Transient nature of stable behavioural patterns, and how we can respect it

This brief opinion paper suggests continuing ongoing efforts to examine existing and potential theoretical paradigms and formalisms. The paper outlines a need for a shift from implicit behaviourism in neuroscience and psychology to the Functional Constructivism (FC) approach. The paper also discusses the limitation of the view that all behaviour is goal-directed. The FC approach highlights the variability and transient nature of behaviour and its neurochemical biomarkers. It presents behaviour as a generative process in which behavioural products are specialized according to an individual’s capacities rather than dictated by universal environmental demands or clear goals. Proper diagnosis of consistent behavioural patterns (CBPs, i.e. temperament traits in healthy individuals and symptoms of psychopathology), therefore, should include analysis of cycles of functional activities that people are involved in. The paper proposes a 12-component classification of psychiatric symptoms and classification of contexts based on the neurochemical model Functional Ensemble of Temperament (FET).