Human Behavior in Social Context

Annisa Rahma¹, Wantini²

Universitas Ahmad Dahlan, Indonesia

Keywords

Abstract

Human Behavior, Social Interaction, Culture, Social Norms

Humans are complex social beings, and their behavior is influenced by interactions with their social environment. In this context, a deep understanding of the factors that shape human behavior is essential. This research aims to understand how cultural values, norms, and traditions influence human behavior in a particular social context. This research uses the case study method. Research subjects may include diverse groups of people involved in social interactions, such as individuals from different age groups, cultures, and socio-economic backgrounds. Data collection techniques include participant observation and case studies. The results show that human behavior in social contexts is strongly influenced by various factors, including culture, norms, and interactions between individuals. Data analysis confirmed that culture plays an important role in shaping behavior, with cultural values influencing individual decisions and actions.

Corresponding Author: Annisa Rahma

E-mail: [email protected]

INTRODUCTION

Humans are creatures that have different characteristics than other creatures. Humans in particular have special behaviours such as reading, writing, laughing, talking, and so on (Bickerton, 2016). It can be interpreted that human behaviour is all activities that can be observed and noticed from the outside. Behaviour is also considered a psychological activity that is influenced by the circumstances that occur around it. The reaction process has a law of reciprocity in the form of passive and active (Wantini, 2023) .

The following are several factors that cause changes in human behaviour:

1. Genetics

2. Attitude

3. Norm

4. Behaviour control

The statement above is in accordance with Skinner's formulation regarding responses and reactions that are influenced by external stimuli (Vembriati, 2017) . in psychology, attitudes or behaviour are seen as an interconnected set based on the results of human reasoning and understanding of an individual or social group (civil religious attitudes). This attitude is formed from the results of individual learning and life experiences, therefore human behaviour is always sustainable with the social environment around it (Juvan & Dolnicar, 2014).

According to Heider, social behaviour and cognitive balance can influence the attitudes of other people within their social circle (Zheng, Zeng, & Wang, 2015). Someone will tend to want friends, where the friends they need are a reflection of themselves who have the same personality, the same habits and the same thoughts, and vice versa. So that a person when looking for friends or their environment will be motivated to adjust their cognitive balance (Wantini, 2023).

According to Al-Ghazi, Islamic education has two methods; the first is the habit formation method and the tazkiyatu al-nafs method. The habit method emphasizes its use in moral education and children's mental developmentï¿½ (Ningsih, 2022). The habit method is to form good habits and abandon bad habits through guidance, practice and hard work. It is impossible for all religious ethics to penetrate the soul until the soul familiarizes itself with good habits and avoids bad habits, before diligently behaving in a commendable manner and being afraid of acting in a disgraceful way. Habituation is one method of Islamic education that is very important for children, because with habituation, an activity will eventually become the child's own in the future (Arief, 2023). The Qur'an turns habits into educational techniques or methods. Then he turns all the good qualities into habits, so that the soul can complete those habits without too much effort, without much effort, and without much difficulty.

The environment is a reference and perspective for a child in determining the direction he wants. The environment can provide its own characteristics to human development. Herein lays the role and responsibility of the educational environment to produce a complete future generation. A study revealed by Poondej & Lerdpornkulrat (2016) stated that a student can adapt how they learn to their perception of their learning environment (Lerdpornkulrat, Koul, & Poondej, 2018).

According to Gerungan, attitudes can also be classified into individual attitudes and social attitudes. Social attitudes are expressed by the same and repeated ways of activity towards social objects, and are usually expressed by a group of people or society. Meanwhile, individual attitude is the attitude that a person has and expresses. A person's attitude can ultimately form a social attitude, when there is uniform attitude towards an object. In the context of this discussion, the attitude referred to is an individual attitude, considering that the education discussed in this study concerns the individual educational process, considering that the desires, needs, abilities, motivations and targets of students are very diverse ( Gerungan WA, 2000). Personality is also a collection of biological traits in the form of drives, tendencies, feelings and instincts that are disturbed in nature and tendencies are acquired through experiences found in a person.

