Social Interaction

 Social interaction is a dynamic, changing sequence of social actions between individuals or groups who modify their actions and reactions according to the actions by their interaction partners. In other words, they are events in which people attach meaning to a situation, interpret what others are meaning and respond accordingly.

    It may also refer to the acts, actions or practices of two or more people mutually oriented towards each other's selves, that is, any behavior that tries to affect or take account of each other's subjective experiences or intentions. This means that the parties in social interaction must be aware of each other, or have each other's self in mind. This does not mean being in sight of or directly behaving toward each other. Social interaction is not defined by type of physical relation or behavior, or by physical distance. It is a matter of mutual subjective orientation toward each other. Thus, even with no physical behavior is involved, there is social interaction.
    It is seen that humans by nature are social being. They have innate drive or motive for affiliation, or the need to be with other people and to have personal relationship (Larey, 2001).
    (What an introduction about social interaction..hehehe)

    Now going to the my point, social interaction among children plays an important factor in their development. Interactions with parents, teachers and other adults introduce children to important social standards and rules. These interactions produce knowledge and respect for the social order, including its principles of organizations and legitimate authority. Furthermore, learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal relationships and communications with other people.
    Albert Bandura's reciprocal determinism describes the view that human development reflects an interaction between the person, the person's behavior, and the environment which includes other persons. This sees that development is a continuous reciprocal interaction between children and their environment. The situation or environment that a child experiences will surely affect him, but his behavior is thought to affect his environment as well. The implication of this is that children are actively involved in shaping the very environment that will influence their growth and development.
    Being appropriately social requires children to interact with others, and these interactions are more likely to be harmonious if they know what their social partners are thinking and feeling and can predict how these partners will likely to behave. This links to the idea of sociability that describes the child willing to engage other in social interaction and to seek attention and approval.
    In the middle childhood stage of development, sociability among peers is the most common and noticeable social interaction that children do. Also, peer interaction may be especially important for learning to regulate aggression and for understanding principles of loyalty, equity and important foundations of moral developement (Hartup, 1992; Keller and Edelstin, 1993). It introduces children to norms that direct reciprocity, and to standards of sharing, cooperation and fairness.

     Another reason middle childhood peer groups are important is because they challenge children to develop their interaction skills. Elementary school children must work to make the peer group understand what they are thinking and feeling. They must also struggle to see the points of view that other children hold. Through such efforts toward mutual understanding, children gain in social competence, that is, their ability to achieve personal goals in social interaction, while continuing to maintain positive relationship with others throughout elementary school years.

   Moreover, social scripts or special rules about particular form of social interactions change with age, not just because the children's cognitive skills change but also simply because that these rules change from social setting to another.

Behavior

 Behavior refers to the action or reactions of an object or organism usually in relation to the environment. This refers to the general trait, values or character that the child manifests. These behaviors may be explained by both hereditary and environmental factors.

      Behavioral genetics view development as the process through which one’s genotype, or the set of genes one inherits, comes to be expressed as a phenotype, or one’s observable characteristics and behavior. They claim that most behavioral attributes are the end product of a long and involved interplay between hereditary predisposition and environmental influences. Family studies and other longitudinal projects reveal that many core dimensions of personality are genetically influenced. For example, introversion and extroversion or the extent to which a person is shy and uncomfortable around others versus out-going and socially oriented, shows about the same moderate level of heritability as IQ does (Martin ad Jardine, 1986). Another important attribute that may be genetically influenced is emphatic concern, or the recognition of the need of others and concern about their welfare.

      On the other hand, Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory emphasizes that the developing person is embedded in a series of environmental systems that interact with one another and with the person to influence development. In addition, Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory perceives development in which children acquire their attitudes, values, beliefs and problem solving strategies though collaborative dialogue with more knowledgeable members of the society. Moreover, Bandura’s social learning believed that children acquire their behavior through observation and imitation. Complex behavior is the result of exposure to component models that display appropriate behavior in solving problems and up with the world.

      During the course of development, most humans arrive at a point at which they behave responsibly and to think of themselves as moral individuals. Psychoanalysts say that children are motivated to act in accordance with their ethical principles in order to experience positive affect such as pride and to avoid negative emotions such as guilt and shame. Cognitive developmental theorists also suggest that the ways children think about right and wrong may change dramatically as they mature.

       Behavior is very critical especially with children’s relationship with others. The patterns of behavior they display predict the statuses they will achieve with their peers. Children who have difficulties appropriately regulating their emotions like anger, are often rejected by peers and are likely to develop psychological problems, drop-out of schools or become delinquent. On the other hand, children who display altruism and express positive emotions have better relationship with their peers.

      The bottomline of the above-mentioned discussion imply the need for significant people such as parents and teachers to serve as role models for the children. Parents may pass on some traits to their children, but the importance of environmental nurturing in home, in school and in the community as a whole serve as a critical component in molding good behaviors among the children.