Definitions and Explanations
Behavior is anything someone does that allows interaction between the person and the environment; behavior is simply everything we do. Our behavior is affected by a vast array of events that occur within our environments every day. Before we define behavior however, we must first define environment; what is it exactly? What makes up our environment? Johnston and Pennypacker provide a comprehensive definition:
"The complex of physical circumstances in which the organism or
referenced part of the organism exists. This includes any physical event or set
of events that is not part of a behavior and may include other parts of the
organism." (Johnston & Pennypacker, 2009)
It would appear that the "environment" is a very complex concept because it encompasses not only physically present objects, but also particular states of being and biological conditions. The environment is the given situation in which we exist. It is common in the field of behavior analysis to refer to the various components that comprise the environment as stimuli. Therefore, a stimulus refers to any:
"...physical event or condition, including the organism's own behavior."
(Ferster & Culbertson, 1982)
Any environment that a person is in is often rich with stimuli that serve to "cue" a particular behavior or a set of behaviors to occur. Certain stimuli allow us to discriminate what type of consequences will occur for certain behaviors. If consequences following those behaviors are likely to encourage the behaviors to happen again when those same stimuli are present in other situations, then we say that the consequences were reinforcing. For example, the phone ringing at my work desk may cue my behavior to pick up the phone and take the call. If the person on the other end of the line is polite and we engage in an interesting conversation, I may be more likely in the future to answer the phone. It is important to understand relevant stimuli and how they come to predict and consequate our behaviors in the workplace. Likewise, if the consequence for answering the phone was an angry, rude caller, my behavior of answering the phone may decrease over time. In that case, we would say the consequence was punishing.
Now that we have definitions of terms we must tackle the definition of behavior. Johnston and Pennypacker have developed one of the most widely used definition of what we can consider behavior:
Now that we have definitions of terms we must tackle the definition of behavior. Johnston and Pennypacker have developed one of the most widely used definition of what we can consider behavior:
"...that portion of an organism's interaction with its environment that
is characterized by detectable displacement in space through time of some part
of the organism and that results in a measurable change in at least one aspect
of the environment." (Johnston & Pennypacker, 1993a)
Therefore, as managers in charge of a diverse population of employees, understanding why people do what they do and how behavior changes according to the environment and arrangement of stimuli will promote your effectiveness as a leader. Being an effective leader will not only generate a positive work environment for your employees, but it will also promote your skills as a manager to higher levels of the company.