Shaping Behavior Research Paper Sample

Andrea Reese

How we behave as individuals in society can be quite different. Have you ever wondered why people act a certain way in different situations? The way each person act, and behaves is set in place by several factors. The factors are needed to shape how individuals behave in situations, and why not every individual has the same behaviors.

Brain

The brain has a lot of influence on shaping behavior. The development of the brain reflects how and what behavior occurs. The brain also influences culture. The culture a brain is grown and developed in may have behaviors that are different. The shaping of behavior is heavily impacted by the amount of brain development has occurred. If the brain was slower developing than most likely behavior will also be delayed.
The shaping of behavior that correlates in the brain can be due to the “parental mental health influences first years of life behavioral development” . The brain is shaped by behaviors in our environment and surroundings. The interaction that occurred depends on how the brain develops, and behavior is taught.

Nervous System

The nervous system works with the brain to shape behavior. The brain is the key function of input and output, and the nervous system is the messenger to the parts of the body. The nervous system and relays functions in all parts of the body that the brain is controlling. The nervous system is a main part of how we interact and control functions. “Specialized functions like learning and memory, coordination and movement, and regulations of psychological functions are performed in different parts of the brain” .
The nervous system shapes behavior in the same regards the brain does. It controls how we interact with our surroundings. The nervous system is shaped by the brain, and both shaped behavior in all aspects of life. “The brain is like a computer and the nervous system is like a network that relays messages back and forth from the brain to the rest of the parts of the body” . The growth of the nervous system and the brain shape how behavior is displayed.

Sensory Systems

The sensory system controls how we respond to the world around us. If our sensory behavior is high or low, then the way we interact and perceive the world may be different. An individual who has sensory system problems will likely have issues in education and learning behavior. Sensory Systems “produce a crucial foundation for more complex learning and behavior” .
The development of the brain during pregnancy reflect on the development of the nervous and sensory systems. As the child grows the shaping of behavior is formed. Behavior can be shaped throughout the growth and development of the brain . The sensory system can mature or repress depending on the surroundings of the individual.

Cognitive Function

The Cognitive Function controls many aspects of the human body. Functions are learning, memory, problem solving, reasoning, attention, language, perception, categorizing, and concepts. These cognitive functions are displayed by how we interpret and define our environment. This is the outcome of our thoughts, actions, words, and comprehension of our surroundings. How we interact is stemmed from cognitive function. Our behavior is shaped by the outcome of our cognitive ability. What behavior we show are respond with has come from our cognitive functions.
The behavior that is displayed by our cognitive functions reflect how we see ourselves as well. Our “thoughts, goals, attitudes, and expectations” . Cognitive functions that are developed from birth to adulthood shape how we behave and as to what behavior we display. This is how our perceptions come about and form throughout our lives. The functions are developed through our day to day interactions and experiences that we encounter.

Interrelation of the brain, nervous system, sensory system, and cognitive functions

The four factors that control how behavior is shaped is the brain, nervous system, sensory system, and cognitive functions. Each factor contributes an important factor in the process of shaping behavior. The brain is the main headquarters that controls the nervous system. The nervous system sends messages from the brain to the sensory system and the cognitive functions displays the outcome. If the brain is under development it can affect the way behavior is displayed and interpreted by an individual. If a person has normal progress of brain development then the behavior displayed will be normal and age appropriate.
Without the brain the nervous system, sensory system and cognitive functions would not work to shape behavior. The way we interpret behavior and learn by other individual behaviors has an impact on cognitive outcome. The growth of the brain on all levels of function will have an impact of the behaviors that are shaped. All four factors are needed in shaping behavior.

Reference

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Breed, M. D. (2014). What Functions of Living Systems Underlie Behavior? Retrieved from The Knowledge Project: http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/what-functions-of-living-systems-underlie-behavior-13883114
Chasnoff, I. J. (2014). Sensory Integration: Shaping Perceptions of the World. Retrieved from Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/aristotles-child/201405/sensory-integration-shaping-perceptions-the-world
Dawson, G. (2011). Shaping Behavior and Brain Development. Retrieved from NCBI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11202040
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