Johnny Cash Behavioral Model

I have chosen to write about Johnny Cash. He is a popular country music legend whose life spanned 1932 to 2003. I have chosen the Behavioral Model in order to portray his life and actions. The Behavioral Model and behavioral theorists believe that our actions are determined by our experiences in life. The focus of this model is on the subject’s behaviors in response to their environment. These behaviors can either be external or internal. Learned behaviors can help some people cope and lead to productive activities in life. Learned behaviors can also be abnormal and lead to abnormal functioning (Comer, 2005-2011). Throughout his life Johnny Cash had many experiences that he had to learn to cope with. You can see this in his behaviors

And the family was from a musical heritage. Johnny’s maternal grandfather loved music as well, and although he struggled with poverty as well he was known to always own musical instruments. The Cash family managed to get a piano when Johnny was young and music was always a part of their lives. The house was alive with music, most of it hymnals led by his mother. Johnny took to the music and it deeply impacted him. He would sing while doing work, and sing at home. When he was just 12 he composed songs, stories and poems. He carried his love of music and used it at many times to speak of the hard times in his life (Cash, Johnny,

As a young boy growing up in poverty, Johnny coped with the hard grueling work he had to do to keep up with the family farm by singing, writing poems and composing songs. His whole family coped in this way. Johnny saw his parents’ love for music and singing and modeled this behavior. Operant conditioning was also at play. He received satisfying reward by singing. When he was stressed over the family’s poverty and the work they had to do to survive, singing offered a sense of joy and relief from the daily worries. He also saw that it provided a reward for not only himself but everyone else to. This also led to modeling of the behavior. In high school and after when he won contests and awards, it was a satisfying consequence to his singing. When he entertained people and became a star, it was a reward for him. These were learned behaviors that lead to happiness, but then became abnormal. In an interview for the Rolling Stones magazine, Johnny said, “I used drugs to escape” (DeCurtis, 2000). Johnny had always known a way to cope with his environment. When his environment changed exponentially his current coping mechanism failed him. It was no longer enough to just sing, and write songs. He learned that drugs and alcohol provided him with a satisfying reward. He felt better able to cope with the stress and tensions of becoming famous, and his family problems when he used