Behavior Change Work @

dr. Ben & dr. Raoul

behavioral scientists

Where does
your
behavior
r e
come from C li c k h e

(reading time: less than three minutes)

A very basic question this time.

But before we start answering, let's

first define

'behavior'
The dictionary of the American
Psychological Association says behavior
is:

A person's activities in response

to external or internal stimuli". (1)
When working on behavior change in
the workplace, we focus on directly
observable behavior.

Psychologists call this 'overt

behavior' (as opposed to 'covert
behavior').
Back to our question now:

what causes your behavior?

This question is answered

differently by different
psychologists.
Some researchers focus on what
happens in the brain just before
behavior takes place.

For example, they look at what

happens in the amygdala, just
before someone shows
aggressive behavior.
Some concentrate on the
information we gather and how we
process that.
For instance through reading or
observing the behavior of other
people.
Others primarily look at what a
person has experienced and
learned during his life, to explain
why he acts in a certain way in a
certain situation.
And even others look at human
evolution and try to explain how
certain basic behavioral tendencies
have developed over thousands of
years by natural selection. (2)

Imitating other humans, for example.

The famous psychologist B.F.
Skinner stated that ultimately
behavior is always caused by the
environment. (3)
The environment determined over
thousands of years (through natural
selection) with which genetic
characteristics you were born.
The environment determines which
behavior is strengthened or
weakened during your life.

We learn through experience

because some behaviors we try
'work' and others 'don't work' in our
social and physical context.
Skinner called that our

learning history.
The ability to learn in this way is innate
and essential to our functioning.

You could say that evolution has

made us 'human learning machines'.

Almost everything we do every day at

work we have learned this way.
In summary:

Natural selection helps us adapt to

stable environmental factors.

Reinforcement helps us adapt to

changes in the environment.

...
And the stimuli in our immediate
environment determine which
behavior from our repertoire we
display here and now.

For example: do we give a hand, a

fist bump, or a hug when we meet
someone for the first time?
This is all very interesting, but what
if I want to change behavior in the
workplace?

Where do I start?
Behavioral scientists (like us) who
focus on behavior change usually
have a pragmatic approach.

They look for things that are related

to behavior that you can
manipulate.
Over the years, various researchers
have arrived at three factors to work
with: (4, 5)

capacity

motivation

environment
In simple language:

you have to be able to do it;

you have to want to do it;

your environment has to offer

you the opportunity to do it.
 In business environments, we can
change behavior by working on our
capacity, for example by following a
training.
We can also change behavior by
changing something in people's
motivation.

For example, by giving compliments

or offering a financial reward for
certain behavior.
And we can change behavior by
changing something in the
environment.

For example, by changing the

office layout or making new work
agreements.
Back to Skinner.

He would probably say about the

examples above…
 A training, that is a way in which
the environment influences our
learning history.

A compliment or a financial reward,

that is nothing but an environmental
stimulus with which you reinforce
behavior.
So, again, it's the
environment,
dummy.
But hey Mr. Skinner, wait a
minute...

Suppose I increase my capacities by

thinking about how I can perform a
job better.

And imagine that I increase my

motivation by, for example, setting a
goal for myself.

Then I don't need the environment.

Skinner would say:
This internal - or covert - behavior of
yours is certainly useful and important,
but in the end, you have to ask:
where did that behavior originate?

The answer: It either came from

your genetic predisposition or your
learning history.
And both stem from the
environment.
 Fair point...

So, where does that leave us?

Capacity and motivation are useful

concepts in behavior change,

but we must be aware that we

always

manipulate them through

the environment.
So, ultimately, behavioral change in
the workplace is driven by the
environment.

It is the world around us today —

existing of colleagues, information,
spaces, rules, and devices — that
shapes our work behavior of
tomorrow.
Behavior Change @ Work
Our goal?
Sharing scientific knowledge about behavior for positive
changes in the workplace.
In a quick and easy way.

Dr. Ben: Behavioral Dr. Raoul: Behavioral

scientist, writer, and scientist, researcher, and
teacher. Find out more teacher. Find out more at:
at: www.drbentyler.com www.projectraoul.nl

 SOURCES

(1) APA definition of behavior, see

https://dictionary.apa.org/behavior.

(2) Robert Sapolsky (2017). Behave.

(3) B.F. Skinner (1974). About Behaviorism.

(4) Ben Tiggelaar (2018). The Ladder.

(5) Susan Michie, Maartje van Stralen & Robert West

(2011). The behaviour change wheel: a new method
for characterizing and designing behaviour change
interventions. In: Implementation Science: 6, 42.