Beyond gaining a better appreciation of our psychology, studying human behaviour can help us understand the various internal and external factors that shape our experiences.
In this post, we’ll explore some of the reasons why understanding how humans think, act and feel the way they do is an integral part of achieving personal and professional goals and contributing to society at large.
What is human behaviour?
The way we behave impacts our own lives and the lives of those around us. But how much do we know about why we act the way we do? Why does gaining this kind of understanding matter?
We can live our entire lives with little awareness of our feelings and those of others. However, is this a life well lived? From daily relationship struggles to conflict at work, understanding ourselves and others better can only have a positive impact.
As the human population continues to grow, it’s now becoming more critical than ever to make an effort to build harmonious relationships. Of course, conflict is inevitable, and understanding human behaviour won’t necessarily remove it. However, with deeper awareness, we can find ways to address problems more constructively and compassionately.
We highlight some more reasons why understanding more about how we think, feel and behave is important below:
1. Understanding ourselves and what motivates us
Studying different interpretations of human behaviour and how our mind and body influence us can give us valuable perspective. Understanding social relationships, personality and different life stages can also add value.
Understanding what motivates us and the people around us is a beneficial tool at home and work. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivators can drive people differently, so understanding them can help us grasp how to motivate others (and ourselves).
Understanding motivation is applicable in any group setting, particularly in the workplace, as a motivated workforce is crucial to building and growing a successful company. A deep understanding of psychology applies to social work and can help develop innovative and effective ways to address various social issues.
On a micro-scale, understanding what people value and what motivates them can also assist in resolving conflict and finding constructive ways to meet shared goals. We all struggle with miscommunication in relationships, but if we can get insight into what drives people to make decisions, it’s easier to find common ground and move forward.
2. Increasing productivity
As we mentioned, a motivated workforce is essential to developing and maintaining a thriving business. However, there are many ways to motivate people. Some will respond differently to intrinsic and extrinsic motivators. For example, a greater sense of purpose and fulfilment (intrinsic) or getting a raise (extrinsic).
If we don’t understand what drives us, how can we expect to know how to motivate others? Manipulation and force may be unfortunate aspects of toxic work environments. However, taking the time to understand how people think, act, and feel can help create a healthy and productive work environment.
By developing more self-awareness, we can also understand how to work best with people. With this awareness, we can build more fulfilling relationships, create environments where we can thrive, and inspire others to do the same.
3. Getting people to work together
Two critical goals in a business environment are understanding how to motivate people and increase productivity. However, we can apply this approach to relationships with and within our families, schools, communities and other public institutions.
On a larger scale, learning more about how people think, act, and feel can help nation-building efforts and create more harmonious social relations. Understanding others and ourselves and applying this knowledge to any team or social setting can teach us a lot.
This awareness is also more critical in a multicultural world, especially when working with people from diverse backgrounds and across international borders.
The future of technology and data collection
As we all know, our world is changing rapidly, thanks to the incredible pace of technological development. Ongoing developments in wearable technology and data collection mean we are finding more advanced ways to track how we think, act and feel. In other words, studying human behaviour will only get more exciting as more advanced methods become available.
For this reason, learning the fundamentals of what drives our actions, cognition, and emotions will set anyone up for a productive career. Using this knowledge, we can find ways to dig deeper into what drives and motivates us. You can also apply this knowledge in a business or a family or when focusing on applied psychology or academic research.
Learn about human behaviour with SACAP Global
Whether you are a student about to start your degree or someone in the workforce looking to expand your skillset, our Intro to Human Behaviour course will equip you with in-demand durable knowledge and skills for a rapidly evolving world. This awareness can be pivotal in learning how to better connect with ourselves and others personally and professionally.
If you’re interested in going deeper, Factors Influencing Human Behaviour and Domains of Psychology provide further insight. Other related courses you might be interested in include Social Influences on Human Behaviour and Social Identity Formation.
In this post, we discussed how understanding people’s behaviour can help you learn more about motivating others and yourself. To learn more, check out The Art of Motivation and Building Positive Self-Esteem.