In business, we often find your employees in a situation that we cannot understand. Don’t be afraid. We are not going into experimental theories, but inside the personality, there are few rules that govern your brain, your decision, and your behavior.
How can fortune tellers predict the future, and why are we seeing horror scenarios when we look at the broken windows? Man’s behavior can be assumed, and scientists have decided to give you a few theories that you can use to guess people. For behavior is not at all a matter of chance, as it might seem.
Theory of broken windows
The theory of broken windows was first applied by two American sociologists L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson. Their aim was to find out why in the 1980s, crime suddenly began to increase in America. It has been shown that offenses, such as graphite and spilled rubbish, have had an impact on the overall level of crime.
Let’s take an example, imagine that you are walking around a building with one broken window. You assume that nobody seems to care about the building and there is no one to repair the window and collect the mess. Soon, therefore, more windows will be broken, because people will assume that whatever offense they make, no one will be prosecuted for it, and from small offenses, it is easy to move to more serious ones. Such rules apply not only in the street but everywhere, for example in workplaces, offices or homes, when one feels that no one can punish him.
The theory of learned powerlessness
Learned helplessness is a phenomenon where an individual does nothing to get out of a difficult and unpleasant situation, even though the possibility exists. Why learned? Because no one is born with the innate idea that there is no point in trying to remedy his situation. Usually, we will learn helplessness when we have experienced a lot of unpleasantness in the past and have failed many times. People begin to believe that the situation and its change do not depend on them.
For example, a person who has failed twice in university entrance examinations lives in a bad marriage, has a job he does not like and earns little money in. The solution is seemingly simple, divorce, prepare properly for the exam and give notice at work. But many people say that it is not that simple and they do nothing. How to get rid of the learned powerlessness? First, change your expectations, even the negative ones. Do not be afraid of a situation that has not yet occurred. Second, get used to the fact that nothing is perfect, even you. And thirdly, just as there is learned powerlessness, there is a learned optimism.
Theory of tunnel perception of reality
This theory claims that everyone perceives reality through a filter of personal experiences. The tunnel through which we perceive reality is influenced by upbringing, education, and everything we have ever achieved and failed. Therefore, everyone responds differently to the same thing. For example, if three people look at Mona Lisa, one sees a mysterious smile, the other a mathematical perfection, and the third simply a woman without an eyebrow. Neither is wrong because it is their way of perception. There is no one universal truth, everyone has their own version.
Ježek’s dilemma
Man is a social creature, so we usually stay in the company of other people, our family, friends and others who find ourselves in our lives. But in every relationship, it sometimes creaks and causes us pain. Sometimes the differences become insurmountable and people move away from each other. However, sometimes we cannot say and we will approach again, even if we know it will hurt again. For example, when the hedgehog is cold, they snuggle to one another, but they start stabbing each other and so they have to leave, but they are cold again and so come back again. It is ideal to be together and share human warmth, but at the same time to have enough space to avoid harm.
Foot in the door
Imagine someone asking you a little favor. Over time, however, favors become unbearable, but you cannot say no. This is a trick that is often used in marketing and is called the “foot in the door”. For example, if your operator offers you a month of service for free, it is more difficult to refuse to extend the service after a month for a fee than at the beginning, so many people inadvertently get trapped.
The theory of changing normality
It is said that one gets used to everything, and it really is true if the changes happen slowly, gradually. Note, for example, that we enjoy ourselves happily in smog-infested cities because the change happened slowly, smog was not created day by day. This theory provides answers to many questions, such as why the Germans tolerated Nazism or why people live in an unhappy marriage.
Theory of anonymous authority
This theory shows how easy it is to manipulate people with a few magic words. Suffice it to say “experts say” or “scientists have shown that”. We perceive such statements as true without verifying their truthfulness. We simply rely on the fact that anonymous authority, in this case, scientists, is right. For example, note how easy it is to believe that medicines are really effective if we see somewhere that their effectiveness has been confirmed by 90% of doctors. Whatever your situation, ask for evidence and not be fooled by tricky claims.
Why we believe prophecies
Sometimes the prophecies come true, but there is no magic. Fraudsters simply use the paradox that what we believe usually happens. For example, when a fortune-teller tells a man that he will end up in a hospital in a day or two, he walks out of the fortune-teller said, bowing his head, wondering what illness he might get to the hospital. He fails to notice that he has stepped on the ice and, interested in grim thoughts, slips, breaks his leg, and actually gets to the hospital. When we think of prophecies, we create the reality of ourselves, by which we try to confirm their truth.
Duckling syndrome
When a duckling hatches, imprinting occurs and the duckling begins to consider the first moving object it sees as its mother. However, something similar happens not only in ducks but also in humans. For example, when we find ourselves in a new environment, we usually fix ourselves on the first thing we see and consider it the best and most beautiful. It is difficult to decide to try new things and it is almost impossible to admit that they can be even better a little further. For example, when an old man gets a touch phone in his hand, he complains that the previous ones were better. Or when a new version of the messenger comes out, we swear at the new design and say that the previous one was better.