Analysis of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Essay Example

Human behavior and the social environment

The first observation took place in a park. The family that took my interest consisted of a young mother, possibly between the age of twenty-three and twenty-seven. She appeared to be engrossed in her phone despite being on the playground with her child. The child was possibly three years old as per his articulation of words. His sentences were clear when he spoke and quite familiar with the things that he played with. He also appeared to be social as he would play and interact with the other children without any challenge. Hutchinson puts into perspective Erikson’s notion that at this age of development, children tend to communicate more with their peers and initiate talks or games; experiences that allow them to develop interpersonal skills and fit in various groups (Hutchinson , 2014). Also, by undertaking activities and interacting with peers at ease, then they are able to develop aspects such as making good decisions and being leaders. Along these lines, constructs of social dominance become imperative (Hutchinson, 2015). Subsequently, the analysis of human behavior depicts a problem in scientific illustration that necessitates extensive research to draw plausible conclusions (Baer, Wolf, & Risley, 1968).

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The child keeps on playing with the other children and appears to have fun. However, when he accidentally falls, his mother heads towards him and lashes on him for being careless. The boy keeps quiet and takes a seat at the furthest end of a slide. The mother resumes her seat on a bench, where she had sat before and continued scrolling through her phone. The boy sits alone for some time despite various advances from his peers to join them in their games. Erikson attributes the boy’s behavior to guilt that is associated with their prior actions. Erikson explains that when the initiative construct of children at this stage is critiqued, they tend to feel guilty such that lay back for a while. The child tends to make initiatives that parents will try to prevent with the perspective of protecting him or her. It s worth noting that miost childrn at this stage tend to initate a prohibited action by force which later result in punishment and fervent restrictions (Schultz & Schultz, 2016). Therefore, the child not taking part in the games anymore indicates the feeling of guilt after his mother’s warning. The child develops self-doubt such that he or she begins to become cautious with the activities that he or she engages in. The mother’s behavior was quite subtle as she did not give the child the expected attention but rather communicated with him when something was wrong. Eventually, the boy went back to playing after noticing that his mother was not giving him the expected attention. When playing a game of handball with the rest, a game that he had initiated, he kept on staring at his mother with the look that suggested that he wanted his mother to look at him and be proud of how good he was. After several attempts, he stops looking at his mother and pours all attention to the game. After a while, the mother is joined by a female acquaintance such that they engage in plenty of talks and spends quite some time not paying even slight attention to the child. It may be perceived that the mother was influenced by a factor that made her pay less attention to the child when compared to the other mothers who were in constant watch of their children and also joining some of the games that their children engaged in.

Human behavior patterns

The next observation took place during a farmer’s market where plenty of families had come to purchase what was present. The family that caught my interest was an African American family that consisted of a father and two children, a boy and a girl that appeared to be between the ages of seven and ten. The children followed their father wherever he went and kept quiet for the most of their time in the farmer’s market. The possible reason for the silence might have been the authoritarian parenting that involves a child being disciplined such that he or she acquires good behavior out of fear and not self-will. Such level of parenting is efficient when it comes to controlling the behavior of children. However, because of lack of self-will, inculcating the behavior to a child on the societal norms becomes difficult and hence may develop behavioral problems when growing up. According to experts on child development, parents who are authoritative become role models to their children whereby they depict the behavior that they require from the children. The viewpoint is for the children to exercise good behavior adequately. Most parents tend to put up rules for the children to comprehend what is expected of them. The parents tend to manage their emotions well such that through observation, children act in the same way too. Furthermore, they allow children to move independently such that the children learn how to do things on their own which in return leads to confidence (Chambers, 2015).

I noticed that the boy kept looking at the horses and the children that rode on them. It was quite clear that he wanted to climb one but was afraid to ask. For the girl, she kept on observing what her father was dong; mindless of the activities that were taking place in the market. It can be perceived that the girl was afraid of his father due to fear and the aspect of gender placement in the society. The issue of gender differences tends to be relative whereby girls are expected to behave in a particular manner and also boys. In a more practical perspective, some communities expect girls to be conservative and well-composed as a way of showing discipline. However, boys tend to be freer as they can behave as they deem fit such that the behavior will be perceived as normal (Hutchinson, 2014).

The boy requested his father if he would ride one of the horses that were charging $ 2 per ride. The father agrees to his request with the condition that he would ride the horse with his sister. Both children smiled when their father acted on their interests rather than restricting them and hence aligning with the perspective that authoritative parents, despite being lenient, accord their children what they need. In other words, the social construct that the children were brought up in affected how they related to their parents and with each other. Authoritative parenthood is perceived to be the most efficient style of parenting when it comes to maintaining the children’s discipline. Children with such parents grow up as per the expectations of the society. Furthermore, the children grow up knowing how to be independent and in control of their emotions and other personal issues (Chambers, 2015). From the way that the parent communicated with his children, one could tell that he enjoyed spending time with them. Apart from the horse riding, he allowed them to take by the pleasantries that were being sold in addition to carrying whatever the children had bought. The language used was also friendly without any form of strictness or abuse.