Do you think people are inherently lazy or that it is a learned behavior?

Question

By lazy, I mean taking the easiest route through a situation. We can see this tendency everywhere on so many levels, right down to the way our cells function. Our bodies and behaviors seem to suggest to me that life itself prefers ease and simplicity.

So then, when we are confronted with a situation that is complicated or requires a lot of energy, would you agree that many people tend to try and avoid it?

And finally, in our feverish quest for efficiency, are we dooming ourselves to lifestyles that will only leave us fat and unhealthy?


Note: I am not necessarally saying that I fully agree with all of these things, rather I am asking them because I am curious what others think.

Answer 1

"How a person is" is influenced by three factors. Genetics, Environment, and thought process... Of course, to what degree these three things influence a person's traits is up for debate. A biologist for instance, might be more likely to think genetics plays the most important role. Thought process is the most interesting one, in my opinion, since it's the one you can manipulate. "I don't want to do anything today, because I have nothing to do" will lead to different things than if you think "My day is free today, I can try all sorts of new things!"

In response to whether or not "we're dooming ourselves," I can only say that you will not become fat and unhealthy if you don't value living that way. The body does look for efficiencies at every turn, but it's looking for efficiency with a goal in mind....

Answer 2

Well, I tend to take the "lazy" route, ie doing the least work for the greatest output. Only doing the homework that would be graded, working in groups when I could, only doing the minimum, but I'm graduating high school with a 4.19 and a full ride scholarship to a great university. Is it "lazy" or "efficient?"

Answer 3

I think that laziness is a learned behavior. Case in point: my husband tends to be less lazy than me. He was raised in a house that was rarely lazy and usually working. I, however, grew up in a house that tended to me more on the lazy side. We would do chores, etc., but we would sit down every night and watch television together, read, etc. I tend to be lazier than my husband, and have an easier time being content with having a lazy day, while my husband finds it hard to sit around if there is work to be done.

Answer 4

Eliminating work is what drives the American and actually the world economy. Taking the easy way is not lazy it's smart. It's why we have so much today compared to 100 years ago. What is lazy is not dealing with the situation at all.

My lifestyle requires much less work than my parents' lifestyle.

Answer 5

There are two kinds of lazy. You can be lazy now and do the hard work later. Or you can be lazy later by doing the hard work now.

Most people are lazy now, hoping that the hard work will solve itself. But by avoiding hard work now they have to constantly do the same hard work over and over again. That's a bad kind of lazy.

There is a saying, "Genius is the ability to avoid hard work." The guys who created accounting software were willing to do a lot of hard work in the beginning so they could avoid constantly doing hard accounting work later. That's a good kind of lazy.

Answer 6

It's good that you are curious. It's a survival mechanism.

If I push the issue of survival onto people, than things will be realized. If I give you everything, you will wait, you will sit patiently, and obey my commands. If I tease you, and I make you work for everything, if I starve you and let you carve your own path in life... will you learn to be lazy, or to be obedient?

To me obedience and laziness go hand in hand. I very much believe in the power of nurture.

As for nature. That too is a survival trait. If you have the ability to work for your food, and you HAVE to work for your food, you WILL do whatever it takes to work for your food.

I have more, but I am working while I work. I am bipolar, it is an obsessive compulsive disorder. Find a way to answer me if you are hungry for more information. Is OCD a case of nature imposed obedience?

Answer 7

Truly, it is a learned behavior and also learned unambitious makes a person feels lethargy and lazy. It comes from, sometimes, a behavior of rebelling against doing things as you are told.

Answer 8

I myself believe that it is learned. My husband was adopted, his adoptive father is a very hard worker, respectful man, takes care of himself and his family, and so is my husband. When he was 24 he met his biological mother and 2 other siblings. They were all lazy, disgusting, and the children all had been arrested at one point for drug use or sales. They still lived with there mother with all their illegitimate children. I told my husband he was lucky to be adopted, he could have ended up like them. He agreed.

Answer 9

We have a fast food, convienience society...why not be lazy, now you don't have to grow or earn your food, you stay in climate controlled homes, with t.v., DVD's, computers and all sorts of electronics to keep people sitting right on their rumps and eating fast food calories. Then when we get sick, there is a doctor on every corner to write us a perscription...but never even mentioning getting off our butts to exercise or eat the right kinds of foods.

Answer 10

I think ppl learn to be lazy. Alot of how you are raised determines your work ethic as an adult. If you never had any chores growing up the concept of work when you get a job will be mind blowing...