5 unfair advantages knowing Behavior analysis will give you over other people

Behavior analysis is a branch of Behaviorism in psychology which deals with the study of human behavior. It is a very detailed topic in itself and aims to find out why people act the way they do, Why they do the things they do the way they do them, how to develop some behaviors that could better ones life, how to suppress negative ones, develop better ones and make them habits too.

I don’t intend to bore you so much with the details of behavior analysis but i rather want to show you how you can use it to your advantage later on in this article. Feel free to skip to that part. But we recommend to read the whole article especially if you are a parent, an educator, or looking to develop a certain habit.

Behavior

Behavior refers to the way in which someone conducts him or herself towards other people.

The way you treat others says a lot about who you are as a human being. Remember it doesn’t say a lot about who they are. So if you treat others like trash, that shows your a shitty person deep down. And if you treat others in a good way, it shows that you are a really good and kind person deep down.

Your behavior then forms traits that come to be portrayed as your character. And your character is what markets you to other people and to the world at large.

Your character will determine whether or not most of the people you meet will like you, it will determine the friends you will make, the opportunities you are handed and so much more.

No change of circumstance can repair a defect of character.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Good behavior leads one to be liked easily, make many friends, and enjoy unfair advantages they could not have gotten otherwise.

Bad behavior leads to being more hated than liked, No one wants to be around a badly behaved person unless those of their kind.

Behavior is one of the branches of psychology i find most fascinating and maybe you do too. Being an introvert i love to find out why people do things the way they do them, at the time they do them and why they behave the way they do.

Behavior analysis

The aim of behavior analysis is to help people (or us in this case) make positive changes in their behavior, Learn how to develop new and better habits, and understand the effects of different environments and situations on behavior.

Behavior analysis helps us understand people’s actions more, understand how a certain behavior came about and propagate good behavior.

Behavior analysis teaches that they are two types of behaviors;

1.Behaviors that we have naturally due to our genetics, circumstances surrounding our childhood or early adulthood, and even our current environment. Psychology teaches that people’s surroundings especially when growing up and in learning stages greatly influence their behavior.

• Maybe you are grateful person because you grew up with wonderful people who taught you gratitude.
• Or you could be having low-self esteem because while growing up the people around you dint make it a point to remind you that you matter, or they treated you like you didn’t matter.

2.Behaviors that you didn’t learn while growing up and you just need to develop them.

• Developing a behavior or call it habit can be harder for an adult than a young child. We all know the famous saying, ” IT’S HARD TO STRAIGHTEN A BENT TREE.” But it is possible.

Behavioral analysts use their knowledge experience to help and correct behavioral issues in people and especially in children suffering from behavioral disorders like autism.

Good news is you don’t have to be an expert to propagate a good behavior in yourself or your children. Follow on to learn how to use basic psychology knowledge to do just that for yourself too.

Behavior analysis techniques

One of the most famous techniques used to encourage development of a certain behavior is called Reinforcements.

Reinforcements help psychologists (or us in this case) understand how different actions contribute to the development of different behaviors and habits.

Reinforcements aim on encouraging good behavior and discouraging bad behavior.

I like to explain reinforcements in an easy way like a give and take exchange. You do something to guarantee a positive behavioral result . Reinforcements are divided into mainly two parts; positive and negative.

Positive reinforcements in behavior analysis include;

• Giving compliments
• Appreciation
• Rewards
• Fun activities
• Giving monetary prizes, gifts or allowances

A positive reinforcement is using something positive to increase a certain behavioral response.

• For example your boss giving you a bonus for working extra hard or making more sales . The aim is to encouraging you to even do better next time.
• Another example is giving someone a compliment or their good looks. That encourages them to keep looking good and even look better for more compliments.

A negative reinforcement is using or doing something to decrease a certain behavioral response.

• For example removal of Netflix resulting in more study time and hence better grades.
• Taking pain killers to reduce or prevent pain.

Having understood this simple psychology, it’s now time to us it to our advantage.

5 ways to use behavior analysis to your advantage.

1.Having understood that the way people treat you doesn’t reflect your self-worth but theirs, it encourages you not to be down cast when people are unkind, and enables you to forgive them easily and go on with your life. You understand that they are dealing with some issues that are causing them to behave like that and therefore take nothing personal.

• This will enable you to always have peace in your heart despite the situations and people around you.

2.Behavior analysis teaches that good behavior will make you more friends, and bring you better opportunities than bad behavior ever will.

• This will encourage you to behave well towards others and you will find that you naturally attract many good things to yourself and hence can always make the cards stack in your favor.

3.The use of reinforcements in behavior analysis teaches us to use them to induce a positive behavioral response.

• You could encourage yourself to work harder by giving yourself a treat for example your favorite meal, a vacation, shopping, whatever it is that motivates you to produce the desired result.
• Encouraging your kids to develop certain behaviors and hence habits through reinforcements for example rewarding them for good grades will make them want to excel even more.

4.Generally having good behavior will make your overall life easier. People like you so it’s always easier to get them to do your favors and help you out when you need it. You tend to be a favorite to clients, bosses and among work mates too. You make friends easily. Life just tends to flow in all the right directions.

5.Here is a bonus. For an introvert like me, behavior analysis helps satisfy our curiosity. Since as introverts we love to observe stuff and come up with our own conclusions, and being in the company of many people isn’t really our strong suit, we usually have so many questions in our heads about people and why they behave the way they do. Knowing behavior analysis helps one complete the puzzle.

Closing note

Remember a person’s most useful asset is not a head full of knowledge, but a heart full of love, an ear ready to listen, and a hand willing to help others.

Your life is your message to the world. Make sure it’s inspiring.

Unknown

There is no better test of a man’s integrity than his behavior when he is wrong.

Marvin Williams.

Whether you are in the wrong or not, there’s no excuse for bad behavior. A pleasant character will gain you more things in life than you could have thought possible. Make it a habit to respect people before you know what they do for a living or anything about them. Use this behavior analysis to your advantage, not against you.