Pete Andersen, Ph.D.
Behaviorist, Author, Speaker, Coach, Publisher
Leading Authority in the Behavioral Study of Top Performers And The Development of The 3 Secret Intrinsic Motivation Skills
I have been fascinated by how universal human behavior is compared to animal behavior. Behaviorism – the study of human and animal behavior – is much different from psycho-analysis – the study of the actions of the human mind.
B.F. Skinner popularized “behaviorism” by describing the human mind as a “black box.” Through the process of “behavioral conditioning” the mind can be trained to recognize and respond to specific cues in certain ways. A “behaviorist” only looks at input and output through a feedback loop. Learning strategies and specific cues can be modified as input until you get the proper output or response to a recognized cue you can repeat with practice until conditioned.
In my study of human behavior to learn how I could help others to modify their behaviors to improve performance in less time, I created a system that applies four main points to all forms of human behavior.
I was first influenced by The Rotary International who have as their guide “The Four-Way Test.”
Of the things we think, say or do…
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?
Then, several years ago, while channel surfing I came upon a TV program, “The View” to listen to the opinions of several prominent women about current events and people in the news. Whether I agreed with their opinions or not, under the First Amendment they had a secured right to speak enabled by the Constitution of The United States.
However, I always wondered whether their opinions were biased or were they the truth. Bias and truth are philosophical questions that influence all human behavior in universal ways. Several years ago I read Stephen Covey’s book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Early in his book he made a point to distinguish how two people can see the same drawing, but get a different picture. One view is the old lady wearing a shawl over her head, and the other is a young woman wearing a black collar.
Events, people, places, and things are always going to be viewed differently in a biased or truthful way. What is sad is when people act on bias they believe is the truth when the logic overwhelmingly indicates a lie.
W. Edwards Deming said, “Knowledge is King.” One answer is that too few people have little knowledge to guide their personal behaviors. People make dumb mistakes that are easily avoidable – watch the news for 15 minutes!
When you see or hear about people in the news behaving in certain ways, you must consider what has influenced their behavior? What were they thinking? What environment has influenced their choices?
But more than these kinds of questions, how can anyone influence changing or at least modifying human behavior to improve performance in less time? How can we influence intrinsic (self) motivation through behavioral conditioning with positive rewards so that individuals become personally accountable for all their behaviors including learning?
In my personal quest to explain human behavior, I created four key points from my own personal years of experience and study. If you violate any one to all four of these key points, you can assume you will not be making a good short or long term decision for a favorable result to improve your performance.
You are welcome to make comments whether you agree or disagree with the points I make explaining how people in the news violate any of the specific key points. Just as I had an older brother, and let him make all my mistakes I hope we all can learn from the mistakes of others. Self-improvement has its price, and it seems like fewer people are willing to pay that price to improve their performance. The expectation now is for someone else to provide for your needs and ensure your success.
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