Social behavior

The social behavior covers all the behaviors of humans and animals that are aimed at individuals of the same species in humans reactions or actions of other people, with animals. Social behavior thus includes both forms of harmonious coexistence and agonistic behavior.

Social behavior from the perspective of psychology

Overview

In humans, the social behavior is the behavior in the social structure: speaking, eye contact, negotiations and disputes, as well as body language. According to Kurt Lewin, an individual's behavior is the result of all acting in a situation conditions ( field theory (psychology ). ) Social -related behavior is a network of behavioral sequences, which must prove itself in hundreds of complicated social situations. It is not only highly complex, it also reacts very nuanced in many situations - and it can barely visible at trifles fail. All growing up in a modern society, dominate this web of social behavior chains usually required in order to move in hundreds of situations in such a way can that you successfully clear from them.

Social behavior must therefore be learned (not just humans ). In contact with parents and siblings learned to have the infant from day to move in social situations. The process of learning of socially relevant behaviors is long; it takes years - and never really ends. Infants / children who are given the opportunity intense contact poorly with caregivers have big problems later in social situations appropriate to behave (See attachment theory hospitalism ).

Early childhood situations with a lack of attention and social contact, usually lead to socially deviant behaviors. In this respect, the living contact with parents, parents and / or siblings is the best foundation for the learning project social behavior. Problematic situations are for children and infants in this regard: Rejection of contact, lack of physical contact, too little interaction and inappropriate interaction effects such as aggression, neglect, etc. If you imagine social behavior as a learning process before, one must also assume that given the child the opportunity must be to learn the appropriate behavior - and for the right contact him must be stopped.

Social Psychology

In social psychology, Kurt Lewin noted the connection between behavior (V ), person (P) and environment (E ), which can be represented as a function:

• V = f (P, U)

The independent variables (P and U- properties ) affect not summative behavior, but also influence each other. Perception ( perception ) and recognition (cognition ) in this case represent a form of behavior, because it's like any other behavior also observed.

Social behavior from the perspective of pedagogy

Parent families (parents, educators, teachers ) would be interested in helping to an extensive repertoire of possible socially relevant behaviors children / adolescents. The practice of such behavior thus gains a high priority, regardless of how the methodology of teaching also may be. To mediate social behavior is effectively a long-term task in the educational process at the end of the competence of the child / young person is to cope with as many social situations and to be able to edit it. These include promising conflict behavior in groups, many types of communication, resilience in difficult situations, socially appropriate responses in various situations of everyday life, etc.

In the course of this lengthy learning process, it is important that children are treated with patience and understanding. Children / young people must have a sense of achievement in this learning ( self-amplification, amplification by the parent people).

Social behavior from the perspective of behavioral biology

Under the branches of behavioral biology, especially the classical ethology, sociobiology and behavioral ecology deal with the phenomenon of social behavior. Under social behavior all observable activities of the animals here often which serve to reduce intraspecific communication: thus, for example, courtship, parental care (see entry Ever keep in mice and rats), Stimmfühlungslaute and aggressive confrontations at the police station - limits (see territorial behavior ).

Some researchers grasp the concept but much tighter and restrict it to the behavior of animals who live with certain other dogs in a permanent bond, either in pairs in a pack, or other social groupings with group bonding. Belonging to the group (or bond) is, for example, signaled in social insects through a " smell uniform" in social primates belonging based on personal acquaintance. In a herd or a flock, there are, apart from parent- pup bonds, no social ties.

Occasionally, the term social behavior is also applied to the understanding of animals of different species, for example, in animals, between which there is a symbiotic relationship.

For many behaviors and a wide variety of animal species could be detected among other things, with the help of Kaspar Hauser experiments that essential elements of the innate social behavior (ie, anchored in the genes ) are and will be inherited. This includes for example the innate recognition of certain characteristics of other individuals ( " cues ").

Harry Harlow conducted experiments with young rhesus monkeys reared in complete isolation. From them it was clear that primates ( and this also applies to many other vertebrates) need social interactions to develop a normal social behavior. The experience of continuous care by adult individuals is almost the basis for the further course of a successful life.