People's behavior is largely determined by forces not of their own making

The topic raises the issue of whether people’s behavior is determined by forces of their own making. Behavioral responses are one of the important gauges of one’s personality and indisputably, they are often shaped on the basis of family values inculcated during a person’s childhood. However, such is not always the case, as sometimes people modify their own behavior willingly to surmount the oddities obstructing them from achieving their goal. Thus in my opinion, the statement deserves measured support.

Ii is during a person’s childhood that one learns how to behave and respond to specific situations. To exemplify, one can always take the example of a parent, who teaches his/her children never to be impolite to an elderly, to never speak to a stranger unless spoken to and so on. Such valuable advice often shapes the way a person responds to certain situations, even when they reach adulthood. Consequently, it becomes obvious that such outside factors play an instrumental role in determining the behavior of a person.

Furthermore, one can also consider the effect of social and religious customs on a person’s behavior. These factors, sharing an implicit relationship with family values, many of which they go on to determine, are also responsible to a great extent in modifying an individual’s conduct. Consider the example of Dowry, a tradition, still prevalent in India- forcing the bride’s family to give expensive gifts to the groom during marriage. Many follow this custom, simply to ensure that they remain acceptable in the eyes of society. Thus it becomes evident that societal rules and boundaries restrict an individual’s response to a situation.

However, one must also consider the fact that without certain rules and regulations that bound us, people would demand autonomous rule, which will make maintenance of law and order and arduous task. If traffic signals are not present at crossroads, the probability of accident increases manifold. Thus, such signals must always be installed, and people should strive to abide by them, to assure their own safety.

Finally there are also numerous examples of people who have undergone a sea change in their behavior simply to succeed in their pursuits. One can always give the example of Indra Nooyi, currently the CEO of Pepsico. Hailing from a traditional South Indian family, she underwent a drastic change from her reticent nature to the dynamic persona that she is today, to adapt to the challenges that she faced in her career.

Thus one can conclude that the statement that external events are responsible for changing a person’s behavior is generally correct. However there are examples of people who have modified their attitude and behavior so that they overcome the challenges that lie in path of their path of success.