value placed on goal attainment, and in drive
strength. With drives as the impetus for the behav-
ior, goals can be identified and are considered uni-
versal.
Behavioral set is a predisposition to act in a cer-
tain way in a given situation. The behavioral set
represents a relatively stable and habitual behav-
ioral pattern of responses to particular drives or
stimuli. It is learned behavior and is influenced by
knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs. Set contains two
components: perseveration and preparation.
Perseveratory set refers to consistent tendency to
react to certain stimuli with the same pattern of be-
havior. The preparatory set is contingent upon the
function of the perseveratory set. The preparatory
set functions to establish priorities for attending or
not attending to various stimuli.
The conceptual set is an additional component
to the model (Holaday, 1982). It is a process of or-
dering that serves as the mediating link between
stimuli from the preparatory and perseveratory
sets. Here attitudes, beliefs, information, and
knowledge are examined before a choice is made.
There are three levels of processing—an inadequate
conceptual set, a developing conceptual set, and a
sophisticated conceptual set.
The third and fourth components of each sub-
system are choice and action. Choice refers to the
individual’s repertoire of alternative behaviors in a
situation that will best meet the goal and attain the
desired outcome. The larger the behavioral reper-
toire of alternative behaviors in a situation, the
more adaptable is the individual. The fourth struc-
tural component of each subsystem is the observ-
able action of the individual. The concern is with
the efficiency and effectiveness of the behavior in
goal attainment. Actions are any observable re-
sponses to stimuli.
For the eight subsystems to develop and main-
tain stability, each must have a constant supply of
functional requirements (sustenal imperatives).
The concept of functional requirements tends to be
confined to conditions of the system’s survival, and
it includes biological as well as psychosocial needs.
The problems are related to establishing the types
of functional requirements (universal versus highly
specific) and finding procedures for validating the
assumptions of these requirements. It also suggests
a classification of the various states or processes on
the basis of some principle and perhaps the estab-
lishment of a hierarchy among them. The Johnson
model proposes that, for the behavior to be main-
tained, it must be protected, nurtured, and stimu-
lated: It requires protection from noxious stimuli
that threaten the survival of the behavioral system;
nurturance, which provides adequate input to sus-
tain behavior; and stimulation, which contributes
to continued growth of the behavior and counter-
acts stagnation. A deficiency in any or all of these
functional requirements threatens the behavioral
system as a whole, or the effective functioning of
the particular subsystem with which it is directly
involved.
Environment
Johnson referred to the internal and external envi-
ronment of the system. She also referred to the in-
teraction between the person and the environment
and to the objects, events, and situations in the en-
vironment. She also noted that there are forces in
the environment that impinge on the person and to
which the person adjusts. Thus, the environment
consists of all elements that are not a part of the
individual’s behavioral system but influence the
system and can serve as a source of sustenal imper-
atives. Some of these elements can be manipulated
by the nurse to achieve health (behavioral system
balance or stability) for the patient. Johnson pro-
vided no other specific definition of the environ-
ment, nor did she identify what she considered
internal versus external environment. But much
can be inferred from her writings, and system the-
ory also provides additional insights into the envi-
ronment component of the model.
The external environment may include people,
objects, and phenomena that can potentially per-
meate the boundary of the behavioral system. This
external stimulus forms an organized or mean-
ingful pattern that elicits a response from the in-
dividual. The behavioral system attempts to main-
tain equilibrium in response to environmental
factors by assimilating and accommodating to the
forces that impinge upon it. Areas of external
environment of interest to nurses include the
physical settings, people, objects, phenomena, and
psychosocial-cultural attributes of an environment.
Johnson provided detailed information about
the internal structure and how it functions. She also
noted that “[i]llness or other sudden internal or ex-
ternal environmental change is most frequently re-
sponsible for system malfunction” (Johnson, 1980,
p. 212). Such factors as physiology, temperament,CHAPTER 8 Dorothy Johnson’s Behavioral System Model and Its Applications 85