Psychology, behavior. --- .This section is about various other thoughts on behavior. Topics include: ( ) Habit. ( ) Self control. ( ) What is behavior. --- 1/24/2006
Psychology, behavior. --- (1) Behavior is relative to the situation. Behavior is contextual. The same behavior in different contexts or situations is judged differently. (2) Behavior is relative to psychological state of mind. The same behaviors produced by different psychological states is judged differently. --- 9/7/1999
Psychology, behavior. --- (1) Behavior may or may not reflect mental state. (2) The same behavior in two people, or the same person at different times, can be underlied by completely different mental states. --- 1/25/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- (1) Forced. (A) Internal forces: mental element. (B) External forces: social, natural or manmade environment. (C) Capabilities: mental and physical. (2) Chosen. Why chosen. Values, knowledge, beliefs (metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, aesthetics). --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- (1) How psychology affects behavior. (2) How physical body affects behavior (Sick vs. healthy. Young vs. old). (3) How sociology affects behavior. (4) How environment affects behavior (natural vs. manmade). --- 3/30/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- (1) Instincts (less freedom) vs. (2) Habits vs. (3) Fully conscious thinking and emotion (more freedom). --- 9/26/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- (1) Sudden surprise, shock, unprepared change, especially negative events vs. (2) habit, routine, settled, expected. --- 3/20/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- (1) Timing: too soon, too late. (2) Speed you do something. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- (1)(A) Individuals perception of what kind of behavior he or she is engaged in. (B) The conscious reasons they give for engaging in it. (C) The unconscious causes of the behavior. (2)(A) Other persons perception of what kind of behavior the first person is engaged in, and what behavior means. (B) Other persons guess at the first persons conscious reasons for engaging in the behavior. (C) The second persons guess at the unconscious causes of the first persons behavior. --- 11/16/1997
Psychology, behavior. --- All action is reaction. Truly free action doesn't exist, only reaction by degree. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- All relationships are oppositional. All behavior is fighting. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- An event is an individual acting, or being acted upon, in a situation. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Basis of behavior: deciding vs. feeling. Can't always rely on reason. It may feel right, or you may have an hunch or urge, or may know clearly what want to do but not know reasons why. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Battle of thought vs. habit. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Behavior complex: when and where do what, and how and why. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Behavior complex. (1) Doing what, when, where, how, how much, how well, why. (2) Type, duration, frequency, intensity. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Behavior is all about freewill vs. determinism. And that is basically a mental problem, not a physical problem. See philosophy, ethics, freedom. --- 9/28/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- Behavior of (1) Plants, animals, humans. (2) Groups vs. individuals. (3) Individuals in general, specific types individuals, specific individuals. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Behavior reveals (1) Emotions, mood. (2) Intelligence, knowledge, thoughts. (3) Attitude and personality. (4) Ability, talent. (5) Interests. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Behavior. (1) Right behavior for right reasons (best). (2) Wrong behavior but right reasons. (3) Right behavior but wrong reasons. (4) Wrong behavior and wrong reasons. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Behaviorism. What is it? What are the arguments for and against behaviorism? PART ONE. Behaviorism defined as: (1) Observable actions. (2) Including reports by subjects about their internal states. (3) With the invention of MRI the brain itself becomes observable. (4) Behaviorism as a methodology developed out of logical empiricism. PART TWO. Arguments against behaviorism. (1) You can't have a science of evidence alone. Theory and argument are always present. (2) Behaviorism as a methodology in experimental psychology does not translate well into behaviorism as a methodology in clinical psychology or psychotherapy. PART THREE. Arguments for behaviorism. Behaviorism arose in part as an attempt to ground psychology as an empirical science, and to distinguish the science of psychology from magic, myth and pseudoscience. --- 5/12/2005
Psychology, behavior. --- Choices vs. desires. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Contra Behaviorism. (1) I say behavior is not as important as what is going on in the mind. (2) Behaviorism held that behavior is what is important. That we can not know what is going on in the mind, so behavior is all we have to base our knowledge on. (3) I say that two same behaviors can have completely different meanings and mental states behind them. So behavior alone cannot be the judge. --- 9/28/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- Contra Behaviorism. Take a behavior, for example, like a gesture. A gesture can mean different things to different persons. A gesture can mean different things in different cultures. A gesture can mean different things in different situations. My point is that all behaviors have meaning content, and it is their meaning that we should study. What were the Behaviorists thinking when they said we should only study behavior? --- 12/30/2000
