Why Do People Behave Differently in Various Situations?

[Avichal]

I'm looking for a book that gives an explanation of why people behave differently in situations. It should describe different kind of behaviour people can have in circumstances.
For eg: - In school some students become more popular, they stand up in class and everyone knows them while some are more reserved and and have small groups etc.
I want to know why people behave differently and what is happening in their brains (not at a biological level but psychological level)
Thank You!

 

[TomServo]

Well, studying economics has really helped me understand people. I thought economics was all about businesses and stock and bonds, but at its heart it's really about studying the choices people make, how they follow incentives and how they use the knowledge they possesses to make decisions, and how knowledge is "communicated" in various forms (such as signaling and prices). Several psychologists have done Nobel-winning work in economics(such as Herbert Simon, who also won the Turing Prize), and at least one Nobel laureate in economics made his fame by turning the analytical tools of economics to crime and discrimination (Gary Becker).

Books I found helpful for this were:

Basic Economics, and Race, Culture, and Economics by Sowell
Economics in One Lesson by Hazlitt
And assorted textbooks.

 

[Avichal]

Well, studying economics has really helped me understand people. I thought economics was all about businesses and stock and bonds, but at its heart it's really about studying the choices people make, how they follow incentives and how they use the knowledge they possesses to make decisions, and how knowledge is "communicated" in various forms (such as signaling and prices). Several psychologists have done Nobel-winning work in economics(such as Herbert Simon, who also won the Turing Prize), and at least one Nobel laureate in economics made his fame by turning the analytical tools of economics to crime and discrimination (Gary Becker).

Books I found helpful for this were:

Basic Economics, and Race, Culture, and Economics by Sowell
Economics in One Lesson by Hazlitt
And assorted textbooks.

I don't think I want what you recommend me (I'll still give it a look, though). However, what I want is a good psychology book that goes into some depth of why people behave the way they do in certain situations.

 

[Dods]

You might like a book on Personality theory or Individual Differences (a book that covers both might be ideal). Studying personality will give you an idea of how people form traits and ways of interacting with the world and individual differences will explain how people are different from one another.

That could be a good place to start. Bear in mind that your question is very broad, and human behavior is very complex, and you can apply knowledge from a LOT of different topics in psychology to behavior. A typical behavior may have cognitive elements to it, it may be significantly influenced by social or biological factors, etc. Of course, a way of relating to others (you mentioned different ways in your question) involves many behaviors and thought processes and is much more difficult to analyze.

Good luck with learning about this field :)

 

[Avichal]

You might like a book on Personality theory or Individual Differences (a book that covers both might be ideal). Studying personality will give you an idea of how people form traits and ways of interacting with the world and individual differences will explain how people are different from one another.

That could be a good place to start. Bear in mind that your question is very broad, and human behavior is very complex, and you can apply knowledge from a LOT of different topics in psychology to behavior. A typical behavior may have cognitive elements to it, it may be significantly influenced by social or biological factors, etc. Of course, a way of relating to others (you mentioned different ways in your question) involves many behaviors and thought processes and is much more difficult to analyze.

Good luck with learning about this field :)

Can you recommend any book?
By the way, this is not really my field. I am just pursuing out of my interest

 

[Dods]

Unfortunately I can't recommend a book because I'm not familiar enough with personality theory/individual differences. However, I know several textbooks combine Personality and Individual differences, and I would recommend you start with one of those books.