1. What is human behavior?

Human behavior is loosely defined as the way humans act and interact. This is
believed to be influenced by a person’s genetics, upbringing and culture.

2. What are its characteristics?

Some characteristics of human behavior include the following: 1. It is influenced

by a number of factors., 2. It varies in complexity., 3. The factors influencing it
are of different kinds., 3. It varies from one person to another., 4. It also shows
similarities., 5. It is always purposeful and directive., 6. It is changeable to a large
extent., 7. It shows stability., 8. It is integrated.

3. Differentiate human act from act of man by giving a real life situation.

Human acts are deliberate actions which are influenced by a conscious decision
making process such as donating to charitable organizations, helping out a friend
in need, and the like. Acts of man on the other hand are primitive urges such as
eating, drinking, and sexual urges.

4. Why is the study of human behavior important? Give the significance of studies of
human behavior in the hospital setting.

Studying human behavior in the hospital setting is of utmost importance in

effective management and decision making since we are not merely handling
material logistics and inanimate matters but in fact with human beings, studying
how they may react to certain policies and how they can cope with difficult
circumstances.

5. Give concrete patient and worker activities and incidents that exemplify each of the
principles of human behavior?

Principle 1: Behavior is largely a product of its immediate environment.

How a staff is groomed and oriented to their working space whether

conducive or not, comfortable or not, are largely contributory to how, in
turn, would they relate and treat their work.

Principle 2: Behavior is strengthened or weakened by its consequences.

Feedback is important in correcting or reinforcing good and bad habits.

Principle 3: Behavior ultimately responds better to positive than to negative

circumstances.
 Human behavior’s natural tendency is to respond and react better to
positive than negative reinforcement. Such is the case with compliments
and good patient care notes and donations which elevates mood and
morale significantly and improves behavior. In contrast with complaints
which is observed to be unproductive.

Principle 4: Whether a behavior has been pushed or reinforced is known only by

the course of that behavior in the future.

The natural tendency of an enforced behavior is to evolve and change into

an improved or deeper version of that behavior. For instance, if
absenteeism of an employee was not corrected earlier, then its natural
tendency is to become worse than how it was before.

6. Is the study of human behavior an art or a science? Explain your stand.

The study of human behavior is an art. Although it may be backed up by

science, an person’s behavior is unique to an individual and studying this
field requires a level of sophistication that actual science may fell short in.