Psychology, behavior. --- Critique behaviors in terms of ethics. --- 7/26/2006
Psychology, behavior. --- Decay in mental and physical abilities under stress. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Degree x thing affects your behavior. Degree your behavior affects x thing. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Difference between what someone thinks they are vs. what someone says they are vs. what someone is. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Ethical codes. We say ourselves or everyone should behave a certain way, for these reasons. Goals, strategies and tactics, and reasons. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Every action or omission is very important for health. Some more so than others. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Factors in behavior. (1) Unconscious actions. (2) Focus. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Freewill? Free Willy! --- 3/20/2000
Psychology, behavior. --- Given x individual in y situation and z event occurs. What will their behavior be vs. what should they actually do? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Good behaviors: Growthful. Constructive. Useful. Healthy. Thoughtful. Emotionful. Mindful. (2) Bad behaviors: Wasting time. Stagnant. Useless. Destructive. Unhealthy. Thoughtless. Emotionless. Mindless. --- 11/8/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit as (1) Addiction. (2) Obsession or compulsion. (3) Learned behavior. (4) Stagnant, frozen, stuck behavior. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit as a personality issue. Personality as the sum of habits. --- 5/10/1999
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit raises the free will question. Can we control our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors? Can we control them completely, and all the time? --- 5/30/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit types. (1) Mental habits (thoughts, emotions). (2) Behavioral habits. --- 3/24/2000
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit vs. addiction. Where does habit end and addiction begin? How can we teach ourselves to behave a certain way, in times of stress, and also in unstressful times? In times of stress (and in times of no stress) I want to work hard and seek healthy friendships. --- 5/6/1999
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit vs. rut. According to one view, some people view good habits as being due to self control. They they view bad habits as being due to lack of self control. Some people view good work habits as a sign of self discipline and self control. They view poor work habits some view as a sign of poor self discipline and self control. But it ain't necessarily so by any means. A contrary view says that highly spontaneous and improvisational individuals (i.e., opposite of habit) are not always looked at as low self discipline and self control (for example, jazz musicians). Low spontaneity and low improvisational ability is not so wonderful. --- 6/11/2002
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit vs. spontaneity. (1) Habit can increase productivity but it can also limit and cage you. (2) Spontaneity can bring new ideas but it can also lead you nowhere or in circles. --- 6/11/2002
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit: a learned (practiced?) behavior. Learning behaviors. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit. (1) Habits are related to learning. Bad habits are the result of learning harmful or suboptimal behaviors. Getting stuck in a bad habit results in repetitive, negative behaviors, and is like a skipping record. (2) Human learning is a balance between repeating behaviors and acquiring new, better behaviors. Habits are the result of the human ability to learn. If humans could not learn then we could not form habits. If humans could not learn then we could not change habits by forming new habits. --- 8/29/2005
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit. (1) Some people find habit, routine and ritual to be comforting. As a result, these people often fear change. They become right wingers in politics. (2) Other people find habit, routine and ritual to be boring. As a result, these people often embrace change. They become left wingers in politics. --- 11/25/2005
