Psychoanalytic and Behaviorist Theories That Determine Behavior in Human Beings - Essay Example

Running head: Behavioral theories (Your Name) (Your School) April 22, 2011 Abstract The paper seeks to arguably provide a critical analysis of psychoanalytic and behaviorist theories that determine behavior in human beings. In a conclusive well cited paper, the various factors that bring about smoking behavior acquisition and subsequent expunging will be well addressed. By the end of the paper, a clear understanding on the theories will have been amicably explained. Smoking Smoking is a behavioral term that refers to the inhalation and exhalation of billows resulting from burning tobacco. The behavior’s etiology can be traced more than 2,000 years ago in America. Smoking was done for medicinal purposes by Native Americans. Inhalation of the smoke into the lungs occasions irritation of the delicate lining of air passages that as a result precipitates coughing. In light of this, the lungs ability to fights infections is greatly constrained. Moreover, upon reaching the brain, tobacco contents such as nicotine, stimulate receptors in the brain thus increasing our heart rate and blood pressure making a smoker engender pleasure or dizziness for new smokers. Smoking behavior starts at a young age between the ages of 11 and 15 as a result of exposure to such deeds in the society. Smoking Behavior in a Psychoanalytic Perspective Psychoanalytic theory was propagated by Sigmund Feud articulates the intricacies of the human mind and its effects on the cognitive function. Fortier (2002, p. 85) asserts that human cognitive abilities result from circumstances and not entirely on instinct. Feud argued that a human’s psyche is derived from different angles namely; superego (conscience), ego (consciousness) and id (unconscious drives). In an example, a dog drooling before meat on top of a table, the superego happens to be the master forbidding it from taking the meat; the id the desire to take the meat and finally the ego is the situation whereby the dog is in a catch 22 situation between desire and denial. In light of this, humans are also propelled by certain desires to engage in certain actions such as smoking to quench their desires. It is this unending urge to experiment and fulfill one’s desire that individuals end up smoking. For example, a young individual might be eager to get involved in smoking in his/her search for pleasure as exhibited by other smokers. Ego, as propagated by psychologists, seeks to satisfy the needs of the object which in this case is the smoker. The urge to fulfill the pleasure aggravates smoking behavior. Egoism is at times high in its demands that children are unable to cope with thus result to the adaptation of bad and immoral behaviors such as smoking. Ego is bombarded by two masters, id and superego, each garnering for its success. id seeks satisfaction whereas superego gathers conscience. In articulating psychoanalysis, Freud brought about various defense mechanisms aimed at shaping behavior patterns of individuals namely; repression, denial, projection, reaction formation, displacement and regression. Repression is a situation whereby an individual isolates him/herself from reality a process known as selective exposure. For example, smokers engaging in the behavior with clear knowledge of the effects but prevents emergence of consciousness aimed at preventing the behavior. Similar to it is the denial mechanism that projects that individuals refuse to concede that an action is detrimental to their lives. For example, a smoker is likely to alienate the thought that smoking is a harmful act both heath wise and morally (Lecture 4). Projection, on the other front, details a situation that an individual blames his friend or environment for their acts. A smoker, for instance, may blame parental misguidance and lack of support as the etiology of his/her behavior. Displacement is a situation whereby an individual does an action to satisfy his/her urge. Basing my example on smoking, a smoker can result to smoking behavior so as to reduce their stress levels. On the other hand, the superego articulates about conscience. Conscience (Engler 2009, p.48) is the capacity of an individual to self evaluates, critique, and reproaches his/her actions. Through this, an individual’s actions create a guilt attitude mostly when they are morally wrong. For example, a smoker may be guilty of his/her actions in moral perspectives since they are deemed immoral. Moreover, they engage in the behavior in a fact-finding mission after misconceptions from grown ups. For example, a child, in the quest to know the source of children may trigger him/her to seek knowledge from unwilling adults. In this regard, he/she result to experimentation. Psychoanalysis forms a fundamental role in the retention or expulsion of a behavior such as smoking. The theory postulates that an individual’s conscience plays a great role in the adaptation of a behavior, in this case smoking. In light of this, the conscience adaptively shapes a person’s behavior since it regulates his cause of actions on the morality of the act. For example, youngsters can result to smoking without the knowledge that it is unhealthy and immoral at the same time. They engage in smoking in return for pleasure other factors constant (Lecture 4). On the other hand, the super-egoism take shape upon interaction with external forces such as parents and the society in general that figure out behavior. For example, a parent’s influence on a child can either instigate or reduce proliferation of a certain behavior. Assertiveness and leniency of the external factors obscure attainment of an individual’s super ego. For example, in the event a parent becomes punitive towards a child’s behavior, the punishment can greatly affect the end results of a behavior. In reference to smoking, a child can stop smoking after critical punishment by parents thus changing his/her super ego (Lecture 2). “Parental influence governs the child by offering proofs of love and by threatening punishments” (Lecture 2). Besides, identification plays an important role in the realization of super-ego. This implies the imitation of a behavior to suit an individual. For example, a son may like to imitate his ever smoking father in an effort to be like him. In light of this, his ego duplicates that of his father. In discussing the psychoanalytic analysis of a behavior, Freud (Engler 2009, p.38) pointed out that the conceptuality of sexuality was vital. A person’s urge to smoke is driven by four features namely; body stimulus, intensity of the stimulus, goal of the action and the person’s environment. In light of this therefore, a person may be prompted to engage in smoking behavior to satisfy his/her need and also retain pleasure. Smoking as earlier stated brings about pleasure and relaxation; therefore it effectively reduces the need and rejuvenates a person’s moods. Moreover, other analysts formed a conglomerate to articulate Freud’s school of thoughts. Alfred Adler and Carl Jung argued that the psychoanalytical theory propagated by Freud was too much on sexuality and pleasure leaving other causative agents of behavior constant, thus making a