WHY PEOPLE BEHAVE THE WAY THEY DO

Why People Behave the way they do

Why People Behave the way they do

Human behaviour is largely constrained by the rules that govern particular situations and environments. We are constantly obliged to behave in a particular way, or to avoid certain behaviours. These rules may be formal regulations such as laws, or they may be informal rules of 'social etiquette', which are not written down but are implicit within the situation itself.

'Moral' rules exist to safeguard our own welfare, and the welfare and the rights of other people around us, whereas others, 'social-conventional' rules, merely exist in order that our system can continue to operate with as little conflict as possible. This fundamental distinction concerns the perceived consequences of rule violations for other people; why does a particular rule exist? We must differentiate here between moral rules and social-conventional rules (eg: Smetana, 1981). Transgressions of moral rules result in direct infringements of people's rights and welfare. For example, we have formal laws forbidding assault and theft, and informal rules about not cheating on one's partner or shouting unwarranted verbal insults. Social-conventional transgressions are considered to be less serious. They violate the arbitrary and agreed-upon conventions that co-ordinate the behaviour of individuals within social systems; for example, failing to make a tax return, TV licence evasion or talking to yourself in public places. There is strong evidence (eg: Smetana, 1985) that children are able to distinguish between these types of transgression from an early age and throughout early adulthood, and that moral transgressions are considered far more serious than infringements of social-conventional rules.

In general, moral transgressions trigger one of the 'moral emotions'; guilt, shame, remorse or empathy (eg: Blair, 1995). These emotions act as internal 'cues' to prevent future transgressions. Social-conventional transgressions do not directly initiate these ...