Most Destructive Human Behaviors

Compared to the other animals in the world us as humans are the most dangerous of them all. We cheat, lie, steal, and kill each other. We perform various activities which are dangerous for our own kind, even if we know the dangers that these activities have. We have free will, yet even so we are capable of committing the most atrocious crimes.

One of the most negative behaviors is the one of gossiping. The behavior is not as destructive as other activities, but it can be damaging as well, especially since we live in times when the social status matters very much. We can not control ourselves; we are programmed to gossip the ones around us. Scientists believe that we use the gossip for social reasons. Just like baboons groom each other in order to make their social ties stronger, we gossip. The process of gossiping can affect the self-esteem of a person and it can set boundaries. In many of the cases the message is not important, but the bond which is created between the two persons who gossip, is.

Gambling is another behavior which can be very destructive. What is interesting is that the act of gambling can be found in the case of monkeys as well. Scientists have observed that the monkeys from the captivity sometimes gamble their food. The study revealed the fact that even when the compensation wasn’t too much, the monkeys still felt the urge to gamble. Both in the case of the humans and of the monkeys, the motivation to gamble comes from the “almost-winning” scenario. For the gamblers, the near-misses are a clue that they can win, and in most of the cases they end up losing their money. Losing will also make the gambles gamble more money because they have the false hope that they can get everything back.

Stress is a behavior which can be very destructive. It can lead to illnesses such as depression, diabetes, cancer, and even suicide, which is another behavior performed exclusively by humans. However it is unknown why we stress so much. The scientists believe that the biggest stress factor is the work place. Many people work more than 48 hours each week and since the technology has evolved, and we have access to Bluetooth, internet, and smartphones, the line between work and free time is getting blurrier. We can no longer make a distinction between working and having fun, as we sometimes work even in our free time.

We as humans often modify our body, whether if it is through a tattoo, a plastic surgery, and so on. It is believed that by 2015, almost 20 percent of the US citizens will have had a modification performed to their bodies. The process of tattooing the body is not a new one; in fact it is pretty old as many ancient civilizations have performed it. Once again it seems that the social standards are responsible for these behaviors, since it has been revealed that the more attractive people are treated better.

Bullying is another behavior which can have destructive consequences both from a psychological and from a physical point of view. There have been many cases when the persons who got bullied committed suicide because they simply could not take it anymore. Bullying occurs mostly in schools, and as a result, the ones who are bullied can develop different psychological problems which could affect them for the rest of their lives. However, bullying can also occur at the work place, and the effects are the same. The experts believe that we bully for status and for power.

We as humans lie a lot, and that is a fact. The psychologists do not know for certain why we lie but it is believed that it has to do with certain psychological ties. As soon as the people feel that their self-esteem is threatened they start to lie. Call it a defense mechanism if you want. It has been revealed that lying is not easy to perform, or at least effective lying. It takes a person 30 percent more to lie than to tell the truth and most of the people lie in writing than through verbal communication.

Cheating is another behavior which is often performed by the humans. While most of the people consider honesty a virtue, many do not consider cheating to be immoral. However it has been proven that the people who have high moral values will find cheating very difficult to accomplish. The interesting thing is that the people, who have high moral values, do not see cheating as an unacceptable behavior in certain instances. It has been proven that the celebrities or politicians cheat very often because they have power and because they can.

Theft is often performed by people, and in certain circumstances, it can be motivated by need. However there are cases when the persons who steal do not need the item because they can afford it. These are the kleptomaniacs, or the people who feel a rush from performing this activity.

Another destructive behavior is the one of being violent. We as humans crave violence; we want to observe it, and to be a part of it. We crave violence as much as we crave sex, food, or drugs. The reason we want to be part of violent behaviors is because dopamine is released in the process, and as a result, it makes us feel good. Violence is present in all the species, but we are the leaders.

The most destructive habit we perform is the fact that we cling to different destructive behaviors. It has been revealed that even when the risks of a certain habit are well known, we still continue to do it. Take smoking for example, it has been proved that it can cause lung cancer, yet even so, people do not stop smoking. It makes you wonder: we are so advanced that we are able to built extreme machines, yet we do not have the willpower to stop something that kills us.