Acquisition of Behavior Patterns

The behavior of an individual represents the interaction between dispositional characteristics and situational conditions. (Zimbardo, 2007) However, the response patterns that predispose an individual to certain actions are formed during a history of personal experiences. (Mitchell, Houwer, & Lovibond, 2009) This history represents the collection of situations to which a person has been exposed throughout their lifetime. Situational forces shape the perspective from which stimuli are interpreted and responses are generated. (Skirbekk, 2010) These conditions are often controlled by systems that establish methods and expectations in order to maintain continuity. (Zimbardo, 2007) The systemic principles are often acquired by individuals under the control of the power structure. (Zimbardo, 2007) The Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrates the rapid socialization that results from immersion within a situational context.

Associative learning involves the subjective pairing of previously unrelated stimuli. (Mitchell et al., 2009) Perceptual relationships connect various sensations with unconditioned stimuli that are often biologically relevant. (Mitchell et al., 2009) This association of events is the foundation for mental representations that enable meaningful interpretations of experience. (Mitchell et al., 2009) Through this conditioning process, the behavior patterns of an individual are developed. (Mitchell et al., 2009) The constructed perceptual perspective predisposes a person to certain responses when presented with specific stimuli.

Dispositional characteristics are the distinct behavior patterns exhibited by an individual. (Zimbardo, 2007) If the relationship between stimulus and response is a manifestation of a subjective perspective, then the composition of perceptual constructions is the essential foundation of this type of individuality. Since these phenomenological conceptions are formed in the relation between biologically significant features and the psychological experience of various situations, dispositional characteristics consist primarily in genetic values that control the development of physiological mechanisms. While this inherited identity contributes to the behavior patterns of a person, the majority of individual response differentiations result from a unique personal history of exposure to various environmental characters.

Situational elements interact with the existing properties of an individual to generate a specific action. (Zimbardo, 2007) The nature of a behavioral response is founded on the perceptual interpretation of the sensory experience. Present circumstances are interpreted from the perspective of previously constructed relational propositions. (Mitchell et al., 2009) These propositions are continuously developed in the context of new environmental information. (Mitchell et al., 2009) Through the control of subjective associations, situational forces shape the perceptions that control behavior patterns.

The situational conditions are often established by systems of power that translate an ideology into operating procedures. (Zimbardo, 2007) A cultural ideology is continuous collection of perceptions that composes a normative concept of reality. (Skirbekk, 2010) These cultural concepts are the foundations of central convictions and conventions. (Skirbekk, 2010) The social expectations and polices are internalized by individuals who acquire the values of the organization. (Zimbardo, 2007) People are socialized to behave in a manner that is consistent with the systemic prescriptions. (Skirbekk, 2010) Though cultural learning learning, the conditions of the power structure become the foundation for the interpretive perspective of an individual. Zimbardo’s experiment illustrates to what extent this internalization can occur very quickly. Each participant rapidly acquired the characteristics that were consistent with the expectations of the operating system.

References

Zimbardo, P. (2007). The Lucifer Effect. Random House: New York

Mitchell, C. J., Houwer, J. D., & Lovibond, P. F. (2009). The propositional nature of human associative learning. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32, 183-246. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X09000855.

Skirbekk, S. N. (2010) Ideologies, myths, belief systems: Tools for analyzing cultures. Comparative Civilizations Review, 63, 7-18.