7 Subsystems of the Behavior System Model

Johnson identifies seven subsystems in the Behavioral System Model. They are:

1. Attachment or affiliative subsystem

Attachment or affiliative subsystem is the “social inclusion intimacy and the formation and attachment
of a strong social bond.” It is probably the most critical because it forms the basis for all social
organization. On a general level, it provides survival and security. Its consequences are social inclusion,
intimacy, and the formation and maintenance of a strong social bond

2. Dependency subsystem

Dependency subsystem is the “approval, attention or recognition and physical assistance.” In the
broadest sense, it promotes helping behavior that calls for a nurturing response. Its consequences are
approval, attention or recognition, and physical assistance. Developmentally, dependency behavior
evolves from almost total dependence on others to a greater degree of dependence on self. A certain
amount of interdependence is essential for the survival of social groups.

3. Ingestive subsystem

Ingestive subsystem is the “emphasis on the meaning and structures of the social events surrounding
the occasion when the food is eaten.” It should not be seen as the input and output mechanisms of the
system. All subsystems are distinct subsystems with their own input and output mechanisms. The
ingestive subsystem “has to do with when, how, what, how much, and under what conditions we eat.”

4. Eliminative subsystem

Eliminative subsystem states that “human cultures have defined different socially acceptable behaviors
for excretion of waste, but the existence of such a pattern remains different from culture to culture.” It
addresses “when, how, and under what conditions we eliminate.” As with the ingestive subsystem, the
social and psychological factors are viewed as influencing the biological aspects of this subsystem and
may be, at times, in conflict with the eliminative subsystem.

5. Sexual subsystem

Sexual subsystem is both a biological and social factor that affects behavior. It has the dual functions of
procreation and gratification. Including, but not limited to, courting and mating, this response system
begins with the development of gender role identity and includes the broad range of sex-role behaviors.

6. Aggressive subsystem

Aggressive subsystem relates to the behaviors concerning protection and self-preservation, generating a
defense response when there is a threat to life or territory. Its function is protection and preservation.
Society demands that limits be placed on modes of self-protection and that people and their property
be respected and protected.

7. Achievement subsystem

Achievement subsystem provokes behavior that tries to control the environment. It attempts to
manipulate the environment. Its function is control or mastery of an aspect of self or environment to
some standard of excellence. Areas of achievement behavior include intellectual, physical, creative,
mechanical, and social skills.
Strengths

Johnson’s theory guides nursing practice, education, and research; generates new ideas about nursing;
and differentiates nursing from other health professions.

It has been used in inpatient, outpatient, and community settings as well as in nursing administration. It
has always been useful to nursing education and has been used in practice in educational institutions in
different parts of the world.

Another advantage of the theory is that Johnson provided a frame of reference for nurses concerned
with specific client behaviors. It can also be generalized across the lifespan and across cultures.

The theory also has potential for continued utility in nursing to achieve valued nursing goals.

Weaknesses

The theory is potentially complex because there are a number of possible interrelationships among the
behavioral system, its subsystems, and the environment. Potential relationships have been explored, but
more empirical work is needed.

Johnson’s work has been used extensively with people who are ill or face the threat of illness. However,
its use with families, groups, and communities is limited.

Though the seven subsystems identified by Johnson are said to be open, linked, and interrelated, there
is a lack of clear definitions for the interrelationships among them which makes it difficult to view the
entire behavioral system as an entity.

The problem involving the interrelationships among the concepts also creates difficulty in following the
logic of Johnson’s work.

Conclusion

Johnson’s Behavioral System Model describes the person as a behavioral system with seven subsystems:
the achievement, attachment-affiliative, aggressive protective, dependency, ingestive, eliminative, and
sexual subsystems. Each subsystem is interrelated with the others and the environment and specific
structural elements and functions that help maintain the integrity of the behavioral system.

Through these, the focus of her model is with what the behavior the person is

Johnson’s theory defined Nursing as “an external regulatory force which acts to preserve the
organization and integration of the patient’s behaviors at an optimum level under those conditions in
which the behavior constitutes a threat to the physical or social health, or in which illness is found.”
The goals of nursing are fourfold, according to the Behavior System Model:

1. To assist the patient whose behavior is proportional to social demands.

2. To assist the patient who is able to modify his behavior in ways that it supports biological
imperatives.
3. To assist the patient who is able to benefit to the fullest extent during illness from the
physician’s knowledge and skill.

4. To assist the patient whose behavior does not give evidence of unnecessary trauma as a
consequence of illness.

Assumptions

The assumptions made by Johnson’s theory are in three categories: assumptions about system,
assumptions about structure, and assumptions about functions.

Johnson identified several assumptions that are critical to understanding the nature and operation of
the person as a behavioral system:

1. There is “organization, interaction, interdependency and integration of the parts and elements
of behaviors that go to make up the system.”

2. A system “tends to achieve a balance among the various forces operating within and upon it,
and that man strive continually to maintain a behavioral system balance and steady state by
more or less automatic adjustments and adaptations to the natural forces occurring on him.”

3. A behavioral system, which requires and results in some degree of regularity and constancy in
behavior, is essential to man. It is functionally significant because it serves a useful purpose in
social life as well as for the individual.

4. “System balance reflects adjustments and adaptations that are successful in some way and to
some degree.”

The four assumptions about structure and function are that:

1. “From the form the behavior takes and the consequences it achieves can be inferred what
‘drive’ has been stimulated or what ‘goal’ is being sought.”

2. Each individual person has a “predisposition to act with reference to the goal, in certain ways
rather than the other ways.” This predisposition is called a “set.”

3. Each subsystem has a repertoire of choices called a “scope of action.”

4. The individual patient’s behavior produces an outcome that can be observed.

And lastly, there are three functional requirements for the subsystems.:

1. The system must be protected from toxic influences with which the system cannot cope.
2. Each system has to be nurtured through the input of appropriate supplies from the
environment.
3. The system must be stimulated for use to enhance growth and prevent stagnation.