Most human behaviour is not based on logic

I often had conversations with clients who were perplexed about how someone in their lives could behave the way they were behaving, and we usually ended up reflecting on how human behaviour is rarely based on logic or being rational. They could then stop struggling with trying to make logical sense of something that was not rational.

When Psychology entered the realm of science, thinking became skewed towards believing that human behaviour could be regulated and that causes and effects could be identified. This led to a proliferation of theories, but remember that theories are not facts and are subject to change as new knowledge emerges (and knowledge itself is something that keeps evolving).

A metaphor

If we were to liken human behaviour to a stream of water flowing through an erosion channel, we can see that a smooth pathway is rarely left behind, and we cannot predict ahead exactly what the next flow of water will do to the channel. However erosion channels can be awesome and mesmerising and can hold our attention, as can the struggle to understand some people’s behaviour (and how it impacts on us).

There are examples of different types of erosion channels in the photos accompanying this post.

Theories

Some of the theories that can help us understand illogical human behaviour include:

• Ego defence mechanisms -- things like projection, rationalisation, introjection, denial, intellectualisation etc.

          Here is a good chart that lists the types of defences and gives examples:
          http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/5097/5219347/tools/table1-2.pdf

• Power theories -- an interesting article on power can be found on the following link:

          http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejsp.244/pdf

• Political theories -- this relates to ideologies and the distribution of power and resources, as well as government. In reality, politics is rarely based on rational behaviour.

• Emotions -- behaviour resulting from emotions is often not logical. An outline of four theories of emotion can be found here:

          http://webspace.ship.edu/tosato/emotion.htm

• Game playing/ manipulation -- some behaviour is fuelled by tactics that are aimed at controlling others

• Fear and anxiety -- these can cause people to act in ways that are not rational, but this becomes more complicated when the fears and anxieties are not overtly apparent to others. 

• Economic rationalism -- in workplaces, many decisions are made based on cost savings, but this is often covered up with other explanations and, if we try to debate or work with these other explanations, we often get nowhere.

What other theories could be added?

Remember: if the behaviour of others is not based on logic, then we need to try to not take it personally.

In the words of Francisco Manoel da Silva; I can not hear what you are saying, for the thunder that you are.