An individual cannot physically control their behavior for 24 hours. Half of the reactions and actions have their own triggers and are performed automatically. In general, people tend to use specific patterns of behavior as they interact with the outside world. Instead of utilizing new ways to respond to a particular phenomenon every time, it is easier for an individual to use an already-known model. This applies to all patterns, including thinking, verbal communication, behavior, and many others. Patterns of behavior are formed in the process of learning, education, and observation. The conducted research determines the common patterns of social behaviors based on the observation of a group of people.
The observation procedure was conducted at a local coffee shop. The first reason for choosing this location is the quiet setting. In order to record every moment and determine specific behavioral patterns, it was of utmost importance not to get distracted by the outside noise. The second reason for choosing this place was the comfortable atmosphere. As an observant, I wanted the participants to feel comfortable and act as usual without experiencing tension or stress. Overall, there were five participants in the observation procedure whom I chose due to the ambiguity of personalities. The gathering lasted for two hours, during which I managed to observe several patterns of behavior common in this group.
In the beginning, the most striking common behavioral patterns I noticed were smiling and hugging as a way of greeting each other. This could also be referred to as cultural universals in all cultures. According to OpenStax (2015, p.53), cultural universals are “patterns or traits that are globally common to all societies.” Therefore, greeting individuals with handshakes, smiling, and hugging is a common patterns in behaviors.
In the following paragraphs, I will focus on the particular behavioral patterns of each participant. When it comes to the first participant, the first common pattern I noticed was holding the door for others to enter. After greeting everyone, the first observant held the door for the rest of the group. The fifth participant preferred to listen rather than talk. However, the fifth participant showed a few interesting behavioral patterns, unlike the first participant. For example, they continuously fidgeted and tapped their foot. In the moments when the fifth individual was talking, they rarely maintained eye contact and tended to touch their hair.
As for the second participant, they were always looking at their phone. Regardless of whether or not they received notifications, they tapped on their phone screen or kept the phone in their hands, playing with it during the conversations. Additionally, while participating in the discussion, they tended to interrupt the speaker and talk about their opinions and experiences. In situations when this person was unable to add something, they used references, which is common in mainstream society. These kinds of references can be tied to popular culture or “the pattern of cultural experiences and attitudes that exist in mainstream society” (OpenStax, 2015, p.62). As a way to make Smalltalk, this individual talked about TikTok and TV shows such as Euphoria.
The third participant is known for their cheerful nature and laughed more than others during the gathering. For example, this individual laughed at the jokes of other participants and also laughed at the child who tripped in the coffee shop. Moreover, it is worth mentioning that whenever this person laughed, they tended to touch others, for example, their arms or shoulders. This could indicate that the person is very tactile, and touching them is a type of bonding experience.
The fourth participant was aligning the objects on the table. This individual is known for their perfectionist nature and, therefore, tries to fix everything, including the position of the objects or wiping the table with a napkin. This person is also in a relationship with the third participant. As a result, it was obvious that the fifth individual was impacted by their significant other. According to OpenStax (2015, p.13), significant others are those “who influence our behavior and impact our life.” Therefore, through constant interaction with their partner, the fourth participant not only acquired the same behavioral pattern as touching others while laughing but also touching others while maintaining the conversation.
Hence, behavioral patterns can be recognized as models of human behaviors which occur naturally. The given work concentrated on the behavioral patterns of a group of friends. For this purpose, a local coffee shop was chosen as a preferred place for observation. As a result of this observation procedure, each participant showed different patterns. While the only common pattern everybody shared was the way of greeting, which included hugging and smiling, the rest of the patterns depended on the personality of a participant. In this way, participants one and five were mostly quiet, though participant five was fidgeting. Participant two was constantly touching their phone and interrupting others. Participants three and four tended to touch other participants while talking or laughing and the latter individual also tended to align the objects on the table.
Reference
OpenStax. (2015). Introduction to Sociology 2e. Houston, TX: OpenStax. Web.