By: Syeda Noor Fatima Gillani
social values always develop different psychological behaviors of every person. Social values are a set of principles that are morally accepted by the society. Values and attitudes influence our behavior and beliefs that are the cornerstone of who we are and what we do and how we carry things in our daily life. Social responsibility is the practical application of ethical concerns of society as a whole.
In people’s own understanding, values regulate society and interpersonal relations and they guide us moral and ethical behaviors. They help us understand the difference between right and wrong, good and evil. Our values give us the perception of the world. Our actions lead us to the point what we really value. In this sense values are not just motives but socially shared concepts that serve a communal function.
Now, when we talk about social values, they play a very major role in our daily life routine. Social values and psychological behaviors are interrelated. They built a very strong relation. Social values differ from person to person, friendships and family, social groups and work stations to nation-states.
Our behavior and attitudes alter according to our social circles and environment. When we are gathered with our loved ones and family our mood our nature and our perspective is entirely different, we feel blessed and joyful we leisure these luxuries moments.
Moreover, when we are in offices or at our work places we are in a serious mood we focus on our work, we come home tired and sometimes unhappy and angry. However, when we are surrounded with friends, we speak to each other in a very casual and informal way, we are cheerful. Sitting with our friends and family gives us relief from stress and anxiety. This is how our environment affects our personality and changes our perspective.
“Behavior and attitude determines your personality”
Social and cultural norms are rules or expectation of behavior and thoughts or ideas based on shared beliefs within a specific culture or social group. Social and traditional values are also somehow deeply interconnected.
Culture describe traditions and represent how people around the world from different countries celebrate their traditions and present their cultural norms which directly affect some one’s psychological behavior. This is the reason a child develops its own psychological behaviors from its surrounding norms and elders.
Our cultural events and traditions also affect our psychological behaviors in various ways. When we talk about different traditions and religions around the world we get to know how they live, what they believe and what are their perspectives about life.
According to E.B Taylor, culture is complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, morals, customs, art and all other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society. Every great nation enjoys its own culture.
Similarly, Pakistani culture is very distinct due to its Islamic nature and rich historical background. Practically speaking Pakistani culture is a beautiful blend of the Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi, Seraiki, Pathan, and Kashmiri cultures.
There are some social and traditional festivals of Pakistan which are observed and celebrated around the country on various days such as:
• Shab-e-barat
• Eid-ul-fitr
• Basant
• Eid-ul-azha
These cultural events develop harmony and exchange of thoughts for the people and their areas. Celebrating these events develop many psychological behaviors and habits. By celebrating these religious events our believes get stronger and we develop habit of giving to the poor and helping needy people. It develops love and respect for the elders and also sense of responsibility to treat and take care children.
To sum up, every single event happening in our surroundings affects psychologically to our minds and behaviors. In what environment we gather and in who’s company we sit and how we treat people in varying situations shows our mentality and personality.
In short, personality is reflection of individual characteristics and thinking, feeling, and behaving which are influenced by external factors. This leads to anyone’s psychological behavior.