Understanding Human Behavior in a Religious Environment

Human Behavior in the Social Environment

The way human beings behave when they are in a social environment varies as compared to when they are alone. In isolation, people will behave in such a manner that portrays their identity. However, when in the company of many people in a social place, people tend to experience tension and the desire to please other arises. Therefore, the kind of personality people show when in the public watch is likely to be misleading (Dewey, 2013). This study gives an account of what was experienced by the researcher while in the in a church service. In this church session, the worshippers are freely interacting. The observer notes everything about them including their ethnicity.

The interaction session

At the interactive session, the people here noted to be having their discussions in some groupings. These groupings were made up of women, men or children isolated groups. This shows that the people here were interested in making groups for themselves that were based on gender. The people in this forum demonstrated that they were not interested in intermingling across the genders. The organization theory holds that people who share a common believe will easily interact than those who share little. The three categories here were children, women, and men. It is also observed that the people segregated children and kept them away from their conversations. It is also noted that these children were in a happy mood being alone. From a look at these people, different social classes could be seen. In the sitting arrangement at the church, emphasis was laid on the social class that someone belonged to or cherished being associated. The dignitaries were given the front seats to occupy while the rest occupied the back seats (Goman, 2011).

The interaction among them showed that there were at least three languages being spoken. These were from the three ethnic groups that were present at the forum. The similarity among all these three groups was on how they handled themselves. They seemed to understand each other in every way. The other similar thing is that they all understood the English language. The preaching that was done by the pastor was in English, and they all understood it. One other similarity with them was on the issue of dress code, they all seemed to be officially dressed. Ethnicity affected the interactive patterns. During free sessions, these people clustered into their individual ethnic groups (Dewey, 2013).

The environment also had an influence on them in the sense that they appeared solemn and well conducted than the way people would have ordinarily appeared like. They talked in low tones in a manner that symbolized that they revered the place. This observation was in line with the provisions of systems theory. In this theory, people are influenced by the systems that surround them (Izard, 2010). The various conditions in the surrounding environment influence and inform the way people should interact. It is also noted that oppression theory provisions are evident in this environment. The adults are seen to be oppressing the children by keeping them off their discussions. Apparently, people face a similar oppression from the environment in which they live because they have to maintain some extraordinary decorum and a specific talking pattern (Goman, 2011).

Surprisingly, this session showed that despite the differences in language background and ethnicity, they all seemed to identify with the same religion. The preacher used only one language to communicate, and they all received it well. Looking at the nature of communication, people seemed to understand themselves despite their differences. The sad bit was however on the point that there was little interaction among all the ages and genders. There was evidence of segregation of the children and the women from the men (Izard, 2010).

A number of lessons and pieces of knowledge can be learned from this interactive session. First, it is possible for people of different backgrounds to agree over an issue and be able to benefit from the situation. For instance, with the emergence of a good and conducive interactive environment, people from different backgrounds and ethnicities can still coexist (Goman, 2011). The study also brings the lesson that people who have a different interactive background can be made to interact freely by ensuring that they have a common language of communication. Good relationship and interactive skills are essential to any researcher who wishes to learn more relate in a social environment. The basic procedure that need to be satisfied is that time should be taken to be within the scene of action. The observer also needs to avoid biased judgments while observing (Dewey, 2013).