Definition
Behavioral patterns are the recurring sequences of conduct a person displays across time and situations. Robert Greene argues that these patterns — not isolated words, gestures, or first impressions — are the truest record of someone's character.
A single action can be an accident, a performance, or a one-off. A pattern, by contrast, is structural: it expresses the stable forces that actually drive a person, including the ones they would prefer to hide.
Why it matters
How it works
Greene's method is observational and longitudinal. Rather than judging a person on a charming introduction, the observer watches how the person handles money, criticism, power, and inconvenience repeatedly over time. The recurring response is the pattern, and the pattern is the prediction. The same discipline applies inward: examining one's own repeated reactions exposes the compulsive forces shaping a life. Past behavior, viewed as a pattern rather than a series of excused exceptions, is the strongest available evidence of what someone will do next.