Why We All Behave The Way We Do

Why do people exhibit leadership qualities, and some are more reserved? Can we ever adopt learned characteristics? These are questions we ask ourselves often! Believe it or not, all your social behaviors and thoughts were preordained by external factors. Well, you’re also not alone on that, because this cycle has been going on for dozens of millennia. Sometimes, it has several benefits, and other times, it comes with several downsides.

If you want more insight into that, here are five significant factors that influence how you think and behave socially.

1. Other people’s influence

As you may have expected, this is one of the most influential factors in people’s behaviors and thoughts. For example, if you’ve ever acted like a character from a movie weeks after you’ve watched it, then your behaviors and actions have been influenced by other people.

We don’t like to admit it, but most people like emulating others. Most care what people think. It’s not always a bad thing, but we should learn how to adopt the correct values so we can make better decisions.

2. Cognition levels

If you’re Nigerian or African in general, you’ve probably heard the phrase “do they have two heads?” from your parents. Well, they don’t, but we all have different cognition levels. Some people are more gifted in the cultural arts, and some are more proficient in the sciences. Some people even possess multiple musical talents. All our “talents” influence the decisions we make socially, such as the career path we take or the hobbies we pick up.

It also influences the amount of social excellence we obtain, such as getting multiple A1’s or being an excellent entrepreneur. So, as a side note, the next time your parents say that phrase, you can reply them with the fact that everybody has different brains. You may get an ass-whooping, but at least you got your point across.

3. Cultural backgrounds

The culture we adopt from a young age dramatically determines how we do many things in life, and social behavior and thoughts are two of them. Morality and values are more relative than systematic, depending on the culture you’re from.

That’s why you see some people as being uptight and others as being too carefree. That’s why you see that as much as there is someone who can’t hurt a fly, there is someone who will hurt you without batting an eye.

4. Biological factors

Biological factors such as height, weight, and even sex determine what actions we take and how we think. For example, the human race has made women the subordinate gender for a long time, which is wrong, by the way. But in the 1800's, it would have been highly unusual for a lady to aspire to have a high-profile job. For those of you who have seen bridgerton, most women in that time could only think of attaining a rich, stable young man. Parents would display them like shiny pieces of jewelry in hopes of getting picked by these men.

To our relief, this mindset has been abolished in recent years. However, some countries still adopt this belief, which influences how the actions a woman thinks and what she does.

5. Environmental influence

The environment is the last significant influence on what we do and how we think. For some people, this can be a traumatic experience that unfortunately shapes their lives, affecting how they behave socially. These traumatic experiences can make the affected less trusting, become afraid of putting themselves out there, or even make them develop certain mental health disorders.

For others, a positive environment can allow people to relate better with others and give them the chance to make better decisions.

Final Words

Depending on the situation, these factors can be a benefit or a bane to society. Thus, it is essential to adopt the right values and steer clear of the wrong ones. It’s possible to learn new values and adopt new mindsets, although it may take a lot of work to do so.