Social Influence on Behavior

Social Influence on Behavior
Gina L Claxton
PSY/300
March 19, 2012
Erika Redmond Ayanaw

Social Influence on Behavior
Behavior of humans in social settings is a very interesting topic of study. Why do people behave one way in public and another in private? Why do men behave one way in a setting with other men and another in a family setting with their wives and children? I think that these differences in social behavior begin at a young age and continue to develop through adulthood.
I witness one aspect of this concept on a daily basis and I see that children at a very young age understand that different behavior is expected of them from different groups of people. Once the four year olds in class have been attending for a few months they truly start to show their individual personalities and exhibit learned behaviors. It is quite clear that some children are leaders and some are followers. Some are quite aggressive (usually boys) and others mostly compliant. The most interesting phenomenon that I have witnessed is one that I have named the “Jeckle and Hyde” syndrome. Not all children exhibit this behavior, but many do. While in class these children are cooperative and well mannered and conform to the expected behavior in the classroom. When their parents enter the class, they become a child that we have never seen before. It is a negative transformation that occurs. They become whining, complaining, fit throwing little aliens. It is clearly behavior that is intended to manipulate their parents into letting them behave in a way that they know is inappropriate in our class. Some children will actually make eye contact with me or the other teacher while engaging in this behavior to see what our reaction will be. We immediately let the child know that we are disappointed with this behavior. What is really interesting is to watch how the parents react to the behavior. Some will attempt to correct the child and seem embarrassed by the display. Others are completely drawn in to the child’s negative behavior and attempt to console them or negotiate with them in order to get them to cooperate. Once the parents leave the classroom this behavior disappears as quickly as it appeared. A very interesting and eye opening thing happened to me one day when I was in a local store doing some shopping. I heard the familiar voice of a child from my classroom. This particular child is a happy, cooperative, well adjusted girl in our classroom setting. I could hear her and her mother a few lanes over from me in the checkout, and then I looked over to see this little girl pleading and crying for her mother to buy her something she wanted. At first I was really not sure that this was the child I knew until I heard her mother say her name. I was truly in shock. I made sure not to be seen so that I could observe the situation for a while. Finally after she had made a couple of punches and some more loud whining at her mother, her mother gave in and she happily ran off with her sister to retrieve the desired item. I realized then that this child was completely different in the social setting of our class than she was at home. Obviously she is in the habit of crying and whining to get what she wants in her home environment and it is apparently reinforced with the desired results. We have never seen her behave this way. We have had children attempt this behavior to get what they want from their teachers, but the consequence of this behavior in class would probably lead to a five minute time out and then a short talk about using our words and making good choices.
In this instance I don’t believe there is a need for therapeutic intervention. I think that the parents could use a good parenting class so that these behavior problems do not continue, but we cannot suggest that directly.
I have also witnessed the behavior of adolescent children in groups as well as individually. I used to work with the Jr. High School age children at our school as a P.E. teacher. I have worked at this school for over 10 years and some of the children I have known since they were in pre-school and Kindergarten. Some of the children belong to good friends of mine. A few of the children have entered the school at an older age and so I don’t know them or their family background well.
The behaviors that occur when these children enter into their teenage years and are in a group setting is very typical behavior for teenagers. The boys are mostly the ones who begin to show this posturing behavior. Ones that used to be cooperative and mannerly begin to act differently. We have co-ed classes in P. E. so the element of showing off for the girls also enters the picture. Some of these boys will just push so far and are reluctant to really cross the line, but they will certainly step on the line when they are together.
I had a group of kids a few years ago who really pushed the limits. One boy in particular finally really crossed the line by telling me to shut up. That was not a pretty scene. This boy was known for being disrespectful to his teachers and the adults in his life. He was also known for talking other boys into going along with his bad behavior and even joining in. This situation occurred when we were doing physical fitness tests for semester finals. Unfortunately this boy was also known to lie and cheat so as not to have to put out too much effort. He would convince his partner to lie about the count when doing push up, sit ups and chin ups. He knew I was watching him this particular day, and he was agitated about it. When I asked for his count it was different than what I had observed so I called him on it. In front of the whole class he said to me “You shut up” to him I responded “you go to the office and I will meet you there after class”. After class I met with him and the Principal. In front of the Principal he made excuses and hung his head trying to get some sympathy. He was much quieter in this setting than he ever was in class. I explained what had happened, and I sent a note home to his parents explaining the situation. I told the boy that he was not to return to my class until he was prepared to apologize for his disrespect in front of the same group. He did return a couple of days later and reluctantly apologized to me in front of the class. In this case the boy felt comfortable to be even more disrespectful and misbehave when his peers where present. This reminds me of the concept of group think behavior. It makes me think of the type of behavior that the boys engaged in the book Lord of The Flies!
In this instance I did believe that this boy needed to get some counseling. He obviously was having some anger issues and needed to find some ways to deal with it. I told the Grandmother whom he was living with at the time that I thought he would benefit from some counseling and she agreed and said that they were also having problems with him at home. I learned that he was later diagnosed with ADHD and put on medications as well as given therapeutic help.
The phenomenon of people’s behavior changing depending on their social situation is a very interesting thing to observe and think about. Most people do it to some extent, sometimes it is necessary and sometimes it is not.

References:
Psychology Sixth Edition, Kolwalski & Westen, 2011

References: Psychology Sixth Edition, Kolwalski & Westen, 2011