My Smoking Habit Essay Example For Students

My Smoking Habit Essay Smoking, this is a very common habit for most people and just happens to be my most common habit currently. There are people that smoke and there are those who dont, sadly I am one of those who does. Now keep in mind I havent always smoked, just apparently whenever I feel it to be necessary. I have off and on smoked since I was about 18, and I believe it to be a combination of both behavioral and social. The behavioral half of this coin coming from watching family members and friends of the family smoking all around me as a child, the social side being all my high school, then college buddies doing it so I felt like I wanted to fit in and be cool like everyone else. Yes, social friend, I love thee well, In learned doctors spite; Thy clouds all other clouds dispel, And lap me in delight  (Charles Sprague, To My Cigar). So where to begin, how about at the beginning; as a child, I grew up around all my family and their friends as they all puffed away. I was constantly surrounded by people who smoked. So naturally I believe that they are my biggest influence for the reason I started smoking. I started smoking at the age of eighteen. My friends and I had entered into the world of college life. We all wanted to fit into what we preserved as the college life . My friends from high school, as well as those from college, have played a significant part in my decision to smoke cigarettes. From a behavioral standpoint, I honestly believe that all the growing up around constant smokers played an adamant part in my growing up to eventually smoke. So as I mentioned in the beginning I havent always been a smoker, obviously I wasnt a smoker as a child, but once I was at legal age and knew that I had full accessibility to smoke, followed with the help of my college buddies, I began my journey into the world of smoking. I currently smoke and question myself almost on a daily basis, why? So from the age of eighteen thru twenty I was at least a pack a day smoker. In the year 1999, my son was born into this world. This was the point in my life that I decided that I needed to quit smoking, for his sake. I was successful in not smoking for close to ten years. I landed a job on the west side of Fresno, California and as soon as I knew it, I was once in a while smoking again. Most of the guys I worked with were smokers, and of course one thing lead to another. I stopped and started a few times after that, all roads lead to where I am at currently, which is a smoker. Most personality theories can be classified in terms of two broad categories, depending on their underlying assumptions about human nature. Category 2: There are a group of theories that see human nature as plastic, flexible, and always capable of growth, change, and development. Human nature is basically benevolent; therefore bad societies are the source of personal misery. Social reform will produce human happiness if not actual perfection. These theories emphasize self-expression and self-actualization †in the cases of Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, they reflect a distinctly optimistic and romantic view of life  (McGraw Hill 2002). Based off what Rogers and Maslow stated above, I have to agree and say that my habit is a socially caused habit. I still believe that there is a flipside to this smoking habit coin, and that other side is the behavioral aspect. Behavioral Theories: Behavioral theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment. Behavioral theorists study observable and measurable behaviors, rejecting theories that take internal thoughts and feelings into account   (Kendra Cherry). That is the exact reason that I believe that there is to two sides to my habit. .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b , .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b .postImageUrl , .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b , .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b:hover , .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b:visited , .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b:active { border:0!important; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b:active , .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub77e32f9d04b3820ff00adc9c4e09b3b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: American Identity EssaySince growing up as a child I was constantly surrounded by family and friends of the family that smoked, I believe that led me to believe that once I was of age that it would be okay for me to do the same. Operant conditioning: A process of behavior modification in which a subject is encouraged to behave in a desired manner through positive or negative reinforcement, so that the subject comes to associate the pleasure or displeasure of the reinforcement with the behavior  (The American Heritage Stedmans Medical Dictionary 2002). Since I honestly didnt know what operant conditioning was, I looked it up and found that this definition would guide me to creating a good plan on how I can change my current habit. I believe, that is I had solid positive reinforcements to help guide me through the quitting process that I could stop smoking. With that said, I am also the type of person that is very self motivated and believe that I control the power within me to just stop. I have done it in the past. The first time I made the decision to just flat out quit was when my son was born. This is my example of how a positive reinforcement helped me break my habit at that point in my life. If I had to choose between behavioral or social/cognitive, I would pick both. I say this because I honestly believe that half of my current personality comes from the things I learned as I grew up. The other half of my current personality comes from all the things I have soaked up from the time I turned eighteen and started my life as a college student, to now. Plus there have been a lot of events in my life that I can honestly say has made me the man I am today. In conclusion, all in all I have to admit that I would love to break this bad habit as most would define it. Whether it was a family trait or something I just decided to do once my buddies and I knew we could, the fact of the matter is I smoke. Maybe one day I am sure I will get to that point in my life where I am just not feeling the smoking thing, but until then, smoking is the habit I will have to live with. Bibliography: No Smoking Quotes and one liners. (2014). Retrieved from http://quotesheart.com/Quotation-Topics/Smoking-Quotes-Smoking-Sayings-One-Liners According to No Smoking Quotes And One Liners (2014), Yes, social friend, I love thee well, In learned doctors spite; Thy clouds all other clouds dispel, And lap me in delight.   Mcgraw Hill Companie, . (2002-2014). The Free Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Personality+theory Mcgraw Hill Companie (2002-2014), (Utilized the information from the general definition of behavioral personality theory for both behavioral and social/cognitive). Cherry, K. (2014). About.com/psychology. Retrieved from http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologystudyguides/a/personalitysg_3.htm Cherry (2014), Insert the quotation   (Pg 3, Para. 4). The American Heritage  ® Stedmans Medical Dictionary, . (2002). Dictionary.com. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/operant+conditioning The American Heritage  ® Stedmans Medical Dictionary (2002), (The Dictionary Definition).