Influence Of Culture On One's Behavior example essay topic

The theory of Evolution says that at the very beginning of life were plankton. Those plankton evolved and became more and more complex organisms. Depending on their environment and choices, the organisms that were created were different in their (physical) appearance and behavior. Now, the Earth has a very diversified fauna and flora living in their respective biosphere. All the living species are classified according to their physical traits and behavior. However, one specie present differences among their group: the Human Being.

In fact, Humans are easily recognizable at least physically, but since they have something more that makes them more complex to study- the ability to think- they present difficulties to be assimilated as a homogeneous group. Since each human being has a unique character, do not expect them to behave the same way in front of a same situation. Therefore, a deep study into the causes that may influence their choice must be much more interesting and helpful in order to understand that behavioral difference. Then, the right question one must ask is: What makes people behave differently? To find answers to this dilemma, in this essay will be analyzed successively three important reasons or factors that may lead people to behave in a way or another: the influence of the environment, of the people around and of the experience. First, the most common source of learning for an individual is his immediate and natural environment.

By that is meant his culture, his religion or civilization. It is well known that people of the same culture share many things in common such as lifestyle and general behavior. You are more likely to find people doing similar things in a same area or culture. The way people behave in Africa will not be the same as for the ones in Asia, not that there is only one culture characteristic to those places.

When the first colonists came to Africa, they were astonished by the way people were behaving. They deduced that those people were primitives. They thought those people who were behaving differently did not know any better. These people tended to impose their own value system on others, knowing that they were "right "and these other people were "confused". They believed the way they behaved was natural and normal and the way other people behave, if it was different, was wrong and misguided. What they did not get was that those people were living according to their own systems and culture.

Many people died, trying to preserve what they believed in, under the righteousness of those colonists. Also, the example of the businessmen is evocative. Before going in a new country, they study the culture of that country. What for, one might be wondering? Well, since the cultures are different from one place to another, you do not want to screw the business up by saying or doing stuffs that might be interpreted as offenses by the other party. To know the "Do? and?

Don't? it might be wise and smart to study the culture you are going to meet. Today, the best way culture is spread is through the media. We can say that children are TV-educated. That is their culture.

But uncontrolled media can lead to great catastrophes. Who does not remember terrible events like the most famous "media-bashing? cases; Marilyn Manson and the video game Quake having motivated the Columbine shooters; an Eminem wanna-be who beat the crap out of his wife; TV wrestling inspiring kids to break each other's bones; a school shooting inspired by a Pearl Jam song; many past cartoons, movies and musical artists that pushed the edge of the envelope. Remember the violence of "Looney Tunes? cartoons, and the scary Wizard of Oz, or the Beatles song "Run For Your Life, ? which features a line that states "I'd rather see you dead little girl / than to see you with another man.? Those examples well illustrate the influence of culture on one's behavior.

Next, another great influence on people's behavior is people themselves. Generally it is what is known as Peer Pressure. You might have been taking Philosophy at school and, then, being introduced to subjects as various as the Human being's Behavior. As far as I am concerned, I have. I used to hear my instructor saying: "To be autonomous means to act in accord with one's self-it means feeling free and volitional in one's actions. When autonomous, people are fully willing to do what they are doing, and they embrace the activity with a sense of interest and commitment.

Their actions emanate from their true sense of self, so they are being authentic. In contrast, to be controlled means to act because one is being pressured. When controlled, people act without a sense of personal endorsement. Their behavior is not an expression of the self, for the self has been subjugated to the controls. In this condition, people can reasonably be described as alienated.? Then, I asked myself: ? do human beings behave differently when they know they " re being watched??

My suspicion has always been a self-assured "not necessarily.? By going through life, I started to see clear. A good example of people influence on one is the text "Shooting an Elephant? In this text, George Orwell, while serving with the imperial police in Burma was called one day to deal with an elephant that went crazy.

He shot the elephant because that was what the Burmese that called for his help were expecting him to do. So, those people, not his free will, influenced his behavior. To me, this text well illustrates the weakness of human beings. In fact, we are all doing things that we are expected to do.

Sometime, our actions are ducted, influenced by the mass. This man, George Orwell, may be seen here as a puppet directed by the mass. Also, his fear to be seen as a coward leads him to act this way. He knew he was an occidental man and he acted the way he thought another occidental man would be acting. Here, we can only agree on how people, by their expectations, influence one's choices. Last, but not least of the three, the experience plays a non-negligible role in one's behavior.

It is well known that older people have more experience than the youth ness. Old people, through decades have experienced a lot of situations in life. The way you see them facing situations may seem foolish, they face it, usually, with a technical approach. It is not with surprise that we see them dealing with success. Young people are known for their inexperience. Usually, due to their inexperience, they fail or take more time solving a problem.

However, that does not mean that old age only have the absolute exclusivity of the experience. In Africa, there is a truth saying: "The wisdom does not wait for the number of year.? That means you can be young and be wiser than someone older than you are. Trevor gives a good example in the movie Pay it Forward. He might be only 12 years old and no one was expecting something special from him other than stuffs a young boy of his age does. But by thinking and applying his movement, he behaves an unexpected way.

No one was expected him to come up with such an idea. He made then the difference. Also more interesting about generation and behavior is that their behavior changes while their ages grow. Usually older people are seen as crazy because they do not act "rationally.? What people do not understand is that their behavior is influenced by their age. In the text "Pigeon Women, ?

May Swenson describes old age; it's perception by others, its difficulties, and an old woman's need for love and care. This is primarily a poem that describes through the use of imagery and illustrates to us readers the effects of old age in the perception of other people, and the ole person as well. Aside from the important theme of old age and trying to defy it, Swenson also tells us of the difficulties that an old- aged woman experiences, how her everyday life seemed to be almost always a routine, how, for a woman of old age, life has been gentle or hard for her. Through the use of strong imagery, symbolism, contrasts, metaphors, alliterations, and internal rhymes, the author of this paper will discuss the themes of old age and coping and living with old age, and the Pigeon Woman's need for love and care in May Swenson's poem, "Pigeon Woman".

To conclude, in this essay have analyzed three important factors that influence people's choices and behavior: the environment, through the civilization or culture; people, through the Peer Pressure; and then, the experience and the age. There might be many more factors but those three constitute the most common ones. Today, more than ever, we all need to accept to live in the difference. Try to imagine a world where everybody looks and thinks alike? That makes non-sense and looks scary. Also, that is what makes us human: we all live to make the difference, but to make that difference, we must accept the difference between us.

Work cited: Pay it Forward Directed by Mimi Leder Starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Os ment, Jay Mohr, Jim Caviezel, Jon Bon Jovi & Angie Dickenson "Pigeon Woman". May Swenson "Run For Your Life, ? the Beatles "Shooting an Elephant? George Orwell Wizard of Oz Starring: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger Director: Victor Fleming Release Date: August 1939.