fallacious conclusion. Although he accepted a number of Freud’s ideas. He argued that the sense for superiority provided a critical analysis for behavior as opposed to pleasure and sexuality. For example, in a behavior like smoking, smokers engage in it to acquire a superiority complex attitude but not entirely on sexuality and pleasure. An individual can be feeling unpleasant when smoking but feel ‘on top of the world’ for engaging in a behavior associated with adults, in this case for children. By engaging in smoking, a child or youngster for that matter, seeks to elevate his/her status to an adult thus overcomes inferiority complex. Adler further brings out the concept of individual psychology. The concept cum theory postulates that individuals possess and chooses their ideal lives based on their goals. In light of this, he argued that the attainment of success for an individual lays on a third variable- their role model. This explains; therefore that behavior formation is dependant on numerous variables and not on sexuality and pleasure as singled out by Freud. A behavior, in this case smoking, can be a result of imitation from a role model and not from cognitive abilities. For example, a child may be forced to copy a behavior his/her role model engages in without prior knowledge of its consequences. Smoking Behavior in a Behaviorist theoretical perspective Behaviorist’s theory gears towards the effective understanding of human personality. The theory postulates that cultural and sub cultural conditioning enhances behavior. Kennon and Chase (2003, p.2) assert that behavior theory analysis as a branch of psychology articulates how the environment shapes behavior of a human being. For example, the environment provides an avenue for the formulation of smoking behavior among young people. In this regard, the environment encapsulates all the various variables that the youngster will come across during his/her existence. The term environment in this case focuses on schools, family and religious institutions as critical avenues for behavior acquisition and subsequent expulsion. For example, brought up in a family that smokes, a child can take into smoking as a good behavior. “The environment provides the avenue in which behavior occurs” (Chase, 2003, p.2). Family also reignites behavior formation and subsequent retention of the same. In a classical example, lastborn children in a family are forced into circumstances upon neglect by their seniors. This implies that they result to certain behaviors for lack of advice and attention from the parents or elder siblings. In light of this, the precipitate the inferiority complex attitude that makes them engages in dubious behaviors such as smoking (Lecture 7). In context of the social learning theory propagated by Albert Bandura, behaviour acquisition takes four processes for effectiveness namely; attention, retention, production and lastly motivation. Attention addresses the stage at which a person is exposed to behaviour such as smoking by the socio-environmental factors. For example, as the primary social unit, the family through parents’ provide an avenue for behaviour exposure. A boy will be exposed to smoking through his father who often sends him for cigars. Retention is a situation whereby a person after exposure hangs on to the behaviour. Production on its part details the final resolve to engage in the behaviour whereas motivation arguably represents the factors that aggravate the behaviour. For example, in the presence of funds, a smoker is encouraged to continue with the act. Bandura further came up with the concept of reciprocal determinism. The concept postulates the interconnectivity of behaviour, cognitive and personal factors. He argues that the acquisition of behaviour relied heavily on forethought. This is a situation whereby an individual acquaints him/herself on the consequences of the behaviour. For example, a smoker might engage in the behaviour on the reasoning that it will generate positive results such as pleasure. Another behaviourist theorist Skinner argued that effects of behaviour were instrumental in shaping the future possibility of the recurrence of the behaviour. For example, in the event that the behaviour brought about happiness, an individual would repeat it in future. Smokers, for instance, driven by the pleasure feeling would repeat the behaviour leading to addiction. On the contrary, negative consequences of behaviour occasion reduction of it in future. On a similar example, after lung infections arising from smoking, an individual can quit smoking behaviour to avert more detrimental effects that are brought about by smoking. Rationale: The psychoanalytic theory largely focuses on the school of thought that ignites cognitive analysis of behaviour but behavioural approach to behaviour analysis is dependant on experiences. Freud explains behaviour formation on the grounds of mental ability to carry out certain behaviour. On the other hand, Skinner’s behaviourists’ theory emphasises on behaviour itself and the factors that arguably shapes its reduction or retention. Skinner fails in his analysis by isolating the etymology of the behaviour that Freud effectively puts into consideration. Behaviourism as propelled by Skinner provides a platform for the prediction and subsequent control of the behaviour. For example, after a lung infection as a result of smoking a person can easily outline the next cause of action towards the behaviour, however, it very hard to predict behaviour since behaviour formation is arguably a mental process thus unforeseeable (Lecture 7). However, critics argue that the psychoanalytic theory overlooks the importance on the environment in behaviour formulation. Moreover, the theory lack scientific grounding yet it highlights cognition and mind as a determinant factor in behaviour acquisition. This is because their propositions are not falsifiable; this implies that they cannot be tested in a lab to ascertain their truthfulness. Conclusion The discussions above have offered some insightful knowledge on the various components involved in behaviour construction. From Freud to Adler and Bandura the behaviour formation is dependent on several factors. However, it has arguably given a platform on similarities and differences giving shortcomings of the schools of thought. For example, Freud largely depends on sexuality and pleasure in determining behaviour although there are other factors that result in behaviour acquisition. The schools of thought have arguably shaped the study of behavioural psychology through their insightful postulates. All in all, certain studies should be done to effectively deal with assumptions propagated by the theorists. For instance, psychologists should amicably resolve the issue using modern day arguments since most of the premises that drive to the behavioural conclusions are based on archaic psychology research. Reference List Engler, B. (2009). Personal Theories: An Introduction, MA: Cengage Fortier, M. (2002). Theory/theatre: an introduction. (2nd Ed.), London: Routledge Kennon, A, L, and Chase, P, N. (2003). Behavior theory and philosophy, NY, Kluwer Lecture 2 Lecture 3 Lecture 4 Lecture 7 Attached instructions: Read More

