Development of Social Responses
One study illustrates how individ.ual social behavior may be acquired indirectly through the influences of the environment. An experimental comparison was made between the social responses of children ere organized into "autocratic" and "democratic" clubs. As time went on, the children who were treated in a rather dictatorial exhibited more aggressive domination in their relations with other and showed less give-and-take than did those subjects who lived in the more democratic climate. Individual expressions of resistance, hostility, demands for attention, and competition were '-Dan twice as freq.uent in the authoritarian group. The children in this autocratic group were less spontaneous and friendly in their relations with their adult leader than were those in the permissive club.
When children join a social group they take into the situation many attitudes and habits which they have learned at home. These may be such as to reinforce the habits acquired outside the home, or they may come in conflict with them.
The boy becomes noticeably more social as he grows older and at e time becomes more independent. He must learn a balance between these two, must learn to share his toys, yet at the same not be taken advantage of. He must learn some resene, yet; becoming timid. He must learn cooperation, yet be able to carry I activity by himsnlf. He must learn to respect the rights of other not develop a submissive attitude. He must learn to resolve his conflicts, yet avoid overaggressiveness. This is a tightrope ha walk. Girls often mature in social responses more rapidly than boys.
