Human beings are not just “higher-order animals.” Both are comprised of biological systems like respiration and vascular elements, and both have definite patterns of behavior. Unlike animals, however, humans strive to understand that behavior.
To do that, we have created scientific methods such as experimentation, theories, observation, and drawing inferences from data. Here are four methods of studying behavior that have sound science behind them.
Neuroanatomy
We know brain injuries can affect behavior. That fact implies that some behaviors are rooted in brain structure. Neuroanatomy looks at the composition of the brain and its neural structures.
Phenomena such as the fact that when one structure in the brain is damaged, the brain often reroutes information and impulses to compensate for the injury.
Biochemistry
Much of the information entering the brain and transmitted from it are in the form of chemicals. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website calls these chemicals “neurotransmitters,” and they include substances such as serotonin, dopamine, and hormones. They are responsible for exciting certain brain functions (like panic or sexual drive) and also for restraining them.
Psychodynamics
This study of the brain looks at things like instincts and “programmed behaviors.” This is the area of scientific inquiry addressed by Freud.
He postulated that all human behavior can be defined in terms of three composite personality functions. The first is the ID which is driven by desires and aggression. Consider this the equivalent of The Incredible Hulk,” the comic-book character that becomes a huge roaring monster when aroused.
The second is the Superego which attempts to restrain all aggression and desire, and the third is the Ego, which maintains a balance between these other two. Brain malfunction occurs when the three areas are out of balance.
Behavioral/Cognitive
This way of looking at behavior begins with the development of personalities through experiences, associations, and environmental elements. It postulates that some behavior is conditioned, as evidenced by experiments such as Pavlov’s and Skinner’s work with dogs and rats.
Another theory is that behavior is learned through social interactions and expectations. Still, another theorizes that behavior is adaptive in response to environmental factors. The cognitive approach is included here because it is similar in that it studies the way the brain organizes thoughts based upon how they correspond to a person’s self-concept.
This is related to the behavioral approach because those thoughts may be formed because of social learning. The scientific study of the brain and behavior presupposes that there is a way to affect malfunctions or poor thought processes.
That is just another way of dealing with the old proverb, “If you don’t have a solution, don’t address the problem.” Still, many methods of addressing behaviors arise from studying them and asking questions. There are many exciting careers in applied behavior analysis that ask questions about behavior and find answers that enrich our lives. For example, you can check out websites like AppliedBehaviorAnalysisEdu.org for more information.