People usually know very well what they don’t want, and are also easily able to verbalize that. The reverse is less true. Knowing what you don’t want is one thing; knowing what you do want is a little trickier, leave alone being consistent in verbalizing that in what is known as positive language. Yet doing just that is also good for your self-image.
Predicting behaviour is an interesting enterprise and is one of the kingpins of the study of psychology. In this article we will use a model proposed by Alan Watkins (2013), adapted and slightly adjusted to fit the terminology generally used in the field of psychology. In his model, behaviour is like the roof of a building, and the building represents the person’s behavioural skills. People generally think that possessing the necessary skills is enough to demonstrate appropriate behaviour. However, merely having a skill does not guarantee that it will be used.