Behavior is actually everything we do. Everything we do on our own, but also everything we do in response to what is happening around us. This means that behavior consists of everything we do, but also, for example, what we think. There are actually two types of behavior, conscious and unconscious behavior
Two types of behavior
Our behavior therefore consists of conscious and unconscious behavior, but which is which? Researchers have shown that conscious behavior only has a 5% share of total behavior. The other 95% therefore consists of unconscious behavior
Conscious behavior
But a small part of our behavior is planned, consciously. This is the behavior we think about first. This means that this behavior was planned in advance, so we know what we want to do and then we do it, if we succeed in doing what we intended.
Conscious behavior is often precisely that behavior that we do not often exhibit, it often concerns important questions and choices that are important to us. Making a conscious choice involves going through a number of steps. We first check whether the behavior we plan to perform is actually useful. If this turns out to be the case, we think about what other people would think of that behavior. Finally, we wonder if it is even possible for ourselves to perform this behavior.
Unconscious behavior
The other 95% therefore consists of unconscious behavior. This is behavior that we perform without thinking about it. An extreme example is working at a supermarket. You can work busy all day in a supermarket, but if you wonder after that day what exactly you did, you often can’t remember it clearly anymore. You have worked fully automatically all day and you can simply have delivered good work.
Unconscious behavior consists of a person’s daily habits, how he or she interacts with someone else. This unconscious behavior therefore largely determines how you are as a person and how you are experienced by others.