Human relations and behavior play fundamental roles in a human service setting. They act as determinants for the business failure or success based on the employees’ readiness to pursue human service objectives. Also, the concepts control the culture of the firm that can either create a conducive or an uncomfortable business surrounding that will be replicated into the company’s productivity. Some behavioral approaches include the cognitive social model that proposes reinforcements by learning from observing others, the concept of reasoned action that engages behaviors at a particular place and time, and the social action theory that focuses on social contextual factors as action determinants (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2001). Other fundamental approaches include the learning and conditioning model that will be evaluates in the text and the self-determination theory that provides action intervention contexts to stimulate outcomes (Patrick H. and Williams, 2012). The essence of human behavior and relation requires human resource managers to understand the behavioral theories that can bring about organizational change. This essay pays particular attention to the learning and conditioning model of behavioral change.
The behavioral variations introduced by the learning and conditioning theory can be useful in assisting a patient to give up harmful health-related activities. For instance, the model is applicable when trying to teach an alcoholic to quit drinking or a drug addict to refrain from substance abuse. The health service professionals should create a setup where the drugs are not available so that they addict can get used to staying without the substances. An example of a technique utilized in learning and conditioning is the extension trials that involve short sessions of similar circumstances that do not allow the risky behaviors. The approaches under learning and conditioning focus on classical conditioning, fundamental associative behaviors, and operant conditioning, Classical conditioning is a contribution from Pavlov that states that actions can be modified by pairing an unconditional stimulus with a neutral one to elicit a reaction or response. Operant conditioning improves the classical aspect by introducing the frequency of the behavior as a suitable mechanism for obtaining desired consequences (National Center for Biotechnology Information, 2001). The learning and conditioning paradigms are useful in integrating adaptive actions, associative learning, and cognition. The techniques can help in inculcating behavioral and operational changes amongst the patients as well as any individuals who require developing a different skill set.
References
National Center for Biotechnology Information. (2001). Health and Behavior: The Interplay of Biological, Behavioral, and Societal Influences. Retrieved May 4, 2016 from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK43749/.
Patrick H. and Williams G. (2012). Self-determination theory: its application to health behavior and complementarity with motivational interviewing. Retrieved May 4, 2016 from http://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1479-5868-9-18.
