Human behavior in criminal justice organizations - Essay Example

Operating System al Affiliation) Human Behavior in Criminal Justice Introduction The concept of human behavior asa dimension of study is very imperative in myriad ways; however, there are specific facets of human behavior that have been recognized as playing crucial roles in criminal justice systems. In relation to criminal organizations, the efficiency as well as the strength of human behavior is evident in the diverse leadership dimensions. Human behavior in criminal justice systems specifically facilitates planning, controlling, leading together with organizing. Sociologists and psychologist have provided various meanings of human behaviors; however, in this discussion the most comprehensive meaning of human behavior has been described as in: A collection of the various human characteristics exhibited and are usually affected by societal facets like culture, authority, values and ethics. Other facets that may have an influence on human behavior are inclusive of attitude, emotions as well as skills and knowledge. Cognitive Dissonance Theory The concept of cognitive dissonance theory posits that, there exist common predispositions among humans to acquire aspects of consistency in issues ascribed to their cognitive processes; this involves ideologies, beliefs as well as opinions. In cases where such cognitive facets exhibit inconsistent characters i.e. between beliefs and attitudes; such as scenario is referred as dissonance. Such situations may compel a person to eliminate the inconsistent cognitive facet an example has been recognized in cases where: Situations of discrepancies between opinions and behavior whereby, an individual may be compelled to change his or her opinion to accommodate the behavior (Festinger 1964). Ways in which dissonance may be alleviated There exist two varying factors that have a direct effect on the strength of dissonance, they are inclusive of; existing number of various dissonance beliefs as well as the pertinence attached to each specific belief. On the other hand, humans possess strategies by which they can apply to reduce dissonance. The first strategy encompasses alteration of the existing dissonance in a manner that reduces inconsistencies; secondly, dissonance may also be alleviated by a reduction of the importance ascribed to a specific or a number of dissonances. Consequently, dissonance may be alleviated by simply increasing the number of cognitive constants whose values outweigh the values ascribed to dissonance beliefs (Festinger 1964). Research has also shown that dissonance is mostly experienced in scenarios where an individual may be faced with a challenge of making a choice between his/her actions and the existing inconsistent beliefs. Scenarios of greatest dissonance are usually experienced when a person is exposed to two equally attractive dissonances. Operant Conditioning Assuming a case where a group of pupils is motivated to undertake an assignment after being promised a certain reward or a gift from their teachers or even parents. In such a scenario, the performance of the pupils tends to increase due to the foreseen rewards from their teachers. In respect to this example, B.F Skinner describes operant conditioning as a way of learning that is facilitated by perceived benefits or rewards. Consequently, methods such as punishments may also trigger learning among various sets of people hence are factors that influence operant conditioning. There are various components of operant conditioning which are inclusive of; punishments (negative and positive punishments) and reinforcement which may also exist negatively and in a positive dimension. Social Learning Theory The social learning theory was formulated by Albert Bandura; this theory places great emphasis on the pertinence of observing as well as the aspect of modeling emotional, attitudes as well as the behavioral actions of others. That is, human learning is highly influenced and affected observationally through a process of modeling thereby allowing an individual to acquire ideas of human behaviors which are later coded and utilized as a standard to guide one’s action (Bandura 1977). Social learning theory explicates that human learning as a process is majorly guided by a continuous process of active interaction between humans, environment as well as the acquisition of a certain cognitive behavior. There are four major components of social learning that are inclusive of; attention to (unique characters), retention of the specific coded information, motor reproduction i.e. self reproduction and motivation (Bandura 1977). Personality Job-fit Theory and Person Organization Fit Personality job-fit theory provides an explanation that the characteristics of an individual are imperative facets that will promote a higher rate of understanding of the level to which a person adapts to an organization (Cohen et al 2009). On the other hand, person organization fit alludes to the dimension of the interaction between an individual and the organization in general. Standards of measure that may be applied to determine person organization fit (P-O) include; work efficacy and the speed with which an employee is able to complete a specific task. Personal organization fit has played a crucial role in many organizations in the determination of synergies that are effective