Behavioral changes in a college student across one week

Human behavior observation that will be made here entails observing a willing participant who is a student at a local college. The observation will run through five days with each observation span lasting 30 minutes from 9:00 PM which is the time that the college library closes and 9:30 PM which is the regular time that the participating student indicated that he usually sleep. This timing was deemed appropriate since it would not significantly interfere with the academic activities of the student as the behavior observation exercise was meant to uphold the rights of the student and the ethics necessary. The aim of the observation will be to see if there are any behavioral changes in the participant across the week from Monday through to Friday and to locate the possible causes of these behavioral changes.

The college is located away from any major town and majority of the students live within the student housing units where they interact freely and frequently. There are a number of degrees that are offered in the college, from the science-based to the social sciences hence a mixture of students pursuing different degrees. The college is based on liberal principles and there is no specific religion or denomination that enforces its principles on the students studying in the college or occupying their housing units. Within the campus, there are open bars and fast food joints where students can have their meals and refreshments. The common practice therein is that students have a roommate that they live with during their studies, often a friend.

Day 1 (Monday 9:00pm)

The student arrived at his hostel room, looking tired and worn out, spent ten minutes checking through his schedule for the following day. He made a call to his parents, shared with them how his day was and the plans he had for the next day. He then sorted out his clothes that he would use for the next day and headed into his bed without even waiting for his roommate to arrive. Notably he read his bible and said a prayer before getting to his bed.

Day 2 (Tuesday 9:00 PM)

The student arrived at his room with three other friends, they casually chatted about the captivities that were in place for them the following day. The participant never seemed to bother about time as was the case on Monday. He confirmed that his Wednesday classes commenced from11:00 am and he had handled all his class related work for the following day. He made a phone call to his parents to know their whereabouts and those of the siblings. The friends settled to watch television and the observation time elapsed when they were still glued to the screen.

Day 3 (Wednesday 9:00 PM)

The participant never arrived in his room as was the case the previous two days once he left the library. This prompted a curious wait but 20 minutes into the wait, the participant was courteous enough to call and excuse himself. He indicated that he was going to come back to the room quite late and that he had gone out with friends to watch a movie. He indicated that the following day he never had any classes and that he did not go to the library that evening. His reason for going out of the college to watch a movie was that his roommate had suggested and pushed him into submission so he obliged and they would be back with him. The observation of the day was made through phone and the activities documented.

Day 4 (Thursday 9:00 PM)

The participant arrived in his hostel soon after leaving the library and busied himself with the preparation for the material that he would use for the following day early class. He set aside the clothes that he would use for the following day. He counter checked his assignments to ensure they were all ready for presentation the following day. The participant then called his parents for a short talk on his progress. He soon after that headed to his bed, read his bible, said a prayer and slept without having enquired anything of the roommate who was in the room busy on his phone. The participant slept within 20 minutes of arriving in the room and the observation ended at that.

Conclusions

From the behavior of the participant, it is evident that he had a religious upbringing at home and that his parents valued reading of the bible and prayers before sleeping each evening. He also displayed a character of deep attachment to the family which can be said to emanate from the way he was brought up as well, with close family ties, hence the compulsion he feels each evening to make a call to his parents before he sleeps. From these above behaviors, it is apparent that there is the environment that the participant grew up in and the displayed behavior herein. According to the behavioral learning theory, the environment has an impact on the overt behavior (Verial D., 2014). The participant grew up in a religious environment where the behavior was countered around the religious guidelines hence the formed behavior that had lasted impact pf reading the Bible and praying each day before he sept.

The reading of the bible and daily prayer can also be associated with the repeated behavior that he was subjected to trough his young age. This indicates the operant conditioning where the desired behavior is reinforced through repetition of the behavior over the months and years hence it becomes part of the individual (McLeod S., 2007). The behavior of the participant was also seen to be largely shaped by the expected consequences of the behavior there after. He showed concern for his academic work especially if the following day he was to meet the professor and hand in his work. He practiced diligence in handling his work and himself in readiness for the following day in an early class as opposed to the time when he knew that the following day was a free day. This indicated that when he was aware of the possible consequences of getting late for class or not handing in his work, the diligent and disciplined behavior was reinforced by the possible punishment. When he knew that the following day was a free day that did not require him attending any class, he behaved in carefree manner and even went to movies, knowing that there was no possibility of punishment. This goes in line with the B.F. Skinner operant conditioning theory where punishers (bad grades) and reinforces (good grades and certificates) acted to shape the behavior of the individual student.

The other factor is the effect of environment on the behavior of an individual as was manifested in the participant. The college environment provided for a Friday atmosphere where everyone was laid back and socialization and interaction was at the peak. This was seen from the number of friends that freely hang out with the participant in his room not caring about time. This changed the behavior of the participant from the reserved religious individual throughout the week, one who always called the parents to know their where bouts, to one who never cared much about the social and religious boundaries. This extensive socializing seems to be the every week norm come Fridays. This is enough proof that the social environment has significant impact on the behavior of an individual and shapes their behavior since the respondent cannot behave the same on a Friday with his parents at home (National Academy of Sciences, 2011).