Humans actually consist of physical and spiritual elements, and are equipped and given the gift of reason, heart and passion as provisions for living life. With reason, humans can think, so they can develop their knowledge and culture. The mind used to think can lead humans towards a deep understanding of nature so as to create science and technology. Meanwhile, the heart provides a sense of humanity so that humans have a feeling of beauty, emotion, love and so on, while lust encourages humans to move freely and dynamically. Meanwhile, lust is an impulse of free will that gives energy to humans in the form of desire so that humans are encouraged to move forward. All human functions and duties will be able to be carried out properly and correctly if humans become civilized. It was at this point that Islamic psychology was born as a reaction to the progress of contemporary western psychological discourse. Islamic psychology is psychology that is imbued with the values of Islamic teachings which is essentially identical to the Islamization of psychology. Social skills are the abilities that students must have in interacting with other people in their environment, including the ability to communicate, work together, participate in society, and social sensitivity. Social skills can foster and direct students' social attitudes and social behavior for the better (Liu, Yuen, & Rao, 2017). Social psychology studies have studied the behavior and attitudes of individuals in their social world. Social psychologists have long used a cognitive approach to understand social psychology. The definition of social cognition is the manner in which we interpret, analyze, remember and use information about the social world. Or in other words, how our minds work to understand the surrounding environment so that we can function in it adaptively ï¿½(Staddon, 2016).

From the statement above, it can be concluded that perceptions and attitudes really determine human social life, because social life will encourage someone to do something according to their environment.

RESEARCH METHODS

This research uses a qualitative approach to explore human behavior in a social context. In addition, this research also uses a mixed-methods approach by combining qualitative and quantitative elements to gain a more comprehensive understanding. The research design is a case study, which allows researchers to explore human behavior in complex and contextual social situations. The research involved direct observation in various social situations as well as in-depth interviews with participants to understand their perceptions and experiences. The research subjects consisted of individuals from different age groups, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds involved in social interactions. Subject selection was purposive to ensure a diverse representation of the population under study. Data collection techniques included participatory observation, semi-structured interviews, and case studies. The researcher conducted direct observations in social situations to understand human behavior in its natural context, as well as semi-structured interviews that allowed the researcher to gain in-depth insights into the motivations and factors that influence participants' behavior. Case studies were used to explore human behavior in complex and contextual situations. Data analysis techniques used include thematic analysis to identify patterns in the data relating to human behavior in social contexts, narrative analysis to understand how individual stories or experiences reflect broader social dynamics, and quantitative analysis to test statistical relationships between social variables and human behavior. With this methodological approach, this research aims to provide comprehensive insights into the factors that influence human behavior in various social contexts, as well as how individuals adapt and respond to their social environment.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Changes in Human Behaviour

We can examine changes in human behaviour regarding social behaviour from several things, quoted from several psychologists who have expressed their opinions and trends regarding changes in human behaviour, as follows:

1. The flow of nativism

Nativism (nativism) is a philosophical doctrine that has had a major influence on the flow of psychological thought. The main figure of this school was Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860), a German philosopher. The nativism philosophy is known as a pessimistic school that views everything through dark glasses. Because experts in this school believe that human development is determined by factors that are innate from birth, while experience and education have no influence whatsoever. In educational science, this view is called "pedagogical pessimism". (Judrah, 2020)

For example, if a pair of parents is musical experts, then the children they give birth to will become musicians too. Even tigers will give birth to cubs, tigers will never give birth to sheep. So the nature and talents of parents always have an absolute influence on the development of their children's lives. If viewed from an educational science perspective, it cannot be justified. Because if it is true that everything depends on the basics, so the influence of the environment and education is considered non-existent, then the consequence is that schools are not needed because they are considered unable to influence the development of a person's life.

2. The flow of empiricism

For followers of this school, it is very contrary to the opinion of Nativism, which considers that development depends on basic factors. Followers of Empiricism believe that development depends solely on environmental factors, while basic factors have no influence at all. The main figure of this empiricist school was John Locke who was very influential in the United States.

