Behaviorist Theory essays

Behaviorist Theory essays The human mind constantly responds to the environment or external stimuli. Thus, the social environment and culture that we are exposed to, especially as infants and in our youth, condition our very thinking and behavior. This is precisely why family environment and values play a key role in personality development, as do religion, educational institutions, peer groups, and the media. Indeed, in many ways we are very much a product of our environment, which explains the commonality in values, lifestyles, and even fashion that can be observed within communities. In addition, our interaction with the environment teaches us the consequences or rewards of certain types of behavior, which then further influences and shapes our future behavioral patterns. The truth of the preceding statements is evident in my own behavior. My family and education, for instance, have definitely shaped my values. Similarly, my peers and the media influence my preferences in dress codes, music, films and books, to name a few examples. However, I do not entirely agree with the behaviorist theory that conditioning is responsible for all human actions. For, I believe that I have free will, which reflects in the choices I make about my own life, including, for example, my choice of courses in college or future profession. The fact that our understanding of life deepens and changes as we grow and develop our cognitive skills, moral and logical reasoning is, in fact, proof that individual human beings exercise their free will in interacting with their environment. Of course, it is not always easy to tell if past conditioning has influenced an apparent "free choice." To do so would require conscious reconstruction of one's past in order to distinguish between its affect, cognition, and the manner in which it continues to influence action. However, it has been established that an individual can be liberate...