HOW HARDWIRED IS HUMAN BEHAVIOR?

Presentation By –

Divya Agarwal

Shreya Raj

Simanta Bharali

Sourav Mandal

Tirthankar Shom

HARDWIRED??

Is there a certain pattern of behavior which all or most humans follow?

Can we predict how people will react to various situations?

The answer is - Yes!

EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

Evolution - any change across successive generations in the inherited characteristics of living things

Psychology - the study of the mind, occurring partly via the study of behavior

Evolutionary psychology - study of human behavior as the output of psychological adaptations that evolved to solve recurrent problems in human ancestral environments.

NATURAL SELECTION Key mechanism of evolution by which

gradually the desirable biological traits are passed on to coming generations while non-desirable traits are removed

2 types –Environmental selection – species

having faulty genes do not survive long enough to reproduce

Sexual selection – faulty or weak species are unattractive, hence less likely to reproduce

EVOLUTION OF HUMAN MIND

The first two-legged hominids emerged approximately 4 million years ago

Of the various species, only Homo Sapiens survived

Homo Sapiens had larger brain size as compared to other species which helped them survive the unpredictable environment of Africa’s vast Savanna Plains

Gradually, more traits developed which helped human beings survive as clan – living hunter-foragers.

Invention of agriculture around 10000 years ago.

This allowed people to accumulate wealth, live in large numbers and in greater concentrations

Since then, not much psychological evolution has happened

HOW CAN MANAGERS USE KNOWLEDGE OF EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

Our behavior is still driven by the “circuits” laid down during Stone Age

Certain inborn traits are relevant to people trying to manage companies

Evolutionary psychology sheds light on how human beings think and feel and how they relate to one another

THINKING AND FEELING

EMOTIONS BEFORE REASONS- PEOPLE USE EMOTIONS AS THE

FIRST SCREENFOR ALL INFORMATION RECEIVED

Lesson for managers:o recognize that people hear bad news first and

loudest, even when the majority of the news is good.

o be careful of who is in charge of the organization’s performance appraisal system.

LOSS AVERSION EXCEPT WHEN THREATENED

- AVOID RISKY SITUATIONS WHENFEELING RELATIVELY SECURE AND

TO FIGHT FRANTICALLY WHEN FEELINGTHREATENED

Lesson for managers:• understand that people will resist change except

when they are dissatisfied.• realize that people will act and think creativelywhen given space, safety, and support.

CONFIDENCE BEFORE REALISM- FEEL MORE SELF-CONFIDENT THAN

REALITY JUSTIFIES

Lesson for Managers:routinely question whether they or their

employees are understating the difficulty of work-related challenges.

CLASSIFICATION BEFORE CALCULUS-QUICKLY CLASSIFY PEOPLE, SITUATIONS, AND

EXPERIENCES INTO CATEGORIES– GOOD OR BAD, IN OR OUT–RATHER THAN ENGAGE IN TIME-

CONSUMINGAND NUANCED ANALYSIS

Lesson for Managers:• be careful that the interview process has controls for objective judgment.• realize that mixing disparate functions or teams means having to overcome a deep-rooted human propensity to stereotype strangers.

GOSSIP

Lesson for Managers:• not waste time trying to eradicate rumors. Plug into the grapevine and make sure it stays healthy, not malicious.

EMPATHY AND MIND READING-KEY SKILLS FOR GOSSIP

-PEOPLE ARE PROGRAMMED FOR FRIENDLINESS

Lesson for Managers:•Empathy and friendliness creates positive work atmosphereThese traits can impair our judgement of other people, hence employees (especially interviewers) should be trained heavily to avoid judgements based on their sympathies.