People's behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the statement and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and suppo

Human behaviors are interesting in that they can either be spontaneous or driven by external forces. Opinions vary greatly regarding the importance of these factors. The statement suggests that our behaviors are largely determined by external forces rather than our own qualities. While it may be true that external forces can greatly shape our behavior, from my perspective, our own making also plays a role that cannot be overlooked. What is more, since external and internal forces have distinct natures and mechanisms to affect human behaviors, any attempt to claim one is more influential than the other is overly simplistic.

External forces can play a critical role in regulating human behavior, because human beings are social animals and respond to external stimuli. Therefore, social norms determine to a large extent what can be or cannot be done. The reason why humans are a social species can be traced back to ancient times, when individuals were vulnerable to nature’s elements. When they act collectively, however, humans became much stronger which increased their chances of survival substantially. Over time, being a member of a group or a tribe became a survival advantage, with banishment equally demise. In this sense, one would face the risk of perishing if he/she defied social norms. Even though modern tools have drastically increased the odds of survival, we are still emotionally attached to a society, the modern tribe we belong to, and yearn for social recognition. Some of our basic motivations, such as becoming beautiful, wealthy, powerful, or intelligent, can be explained by this desire. This yearning also prevents us from behaving outside of socially acceptable norms.

That being said, I must point out that human beings are mentally capable of making choices of their own will and physically capable of executing these choices. This is particularly true when our choices involve with little, if any, interaction with the external environment. In this case, our behaviors do not conflict with societal guidelines. If one wants to pick up a restaurant in the Midtown of New York City, for example, there are many choices at his or her disposal: French, Asian, Spanish, Mexican, and so on. This choice is not determined by the external forces, but rather depends on one’s own decisions. Examples like this suggests that when our behaviors have nothing to do with the social environment, we can and will make choices that reflect our own wills.

From the discussion above, it is clear that both external and internal forces are capable of determining human behaviors, and in most of time we cannot disregard either’s influence. But neither can we compare their importance. In some cases, external forces requires what needs to be done we ultimately decide how to behave while adhering to social norms. For instance, a scientist will be forced to secure funding if his or her laboratory faces financial hardship. Though this necessity is solely determined by external forces, how best to secure the funds is at the scientist’s discretion: he or she could seek federal support or form a collaborative relationship with industry. Either way, his or her decision is not influenced by external forces. How external and internal forces can jointly shape human behavior has been demonstrated from different perspectives in this response. External forces offer us challenges and stipulate rules which must be followed by solutions are based on internal forces. This makes it difficult to argue that external forces play a more significant role in determining people’s behaviors.

To sum up, I have demonstrated that both internal and external forces are capable of determining human behaviors. Given the different mechanisms through which external and internal forces shape how we behave, conclusions drawn from a hasty comparison would certainly be oversimplified.