The most well-known doctrine of empiricism is "tabula rasa" a Latin term which means blank slate or blank sheet. The tabula rasa doctrine emphasizes the importance of experience, environment and education, in the sense that human development depends on the environment and educational experience, while talents and traits from birth are considered to have no influence. In this case, observers of empiricism (not empiricism) consider that every child is born like a tabula rasa, in an empty state, without any abilities or talents.

Furthermore, how a child will become in the future depends on the experience/environment that educates him. It is quite difficult to deny that the environment has a big influence on the development process and future of children. In this case, the family environment and the surrounding community have been proven to determine the quality of a child's behaviour and future. Family factors, especially their characteristics and circumstances, really determine the direction of the future development of the children they give birth to.

3. Convergence flow

The Convergence School is a combination of empiricism and nativism. This school combines the importance of heredity (inheritance) with the environment as influencing factors in human development. The main figure of convergence was Louis William Stern (1871-1938), a German philosopher and psychologist. The philosophical school he pioneered was called personalise, a philosophical thought that had a great influence on scientific disciplines related to humans. In determining the factors that influence human development, Stern and his followers did not only rely on environment/experience, nor did they depend on nature alone, but adhered to both factors.

The character factor means nothing without the experience factor. (Ekawati & Yarni, 2019) Likewise, the experience factor without the innate talent factor will not be able to develop humans in accordance with expectations. According to this school, both innate factors and environmental factors are equally important in determining a person's future. Talents that are possible already exist in each human being, but the talents that are already available need to find a suitable environment so that they can develop. For example, every normal human child has the talent to stand upright on two legs, but this talent will not be actual, if the human child does not live in a human society.

A child who has been raised by wolves since childhood will not be able to stand straight on his two legs, perhaps he will walk on his hands and feet (like a wolf). So talent and character in this case clearly have no influence if the environment and experience do not develop. To what extent does nature influence compared to the environment on a person's future development? The answers may vary. Some people say there are more environmental factors. However, in terms of physical characteristics, it is almost certain that all people are the same, that is, they will have the same body shape, hair and eyes as their parents. However, in spiritual matters it is very difficult to be sure. Many parents have talents that are X, but not necessarily that their child is the same as his grandfather or father/mother's grandfather. Thus, not all of a person's talents and character can be passed on directly to their children, but perhaps to their grandchildren. (Nasution, 2015)

The results of a student's development process cannot be explained only by mentioning nature and environment, but also by the student himself. Every person has the potential for self-direction and self-discipline which allows him to freely choose between following and rejecting a particular environment that wants to develop him.

B. Factors influencing behaviour change

1. Internal factors

Internal factors that influence changes in human behaviour involve mental, emotional and physical processes that occur within the individual. The following are several internal factors that can influence changes in human behaviour:

a. Perception: The way an individual views and interprets a situation can influence how they react to it. Changes in perception can trigger changes in behaviour.

b. Understanding: A person's understanding of a topic or situation can develop over time, which can lead to changes in their behaviour.

c. Values and beliefs: An individual's values and beliefs can change with life experiences and the learning process. These changes can influence their choices and actions.

d. Emotions: Emotions have a strong impact on human behaviour. Changes in a person's emotional state can lead to changes in their actions and responses to certain situations.

e. Cognitive component: This factor is related to a person's beliefs. The cognitive component in attitude is something that exists in belief, as well as something that makes us confirm or disconfirm. This belief can also give rise to a person's perspective in determining their attitude towards the people around them.

2. External Factors

External factors that can change a person's behaviour are a series of variables from the individual's external environment that influence the way the individual acts and responds to certain situations. The following are some external factors that can influence a person's behaviour:

a. Culture: Culture is the values, norms and beliefs held by society. Individuals are often influenced by the culture in which they live, and this can influence their decisions and actions.

b. Social Environment: The social environment, such as family, peers, and community, has a strong influence on a person's behaviour. Interactions with other people can influence how individuals think and act.

c. Education: Education is an external factor that can shape a person's behaviour. Formal and informal education plays an important role in shaping an individual's values, attitudes, and knowledge.

d. Mass Media: Mass media, such as television, the internet, and social media, have great power in shaping a person's perceptions and behaviour. Information and messages conveyed through mass media can influence individual preferences, attitudes and actions.

