Team+3

Interpreting the Behavior of Others__**
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Behavior is the population of behaviors exhibited by humans and influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics and authority. Behavior can be innate or learned. Since the dawn of time, man has been attempting to interpret the acts of another.

Interpreting behavior, also known as behaviorism, originated with the work of John B. Watson, an American psychologist. Watson did not believe in human instinct, thought or emotion. Instead, he concluded that human behavior is strictly shaped by one’s environment. Watson claimed that psychology was not concerned with the mind or with human consciousness, but that psychology would be concerned only with behavior. In this way, men could be studied objectively, like rats and apes.

Human behavior varies tremendously by culture, most cultures maintaining a set of social norms. In the U.S, if someone fails to keep eye contact with while conversing, that individual's behavior will be interpreted as he or she isn’t interested in the conversation, or they're dishonest, whereas to maintain eye contact with someone from some Asian cultures may be interpreted as aggressive, even disrespectful. Defensive behavior is a normal behavior and is characterized by "sarcasm, being withdrawn, blame, shame, denial, anger, rigidity of thought, not listening to others, and the all or nothing way of thinking." (sharon) Note: This is taken from a study by Iowa State University
 * Normal Behavior **
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Cultural Differences **
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Time orientation ** There are cultural variations in how people understand and use time. Researchers have found that individuals are divided in two groups in the ways they approach time. In certain cities in the U.S., it is not uncommon for us to find timetables or daily schedules for buses or trains. If the bus is to be at a certain stop at 10:09 PM, for example, one can expect that to happen at the designated time, give or take a minute. For polychronic individuals such precise timetables are mind-boggling, as many of them are simply used to going to the bus stop and waiting – not knowing whether they will be waiting for five or forty-five minutes. That is just the way things are. This difference in time orientation is reflected in the complaints of U.S. business people conducting business in Saudi Arabia or in Mexico, for example. A big source of frustration for them is the difficulty of getting through a meeting’s agenda. That is because in these countries meetings begin with an extended socializing time in which time is spent establishing social rapport – usually over many cups of coffee or tea.
 * Monochronic individuals ** are those who prefer to complete one task at a time. For them, task-oriented time is distinguished from socio-emotional time. In other words, there is a time to play and a time to work. These individuals value punctuality, completing tasks, and keeping to schedules. They view time as if it were linear, that is, one event happening at a time. Examples of monochronic cultures include the U.S., Israel, Germany, and Switzerland.
 * Polychronic individuals **, on the other hand, are more flexible about time schedules; they have no problem integrating task-oriented activities with socio-emotional ones. For them, maintaining relationships and socializing are more important than accomplishing tasks. These individuals usually see time in a more holistic manner; in other words, many events may happen at once. Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa are places where the polychronic orientation prevails.


 * Abnormal Behavior **

media type="youtube" key="PSNHy6H6nFM" height="385" width="480" == Abnormal behavior: deviation from social norms; every culture has certain standards for acceptable behavior, and behavior that deviates from that standard is considered to be abnormal behavior: Standards can change with time and vary from one society to another (library.thinkquest) examples of abnormal behavior are, addiction, personality disorders, phobias and autism. ==

1 consider behavior in its context
trying to draw conclusions from isolated behaviors can be misleading

2 look for clusters of nonverbal cues or behaviors
instead of a specific cue, look for corroborating cues.

3 consider past experiences
familiarity with another preson increases your abilithy to interpret THEIR behavior

4 check your perceptions with others​
observe the actions, try to interpret what is being expressed, check by asking them if you are correct (beebe, 215-216) Attribtion errors can likewise hinder interpretation, wherein people underestimate the power of the situation to influence behaviors, an overestimate the ower of prsonality traits or pas behavior."(news) Once again, checking percptions wil help eliminate this error. 1.Beebe, Steven et.al, Interpersonal communication fifth edition, page 191, 215-216

2.Wolfe, Lahle. "Eye Contact Social Rules - How and When to Make Eye Contact." Women in Business - Women Owned Businesses. Web. 25 Apr. 2010. [] 3. Michaels, Sharon. "Understanding Defensive Behavior."(.[])

4. [] 5.WikiEd 04/27/2010