BEHAVIORAL SYSTEM MODEL

 Dorothy E. Johnson was born on

August 21, 1919, in Savannah,
Georgia.
 She received her A.A. from
Armstrong Junior College in
Savannah, Georgia (1938), her
B.S.N, from Vanderbilt University in
Nashville, Tennessee (1942), and
her M.P.H. from Harvard University
in Boston (1948).  Johnson identifies seven
 Behavioral System Model subsystems within the Behavioral
 “Each individual has a System Model, an identification
predisposition to act, with that is at variance with others
reference to the goal, in certain who have published
ways rather than in other ways” interpretations of Johnson’s
 Johnson believes that each model (see FIGURE 1).
individual has a focusing and
repeating ways of acting which
covers a behavioral system
distinct to that individual. These
behaviors are logical, fixed,
predictable and adequately
secure and persistent to be
satisfying to depiction and
clarification.
 Johnson believes each individual
has patterned, purposeful,
repetitive ways of acting that
comprise a behavioral system Seven Behavioral Subsystems
specific to that individual. ATTACHMENT OR AFFILIATIVE
 These actions or behaviors form
an “organized and integrated  Identified as the first response
functional unit that determines system to develop in the
and limits the interaction individual.
between the person and his  The optimal functioning of the
environment and establishes the affiliative subsystem allows “social
relationship of the person to the inclusion, intimacy, and the
objects, events, and situations in formation and maintenance of a
his environment. strong social bond”.
 Attachment to a significant
caregiver has been found to be
 critical for the survival of an
infant.
 As the individual matures, the
attachment to the caretaker
continues and there are
additional attachments to other
significant individuals as they
enter both the child’s and the
adult’s network.
DEPENDENCY
 Dependency behaviors are
“succoring” behaviors that
precipitate nurturing behaviors
from other individuals in the
environment.
 The result of dependency
behavior is “approval, attention
or recognition, and physical
EXAMPLE: Biological cues are often
assistance”.
ignored if the social situation dictates
 It is difficult to separate the
that it is objectionable to eliminate at
dependency subsystem from the
a given time.
affiliative or attachment
subsystem because without
someone invested in or attached
to the individual to respond to
that individual’s dependency
behaviors, the dependency
subsystem has no intimate
environment in which to function.
INGESTIVE
 Relates to the behaviors
surrounding the intake of
food.
 It is related to the biological
system, however, the emphasis
for nursing, from Johnson’s
perspective, is the meanings and
structures of the social events
surrounding the occasions when
food is eaten.
 Behaviors related to the
ingestion of food may relate
more to what is socially
acceptable in a given culture
than to the biological needs of
the individual.
ELIMINATIVE
 Relates to behaviors surrounding
the excretion of waste products
from the body.
 Johnson admits this may be
difficult to separate from a
biological system perspective;
however, as with behaviors
surrounding the ingestion of
food, there are socially
acceptable behaviors for the
time and place for humans to
excrete waste.
SEXUAL
 Reflects behavior related to
procreation.
 Both biological and social
factors affect behaviors in the
sexual subsystem
 The key is that the goal in all
societies has the same outcome
– behaviors acceptable to
society at large.
AGGRESSIVE
 Relates to behaviors concerned
with protection and self-
preservation.
 Johnson views the aggressive
subsystem as on that generates
defensive responses from the
individual when life or territory is
threatened.
  The aggressive subsystem does
not include those behaviors with
a primary purpose of injuring
other individuals, but rather
those whose purpose is to
protect and preserve self and
society.
ACHIEVEMENT
 Provokes behaviors that attempt
to control the environment.
 Intellectual, physical, creative,
mechanical, and social skills are
some of the areas that Johnson
recognizes.
NURSING METAPARADIGM
PERSON/HUMAN BEING
 Johnson views human beings
as having two major systems:
the biological system and the
behavioral system.
 It is the role of medicine to
focus on the biological system,
whereas nursing’s focus is the
behavioral system.
HEALTH
 It is an elusive state that is
determined by psychological,
social, biological, and
physiological factors.
 Johnson’s behavioral model
supports the idea that the
individual is attempting to
maintain some balance or
equilibrium.
 The individual’s goal is to maintain
the entire behavioral system
efficiently and effectively but with
enough flexibility to return to an
acceptable balance if a
malfunction disrupts the original
balance.
SOCIETY
 Refers to the environment in
which an individual exists.
 According to Johnson, an
individual’s behavior is influenced
by all the events in the
environment.
 Cultural influences on the
individual’s behavior are viewed
as profound; however, it is felt
that there are many paths,
varying from culture to culture,
that influence specific behaviors
in a group of people, although
the outcome for all the groups or
individuals is the same.
NURSING
 Nursing is “an external regulatory
force which acts to preserve
under the organization and
integration of the patient’s
behavior at an optimal level
under those conditions in which
the behavior constitutes a threat
to physical or social health or in
which illness is found”.
 Nursing is viewed as part of the
external environment that can
assist the client to return to a state
of equilibrium or balance.
 Nursing is concerned with the
organized and integrated whole,
but that the major focus is on
obtaining a balance in the
behavioral system when illness
occurs in the individual.
 Johnson believes that nurses
need to be well grounded in the
physical and social sciences;
particular emphasis should be
placed on knowledge from both
the physical and social sciences
 that is found to influence
behavior.
 Nursing’s primary goal is to foster
equilibrium within the individual,
which allows for the practice of
nursing with individuals at any
point in the health-illness
continuum.
 Nursing is an EXTERNAL
REGULATORY FORCE that
regulates the ACTION or
BEHAVIOR of a person when such
behavior constitutes a threat, in
order to preserve his organization.