It is not easy to grasp what it means to be human, since this involves investigating the interrelationship between beliefs, orientations, atmosphere of society, culture, interpersonal ties as well as materialism. The present discourse considers what influences human values and attitudes while also taking into account counter-arguments that reveal an essentialist view of humanity and a way out of materialistic longing by means of religious expressions. The study at hand examines these conflicting viewpoints towards enabling us to get a better grasp of the intricacies involved in human life. Social settings exert considerable impact on individuals’ values and dispositions.
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Social Environment
Our development and the formation of our identity are significantly affected by the environment we live in. The social environment has always been critical in shaping human behavior and society. The environment acts as a powerful force in shaping our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors towards others. The environment plays a very important role in one’s personal growth. A healthy environment creates a perfect individual while a less healthy environment will produce problematic society (Lukman, 2023). Throughout history, people have formed communities and developed traditions, cultural norms, and institutions to guide their interactions and surroundings (Dhiman, 2023). This is because human behavior cannot be viewed or understood in a vacuum; not only is human behavior in and of itself complex, but we all influence and are influenced by the environments in which we live (Rogers, 2020). We human beings are fundamentally social animals and also our communications with others have a profound influence on our growth and because of that we can socialize. Furthermore, family is the primary source to our social environment for the reason that it is the basic foundation of a community. The family is where people learn social norms and values, typically passed down from generation to generation. Family members serve as role models for each other, and they influence each other’s behavior through direct and indirect means (Dhiman, 2023). Both the parent’s and child’s social relationships are increasingly recognised as an important factor influencing the quality of parenting, which in turn is an important contributor to the child’s overall development (V., 2019). Our household close friends, peers plus neighborhood all add to forming who we are as people. Social media is also one of the factors that we have. It can be a negative influence and also a positive influence. Mass media can be seen as one of the most influential factors that affect people’s socialization in the modern world (Socialization Process and Its Main Factors – 1388 Words | Essay Example, 2021). Our social environment forms our perspectives in the direction of concerns such as sex-equal rights, human rights, ecological sustainability, plus social justice, having knowledge about politics or who we would have voted for. Additionally, correspondence media has a critical impact in urging people to help the current standards and values or restrict or transform them. They are the instrument of social power (Mass Media as an Agency of Socialization – Edubirdie, 2022). The social environment can either support favorable qualities such as compassion, teamwork, as well as concern or cultivate unfavorable features like hostility, selfishness plus bias. To conclude, the social environment is an effective pressure that forms the nature of people. People must be conscious of their environments coupled with proactively functioning in the direction of producing a favorable plus comprehensive social atmosphere on their own plus others.
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Culture
Culture is the foundation of human civilization, providing a framework for social interactions, communication, and cooperation. It influences our behavior, attitudes, and perceptions of the world around us. Human beings are biologically adapted for culture in ways that other primates are not, as evidenced most clearly by the fact that only human cultural traditions accumulate modifications over historical time (Tomasello, 1999). Conversely, cultural beliefs and practices create a basis upon which individuals interpret their social roles, form their opinions about various aspects of life. The cultural identities and differences between human beings relate to their behavior, and they divide into and are affiliated in cultural groupings through their (cultural) modes of behavior (Lurie, 2000). Others play a vital role when it comes to one’s attitudes and values development process; this is mainly through strong bonds shared among them. Culture shapes what we do and forms our personalities. Human behavior is a central aspect of culture because of this. Behavior defines culture and culture, in turn defines behavior (Culture in Human Behavior, 2023). It also reflects the moral and ethical beliefs and standards that speak to how people should behave and interact with others (An Overview of Ethics: Culture and Ethics | Saylor Academy, n.d.). This is because each culture has its own ideas of what is considered right or wrong, and what is regarded as good or bad. Moral codes dictate many aspects of our lives, from how we act with different age groups, to how we dress, and even how we treat other people
Culture is a powerful and essential means used by people to be adapted to surroundings, to interpret personal understanding of this world, and to organize personal thoughts and actions (Culture Is Essential: What Is Its Role in Human Life?, 2023). Through culture, we express our creativity, emotions, and experiences in various forms such as art, music, literature, language, rituals, and customs.
References
Rogers. (n.d.). : Human behavior in the social environment : perspectives on development, the life course, and macro contexts (2nd edition, Vol. 24). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003025382
Dhiman, D. B. (2023, April 10). How Social Environment Influences People’s Behavior: A Critical Review. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4417597#:~:text=The%20social%20 environment%20reference%20to,behaviors%2C%20 beliefs%2C%20and%20 values.
V. (2019, May 9). Parenting, social environment and child development | myVMC. Retrieved from https://healthinfo.healthengine.com.au/parenting-the-social-environment-and-its-effects-on-child-development#:~:text=The%20social%20environment%20 also%20 influences,and%20children%20will%20 interact%20 socially.
Lukman, D. (2023, June 9). How Social Environment Can Influence Behavior And Student Performance. Medium. https://imperialwriters7.medium.com/how-social-environment-can-influence-behavior-and-student-performance-87258df958f2
Socialization Process and Its Main Factors – 1388 Words | Essay Example. (2021, May 6). IvyPanda. https://ivypanda.com/essays/socialization-process-and-its-main-factors/
Mass Media as an Agency of Socialization – Edubirdie. (2022, March 18). Edubirdie. https://edubirdie.com/examples/mass-media-as-an-agency-of-socialization/
Lurie, Y. (2000, January 1). Human Beings as Cultural Beings. Cultural Beings, 13–26. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004494954_005
Tomasello, M. (1999). The Human Adaptation for Culture. Annual Review of Anthropology, 28, 509–529. http://www.jstor.org/stable/223404
Culture is Essential: What Is Its Role in Human Life? (2023, October 28). IvyPanda. https://ivypanda.com/essays/in-what-ways-is-culture-essential-to-human-life-how-does-it-make-our-life-possible/#:~:text=Culture%20is%20an%20internal%20 part,as%20a%20virtual%20 ability%20to
Culture in Human Behavior. (2023, October 28). IvyPanda. https://ivypanda.com/essays/culture-in-human-behavior/
An Overview of Ethics: Culture and Ethics | Saylor Academy. (n.d.). Saylor Academy. https://learn.saylor.org/mod/book/view.php?id=53638&chapterid=37598#:~:text=Culture%20 reflects%20the%20moral%20and,of%20 different%20 types%20of%20 values.