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit. Good habits can be difficult to start. Bad habits can be difficult to break. --- 1/8/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit. Habit change. Changing from one habit or routine to another can be difficult and uncomfortable at first, both in terms of emotional feelings and physical feelings. --- 1/8/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit. How much of our behavior, how much of our lives, is habit and routine? How much of our behavior, how much of our lives, is new and creative? --- 1/8/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit. Routines: types you do to gain health, to get work done, and to improve creativity, rather than reduce it. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit. Set, unchanging, habit vs. free, changing. Pros and cons of each. Conservative vs. liberal ideas applied to personality theory. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit. Three views of habit. (1) Habit as learning. Habits are behaviors we have learned. (2) Habit as addiction. Physical feelings of pleasure when indulging the habit. Physical feelings of pain when denying or breaking the habit. Emotional feelings of pleasure when indulging the habit. Emotional feelings of pain when denying or breaking the habit. Emotional feelings of pain or pleasure can cause physical feelings of pain or pleasure. (3) Habit as routine. Its good to have a routine (if its a routine of good habits), but routine can also hold you back, limit you, and stifle you. --- 1/8/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- Habit. We can not give everything our full attention. Zen has a "be here now" absorption in the moment. It is good we do somethings by habit, automatically. --- 9/28/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- Habits and pathological psychology. (1) What prevents us from thinking of good/better habits? Lack of thought. Lack of ethical development. Lack of goals, strategies and reasons. (2) What causes us to slip from good habits back into bad? Hopelessness. Loss of self control? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Habits can be good or bad. The line is fuzzy and often moves. One can turn into the other. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Habits can prevent thinking and impede growth, unless you get into the thinking habit and other growthful habits. --- 3/24/2000
Psychology, behavior. --- Habits, definition. Habit vs. structured behavior vs. unstructured behavior (free time). --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Habits: good or bad, how strong, making and breaking them. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Habits. Are habits learned or are habits genetic? Typically we define habits as learned behaviors. However, one can argue that habitual behaviors are the result of genetic predispositions. So too are mental habits or mental predispostions to think or feel certain ways. Mental habits we can refer to as attitudinal habits. Regardless of whether habits are learned or genetic predispositions, can habits be changed, and if so, how do we change habits? --- 5/17/2000
Psychology, behavior. --- Habits. How to get into (good) habits? How to get out of (bad) habits? --- 5/30/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- How bad a fu*k up someone is: crazy, stupid, evil. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- How do it: technical aspects. How a person does something depends on (1) Knowledge of best techniques. (2) Motivation: importance, urgency. (3) Conscious awareness that he wants, needs, or is trying to do something. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- How you do behave and why vs. how you want to behave and why vs. how should behave and why. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Importance of behavior. Importance of on the ball, healthy behavior. One stupid, unthinking, inattentive action, blinded by drive or emotion, can ruin everything. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Just sitting around (1) Wasting time vs. (2) Thinking and making progress. Just sitting around can be a sign of pathological psychology or not. It depends on what's in your head at the time. --- 05/30/1993
Psychology, behavior. --- Lack of strong ego, lack of self control, can mean caving to internal pressures (drives, emotions, i.e., id pressures) or caving to external pressures (society, peers, i.e., super-ego pressures). --- 6/11/2002
Psychology, behavior. --- Learning and behavior. Much behavior is based on learning. Conditioning and conceptual learning. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Learning. Behavioral learning. Teaching self vs. taught by others. For better or worse. Consciously or unconsciously learned it. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Lifestyle. Environment live in, things have, stuff do. How good or bad. How free chosen or forced into. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Limits and ethics. Want to do vs. don't. Can do vs. can't. Should do vs. shouldn't. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Manners, definitions. (1) Dispositions, mannerisms. (2) Socially agreed upon behavior. (3) Considerate behavior, polite. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Me. Behavior principles for me. Derived from my problems and solutions, and strengths and weaknesses. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Opposition and behavior. How opposition affects your behavior for better or worse. Stress, fear, inhibition, repression. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Pre-planned, rehearsed behavior vs. spontaneous, improvised behavior. Pros and cons of each. --- 5/30/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- Pure luck and chance. Risk and probability. Uncertainty. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Purpose of behavior: survival, health, growth. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Related subjects. (1) Philosophy. People: ideal person traits. Ethics: equality, freedom, justice, values. (2) Politics: power, control. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Related subjects. Emotion component of behavior. Desire vs. no desire to do x,y,z. Like vs. dislike. