Behavioral approach

Behavioral approach - is an approach that takes along psychological, social, and contextual explanations of human behavior to policy design. This approach is used in many spheres such as management, leadership, public administration, political sociology etc.

This notion is directly related to the behaviorism . The main focus of behaviorism is on observable and quantifiable features of human behavior. Behaviorist learning theories place a strong emphasis on behavioral modifications brought on by the learner's associations of stimulus-response. Stimuli controls behavior. Due to earlier conditioning and present psychological motivations, a human chooses one answer over another at the time of the action. Mainstream behaviorists point out that the behavior which is worth of studying are those, which can be directly observed. In other words, they focus mainly on the actions, rather than on the emotions or cognitive processes. The brain's functions or structure are not used by behaviorist theories to explain abnormal behavior. Instead, it takes the position that all conduct is the result of learned habits and tries to explain how these habits are created (Standridge, 2002). Behavioral theorists thought that increased productivity resulted from a greater knowledge of factors like motivation, conflict, expectations, and group dynamics that affect human behavior at work.

Ivan Pavlow

The most popular behaviorist is a russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936). He has conducted his famous experiment with the dog in order to understand how conditioned reflex works. The brief description of the experiment can be following: firstly he set up an experiment in which, he rang a bell shortly before presenting food to the dogs. At the beginning, the dogs elicited no response to the bells. However, eventually, the dogs began to salivate at the sound of the bell alone. Before conditioning, food that can be considered as an unconditioned stimulus produces an unconditioned response and makes dog salivating , and in this case a bell, which is neutral stimulus, does not produce a response. During conditioning, the food is presented repeatedly just after the presentation of the neutral stimulus, which is bell I this case. After conditioning, the neutral stimulus alone creates a conditioned response, thus becoming a conditioned stimulus (Bellak, 1986).

Application of the approach

When it comes to the application of the behavioral approach in management, behavioral approach focus on employees as individuals, as parts of the work group. American psychologist and organizational theorist George Elton Mayo stated that more than money or the environment, social and relational forces drive employee motivation. According to this theory, managers can boost output by considering workers as distinct individuals rather than as interchangeable parts of a machine. Mayo found out that workers acted according sentiments and emotions. The idea is following: if you treat your employees with decent respect and do your best to meet their needs, then he or she will be more satisfied, hence have better performance. In the end both employee and management sides are benefited. In case an employee spends a big amount of time throughout the day, he or she needs to have a sense of belonging and feeling of being a part of the environment (Zastrow, 1974)

Abraham Maslow also made a contribution into behavioral approach with his theory of needs. There are several levels of motivation as well as various levels of team performance, which is why Maslow's behavioral theory—specifically his Hierarchy of Human Needs—was chosen. Maslow adds that under all but exceptional conditions, a human seeks to satisfy a predictable sequence of needs, beginning with efforts to fulfill physiological demands followed by effort to fulfill safety, social, ego, and self-realization… This theory implies following points:

• needs cannot be fully satisfied
• human activity has a purpose and is driven by the desire for fulfillment of the needs
• needs can be classified according to their hierarchical importance, from the lowest to highest

The 5 levels of needs presented by Maslow, will be presented below, starting from the lowest to the highest.

1. Physiological needs - Maslow categorized all physiological requirements for upholding fundamental human well-being, such as food and drink, under this heading. However, once the need is met, it ceases to be a motivator.
2. Safety needs - such necessities include the need for fundamental safety, stability, protection, and fearlessness. It is possible for someone to have all of these demands mostly met in a normal state. If not, they take over as the main driving forces.
3. Belonging and love needs - the need for love and belonging takes over as the main driver of motivation once the physical and safety demands have been met and are no longer motivators. The person tries to build meaningful connections with important people. Such needs implies need for friendships, intimacy, family and other meaningful connections.
4. Esteem needs - esteem needs means need to be respected, to have paricular status in the society. It is also about building self-confidence and building reputation.
5. Self‐actualization needs - taking into consideration that all previous needs are satistied, person (employee) has a desire to become the better or best version of himself/herself.

So in term of management and Maslow Pyramid of needs it can be stated that,when your employees know that managers are treating them right, they'll feel motivated to give their best in return. Conversely, if you as a manager ignore your team members' needs, they'll likely feel demotivated or disengaged. They may even end up leaving. Summing up,the human element of the workplace is the main focus of the behavioral approach to management. The behavioral approach to management can assist company leaders in managing the various human resource issues that arise throughout the workday by fostering understanding of how people react in conflict and by teaching the best approaches to manage expectations and encourage staff.

Behavioral approach — recommended articles

Motivation — Acquired needs theory — Negative motivation — Motivation theory — Behavioral school — Ethical issue — Internal motivation — Attitudes and behaviour — Cultural values

References

• Bellak, A. S. & Hersen, M. (1986). Dictionary of behaviortherapy techniques. "New York: Pergamon Press"
• Brewer, E.W., Campbell, A.C., Petty, G.C. (2000) . Foundations of Workforce Education. "Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company"
• Carver, C. S. (2010). Negative Affects Deriving From the Behavioral Approach System. Emotion, 4(1), 3-22.
• Eddie Harmon-Jones (2003). Personality and Individual Differences. "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology" , 84(4), 738-753.
• Jason M. Satterfield. (2008). A Cognitive-Behavioral Approach to the Beginning of the End of Life. "Oxford University Press".
• Shaffer, D. (2010) Social and Personality Development (4th Ed.). "Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thompson Learning"
• Standridge, M. (2002). Behaviorism. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology
• Urío, S., Redondo, R., & Gavilan, D. (2022). The intellectual structure of behavioral strategy: A bibliometric study. "Strategic Management", 27(1), 4-21.
• Zastrow, C. & Kirst-Ashman, K. K. (1974). Understanding human behavior and the social environment. "Chicago: Nelson-Hall Publishers"

Author: Kseniia Zalyvadna