The Behavioral Clue: Dealing with Disturbing Contexts
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: In everyday life, we come across many people in various contexts. We may also need to interact with them. The way we behave with others characterises us. Similarly, that of others depends on the context and the person. Often, we are put to embarrassment when others' behavior is unpleasant, annoying, irritating, insulting, disturbing, or offensive. This results in a behavioral clash leading to argumentation and wrong tempers. Sometimes the situation gets out of hand. Such instances take a toll on our happiness, and harmony with our surroundings is upset. It may not always be possible to have control over our surroundings. This requires us to control ourselves. In so doing, we can gain control over others, or a likely situation which might otherwise get out of hand. Choosing the right behavior from a vast range of possibilities that could help bring the situation under control and retain calm is called a Behavioral Clue. The basic tenets of behavioral clues constitute a toolkit containing behavioral tools with a vast range of applications varying with opportunities and contexts prudently. Adopting these measures appropriately, in the given situation, could help reduce the tension from escalating. The winner or loser in the game is just a myth. For instance, it's absurd to stamp the last to speak as the winner in an argument. This paper aims to expose the intricacies of interactions in day-to-day life that generate conflict and ways of handling it, by adopting the behavioral clue. A case analysis of events and contexts drawn from real life, representing samples, is presented here. It also aims to demonstrate the use of the behavioral toolkit.
Author: P.M. Suresh Kumar
Institution: Tata Institute of Social Sciences
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4413044514