Social psychology is a study of how people’s behaviors are influenced by others. Every human behavior has characteristic that are born in them no matter their environment. The study of interactions is important between people because such interactions can cause differences in treatment of one another. Analyzing how each person reacts to a different situation in their life is a unique learning process. Each individual interaction tells their story of why they are built this way and is it because of social setting (Brain)?
The belief system for humans come from many different influences that affect people’s life. A family is the biggest influences on people but our surroundings play a huge role in how we behave. “A Rose for Emily” showed social segregation because of how they treated her and her treatment of the townspeople. People place blame and say they were born with the characteristic of bad behaviors and attitudes but that is not always the case. If we look closer it is a mixture of all those things the social environment and genetics together ( Wexler).
People’s relationships begin with reaching out to someone else and how they are received by the other person has an impact on that person’s life. Humans are being influenced by specific interactions and the rewarding interaction leads to efforts to increase propinquity (Brehm). The presence of others or even the imagined presence of others can affect our thoughts, emotions, and behavior (Brain). If Emily would have been more willing to have friendships with the townspeople then maybe they would have changed their behavior towards her.
Prejudice is an important issue for society and one approach involves intergroup interactions (Brain). Behaviorism for most people is an instinct that people just naturally have but the social setting that people put themselves in can affect their perspective. The townspeople in “A Rose for Emily” they could only see things from their view which causes Emily to seclude herself. If they would have processed for a moment of how unhappy she must have been to be alone maybe one could have shown her little kindness.
Attitudes arise from both genetic and common environmental factors so neither Miss Emily or the townspeople wanted to help the other (Wexler). The belief system that people choose to follow in their life makes them accountable for those choices. The human belief system we have developed should not limit us to change or be open minded. As human beings, they encounter many challenges in life and it is what shapes them as people. People are prone to social influence even when no other people are present, watching television or listen to the radio can have an influence.
People need to remember their mindset can be from what they have encountered (Britannica). As people tend to behave in groups rather than in isolation, social psychology is an important part of psychology. It teaches us how grouped people live and react to daily issues. “The story of an Hour” it had a powerful impact of life changing from one moment to the next. The view of life and death and how people perceive it in their minds and it affects others. This was story of few people but their lives were entwined as one (Brain).
Interaction between family, friends and even enemies can be exhausting in many ways. Social dominance orientation involves how far people see society as hierarchical, how tough they are, and their social dominance. Most people tend to feel left out or not good enough to be with a certain group. Even a social setting of an English class most hate to be called on for fear of sounding not smart. To put yourself out there is a huge step for most because rejection is so painful for most people (Brain). As individuals, people put their guard up in case things don’t go the way they wish it to with others.
The question is why do some people have friends and others have none? Why do people bully and others protect? The problem is everyone is different not one person is made the same. Individual personality is what makes this world unique but is it the cause of so many problems (Brain)? As people have studied the behavior of other humans many things tell us why people are the way they act. They learned that what people are taught comes from family, who they associate with and the environment affects how people treat others.
Sometimes a person will do differently because they do not want to be how they were raised up. Traditional psychological theory holds that attitudes are learned and most strongly influenced by environment. People do change environments from time to time and it can affect them differently as well (Wexler). Each story in a book has different characters with different reason for being the way they are. The author is trying to tell us their story and people always want the happy ending but that is not always what people get.
As people, they have a story some good some bad and people have to have an open mindset to them. The human belief system people have developed should not limit people to change. Everyone experience the world differently but how one see’s the experience and uses it in their life is what counts. “The Alchemist” was all about open mindset and journey of finding oneself. Santiago was all change in his life he had a quest to find his personal legend. He met many people on this journey and he was taught many lessons. He challenged himself to follow his dream and let nothing hold him back from it.
Does this mean his social setting caused him to take this leap of faith with this journey? Yes in some ways he wanted more than being a sheep herder not because he was ashamed but because he dreamed of bigger things. Most people have patterns that when other people are around them enough some people can read them quite well. Is there a sign we were born smart or not? The role of genetics in determining a person’s intelligence is a controversial subject. At least part of the problem stems from the fact that the term intelligence is defined differently by different people.
Each person has genetic and environmental influences that cause the social aspect of their life to be what it is (Wexler). Can people break the pattern of social settings or is it how things will always be? If people choose to take a different path in life they can break the cycle. Right wing authoritarianism involves how much someone is socially controlled, how much they obey someone in power and strongly they stick to moral values and social norms. In “A Rose for Emily “the whole town seemed to think and act the same way not one person thought differently.
They town seemed socially controlled and stuck in the mindset of Emily’s wrong doings and not their own (Brain). The social settings in this world have determined where people end up in life but only because the person allowed it to. We have a right to choose how we act, treat and interact with others. Social acceptance is longed for by most humans and we adapt to others ways. As humans, we want to fit in but we don’t always just like Emily did not. Each individual tells their own story of how they were built by their social settings and it affects their life.