Types of Behavior: Classifications and Examples in Psychology

Understanding the different types of behavior is crucial to analyzing how humans react in various situations. A human behavior study identifies four basic personality types, but psychologists classify actions into distinct categories like molecular, overt, and covert behaviors. This article breaks down these classifications and their psychological underpinnings.

Types of human behavior:

• Molecular Behavior: Unexpected actions without thinking (e.g., blinking).
• Overt Behavior: Visible actions (e.g., eating, cycling).
• Covert Behavior: Internal actions (e.g., thinking).
• Voluntary/Involuntary: Conscious vs. automatic responses.

What is Human Behavior?

According to one definition; “behavior can be defined as the actions or reactions of a person in response to external or internal stimulus situation.” To understand the behavior of a person we have to understand what that person will do if something happens.

Approving or disapproving human behavior is known as evaluating behavior. Many of us evaluate others based on their actions and reactions to different stimuli. Behavior is mostly influenced by the nature of the person and the nature of the situation.

Classifications of Human Behavior

Based on the way people act or behave in different situations and in response to different stimuli, human behavior can be divided into different types. Let’s discuss below some known and important types of human behavior.

Here are the common types of behaviors human beings can have:

1. Molecular and Moral Behavior

Molecular Behavior: It is an unexpected behavior that occurs without thinking. One example is suddenly closing eyes when something is about to this the eyes.

Moler Behavior: Unlike molecular behavior, this type of behavior occurs after thinking. For example, a person changes the way when she or he sees a harmful thing.

2. Overt & Covert Behavior

Overt Behavior: It is a visible type of behavior that can occur outside of human beings. Eating food, riding on a bicycle, and playing football are some examples.

Covert Behavior: Unlike overt behavior, this type of behavior is not visible. Thinking is a good example of covert behavior because no one can see us thinking.

3. Voluntary and Involuntary Behavior

Voluntary Behavior: It is a type of behavior that depends on human want. We can characterize walking, speaking, and writing as voluntary behaviors.

Involuntary Behavior: Unlike voluntary behavior, this type occurs naturally and without thinking. Breathing air is a perfect example of involuntary behavior.

4 Popular Types of Personalities

An important research study in human behavior has classified human personality into four types –‘optimistic’, ‘pessimistic’, ‘trusting’, and ‘envious’.Unfortunately, envious is the most common type. According to experts, more than 90% of individuals can be classified under these categories. There seems to be some balance in different personality types.

1. Optimistic:

About 20% of the people living in this world are believed to have this personality. An optimistic person stays hopeful in all situations and keeps trying no matter how hard circumstances get. Furthermore, these people can be pessimistic in some situations.

2. Pessimistic:

There seems to be some balance in different personality types. About 20% of people in the world are estimated to have this personality. A pessimistic person may doubt everything around his or her. Moreover, these people can be optimistic in some situations.

3. Trusting:

About 20% of the people living in this world are believed to have this personality. One of the major traits of trusting people is to trust others. These people do not need a major reason to believe others. There are situations when these people may not trust people.

4. Envious:

The number of people having this kind of personality varies from society to society. According to research we are discussing here, about 30% of people in the world are estimated to have this personality. Envious people are not always like this; they can be supportive as well.

It is important to mention that a single person may become optimistic, pessimistic, envious, and trusting. It is due to the reason that these traits exist in all human beings. The people who are able to easily trust others are known as trusting so on and so forth.

Consider contacting a mental health expert if you want to overcome a mental problem.

Understanding Human Behavior: The Bottom Line

This article discussed different types of human behavior according to psychologists. Now you know different types of human behavior. This topic might have helped you understand what human behavior is and how we can understand it.

In the end, we can say that understanding human behavior can help us handle different people effectively. A best psychiatrist or psychologist know this very well. You may have more question about this topic and a psychologist or psychiatrists can help you.