Triggers to Behaviour and Personal Feelings and Prejudices Flashcards
What are the triggers to behaviour?
Human behaviour is largely constrained by the rules, norms or self-imposed
restrictions that govern particular situations and environments.
People are constantly conditioned to behave in a certain way, or to avoid certain behaviours in a particular situation. These could be laws, social norms, moral rules and ‘social-conventional’ rules. These merely exist in order that a
person’s system can continue to operate with as little conflict as possible. For
example, if an unmarried female is pregnant, the moral transgressions trigger
one of the ‘moral emotions’ which could be guilt, shame, remorse or anger. Therefore breaking a moral rule reduces the safety margins, and increases the
likelihood of being judged as immoral.
People go through life through a chain of events. Some events may linger longer in a person’s life and may stay as baggage which one carries with him/her without knowing it remained as a ‘shadow’ in his/her life.
When something related to the ‘baggage’ happens, it might trigger the person to react badly to the situation.
What are the triggers to personal feelings and prejudice?
Generally, people are very sensitive to how people perceive, judge and feel
about them. When perceive others are interested, approve or accept them,
their responses are usually more positive. However, they will react negatively if they perceive others are not interested, disapprove or reject them. Positive and negative reactions from others often affect how people perceive and feel
about themselves, their perceptions of other people, and the quality of their
interpersonal relationships.
People’s immediate reactions to threats, rejection, discrimination, ostracism, betrayal and stigmatisation are often negative and these lower their self-esteem.
Prejudice is an unfair prejudgment towards a person or a group of people
because of gender, political opinion, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity, language, nationality, or other personal
characteristics that differ or rejected by the group.
If a person perceived that he/she is being prejudiced, the reaction will be one of anger towards the people who prejudge them. Anger breeds hostility, and hostility breeds disunity in the group.
Other people’s reactions exert a strong impact on a person’s thoughts, emotions, motives, and behaviour, as
well as his/her physical and psychological well-being.
