects the individual behavior in the sense that it is representative of the individual’s state of mind. It shows an individual’s like or dislike and, therefore, prior to any undertaking the outcome of any undertaking is likely to be a product of the attitude. Values are another factor. These are the beliefs that an individual or a certain group has towards a general idea. Having values or principles determines the ethical code of conduct and by extension determines the amount of emotional investment that can be for or against an idea (Volker, 32). Finally, the authority also shapes individual behavior in the sense that depending on the way it is used. This can be attained by cohesion or even convincing a person to carry out an activity. When cohesion is applied, it will in most cases narrow down the options available to the one carrying out the order. In most cases when pushed to the wall, the end will always justify the means. Importance of studying individual behavior It is of great significance to study individual behavior so as to understand one’s own behavior pattern and how it affects day to day interactions. Besides, it allows for the opportunity to make informed choices for corrective measures so as to develop appropriate behavior pattern, not just for personal effectiveness but social effectiveness as well (Volker, 36). Models explaining individual behavior In explaining individual behavior, two models have been considered in this case. MARS model of individual behavior, also called MARS BAR explains individual behavior due to both internal and external factors. A breakdown of the acronym is motivation, abilities, role perception and situational factors. They constitute the four major factors that affect individual behavior and outcomes. This model is applicable to many cases but is often used in management, industrial psychology and organizational behavior studies. It shows a combined effect on individual performance in organizations and denotes that suppose any of the factors diminishes in terms of its strength, then the general performance is weakened. For instance, if an enthusiastic extrovert sales person with strong motivation and understanding of his role with sufficient materials (situational factors) will not perform well if they lack product knowledge and sales selling techniques (ability). The ability to acquire skills is affected by aptitudes. The individual’s perceptions in most cases are distorted and fail to function due to distress. They can learn to evaluate thoughts which are spontaneous either verbally or imaginarily and rectify these thoughts so that they become a reality. When that is done, distress is minimized and they are able to behave more functionally making the psychological arousal abate. Individuals can also learn to identify and modify their distorted beliefs which guide their basic understanding of each other, their surroundings and those around them. Such beliefs yield distorted information as beliefs influence their processing of it. Therefore, this model explains the individual’s emotional, psychological and behavioral responses which are influenced by their beliefs and characteristic ways of interacting with the world around them, as well as the experiences they have. Problems in using theory to model individual behavior Theoretical claims involve a lot of assumptions of which some can be true and applicable while others not. This is because when a researcher comes up with some conclusion about a concept, in most cases, they will tend to address what they intend to research with some prejudice or bias. For instance, suppose a researcher would like to find the reasons why individuals in a given area respond in a particular way to some religions, they will have in mind what the findings might be from the outset. This could influence their selection of individuals considered suitable for evaluation. Budgetary constraints and the perception of the researcher will also influence the direction the study will take (Drew & Jean, 46). As much as the researcher would want to understand the behavior of other people, he is also susceptible to same factors he would like to study in others, owing to the truth that he is also a human, although at a different capacity. Another issue is that not all theories reflect every individual behavior. Depending on the situational factors coming from varying capacity across different geographical regions, the intensity of reaction will be of different capacities. Authority affects individual behavioral mannerisms based on the consequences to be expected, conditioned on the way authority is executed. A case scenario is when employees of an organization want to reject some or one of the decisions of those in authority. Suppose the management involves the employees in making the decision by convincing them to go by that decision, less resistance is bound to arise. If cohesive efforts are used and threats issued to contain resistance, the reaction is likely to be severe and ultimately it will affect the productivity of the employees. The company that involves employees in decision making will be more productive than the one that imposes decisions on its employees (Drew & Jean, 65). Additionally, people are likely to pretend when they are under study. This could be a reflection of their beliefs about what is under study and not the reality of it. To illustrate this, consider a case whereby individuals of a particular group are expecting to be studied so as to give reasons for their good performance (Martin & Ariel, 45). There is going to be a high probability that they will exaggerate the reasons for their sterling performance so as to raise the bar a little higher. Such factors are never factored in when carrying out the study and even so quantifying the intensity of such outcomes is hard. Game theory This is a theory of social situations and focuses on how groups of people interact. It is divided into two areas: cooperative and non-cooperative. It has three important features, one of which is the simple representation of a variety of important situations, another is the fact that is shows what is in the mind of an intelligent person and finally the change it exhibits when a play is repeated several times or maybe even when players interrupt in the future once again (Volker, 44). This theory is mostly used to describe the prevailing circumstances surrounding prisoners. An analysis of the available options is analyzed in which each prisoner’s options is considered against the options of the other prisoner.to put this into perspective, it means that the key to game theory and understanding why good people may make the world a bad environment to understand the delicate balance of equilibrium. This means that suppose people become more caring and nothing happens the world will be no worse. On the contrary, if we become more caring and we will feel obligated to change how we behave. According to game theory, therefore, if we both try to do this, the end result may make us worse off (Martin & Ariel, 45). Some factors are difficult to build into game theory which in real life is exhibited in consumers. First is the fact that consumers will always look for substitutable goods. In as much as all the options given are weighed in consideration of the opponent’s case, at times it is hard to exhaust all the factors. The variety in options will compound the whole case and even worse make it more complex. Given a case whereby the consumer is faced with the option of choosing between an inferior good and a normal good, and each case comes with various set of goods, it widens the scope of choice (Colin, 31). Another factor is the fact that consumers are able for sacrifice to benefit other. This is the case whereby when goods are limited, the sellers will have to regulate the amount of goods bought by each consumer for equity purposes. Conclusion Individual behavior is complex, and models are a necessary simplification of reality. Individuals are shaped by prevailing environmental conditions at the given point and time. It is not just a social factor but is determined by the individuals attitude. As such, theories can be very beneficial in understanding human behavior but this does not mean that it will be applicable in all cases. Theories like game theory are not just dynamic, but they are applicable especially in the world of economics. Word count: 1503 Work cited Coffey, Aodhan L, Tomas E. Ward, and Richard H. Middleton. "Game Theory." (2013). Print. Camerer, Colin. Behavioral Game Theory: Experiments in Strategic Interaction. New York, N.Y: Russell Sage Foundation, 2003. Print. Drew F. & Jean T. (2005) Individual based modeling & Ecology. Princeton University Press. New Jersey Grimm, Volker. Individual-based Modeling and Ecology. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005. Print. Osborne, Martin J, and Ariel Rubinstein. A Course in Game Theory. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1994. Print. Read More