in my philosophy,i agree the author's point.people's behavior is largely determined by the society,such as family,education,economics and politics,and seldom determined by themselves.as an individual living and bound within these kinds of objectives,we are limited by them.
society environment can effects polical,family,economic and education environment,thus effects individuals' world outlook and value system.for example,a people living in a highly democracy degree and free politic,comparing one from a lower democracy degree and conservative politics,their view on the same thing would differ a lot, and thus leading to different behavior.a boy behavior facing to a broken vase may vary a lot for the different family and education environment.girls from asia and europe who loves shopping have different shopping behaviors  determined by the economy environment.
although people's behavior largely determined by society environment,their own thinking patterns are still in control.for example,in a specific society environment,not to go against the laws is the bottom lines of one's behavior,but the ethics is not compulsory.to choose helping an old lady is not controled by the outward forces,but controled by one's ethics,where our thinking pattern comes to work.
to make a conclusion.people's behaviror is mainly determined by forces not of their own making,and in some way determined by their own thinking pattern such as ethics.