Using Life Theoretical Perspectives to Explain Helping Behaviour Essays

Using Life Theoretical Perspectives to Explain Helping Behaviour Essays Using Life Theoretical Perspectives to Explain Helping Behaviour Essay Using Life Theoretical Perspectives to Explain Helping Behaviour Essay Essay Topic: Life Of Pi USING LIFE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES TO EXPLAIN HELPING BEHAVIOUR. A theory, according to Lahey (2003), is a tentative explanation of facts and relationships in Science. Mylers (1995) also defines a theory as an integrated set of principles that organize and predicts observable behaviours or events. Also a theory is a comprehensive explanation of natural phenomena which leads to accurate prediction. In Psychology, there are various theoretical perspectives. They are the learning (behavioral) theory, Psychoanalytical theory, Humanistic theory, Cognitive theory, Biological theory, Evolutionary theory and Socio- cultural theory. Helping behaviour is a desirable behaviour in the society. We can use the various perspectives to explain helping behaviour. According to the learning (behavioral) theory by J. B Watson, we are the products of learning and associations. We are the end results of all the different events we have been exposed to throughout life, the types of responses we have made to them and the consequences of making those responses thus either rewards or punishments. J. B Watson was an early behaviorist, but one of the most famous recent behaviorists is B. F Skinner and he believed that we are controlled by the environment in the sense that we become whatever the environment forces us to be. Using this to explain helping behaviour we can say that if a person is rewarded for his or her helping behaviour he or she would keep to helping people. For instance, Jeffrey helps an old lady to cross the street whenever he meets her. The old lady gives Jeffrey toffees whenever he helps her. Therefore Jeffrey helps anybody he sees because he knows he would be rewarded for his actions. Psychoanalytical theory by Sigmund Freud is perhaps the most interesting as well as controversial of all the theories of psychology. Freud developed a theory that centered on sexual and aggressive impulses that are hidden in our unconscious minds from early childhood. These impulses live below the surfaces of consciousness and there control our everyday behaviour in ways we are not aware of. Since helping behaviour is consciously done, therefore we cannot use psychoanalytical theory to explain it. Humanistic theory focuses on positive aspects of life and humanists say human beings possess free will. To Carl Roger, the most famous humanist, all humans have an innate tendency to fulfill their potentials. He calls this actualization. To humanists, each of us is like the perfect seed. If we get the right amount of water, nutrients and sunlight from the environment, we will become a perfect flower. For instance, Phoebe is in the university. She has the free will to help with the developmental projects in her hall, so she contests and wins the vice president of Jean Nelson Aka Hall. At the end of her term in office, she is praised for all her efforts and good work s. Although this is a reward to her she has also gained self actualization. With the cognitive theory, it takes the position that human behaviour can be understood in terms of how the individual processes information mentally. The perspective is therefore interested in how the individual’s thoughts, expectations, language, perception, problem solving, consciousness, creativity, and other mental processes such as memory, decision making, and judgment help in the explanation and understanding of his or her behaviour. For instance, Maxwell is sitting in front of his house; he then sees a little girl falls down. Although there were people around he thought about one or two things and then he rushed to pick the little girl up. The biological theoretical perspective of life is based on the assumption that all behaviours correspond in one way or the other to the activities of the brain and the nervous system. In the contest of this perspective, individuals differ because they are born with different genes, develop slightly different brain and hormonal patterns. In summary, the perspective seeks to explain behaviour through the activities of the brain and nervous system, physiology, genetics, the endocrine system, biochemistry and evolution. For instance, Jemima is takes her baby out and put her on a mat under a tree while sitting by her because the room is too hot. Five minutes later she falls asleep. She later hears the dog barking loudly. She opens her eyes and to her dismay, she finds a snake using her baby as a pathway on its travels. She quickly takes her baby and helps him back into the room. Here Jemima used her ear and brain to help the baby survive. With evolutional theory, it focuses on how human beings have adapted the behaviour required for survival in the face of environmental pressures. It is that trait that helps survival become universal in species. Basically, it talks about inherited traits that help adapt to one’s environment. Emphasis is also on the influence of genes on behaviour. For instance, Jenny’s mum has taught her that in their community if you don’t help somebody nobody would help you when you are in need so she grown to know that you have to do unto others what you want others to do unto you. She therefore helps her neighbors to wash because she knows when it is time to wash her own they might help her. Lastly, in recent years, psychology has begun to look more closely at how much we are influenced by our culture. Thus, the socio-cultural theoretical perspective of life has an impact of specific social, ethnic, racial, and religious groups on behavior. For instance, Ewura Adjoa is an Akan and every Akan is obliged to help an elderly person with anything at all being it water, fetching wood, fanning the fire, help in cooking, washing bowls irrespective of the relationship you have with him or her, thus to say Ewura Adjoa must help anybody and not only her parents or elder siblings therefore that explains why Ewura Adjoa has a special helping behaviour. A suburban American child like Andreas would not make an attempt to help his dad with his bag after his dad comes from work. This is because, that is not his culture. Therefore, from the above explanation, we can learn how life theoretical perspectives can be using to explain helping behaviour.