Friday, April 22, 2016

Process of Behaviour

We assume that behaviour is caused and this assumption is true. Behaviour takes place in the form of a process. It is based on the analysis of behaviour process over the period of time. Three models of behaviour process have been developed. These are S-R model, S-O-R model, S-O-B-A model and S-O-B-C model.

S-R Model

S-R model of human behavior suggests that the behaviour is caused by certain reasons. The reasons may be internal feeling (motivation) and external environment (stimulus). A stimulus is an agent, such as, heat, light, piece of information, etc., that directly influences the activity of an organism (person). Without the stimulus there is no information to be handled by the internal processes prior to action taken by the person. It implies that his behaviour is determined by the situation. Inherent in the situation are the environmental forces that shape and determine his behaviour at any given moment. The entire situation has been traditionally described as stimulus response (S-R) process.


This S-R model, however, does not give the total concept of caused nature of behaviour specially when the person concerned plays an important role in behaviour because behaviour is shaped by his internal feelings also. Thus, combination of stimulus-response situation and human being will give more comprehensive model of human behaviour denoting that the situation interacting with the human preceeds and causes behaviour.
S.R. Model.

There is a direct relation between stimulus and response, that is why this process is called S-R process.

The basic drawback of this models is that organism or person is immobile and passive. Whereas in reality the person concerned plays an important role in behaviour which is influenced by the internal feelings of the person. This model, thus does not give a complete picture as to what caused the person to act in a particular way in a particular situation.

S-O-R Model

S-O-R model of human behaviour is achieved by inserting O (organism) in the classical S-R model. The S-O-R model is based upon the stimulus processed by the organism and followed by a behaviour. This O is not passive and immobile as assumed in S-R model. Rather the O is viewed as mediating, maintenance and adjective function between S and R. As a mediating function, the O is constantly active, scanning its surroundings, monitoring its own actions, seeking certain conditions and avoiding others. As a maintenance function, organs of O are responsible for its health and growth. There are three categories of maintenance organs-receptors (sense and glands), connectors (nervous organs) and effectors (muscles and glands). The adjustments function of the O monitors the person's activities so that he can overcome obstacle and satisfy his needs.

Though the insertion of O in S-R model gives some recognition to the importance to the human variables, it sill remains a relatively mechanistic and simplistic approach and does not explain the complexity of human behaviour.

S-O-B-A Model

S-O-B-A model is a comprehensive model of human behaviour which combines the S-R situation and human being. But O in this model is not passive or immobile, but it is mediating, maintenance and adjustive function between S and R.

The S in this model stands for stimulus or the external environmental situation. It includes light, heat, sound, actions of supervisors or other aspects of environment to which a person is sensitive. The stimulus is very comprehensive and all encompassing in nature. It stimulates the organism or person in to action, interrupt what they are doing and help them to make their choices. The stimulus incorporates all aspects of the environment-immediate stimulus, physical environment and socio-cultural environment.

The O in this model stands for the organism as the person. But this O does not stand for only the physiological being but also it includes the process within the person, e.g., heredity, maturity, knowledge, skills, values, perceptions, attitudes, personality and motivation. The double headed arrow between S and O indicates the interaction between the situation and organism.

The B stands for behaviour. It includes both overt and covert behaviour such as body moments, talking, facial expressions, emotions, sentiments and thinking. The response of organism indicated by a single headed arrow is the behaviour. Behaviour is anything that a person does, it is not something that is done to a person.

The S-O-B-A Model.

The A stands for accomplishments and consequences. When behaviour, in turn, acts on the outside world, it leads to accomplishment as shown by single headed arrow. It is assumed that the accomplishments may further change the stimulating conditions and thereby influence the subsequent behaviour or it may create new stimulus leading to new behaviour.

Since behaviour is influenced by the interaction of S with O, any change in S and O will definitely influence the behaviour. It is manager's job to decide when to change the S and to change O. But one must analyse the conditions carefully so that the changes introduced are in the right direction and do not give rise to worse problems. Further, the same behaviour may have different causes. In order to adequately understand and evaluate the behaviour, it is essential to determine which cause is involved in a particular instance. The type of treatment of the S or of the O that will work in one cause may not work in another cause or even with the same cause on different occasions. Similarly, the same cause may have many behaviours.

S-O-B-C Model

S-O-B-C model incorporates a more complex mechanism of human behaviour which modifies and extends S-O-R model. In this model, S stands for the situation which is more comprehensive than stimuli of S-O-R model and incorporates all aspects of the environment - immediate stimulus, physical environment and socio-cultural environment. O is the organism but does not only represent the physiological being as in the S-O-R model, but also the physiological being which is more complex. B stands for pattern of behaviour both overt and convert. C stands for contingent consequences both overt and covert. Thus, this model of behaviour has significant departure from earlier models of behaviour which have considered only overt aspects.

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