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What makes people the way they are?
Ian:
Topic for all issues regarding the way people behave and the reason behind that behaviour.
Ian:
Nature or Nurture?
Are children born nice?
It is one of the most debated concepts in psychology, whether altruism is a result of nature or nurture.
Now, a pair of Stanford psychologists has conducted a new series of experiments that show altruism has environmental triggers, and is not something we are simply born with.
A very simple reciprocal activity elicited high degrees of altruism in 1- and 2-year-old children, whereas friendly but non-reciprocal activity yielded little subsequent altruism. In a second study, reciprocity with one adult led 1- and 2-year-olds to provide help to a new person.
These results question the current dominant claim that social experiences cannot account for early occurring altruistic behaviour.
A third study, with pre-school-age children, showed that subtle reciprocal cues remain potent elicitors of altruism, whereas a fourth study with pre-schoolers showed that even a brief reciprocal experience fostered children’s expectation of altruism from others.
Collectively, the studies suggest that simple reciprocal interactions are a potent trigger of altruism for young children, and that these interactions lead children to believe that their relationships are characterized by mutual care and commitment.
From the Register
Mr Tunnock:
I often wonder why some people are so confrontational and never appear inclined to change their habits even though it must be pretty obvious to them that their behaviour is not all liked or admired.
Yorkie:
--- Quote from: Mr Tunnock on January 18, 2015, 10:00:05 am ---I often wonder why some people are so confrontational and never appear inclined to change their habits even though it must be pretty obvious to them that their behaviour is not all liked or admired.
--- End quote ---
With most things in life there are two dominating factors control most happenings. These can take the form of CAUSE and EFFECT or ACTION and REACTION, so one has to consider how each is triggered. Rather than criticise the Reaction, one should mabe consider the Cause of the Action or Reaction. Each is interlinked with the other and as we are all human we occasionally err on the unacceptable or wrong side.
But, of course, on the Forum we cannot read the body language, tone of voice or facial expression so the message can be read in a different way to that which the writer intended. The use of Smileys, unfortunately, does not always assist.
ZXZ
P.s. Forgot to mention that, I totally agree with you!
Fester:
A very intriguing and complex subject, one that is impossible to generalise.
You might be the nicest, most gentle person in the world.... until faced with hunger, or lack of resource of some kind, as was the case in pre-Nazi Germany. Or a family member might be injured in some way, in these cases people can become capable of all kind of horrific acts.
In Serbia / Bosnia etc, people lived alongside each other in peace, until nationalism and religious intolerance raised their ugly heads.
We are motivated by greed, vengeance, hunger, also hormonal imbalances and much, much more..... we are very complex mechanisms.
The emotion of 'regret' means that I myself wish I hadn't acted in a certain way on many occasions in my life. Surely we all think that way somethimes?
When I analyse the reasons for each instance, things such as immaturity, fear, jealousy. alcohol, .... they all come into play.
But, going back to Ian's original premise, am I naturally like that? or did 'cause and effect' as Yorkie says, lead to me to act like that?
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