It can be concluded that a person's behaviour really depends on the two factors above, namely, internal factors and external factors. (Suharyat, 2009)

C. Human behaviour as social creatures in Islam

In a social context, humans have a tendency to form social groups, whether based on religion, ethnicity, profession or hobbies. This social group can influence human social behaviour in a more specific context.

In the Al-Qur'an, there are many verses that explain human behaviour towards their social environment, (Sejati, 2017) including;

1. Show compassion and kindness to fellow humans, especially to young people, orphans, widows and the poor.

Example: Surah Al-Balad verses 12-16:

Allah Subhanahu WA Ta'ala says:

وَمَآ اَدْرٰىكَ مَا الْعَقَبَةُ ï¿½ۗ فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍۙ. اَوْ اِطْعَامٌ فِيْ يَوْمٍ ذِيْ مَسْغَبَةٍۙ . يَّتِيْمًا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍۙ ï¿½.اَوْ مِسْكِيْنًا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍۗ

ï¿½Do you know what the uphill and difficult path is? (That's an attempt to) get rid of slavery. Or giving food on the day of famine, (to) orphans who are related. or poor people who are in dire need.ï¿½ (Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia, 2022)

2. Maintain good relations with neighbours and not disturb them.

Example: Surah An-Nisa verse 36:

Allah Subhanahu WA Ta'ala says

۞ وَاعْبُدُوا اللّٰهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوْا بِهٖ شَيْـًٔا وَّبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ اِحْسَانًا وَّبِذِى الْقُرْبٰى وَالْيَتٰمٰى وَالْمَسٰكِيْنِ وَالْجَارِ ذِى الْقُرْبٰى وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنْۢبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيْلِۙ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ اَيْمَانُكُمْ ۗ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَنْ كَانَ مُخْتَالًا فَخُوْرًاۙ

ï¿½ï¿½Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him. Do good to your parents, close relatives, your children, poor people, close and distant neighbors, colleagues, relatives, and any servants you have. Indeed, Allah does not like people who are arrogant or very proud of themselves."

3. Trying to improve social relations and defending the weak

Example: Surah Al Hujurat verse 9:

Allah Subhanahu WA Ta'ala says:

وَاِنْ طَاۤىِٕفَتٰنِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ اقْتَتَلُوْا فَاَصْلِحُوْا بَيْنَهُمَاۚ فَاِنْۢ بَغَتْ اِحْدٰىهُمَا عَلَى الْاُخْرٰى فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِيْ تَبْغِيْ حَتّٰى تَفِيْۤءَ اِلٰٓى اَمْرِ اللّٰهِ ۖفَاِنْ فَاۤءَتْ فَاَصْلِحُوْا بَيْنَهُمَا بِالْعَدْلِ وَاَقْسِطُوْا ۗاِنَّ اللّٰهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِيْنَ

ï¿½ï¿½If there are two groups of believers at war, reconcile them both. If one of the two mistreats another (group), fight the (group) that is committing the abuse, so that that group returns to Allah's commands. If that group has returned (to Allah's command), reconcile them both fairly. Be fair! Indeed, Allah loves those who act justly."

CONCLUSION

Human behavior is influenced by genetic factors, attitudes, norms and behavioral control, accompanied by exposure to psychological theories that support this. Next, the discussion about changes in human behavior is discussed through several psychological schools, namely nativism, empiricism and convergence. Each school has a different view regarding the factors that influence human behavior, ranging from innate factors (nativism), environmental influences (empiricism), to a combination of both (convergence). Apart from that, there is also a discussion of the factors that influence behavior change, both from an internal and external perspective. Internal factors involve an individual's mental, emotional and physical processes, while external factors include culture, social environment, education and mass media. Lastly, human behavior as social creatures in the Islamic context, by quoting verses from the Koran which emphasize the importance of compassion, maintaining good relations with neighbors, as well as improving social relations and defending the weak.ï¿½

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