Explanation: preferences, motivations, and skills related to the behavior; (b) opportunities or constraints that make the behavior easier or more difficult to perform; and (c) incentives or disincentives that encourage or discourage the desired behavior relative to competing activities. Each of these factors is discussed in turn in this section. Much of the discussion is based on self-reported survey data and focus groups. Relative to observational surveys, self-reported data often provide unreliable estimates because of problems with recall or the well-established tendency of survey respondents to give socially desirable rather than completely truthful answers (see Chapter 2). Results from focus groups cannot be generalized to the population at large. Nevertheless, self-reports and focus groups are the only way to obtain insight into attitudes and motivations that help explain behavior. This type of information is particularly important because the determinants of physical activity behavior are not well understood.
To describe- Psychology aims to understand the behavior of others and gather information about the way the brain works in order to better serve humanity.By observing different human behaviours, psychologists determine what is normal and healthy and what is unhealthy. Psychology analyzes the thoughts, feelings, actions and goals of people through the help of various case studies, observations and surveys.
To Explain- In order to explain a behaviour, psychologists must conduct experiments to ensure that the behaviour is not an anomaly. If there’s only one person (or animal) exhibiting this behavior, it certainly isn’t a cultural norm.
To Predict- Based on past observed behavior, a psychologist aims to predict how that behavior will appear again in the future and if other people will exhibit the same behavior.
To Control- It meant that teachers could take control of their classroom easier, parents could teach their children to exhibit good behaviour, and manipulative older siblings could control the behaviours of their younger siblings. In other areas of psychology, experiments are used to train new employees faster, increase the success of students and reduce drug addiction.
