Behavioral

Perspective and
Sociocultural
Context
Behavioral theory

• Seeks to explain human behavior by analyzing the

antecedents and consequences present in the
individual’s environment and the learned associations he
or she has acquired through previous experience.
 Behavioral Perspective

• Focuses on the individual and the relationship between stimuli

in the environment and how it determines behavior through
learning.
• Is a theory of psychology that states that human behaviors are
learned, not innate.
• The theory of behaviorism focuses on the study of observable
and measurable behavior. It emphasizes that behavior is mostly
learned through conditioning and reinforcement (rewards and
punishment).
• Behaviorists believe that people’s behaviors are a result
of their interaction with the environment.
• People become conditioned or molded, to respond in
certain ways based on responses like feedback, praise
and rewards.
• Learning is described through stimuli and responses.
Social Behavioral Perspective

• Suggests that human behavior is learned as individuals

interact with their environments.
• The humanistic perspective emphasizes the individual’s
inherent value, freedom of action, and search for
meaning.
Eight Perspectives on Human Behavior
(modern psychology)

Biological Psychodynamic
Behavioral Sociocultural
Cognitive Evolutionary
Humanistic Biopsychosocial
 Three Theoretical Perspectives
(sociology)
1. Functionalist perspective
2. Conflict perspective
3. Interactionist perspective
 Example of Behavioral Perspective

• Positive and Negative Reinforcement and Punishment are

examples of ways to modify behavior.
• Positive reinforcement is the easy one, giving reward for
the sought after behavior.
• Punishment is to stop an unwanted behavior.
• The most well known example of behaviorism would be
Pavlov and his dogs.
 Four Different Types of
Communication Behavior
• Aggressive – aggression is defined as an unplanned act of
anger in which the aggressor intends to hurt someone or
something.
• Assertive
• Passive
• Passive-Aggressive
Example of Behavioral Approach

• A behavioral approach consists of manipulating the

environment in such a way that the probability of the
target behavior is adjusted as desired.
• The change in the environment was the new policy.
• The reinforcement was the triple wages.
• This is an example of organizational behavior management.
 Cognitive Behavioral Theory

• Cognitive behavioral therapy focuses on the relationships

thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
• Social workers assist clients in identifying patterns of
irrational and self-destructive thoughts and behaviors
that influence emotions.
 Sociocultural Perspective

• The social environment, social context, sociocultural context or

milieu refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which
people live or in which something happens or develops, that
includes the culture that the individual was educated or lives in,
and the people and institutions with whom they interact.
 Sociocultural Perspective

• Is a theory used in fields such as psychology and is used to

describe awareness of circumstances surrounding individuals
and how their behaviors are affected specifically by their
surrounding, social and cultural factors.
• “It is a perspective describing people’s behavior and mental
processes as shaped in part by their social and/or cultural
contact, including race, gender and nationality”, Catherine A.
Sanderson, 2010.
• Sociocultural perspective theory is a broad yet significant
aspect in our being.
• It applies to every sector of our daily lives. How we
communicate, understand, relate and cope with one
another is partially based on this theory.
• Our spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, psychological
being are all influenced by factors studied by
sociocultural perspective theory.
 Sociocultural Theory

• Is an emerging theory in psychology that looks at the

important contributions that society makes to individual
development.
• Stresses the interaction between developing people an the
culture in which they live.
 Sociocultural Factors

• Sociocultural factors are customs, lifestyles an values that

characterize a society. More specifically, cultural aspects
include aesthetics, education, language, law and politics,
religion, social organizations, technology and material culture,
values, attitudes.
Difference between social and cultural
context
• Cultural context is similar to social context.
• Cultural context refers to the time and place where the story
occurs.
• Cultural context is incredibly important.
 Sociocultural Values

• Sociocultural values are the beliefs, values, traditions and habits

that influence the individual’s behavior.
• These values influence the decisions we make and actions we
take.
• Because of this, sociocultural values can have an important
impact on economic development.