Prosocial behavior is in psychology the desire to benefit others. However, in the world there is a certain number of people who do not have a desire to help someone, therefore certain social levers are aimed at reducing the number of individuals with deviant behavior and at preventing its formation.
Parenting is primarily aimed at the formation of a certain model of behavior that ensures the normal functioning of society. It is fair to consider that a social setting is one of the basic, main qualities of a person. The concept of prosocial behavior was formed in society.
Altruism
Prosocial behavior is defined in psychology as the desire of a person to benefit the world. In order to achieve this, a person performs disinterested acts, trying to please society or an individual person. It follows that this behavior leads to the well-being of other people, but significantly worsens the likelihood of achieving one's own success.
Usually people rarely help for one reason or another, but if they help, their main goal is to get inner satisfaction. Care and assistance must be done for any reason, here are the possible ones:
- improve your own well-being;
- earn the approval of others;
- support the external image;
- cope with your own mood and emotions.
Prosocial Motivation
The main reason that a person seeks to provide assistance is the satisfaction of their own needs. They can be both physical and mental. The main motives for prosocial behavior are:
- Situation. It is very important how the subject evaluates the situation in which he finds himself, what significance he attaches to it. Correct attitude to the situation is the first step towards solving the problem. A person must determine the complexity, the nature of the help, whether he should intervene or pass by. There are situations when a person does not lose time thinking, but instantly decides to provide assistance, for example, during an emergency.
- The inner motive. That is, getting benefits for yourself, for example, getting praise, approval from others, building relationships, etc.
- The motive of care. Helping old, sick, disabled, children, that is, those who can cause pity.
- Mutual benefit. A person, helping another individual, subconsciously hopes to receive help in response, the principle “you to me, I to you” works.
- Fear. Many are really afraid to refuse help, this is due to negative experiences.
The principle of interaction in society
The constant interaction of people with each other greatly affects the personality of any person. Communicating with peers, relatives, acquaintances, each person carries out certain social interactions that sooner or later will lead to a choice between helping or refusing. The choice of a person will depend on his internal attitudes. The latter are formed in the process of socialization. The future choice of a person depends on how they were formed.
But the real determining factor in choosing to help or refuse is empathy. Each person’s prosocial behavior is expressed differently, so the more a person is inclined to empathy, the higher his willingness to help in a particular case.
Asocial Behavior
Asocial behavior is a mode of action in which a person behaves against established norms and expectations of society. Asocial behavior is a deviation from the norm. And since this deviation, then it entails a negative impact on social groups. The following types of antisocial behavior are distinguished:
- unapproved (episodic pranks, mischief);
- deviant (moral-negative manifestations and misconduct);
- delinquent (pre-criminal);
- criminal.
Causes of antisocial behavior
The causes of antisocial behavior come from childhood. If the child lived in a dysfunctional family, then most likely he will have antisocial behavior, which is extremely undesirable, and sometimes even dangerous for society. Based on this, the following causes of deviant behavior are distinguished:
- Microenvironment. The family is a fundamental factor in the formation of behavior. If the family considers violence, drunkenness, parasitism, alcoholism, drug addiction, immoral behavior to be the norm, then this is the cause of asocial behavior of a person.
- Teenage subcultures. Most subcultures have a negative effect on adolescents. They carry ideas, ideals, values in which society is not able to function normally, but because of their age, especially during puberty, a teenager does not want to accept the life attitudes of adults.
- The desire to imitate adults. Because of this desire, adolescents or even children begin to smoke, drink, and use the words of profanity in their speech. At a very young age, the child has the image of an adult who he will imitate.
- Dissatisfaction. Often men between the ages of 30 and 50 begin to abuse alcohol or drugs, since they cannot get what they want, the same reason can be quarrels in the family, ridicule of colleagues, complexes, etc.
The struggle of society with antisocial behavior
Society seeks to maintain its security. Therefore, the fight against antisocial behavior is one of the important tasks for him. There are many methods for this, all of which serve to help a person understand that he is dangerous not only to society, but also to himself. Based on this, there are psychiatric hospitals, guardianship agencies, clinics for drug addicts, prisons, etc.
The state pays special attention to the proper upbringing of children, therefore, there are the following tasks of the school for the prevention of antisocial behavior:
- Teacher training for the correct and competent work with adolescents at risk.
- Identification of dysfunctional families, as well as the interaction of schools and families to prevent the formation of associative behavior.
- Events and promotions on a healthy lifestyle for teens.
- Social assistance to dysfunctional families by guardianship authorities.
- Work on the formation and maintenance of the desire of children and adolescents for positive changes in lifestyle through education.
- Programs for parents on problems of deviant behavior in children and adolescents so as not to aggravate the situation.
- Promoting and spreading a healthy lifestyle among children.
Social behavior systems
Prosocial and asocial behavior are two opposing patterns. The unique values and outlooks on life that each person keeps in himself influence his behavior.