BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS

BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS

Behaviour is the way a person conducts themselves, mainly towards other people. An analysis of a person’s behaviour is done to understand them as individuals. Behaviour analysis is a study of how humans and non-human creatures have an influence on them from biological factors, experiential factors, and pharmacological factors. Behaviour analysis is a normal phenomenon one does when they meet a person. It is not necessary that a person behaves the same all the time. A persons behaviour depends on the person as well as the situation they are in. 

Fig.1: Cognitive behavioural therapy

Fig.1 displays the cycle of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy(CBT). At the centre is a person’s core beliefs which revolve around the person, their future, and others around them. CBT is an intervention at the psycho-social level of a person. The main objective of  CBT is to challenge and change a person’s cognitive distortion, improve their emotional regulation, and develop healthy coping mechanisms for when the person feels troubled in any situation. This technique was mainly used to cure depression, but it has been proven to work with other problems like, drug/alcohol abuse, eating disorders, anxiety, and other similar mental health issues. 

Behaviour analysis is often mainly placed into a medical setting. It is a practical application in the treatment of mental health and psychology. Behaviour analysis is focused mainly on helping children and adults to either learn new behaviour or bring down problematic behaviour. But behaviour analysis is not only limited to the treatment of mental health. Behaviour analysis is an automatic response when one meets a person, to analyse their compatibility and their personality. Apart from the normal behaviour analysis of a person everyone does, there are professionals trained in the field to analyse a person’s behaviour in order to help overcome certain problems.

Behaviour analysis is also popular among people who work in human resources. As they are responsible for hiring an employee to work for the company, they need to select candidates who are able for the position. During the recruitment phases, the interviewers test the candidates on various scenarios. During these tests, the interviewer observes the behaviour of the candidate to check whether they are competent to work for the company or not. The criteria for the selection of an employee does not revolve only around their academic intelligence but on their behaviour as well. If a person is intelligent academically but lacks behaviourally, they may not get selected in the interview. If a person lacks a bit academically but has charismatic behaviour, they may get hired. Behaviour is a very important factor in interviews as the employees need to be able to work in a hectic environment with many other employees.

The behaviour of a person affects their decision making capacity as well. The four behaviour factors that affects a person’s decision making skills are:

  • The values the person has be brought up with,
  • The personality of the individual,
  • The potential of the decision causing any kind of disagreement,
  • The risk factor involved with making the decision.











 

Fig.2: The five steps towards behaviour modification

Fig.2 shows the five steps that are essential for the modification of behaviour in an organisational setting. After the selection of the employee into the work force, they are observed as to how they cope with the work environment, are they facing any problems in the company, how they work, and how much they deliver(performance efficiency). If any employee shows any kind of undesirable behaviour towards fellow employees or the organisation, action needs to be taken to modify their behaviour. These steps focus on modifying the behaviour of employees to produce better results in the work environment. 

  • Identification: The identification of undesired behaviour of an employee is important. The next process is to identify how such undesirable behaviour can be reduced?, how many times such behaviour has been identified from the employee?, what has to be done by the person before they report such behaviour?, and does this kind of undesirable behaviour affect the employee’s work performance?
  • Measurement: The frequency of undesirable behaviour shown by the employee has to be measured. This allows the concerned personnel to draw a baseline for improvement that can be followed by the employee to rectify their behaviour.
  • Analysis: An analysis of what triggers such undesirable behaviour from the employee. Analysis of how the undesirable behaviour affects the employee’s performance or the consequences that arise from the behaviour has to be performed. After analysing the behaviour, a check for any reinforcement history has to be performed to see if there were any previous instances of such behaviour. If found, a trial and error of rectification methods has to be used to see which works best with the employee.
  • Intervention: Dysfunctional behaviour needs to be prevented by positively intervening and offering corrective feedback. The employee needs to understand what they are doing wrong and why it is wrong for them to try and stop doing it and rectify their behaviour.
  • Evaluation: The process is all about trial and error. Every person is different, therefore what works on one person may not necessarily work on another. Therefore, the method used needs to be evaluated to check if it is yielding any results, positive or negative. If the results are negative, other methods need to be explored to find the right one.Effect of motivation on perceptual decision-making behavior. Both... | Download Scientific Diagram

Fig.3: Effect of motivation in decision making

Positive reinforcement is a great way to boost a person’s behaviour modification as shown in Fig.3. The graphs measures motivation against response bias in A, against sensitivity in B and response time in C. A response bias is the tendency to respond to items based on the questions asked, this shows that the person is not answering their true beliefs. Sensitivity is the level of reaction one has to a stimulus. Response time is the time taken by an individual between the occurrence of an event and the individual’s rection to it. The graphs are plotted with the values taken from a group of individuals reacting to motivation. The reactions can be positive, neutral positive, negative , or neutral negative. The spectrum of reactions shows that every technique(positive reinforcement) can either have a neutral impact, positive impact, or negative impact on individuals. The reactions every individual has to a certain technique is based on their behaviour and personality. 

Behaviour analysis offers a variety of results. It may benefit a person, or it may even harm a person if done from a wrong approach. Behaviour analysis and applied behaviour analysis have a 90% success rate when applied in an effective and correct manner. The people who undergo this kind of therapy often produce good results. While some may benefit hugely with behaviour analysis and improve on their behaviour, it may not be the case for everyone. As every person is different and unique, trained professional are required to offer proper and educated advice.

The most common changes in behaviour that affect the decision making skills of a person are:

  • The messenger who delivers the message or the person we are communicating with 
  • The incentives we receive for making a decision also affects decision making, as no one would want to make a decision that incurs in a loss.
  • The decision making skills is greatly influenced by what is considered to be ‘normal’ or the decision that others would make in that situation i.e., what is considered as the ‘right’ decision.
  • The phrase “go with the flow” which indicates a certain kind of right as decided by the society. This also affects decision making.
  • A person decides upon the choice which seems right to them the most or what influences or resonates with them the most.
  • A person’s sub-conscious mind also has a major role in decision making. Often when a person is unable to make a choice, their sub-conscious mind offers them cues to make a decision.
  • A person’s emotions about the subject also affects the kind of decision they take in that situation.
  • Commitments that are made previously also affect decisions, such as promises and favours.
  • A person’s satisfaction of ego also plays a part in decision making. People make decisions that satisfy their ego and make them feel good about themselves.

The conscious and sub-conscious levels of the brain are important in making a decision or portraying the overall image of an individual. Adapting to the situation, modifying our behaviours according to situations, and learning from the various events and circumstances in our life is very important. Many of the happenings in our lives may not relate to what we need right at that moment, but the subconscious mind records and processes these events to use in any upcoming event. The things that seem irrelevant at that moment may become useful while needing to make decisions further in life. Although there may be no visible changes in a person after going through a situation, the person may be subconsciously effected which in turn affects their behaviour. The effect to their behaviour depends on the person and the situation. 

Information that are emotional also affects an individual’s decision making. For instance, some people are asked to donate money to a fund. These people may not donate to the cause if there is no emotional aspect involved in the fund raiser. Like if the fund is to clean up a dirty spot in the neighbourhood, people may not be much inclined to donate to that. People are more inclined to donate if there is an emotional quotient involved like a fund to help cancer affected children, a fund to help people affected by natural disasters, and such topics. People can relate to pain and suffering and empathy faster, which helps to gain donations. By donating to such causes, people get the feeling of doing good which provides a sense of self satisfaction. Like this emotional information before decision making can lead to different results than decision making without emotional information.