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Related subjects. Psychology. Health and behavior. Mind, not behavior, is sign of health. Doing same thing for different reasons. Reasons given vs. actual reasons. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Related subjects. Thinking and behavior. We can't think of every move we make. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control, or self discipline, should be a result of convincing yourself based on reason. Self control, or self discipline, should not be based on blindly obeying yourself. Just like in society, order should be based on reason and not blind obedience. --- 6/12/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. (1) Areas, degree want to control self (mind, behavior), why. (2) Areas and degree achieved. (3) How much of 1 and 2 is healthy for any subject area, or mental element? (4) How to achieve optimal self control and why. (5) How free to allow your self to be. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. (1) Free vs. repressed. (2) Free vs. controlled by others. (3) Free vs. self control and self discipline. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. (1) No self control viewed negatively as no free will. (2) No self control viewed negatively as insanity. (3) Total self control viewed negatively as rigidity. (4) Total self control viewed negatively as no creativity. PART TWO. (1) Total self control is not possible. (2) Total lack of self control is not possible, unless you are a vegetable. --- 11/25/2005
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. (1) Self control involves the philosophical problem of freewill vs. determinism. (2) Self control involves the Freudian concepts of id, ego and superego. --- 11/20/2001
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. (1) Two types of self control. Control of mind, emotions and thoughts. Control of body and behavior. (2) When or when not to exercise self control. Pro: when you need focus and concentration. Contra: it can cause repression, lying to self, and stifles creativity. --- 5/15/2001
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Control is power. To be out of control of events is to be stripped of power. Sometimes in such cases it helps to go with the flow. --- 02/09/1997
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Control of behavior. (1) Self control. (2) Controlled by drives, emotions. (3) Controlled by society. (4) Controlled by natural environment. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Control vs. freedom. How in control are you of your behavior in a situation? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Degree self control vs. forced by other things. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Discipline. (1) Discipline to others vs. to self (self disciplined). (2) How much discipline is necessary, and what types of discipline. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Discipline. Two definitions of suboptimal discipline. (1) Doing something because someone tells you to, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, without thinking on it fully (blind obedience), to gain pleasure or avoid pain. (2) Consistency, even if it is consistently sub-optimal, regardless if it is right or wrong vs. lack of consistency, or stop and go effort, or results, or views. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Do you have no self control? Are you a slave to drives, others, nature? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Freedom, values, ideals. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. How much self control should a person have? PART ONE. Total lack of self control. Sometimes total lack of self control expresses itself as debauchery, addiction, etc. PART TWO. Total self control. (1) The quest for total self control is misguided because it is a form of pathological power seeking, or pathological perfectionism. (2) The subconscious and conscious parts of the mind can be at odds with itself. The conscious mind itself can be conflicted between various thoughts, and between various emotions for each thought. Thus, total self control is not even possible. And thus, total self control is an over-rated concept. --- 7/28/2006
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. How much that (1) You, others, or nature, (2) Want to or don't; can or can't; do or don't. (3) Control yourself. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Keeping your self in line can mean. (1) Never expanding and excelling. Vs. (2) Never faltering or fu*king up. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Loss of self control. Loss of (1) Mental composure and (2) Behavioral self control due to (1) Desires (addiction) and (2) Fear. X wants to do y (or not) in state of calm. To what degree, duration, and frequency they change or lose control in any other state. --- 07/30/1993
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. No self control means no freewill which means determinism. --- 4/6/2001
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Power. Self control vs. control by others, or nature. Internal drives vs. external environment. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Self control of your behavior, meaning self control of your actions. Self control of your mind, meaning self control of your thoughts and emotions. --- 11/20/2001
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Self discipline. Definition: FORCING yourself to do something. (1)(A) Something you were told is right. (B) Something you have thought out for yourself to be right. (2)(A) Even when you don't feel like it (laziness, or temptation). (B) Even when you have doubts, and feel it may be wrong. Should we self discipline ourselves? --- 11/30/1996
