Human behavior remains a mystery even to the most experienced psychologists. None of them can predict it accurately enough: the reaction in a given situation will be determined by many factors. The only thing we can be sure of is that human behavior is very complex, that is, not structurally simple, and it is explained by many factors. To understand it, at least after what has already happened, psychologists use the concept of "determinants". This means determining factors.
Fathers and Sons
The most heated Western debate about human behavior is briefly called "nature or nurture". Proponents of the natural theory believe that all problematic aspects or achievements are recorded in the DNA.
Proponents of the educational approach see the repetition of the environment from generation to generation - and thus the repetition of behavior among relatives. None of these approaches is completely right or wrong.
Brain Chemistry
In modern psychology, there are three types of factors: hereditary, cultural andsocial. Hereditary factors associated with the characteristics of the brain are also called "physiological determinants". These are unique traits for each individual person, which determine how high the anxiety threshold is, how focused and conservative a person is, or, on the contrary, absent-minded and impulsive.
Who will you go with…
Cultural determinants of behavior are factors such as rituals, traditions and norms. A French feminist and a woman brought up according to the canons of Muslim morality will behave differently in the same situation (for example, her husband's betrayal).
Psychological determinants belonging to the category of cultural may change under the influence of a changed situation, for example, when changing their place of residence, traditional peoples begin to imitate the way of life of Western ones.
Soft influences
Social determinants are the impact of the microenvironment on a person. Their difference from cultural ones lies in the greater momentary and everyday influences. Academician Pavlov called the result of such influences conditioned reflexes. It is these determinants of behavior that are easiest to change. However, even social adaptations are sometimes difficult. The more complex the psyche of a person, the more difficult it is to change his or her determinants. This is an axiom from systems theory.
So what is more important - nature or environment? Even the use of the method of studying separated twins does not always allow shedding light on thisproblem, since there are, fortunately, few examples of such families. It must be remembered that human behavior cannot be completely reduced to three types of determinants.
It is much more complex due to the fact that it is flexible and changeable. It cannot be predicted according to the "given" - "result" model, at least - complex forms, such as education, love, religious practices. “Given” is constantly changing: a person receives new information or previously forgotten information “emerges” from his memory. But what exactly will come to mind to this or that person is impossible to predict. That's why it's so hard to deal with behavioral predictions.
