Motivational Theory and Socio-Cultural Theoretical Approaches
Social psychology refers to a discipline that studies human interaction using scientific methods that help determine issues of perception, social influence and general interaction. Examples of sociological theories include motivational theories, social cultural theories among others. In order to explain some of this these theories we will consider the case of looting of shops and homes after a natural disaster. The occurrence of such incidences can be explained by using the motivational and socio-cultural theories in psychology (Haggis, 2009, p.378).
According to the motivational theory, many individuals tend to behave in a given manner depending on the benefit that comes after taking a given action. For instance, people go to work to get salaries and wages that enable them to earn a living. The motivation theory in the same way applies to a situation where there is looting of shops and homes after a natural disaster. In this regard, those who loot have a factor that motivates them into looting. It is through the benefit of gaining from the looted property that their actions are directed. This is further extends when someone has the intention learn something new in life. The behavior of human beings is a product of constant interaction with the environment around them and direct instructions from those considered being in authority. In this respect, human beings learn from the environment around them. They may be motivated to execute a certain crime as identified above if they may have seen someone else in class doing it. Through motivation, the behaviors of a given individual would be influenced.
According to the socio-cultural theoretical approach, human beings are a product of socialization. As such, their interactions and the way of doing things would highly depend on the society they were brought up. The theory has it that we are guided to chose on what is wrong and what is right based on culture. Taylor et al (2006) preclude that “the socio-cultural perspective is useful in understanding in understanding behavior within a particular social or cultural context” (p254). This is useful in explaining the scenario of looting shops in case of a natural disaster which shows moral decay. Were the authorities in the society providing proper guidance, people would not have exhibited such extent of inhumanity (Ahmed et al 2008, p.3015).
Evidently, human beings make decisions or take certain actions based on a number of factors. A case of looting of shops would be well explained well. On this matter, we expect that people in any society to exhibit some form of compassion during such occurrences. However, this normally occurs because of the way people are brought up and the way they conduct themselves during normal situations. Bedrous, (2008) “that one’s beliefs about an object (or phenomenon) lead to the formation of one’s attitudes about that object (either favorable or unfavorable), which in turn lead one to form a set of intentions for his/her behaviors towards that object and finally, to behave in such a manner as he/she had intended to (p4)”.
References
Ahmed Y., Andreas G. & Theocharous, A. (2008). Virtual Social Interactions: Evolutionary, Social Psychological and Technological Perspectives. In Including the Special Issue: Electronic Games and Personalized eLearning Processes, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 24(6):3014-3026
Bedrous, A. (2008). Environmental Concern and Pro-Environmental Behaviors: The Relationship Between Attitudes, Behaviors, and Knowledge. Conference Papers -- American Sociological Association, Annual Meeting, p1-21
Haggis, T. (Jun2009). What Have we Been Thinking of? A Critical Overview of 40 Years of Student Learning Research in Higher Education. Studies in Higher Education, vol. 34(4), p377-390
Taylor, S. E., Peplau, L. A., & Sears, D. O. (2006). Social psychology (12th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