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Self discipline. How to discipline yourself, if at all? Don't hit yourself or yell at yourself. --- 05/30/1994
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Self discipline. Too much self imposed structure, order, or discipline can stifle creativity. Too much other imposed structure, order, or discipline can stifle self-reliance and independence. An exception is if one is self disciplined to be creative, and sets aside a certain amount of time each day to brainstorm. Types of discipline: structured time, structured mind (emotions or thoughts). Self discipline or self control can come very close to being repression, and thus can be unhealthy. Buttoned down and uptight vs. hanging loose, free, wild. --- 06/10/1997
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Should we do whatever, whenever, wherever, however? How much force should we use on ourselves, when, where, why? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Should we force ourselves to do anything? Controlling self vs. letting self run free. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Some people are into serious self control (do what when how), naturally or learned. Some people are not, they rebel against it, naturally or learned. How much is healthy or unhealthy in either direction? --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Three types of discipline. (1) Self discipline as rigidity and stasis. Lack of flexibility, adaptability, growth, and exploring. (2) Discipline for others. Need to control others. A power play. (3) Discipline from others. Cannot think for self. Childlike. --- 10/30/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- Self control. Uncontrollable urges, addiction, lack of will power, weakness. (1) The urge to do something you should do, is no problem. (2) The urge to do something you should not do, is a problem. It could be unhealthy or illegal. (3) The urge not to do something you should do, is a problem. It could be a sign of laziness, fear of success or failure, or lack of priorities. (4) The urge not to do something you should not do, is no problem. --- 10/30/1994
Psychology, behavior. --- Social norms vs. personal norms. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Two types of behavior. (1) Structured and pre-planned behavior. (2) Improvisational and spontaneous behavior. --- 6/11/2002
Psychology, behavior. --- Types of behavior. (1) Considered behavior. Thoughtful behavior. Reasons for your behavior. (2) Habitual, instinctual, unconsidered behaviors. Behaviors done with little or no thought. --- 7/26/2006
Psychology, behavior. --- Urge and behavior. (1) Behavior often starts with urges. Urges without reasoning. Urges without reflection or critical thought. (2) What is an urge? Is an urge an unconscious thought? Is an urge an emotional reaction? Is an urge a "drive" or "instinct" or "hunch"? (3) Should we follow our urges? When should we follow our urges? When they are healthy. When should we not follow our urges? When they are not healthy. How do we determine what is healthy? By conscious critical thinking. --- 8/14/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- What is behavior? How to define behavior? (1) Behavior defined as observable physical action. For example, if you write the math problem, "2 + 2 = 4", on a chalkboard that is a behavior. Another example, if you speak the words, "two plus two equals four", that is a behavior. (2) Behavior defined as any mental or physical action. For example, if you do the math problem, "2 + 2 = 4" in your head that is a behavior, despite what the behaviorists say. The mind and body are not separate, thus all behaviors have a mental and physical component. --- 11/8/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- What is the emotional component of the behavior? Are you doing the behavior out of emotional pain (anger, sadness, anxiety)? --- 7/26/2006
Psychology, behavior. --- What percentage of time does a person "mentalize" and behave like (1) A bug. Pure instinct. (2) A lab rat. Conditioned to act for a reward. Habit. (3) A thinking person. --- 9/20/1998
Psychology, behavior. --- What. Behavior defined as a physical action by a living organism. In this view, can we talk about "mental behaviors"? Not sensibly. Yet we can talk about mental habits. We can talk about mental attitudes. We can talk about mental states at any point in time. We can talk about mental trains or flows. --- 6/12/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- Which is worse? (1) Getting hurt while gaining a goal. (2) Not getting goal and not getting hurt. (3) Not getting goal and getting hurt in attempt. (4) Getting goal and not getting hurt in attempt. --- 12/30/1992
Psychology, behavior. --- Who can say why people do things? Behavior is a result of sum of memory, emotion, thought, drive, social norms, etc. Sometimes they work in unison, sometimes they conflict. --- 05/30/1993
Psychology, behavior. --- Why does anyone do anything? (1) They think its fun and enjoyable. (2) They think its important, worthwhile, useful, meaningful and good, even if its not fun and enjoyable. --- 10/13/2004
Psychology, behavior. --- Will and ability, two important ideas. What things make people act against their will? What makes person not able to do something when they want to and should be capable of? --- 12/30/1992