The urge to fulfill the pleasure aggravates smoking behavior. Egoism is at times high in its demands that children are unable to cope with thus result to the adaptation of bad and immoral behaviors such as smoking. Ego is bombarded by two masters, id and superego, each garnering for its success. id seeks satisfaction whereas superego gathers conscience. In articulating psychoanalysis, Freud brought about various defense mechanisms aimed at shaping behavior patterns of individuals namely; repression, denial, projection, reaction formation, displacement and regression.

Repression is a situation whereby an individual isolates him/herself from reality a process known as selective exposure. For example, smokers engaging in the behavior with clear knowledge of the effects but prevents emergence of consciousness aimed at preventing the behavior. Similar to it is the denial mechanism that projects that individuals refuse to concede that an action is detrimental to their lives. For example, a smoker is likely to alienate the thought that smoking is a harmful act both heath wise and morally (Lecture 4).

Projection, on the other front, details a situation that an individual blames his friend or environment for their acts. A smoker, for instance, may blame parental misguidance and lack of support as the etiology of his/her behavior. Displacement is a situation whereby an individual does an action to satisfy his/her urge. Basing my example on smoking, a smoker can result to smoking behavior so as to reduce their stress levels. On the other hand, the superego articulates about conscience. Conscience (Engler 2009, p.48) is the capacity of an individual to self evaluates, critique, and reproaches his/her actions.

Through this, an individual’s actions create a guilt attitude mostly when they are morally wrong. For example, a smoker may be guilty of his/her actions in moral perspectives since they are deemed immoral. Moreover, they engage in the behavior in a fact-finding mission after misconceptions from grown ups. For example, a child, in the quest to know the source of children may trigger him/her to seek knowledge from unwilling adults. In this regard, he/she result to experimentation. Psychoanalysis forms a fundamental role in the retention or expulsion of a behavior such as smoking.

The theory postulates that an individual’s conscience plays a great role in the adaptation of a behavior, in this case smoking. In light of this, the conscience adaptively shapes a person’s behavior since it regulates his cause of actions on the morality of the act. For example, youngsters can result to smoking without the knowledge that it is unhealthy and immoral at the same time. They engage in smoking in return for pleasure other factors constant (Lecture 4). On the other hand, the super-egoism take shape upon interaction with external forces such as parents and the society in general that figure out behavior.

For example, a parent’s influence on a child can either instigate or reduce proliferation of a certain behavior. Assertiveness and leniency of the external factors obscure attainment of an individual’s super ego. For example, in the event a parent becomes punitive towards a child’s behavior, the punishment can greatly affect the end results of a behavior. In reference to smoking, a child can stop smoking after critical punishment by parents thus changing his/her super ego (Lecture 2). “Parental influence governs the child by offering proofs of love and by threatening punishments” (Lecture 2).

Besides, identification plays an important role in the realization of super-ego. This implies the imitation of a behavior to suit an individual. For example, a son may like to imitate his ever smoking father in an effort to be like him. In light of this, his ego duplicates that of his father. In discussing the psychoanalytic analysis of a behavior, Freud (Engler 2009, p.38) pointed out that the conceptuality of sexuality was vital. A person’s urge to smoke is driven by four features namely; body stimulus, intensity of the stimulus, goal of the action and the person’s environment.

Read More