LITERATURE REVIEW
2.3 Concepts, Causes and Policies in the Study of Psycho-behavioral Science
2.3.2 Interactionism Model: Big Concept of Research Framework
According to the study about the causes of behavior human, many scholars especially in the United States proposed the concept that behavior human derived from lots of important causes in various aspects. Then, the essential cause was a cause of psychological trait which is based on many theories in trait approach and
situational factors derived from many theories in behavioral approach which are based on many theories in the contingency approach concept. Thereby, the causes of each dimension consist of various important causes. From this basic idea, it generated the conclusion of concept that was considered as a big concept in the study about the causes of individual behavior and was called as an interactionism model (Endler &
Magnusson, 1976 Cited in (Bhanthumnavin, 2007); Tett & Burnett, 2003; Walsh, Craik, & Price, 2000).
A major scholar of psycho-behavioural science in Thailand is Duangduen Bhanthumnavin who wrote the content about interactionism model and application of this theoretical model in various attribute. As shown in the figure 2.9, it can adapt the variables or consistent factors within the resulting box which has been blank as symbolic ( - ) if it finds that those factors exist under causal group of human behaviours’ causes. Furthermore, Duchduen Bhanthumnavin (1998, 2005) mentioned that interactionism model is a conceptual framework about the category of causal variables in the study of human behaviours’ causes. Therefore, it summarizes that the causes of human behaviours can be divided into 4 groups including
Figure 2.11 Interactionalism Model Current situation
Provide behavior -
Inhibit behavior -
Psychological traits -
- - -
Psychological states
-Attitude toward behavior -
- -
BEHAVIOR Mechanical
Interaction
Organismic Interaction
Source: Duchduen Bhanthumnavin (1998, 2007); Endler and Magnusson (1976); Tett and Burnett (2003); Walsh et al. (2000)
Group 1 – Situational factors
Things surrounding people include living things such as parents, instructors, friends, managers and others or non-living things such as climate, temperature and so on. These two things have an influence on the individual performance and always exist in the characteristics that people have perceived about things surrounding them, interpreted and expressed their behaviors in order to interact with those things. For instance, the perception of social supports derived from peers surrounding them when peers expressed how to help and support, how much it uses and how frequency. Then, this expression is considered as a situation that people perceive and then interpret that how they receive the social supports. After that, people will express other behaviors that result in gaining the social supports from peers. Obviously, these situations might be in two points. For the first point, the situations that facilitate to generate a desired behavior are the surrounding things that support and promote one behavior such as the situation that receives a good teaching as supportive and reasonable, having many appropriate models, opening to receive lots of useful information and so on. For the second point, the situations that prevent the behavior are considered as a surrounding thing that people obstruct and the obstacles do not allow people to express one behavior such as the situation near provocative locations, having a heavy workload and so on.
The theory in the field of psycho-behavioral science mentioned about the cause of individual behavior derived from the situation surrounding individuals. Then, there are many theories about popular situations in psychology. For example, the theory of reinforcement by Skinner was demonstrated that providing a reward or punishment can change an animal and individual behavior. Additionally, the social learning theory of Bandura and Walters (1977 Cited in (Bhanthumnavin, 2007)) mentioned about the influence of model to the performance of individual behavior and so on. In addition, there are other theories and principles about the situations that might be the cause of individual behavior such as social supports, organizational supports and others.
Group 2 – Factors of psychological traits
The psychological traits were caused by the accumulation since child and followed the individuals from one situation. Then, it was always considered as psychological traits that are based from a social training of important social institutes such as family, school, religion and others. In addition, the psychological trait that were mostly studied was an intelligence. Also, the theory that related with the intelligent development and is still important in many fields is the theory of intelligent development by Piaget (1966). At present, psychological scholars are studying about psychological traits and personality until they can propose lots of other theories including 5 important personalities or Big Five of P. T. Barrett, Petrides, Eysenck, and Eysenck (1998); Eysenck and Eysenck (1985), the motivation theory of McClelland (1963), the theory of self-efficacy of Bandura (1986a), the theory of moral development of Kohlberg (1969), the theory of psychosocial development of Erikson (1994) and so on.
Group 3 – Factors from the interactions between psychological traits and situation
The third factor based on interactionism model was caused by co-influences between psychological traits of individuals and situations that people are suffering.
