How does a person's environment influence their behaviour?

Environmental factors influence behaviour, and a key environmental factor is people.

Family, friends, strangers, health professionals, and anyone who comes into contact with a person becomes part of the person’s environment.

Support workers are an integral part of a person’s environment, and a worker’s words and actions can be central to how a person does or doesn’t act in different, challenging, or uncomfortable situations.

Should a person react to their environment with behaviours of concern, it will always be our aim to address the environmental factors that lead to the person engaging in that behaviour – this is one of the central messages of positive behaviour support.