The Human Nature Essay

Human nature describes the physical attributes that people have, which are frequently exhibited in the form of emotions and behavioral traits (Heider, 2013). All humans frequently share these qualities. Human nature is influenced by several things. Age, religion, genetics, and other factors are among them. Regarding age, it has been observed that people behave differently depending on their age group; for instance, young children receive direction from their parents. It follows that their behavior is undoubtedly greatly influenced by that of their guardian. These people start to identify with society when they enter adolescence. They are allowed to make decisions on their own and are seen to establish norms for things like dress, hairstyles, and other things. At the age of young adulthood, these individuals become entirely reliant on themselves.

Another factor is religion. It has a significant influence on the belief of a person. For example, when someone believes in a particular deity, the individuals get to follow its requirements and act with the principles of that faith. Believers are likely to conduct themselves in a given manner based on principles of their faith. Genetics equally has an impact on human nature (Wilson, 2012). A person can inherit certain traits that make them behave in a given way. For example, a child can acquire a family gene of intelligence. In this case, the child’s IQ tends to be higher than that of his age-mates, hence making him think and behave differently from his peers.

Social interaction, on the other hand, often involves the exchange of ideas between two parties or a group of individuals, hence fostering the unity of the society. Some of these interactions include schools, daycare, workplace, neighborhood, etc.

Schools and Peer

Schools have often served as a common place, where individuals from varied backgrounds meet with the common goal of accessing knowledge and in the process get to socialize with each other (Wessendorf, 2014). These learning institutions have made it possible for students to interact with their peers. Through the peer groups, they get to influence one another and adopt a specific behavior recognizable amongst themselves. These avenues have significantly contributed to social interaction.

Daycare

Daycares have equally contributed to social interaction, for example, once children get taken by their parents to these places, and they get to interact with their respective teachers who in the process influence their behaviors. It is from these places that children get to adopt specific traits that define their conducts,

Workplace

It is also considered a contributing factor to social interaction. Reporting to work is characterized by anticipatory socialization. In this case, an individual psychologically prepares himself to undertake the particular task without having arrived at the place yet. These environments get individuals to adjust their social interactions to fit that of the organization culture.

Several factors affect social interaction. They include social class, neighborhood, and race

Social Class

People hail from different backgrounds, and therefore choose to associate with individuals, who resemble their social status (Collins, 2014). For example, the rich get highly associate to wealthy individuals with whom they can reason with, unlike the poor, who they feel have little to contribute regarding issues such as business. In such scenario, social interaction is hindered between individuals from the two social classes hence making it difficult for them to associate with one another

Neighborhood

Various neighborhoods inhibit social interactions. For example, individuals who reside in a gated community often get confined within their premises making it difficult for them to socialize with other people. In such scenarios, an environment of secrecy is established hence limited instances of neighbors getting to interact freely.

Race

Race plays a significant part in determining how people interact (Knapp, Hall & Horgan, 2013). A person’s skin color would influence how people perceive each other and may result in either in-group or out-group bias. For example, despite a person not finding it hard to talk to an individual of another race, they may find it difficult being the first one to strike up a conversation between themselves.

Conclusion

Socialization is considered to have a significant impact on human nature. Behaviors that people often acquire majorly relates to the environment they get exposed. Socialization to a great extent shapes the people we become in future. For example, at school, students get to interact with the peer and adopt various behaviors that associate them with their age groups. If a child is left to grow in an environment, where his age-mates have disrespect to their parents, it is no doubt that the child will eventually have no respect for the parents. It is due to the child spending most of his time socializing with peers of poor character. Another example is that of religious individuals, who portrays humbleness. Given that the religion advocates for holiness, the individual is forced to go by the teachings of that deity and exhibit characters associated with the faith, for example, humility. If the person could have grown in an environment that is full of hostility, the individual would adopt that behavior. I, therefore, support socialization to have played a significant role in the shaping of human behavior.



References

Collins, R. (2014). Interaction ritual chains. Mercer County, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Heider, F. (2013). The psychology of interpersonal relations. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

Knapp, M.L., Hall, J.A., & Horgan, T.G. (2013). Nonverbal communication in human interaction. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Wessendorf, S. (2014). Commonplace diversity: Social relations in a super-diverse context. New York, NY: Springer.

Wilson, E. O. (2012). On human nature. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.