Analyzing Human Behavor

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As an observer of human behavior, you are watching people at a swimming pool, you observe that (a) some people dive right into the pool; (b) other people put there foot in first; (c) some people wade in, in slow stages. Offer explanations for each type of behavior, labeling your description as physical or cognitive. Because all humans are different, each has his own way of testing the waters, literally and figuratively. As an observer of people trying to get into a body of water, one may observe that some people dive right into it. This may be a result of a physiologically optimistic reason for doing so; this person may simply want to get the shock of the temperature over, or he could just simply jump in without much thought of the water because he knows he is about to have fun. This physiological concept is a result of “having to do with an organism’s physical processes or physical needs” (Glencoe 7). On the other hand, some people test the temperature before they enter because they are either preparing themselves for the cold water, or they are deciding on whether or not actually to enter the water. This process of decision making is the cognitive approach to behavior which has to do with “the organism’s thinking and understanding” (7). The last approach a person might take is slowly to wade into the water. This may be the result of both the physiological, the person wades in because his body slowly but surely gets used to the temperature and because comfortable enough to swim and enjoy. From the cognitive, the person wades in bit by bit because he knows that eventually he will get used to the temperature because he has done this before, thus he has experiential knowledge: storing, retrieving and using information exemplifies the cognitive process (20). After observing the process of how people go about getting into a body of water, the observer comes to the

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