Basic assumptions About Human Behavior In order to

Basic assumptions About Human Behavior In order to understand Human Behavior in its proper perspective, social workers start with some assumptions based upon their experience of working with human beings and Knowledge of social sciences.

1)Human Behavior is purposeful and goal directed: • Human behavior must have purpose and meaning behind it. • Behavior of any person can be changed, explained, and analyzed under the light of knowledge of psychology. • Human beings strive to fulfill some of their biological and instinctual needs. • Human behavior is pleasure seeking. • Human beings want to survive, they save themselves from the destruction and death.

2) Human behavior is meaningful: • All the items of behavior have some deeper meaning which ordinarily remains hidden from the eyes of a layman. • Even lapses of memory, slips of tongue, slip of writing and casual remarks have meaning but generally considered as meaningless.

3)There are conscious and unconscious motives behind human behavior: • Social workers make intensive studies to understand conscious motives behind human behavior. • Social workers understand the person in relation to his social setting. • They consider man as bio-psycho-social being.

4) Behavior is determined and controlled by multiplicity of factors: • Human being is not the product of one force but there are multiple factors that are necessary for shaping and moulding individual’s behavior. • There are biological, environmental, psychological and social factors that shape human behavior. • Heredity, derives and instincts can be included in biological factors. • Human behavior is affected by all factors, it is not only the outcome of any single factor.

5) Early life experiences of the individual are the determinants of behavior: • Heredity builds the basic nature of man and lays the foundation of personality. • Culture, values, norms, and environment give it color. • Early life experiences have great influence and these experiences are the determinants of behavior.