Also, it is called “Mechanical interaction” such as a risk behavior of vehicle accidents might be derived from the interactions between psychological traits and situation. In addition, a driver who has future-oriented style and less self-control while driving will lead to a careless driving as well as the road conditions that were considered as external situation and slippery because of rain will lead to the accidents easily. The influences of this psychological traits and situation can be seen from statistical analysis such as two-way analysis of variance (or called as a factorial analysis) or path analysis (Duchduen Bhanthumnavin, 2007).
Group 4 – Factors of psychological states
This last factor was considered as one kind of psychological trait and this psychological traits are dynamic and have many quantitative and/or qualitative transformations. This is due to the fact that it is the results of current situation and psychological trait of individuals that are associated with the behaviors closely. The changed psychological traits based on this situation are called as “psychological
states” including the stress in one matter. It is obvious that students or university students will be stress in their studies that have been changed periodically. At the beginning of semester, the students have less anxiety about their learnings. However, when approaching the examinations, the educational stress will increase more and might decrease when the examinations are done. Nevertheless, the stress in education might increase during the announcement of examination result. Then, people who are suffering in the same situation might have different psychological states because it is depended on the background of related psychological states such as stressful habits of individuals. In addition, the other important psychological state is the attitude to the behaviors that was studied by a large number of researcher and always found that individual attitudes have very related with their behaviors (Duchduen Bhanthumnavin, 2007).
According to the important theory of psycho-behavioral science, there are various theories that proposed the theories in terms of interactionism model. Also, it mentioned about the proposal of behavioral causes or productivity which are mental and situational factors. For the essential theory of social psychology such as the theory of reasoned action by Ajzen and Fishbein (1980), it proposed that the cause which is closed to the behaviors was the intention. Additionally, the predictor of intention was attitude toward the behavior as well as subjective norm and theory of planned behavior that are developed by the theory of reasoned action.
The theory of planned behavior is popular to propose the cause of behavior or productivities in terms of mental and situational factors. This would mean that this theory was analyzed and synthesized by Icek Ajzen from the combination of theory of reasoned action and many continuous studies (Ajzen, 1985, 1991, 2002, 2011; Ajzen
& Driver, 1991, 1992; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980, 2005; Ajzen & Madden, 1986;
Schifter & Ajzen, 1985). The theory of reasoned action still has the limitations in the prediction of other social behaviors. Then, these people cannot control their behaviors that are generated from the behavioral intentions perfectly. Moreover, the behavioral intentions have been assumed to be a motivative factor that has an influence on individual behaviors. Therefore, the behavioral intentions are considered as a predictor to foresee that the behaviors will happen or not. In conclusion, the more people have the behavioral intentions, the more people attempt to perform or express
their behaviors (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980). In the fact, it does not have only the intentions that people express or implement their behaviors because the actions of various behaviors to reach the achievement are necessary to depend on other factors except motivative factor, other resources and opportunities such as time management skill, capability, money, cooperation from other people and so on.
According to the theory of planned behavior, Ajzen explained that the actions of many behaviors of that person will be guided through 3 beliefs including the behavioral belief that will have an influence on attitude toward the behavior, the normative belief that will have an influence on subjective norm and the ability control belief that will have an influence on perceived behavioral control. Moreover, this theory also proposed the variables of perceived behavioral control to be an intent indicator that will perform or express the behaviors and a behavioral indicator. From empirical researches in several topics, it demonstrated that the measurement or evaluation of perceived behavioral control can foresee the behavioral intentions better than the measurement of attitude toward the behavior and subjective norm (Ajzen &
Madden, 1986; Ajzen & Schifter, 1985; Gärling & Fujii, 2002; Netemeyer, Burton, &
Johnston, 1991).
In 2002, the study of Ajzen about “ Behavioral Intervention Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior” (Ajzen, 2002 Cited in (Pichayathadapong, 2005)) explained about the additional variables of actual behavioral control that are the variable which has influence on perceived behavioral control directly without the behavioral intention. Additionally, Ajzen mentioned that a person who perceived his/her own abilities to highly control other behaviors will trend to have those high behavioral intentions and lead a person to have tolerances, efforts and perseverance in high behavioral expression as well. In conclusion, the achievement of performing behaviors will depend on a behavioral intentions, perceived behavioral control and levels of actual behavioral control. As mentioned earlier, the theory of planned behavior by Ajzen in 2002 has differentiated with the theory of reasoned action that Ajzen discovered this theory along with Fishbein in 1975. Then, the theory of planned behavior are suitable to explain and predict the behaviors that are unable to complete more requirements (Ajzen, 2002).