10.1 What Is Behavior?
Ardene Niemer, M.Ed.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, behavior is a noun, and used to describe “the way in which someone conducts oneself or behaves,” “the manner of conducting oneself,” as in “anything that an organism (like a child) does involving action and response to stimulation,” and “the response of an individual, group, or species to its environment,” and finally, “the way in which something functions or operates” (2024).
In Chapter 4, temperament was discussed. It is a child’s regular way of reacting with their environment, and it is a developmental characteristic that intersects social, emotional, and physical development. Because it has genetic underpinnings, behavior includes not only the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, but especially how one acts or interacts toward others. Likewise, behavior is the way a person acts in response to a particular situation. Behavior has two purposes:
- to get something or
- to avoid something
Children learn all behaviors. They learn from watching others and from the reactions they get in response to behavior. As behavior is learned, it can also be unlearned. When we stop and ask the question, “Why is this behavior occurring?” we can identify the opportunity to teach new, more appropriate behaviors as replacement.
All behavior is communication. This communication happens every moment of every day. This important function is a signal that a child may not have the words or skills to tell you what they need, so they communicate with behavior (Morin, n.d.). Sometimes a child does not even know what they need! When we understand and acknowledge this communication that is the basis of unwanted behavior, or what might be called misbehavior, we can work to change that communication into a form that is socially acceptable, safe, and healthy.
Behavior is observable. It is what we see and what we can hear, such as a child throwing a block, standing up, speaking, whispering, yelling, or arguing with a classmate. On the reverse side, behavior is how a feeling is expressed, not what the child is feeling. An example of expressing a feeling is that a child may show anger by rolling her eyes, making a face, yelling, or crossing his arms, and turning away from the adult. These are observable actions and are more descriptive than just stating that the child looks anxious.
Behavior is measurable. This means that the early care and education professional can define and describe the behavior in objective, concrete, fact-based terms. The adult can easily identify the behavior when it occurs, including when the behavior begins, ends, and how often it occurs. An example of this is taken from circle time and a child who is “interrupting all the time”. This behavior is not measurable because it is not specific. However, stating that “Holly yells, ‘teacher!’ four times during circle time” is specific, and we can measure and track the data each day at circle time. Using this operational