in reducing failures that may occur due to higher work turnout or even lower turnouts. Group Think and Group Shift The corpus of the group thinks when a homogeneous characterized by cohesion decides to make a common decision in order to ensure unanimity hence leading to the arrival of a common decision. The objective behind group think is basically to ensure conformity within a group; however, this approach is sometimes perceived as a hindrance to the aspect of independent decision making. Group shift on the other hand, occurs in when persons in a group engage in decision making and experience diverse ideologies in the beginning. These diverse ideologies are usually exaggerated in the initial stages, however, as the discussion continues, the group focuses their shift towards the same direction which is usually considered more risky since caution is taken during the discussion. The pre-discussion dimension is usually a greater determinant of whether the shift taken leans towards a more risky or cautious direction. Scenario of Cognitive Dissonance Case 1: A person buys a car from a famous car dealer; the dealer is known to the public for provision of comfortable cars. This information has been made available to the public through advertisements that emphasize on the comfort of the cars; this is what attracted this specific buyer. Later, the buyer finds out that the car is not comfortable when used at long distances; he makes a decision to sue the dealer for giving misleading information but, before doing this he decides to eliminate dissonance. The customer makes a decision to eliminate the belief that the car is comfortable when used for long distance purposes but instead could be used for shorter distances. Case scenarios of operant conditioning Case 2: The police department is in a process of investigating and arresting a notorious criminal; the process becomes difficult and they decide to request for the assistance of the general public by offering a reward of one million US dollars to anyone who would provide pertinent information that would lead to the arrest of the criminal. The entire team within the police department is also promised a reward of the same amount for anyone would arrest the criminal. These promises increase the motivation of the concerned teams as well as the general public; the police boss realizes that the overall performance of the police department in the investigation of the criminal case improves within a short period of time. Case 3: A stern warning is given to the general public by the city council department concerning careless disposal of solid and liquid waste within the city center. The public through the city county council spokesman is informed that persons found guilty of the offense will heavily fined or face a sentence in jail for a period of one year. The outcome of this warning is a reduction of littering of the city center as well as improving responsibility among the public in ensuring that they city center is clean Case scenario of Social Learning Case 4: In a court scenario, there are junior and senior legal counsel, the junior counsel considers their seniors as role models. They learn some issues from the actions of their seniors and later place them into practice. This learning process may take quite a long time, however it plays a crucial role in the overall behavior of the junior counsel as well as in their performance. Case Scenario of a person job fit/Person-organization fit Case 5: In the court system there are usually different job descriptions undertaken by different legislative personnel. When advertising a vacant position for these positions, it is usually imperative that a job description is provided to the applicant in advance. This job description basically encompasses laying out the ground rules as in: The tasks that will be undertaken by the applicant, methodologies that he/she will employ to undertake the tasks as well as the qualifications needed in order to facilitate his/her operations. Writing a job description to the applicants is pertinent in that it promotes reduction of challenges that may arise in the process of their operations. In cases where a court system may have a large number of staff, it helps in the elimination of overlapping tasks or responsibilities that may cause the occurrence of conflicts among the different personnel. This is one scenario where person job fit is applied in the judicial system. The Case scenario of Group thinks and Group Shift Case 5: In the event of making imperative judicial decisions; a team of judges especially in the supreme courts may collectively make a crucial decision regarding a specific petition. During such events the Supreme Court Judges have to listen to the petitioner and the respondent and later make their verdict on the case. The initial stage of the decision making process may be characterized by conflicting ideas from each of the judges depending on each one’s understanding of the case and the law. However, the judges may later arrive at a conclusion or make a unanimous decision. References Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Cohen, C. S., Phillips, M. H., & Hanson, M. (2009). Strength and diversity in social work with groups: think group. New York: Routledge. Festinger, L. (1964). Conflict, decision, and dissonance. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. Read More