2.  From the moment of birth, humans are social
creatures. Indeed, without social interactions
(the support of caregivers), no infant would
survive. Even when we become capable of
living independently, very few people seek to
live in isolation. We generally welcome social
interactions, and no study of behavior would
be complete without considering these
interactions.

3.  The study of social behavior is often referred
to as "social psychology", but the reality is
that studying social interactions is not solely
the domain of psychologists--sociologists
and anthropologists, among others, also
study social interactions in various ways.
What distinguishes social psychology from
these other disciplines is the emphasis on the
individual as the focus of study--that is,
social psychologists tend to focus on how
individuals act in social situations, and how
they are influenced by social processes.

4.  Sometimes, the focus is on how the individual
is affected by others--what is called social
influence. Social influence can include direct
influences, like group decision making, as
well as indirect influences, like imagining how
friends would react to a particular situation.
In other cases, social psychologists study the
cognitive processes that we use in
understanding ourselves and others,
called social cognition.

5.  Stereotyping and attitude change are
examples of social cognitive processes. (Note
that while one might imagine that social
cognition is simply a sub-area of the
Cognitive Approach, in fact, the behaviors
related to social cognition can be explained
from a variety of approaches--for example,
stereotyping can be discussed by the
Biological Approach in terms of evolutionary
processes.)

6.  In physiology and sociology, social
behavior is behavior directed towards
society, or taking place between, members of
the same species. Behavior such
as predation which involves members of
different species is not social. While many
social behaviors are communication (provoke
a response, or change in behavior, without
acting directly on the receiver)
communication between members of
different species is not social behavior. The
umbrella term behavioral sciences are used to
refer to sciences that study behaviorality
disturbance in general.

7.  In sociology, "behavior" itself means an
animal-like activity devoid of social meaning
or social context, in contrast to "social
behavior" which has both. In a sociological
hierarchy, social behavior is followed
by social actions, which is directed at other
people and is designed to induce a response.
Further along this ascending scale are social
interaction and social relation. In conclusion,
social behavior is a process of
communicating.

8.  Among specific social behaviors are
regarded, e.g., aggression, altruism, scape
goating and shyness.
 Altruism can be distinguished from feelings
of duty and loyalty.
 Monosociality' describes social relations (or
preference for such relations) with the same
sex of a (putatively) nonsexual nature.
'Bisociality' describes social relations (or
preference for such relations) with both the
same and opposite sexes, also of a
(putatively) nonsexual nature.

9.  Social behavior is a term used to describe the
general conduct exhibited by individuals within a
society, which is essentially in response to what
is deemed acceptable by a person’s peer group
or avoiding behavior that is characterized as
unacceptable. This type of human behavior
primarily determines how individuals interact
with one another within a group or society. While
social conduct is often modeled to create a
comfortable social environment, anti-social
behavior such as aggression, scapegoating and
group bullying may also be defined as negative
social behavior, particularly in instances where
other individuals within a peer group all behave
accordingly.

10.  Just as positive interactions amongst
individuals in a society help create a pleasant
environment for citizens, activities defined by
peer groups to be acceptable even if harmful
to select individuals or subgroups within a
society also relate to social behavior. Studies
of massive human violations have helped
illustrate the extent by which harmful, but
socially acceptable, behaviors have persisted
in some societies. Examples of widespread
acceptance of negative behavior within a peer
group include historical incidents of mass
genocide and human enslavement.

11.  With the use of specially designed social
behavior therapies and
programs, doctors, educators and others can
help individuals who are suffering from social
disorders, such as shyness or unrestrained
anger, learn how to overcome these issues to
become more productive members of society.
Not only is the study of how social conduct
impacts members of mainstream society
important, but in studying anti-social
behavior, in particular, doctors are able to
help people isolated from society become
rehabilitated and engage in positive
interactions with others.

12.  Even when considering the prevalence of the
dual inheritance theory, which attributes
human behavior to a combination of genetic
selection and cultural influence, social
conduct programs may have a positive impact
in correcting socially maladaptive behaviors
in individual patients. Research
within sociology and psychology have
questioned whether traits, such as altruism,
may be genetically influenced while, at the
same time, be rooted in social psychology.

13.  Through the study of social psychology, it is
known that humans are not the only beings
influenced by social behavior. Researchers
studying animals and insects have found that
social behavior governs the activities of these
groups, as well. This is particularly evident in
animals and insects that live their entire lives
within a group of the same species and where
each member has a role to play in that
group’s survival.