Human behavior in the social context

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7 word format

document in English

social sciences

presentation

published 28/11/2008

review : Completed

level : General public

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Humans are a social species. First, we explore the reasons why humans are social beings and briefly consider the broad implications of this characterization. Next, we go somewhat more deeply into the question what it means to be social. In other words, how does an individual function whose primary mode of existence is that of a group member rather than of a solitary individual? After that, we consider some important ‘natural’ social groups and we briefly discuss their role in shaping human behavior. Against this background, we describe designs and strategies used by researchers to study the interaction between humans and their social context. A separate section is devoted to the relationship between biological underpinnings of behavior and the cultural context. While in the past these were treated as competing or contrasting influences in explanations of behavior, their interactive nature has become more central in recent times. For both ontogenetic and phylogenetic reasons, humans can be characterized as social beings. Ontogenetically, newborn humans are characterized by a remarkable immaturity that renders them dependent for a long time on others for survival and growth. It is clear that infants are critically dependent on their primary caregivers for the fulfillment of even the most basic needs. Most of us spend the extended period from infancy until sexual and social maturity and reaching socio-economic independence mainly within the nuclear or extended family.