Why is sociocultural stimulation important?

On many different occasions, experts in the area of ​​social psychology They have defended the idea that the human being is a social being by nature.

But, what does this statement really mean and what implications can a lack in the relationship that he establishes with his environment have on the human being?

The needs of the human being: what are they?

The Hierarchy of Needs proposed by Abraham Maslow It was presented in 1943 as a pyramid-shaped model where five types of needs to be satisfied are represented. by the human being ordered according to their complexity and relevance given in the achievement of the maximum state of growth staff. At the base level are the physiological needs (food, for example), followed by security needs (individual protection), the needs of social acceptance (belonging and love), self-esteem needs (assessment of one's own status) and, already at a higher level, self-realization needs (self-fulfillment).

The first four classes of needs are called "deficit" needs, since it is possible to satisfy them at one time. determined, while the fifth is known as "need of being", because it can never be fully satisfied, is continuous. When an individual reaches the satisfaction of the most basic needs, his interest in meeting the needs of higher levels increases.

This shift up the pyramid is defined as growth force.. On the contrary, the decline in the achievement of increasingly primitive needs is due to the action of regressive forces.

The satisfaction of needs

Maslow understands that every human being aspires to the satisfaction of needs of ever higher levels.Although he admits that not all people want to conquer the need for self-actualization, it seems that it is a more particular goal depending on the characteristics of the individual. Another important idea of ​​the author's model is that it highlights the relationship between action (behavior) and willingness to achieve different levels of needs. Thus, unsatisfied needs are the only ones that motivate behavior and not those already consolidated.

As can be seen, all the components of the needs pyramid of the Maslow model have a close relationship with respect to the significant relevance that the environment exerts on the being human. Thus, both the basic or physiological elements and those of security, belonging and self-esteem can only be come to be understood and given when an individual develops in society (at least in a psychologically adaptive).

Relevance of environmental stimulation in humans

Countless investigations have shown how the development of the human being is influenced by biological or genetic factors, by environmental factors and by the interaction that occurs between them. Thus, an internal predisposition is modulated by the context in which the subject develops and gives rise to a very particular conformation of the characteristics that it manifests, both at a cognitive level, as well as at an emotional or behavioral.

Among the environmental factors to take into account as determining aspects in child psychological development are:

• The relationship of the child with the environment, the affective bonds established with the referent figures derived from the behaviors of affection and care coming from them.

• The perception of stability of the framework that surrounds you (family, school, etc.).

Both aspects significantly influence the type of cognitive and emotional functioning that the child internalizes, the quality of his communicative skills, in adapting to the changing environment and in their attitude towards learning.

An example of what is stated in the previous paragraph is illustrated by the scientific experience of the doctor Jean Itard with the wild child of Aveyron. The boy was found at the age of 11 in the forest, observing behavior similar to that of an untamed animal. After a substantial alteration of the boy's context, he was able to learn certain social skills, although it is true that progress was limited since the environmental intervention occurred at a very advanced stage of development.

secondary intersubjectivity

In reference to the point mentioned about affective ties, also the role of the concept of "secondary intersubjectivity" can be considered relevant. Secondary intersubjectivity refers to the phenomenon that takes place in babies of approximately one year of life and that consists of a form of primitive symbolic interaction between him and the mother where two types of intentional acts are combined simultaneously: praxics (such as pointing to an object) and interpersonal (smiling, physical contact with the other, among others).

A deficit in the achievement of this evolutionary milestone is determined by the establishment of an insecure affective bond and can have significant consequences such as difficulty in building their own symbolic world, deficits in interpersonal communication and intentional interaction or development of stereotyped behaviors similar to those manifested in the spectrum autistic.

The contribution of Ecological or Systemic Theories

One of the fundamental contributions in this regard have been the proposals of the Ecological-Systemic Theories, which defend the relevance of intervening not only in the subject in question, but also in the different social systems where it interacts such as the family, school and other environments such as the neighborhood, the peer group, etc At the same time, the various systems influence each other and others simultaneously.

From this systemic conception, it is understood that individual behavior is the result of the relationship between the subject, the environment and the interaction between both parties (transactionality). The system, therefore, is not equal to the sum of its components; has a different nature. In this sense, this model grants a holistic vision to the process of human development, assuming that all the capacities of the subject in the stage children (cognitive, linguistic, physical, social and emotional) are interrelated and form a global whole that is impossible to segment into areas specific.

Another characteristic that this theoretical proposal offers of child development is its dynamism, for in which the context must be adapted to the needs of the subject to facilitate the process maturing. The family, as the main system in which the child's development occurs, also presents these three commented particularities (holism, dynamism and transactionality) and must be in charge of providing the child with a safe physical and psychological context that guarantees the overall growth of the child in all areas of indicated development.

Relationship between the concept of Resilience and Sociocultural Deprivation

The Theory of Resilience arose from the work carried out by John Bowlby, main author of the Attachment Theories established between the baby and the affective reference figure. This concept happened to be adopted by the current of the positive psychology and it was defined as the ability to face adversity in an active, effective way and being reinforced from it. Research shows that the resilient people They present lower rates of psychopathological alterations, since this phenomenon becomes a protection factor.

Regarding the issue of sociocultural deprivation, the Resilience Theory explains that the person exposed to an environment that is not very stimulating and suitable for development (which could be understood as a adversity) can overcome this complication and achieve satisfactory development that allows him to advance through the different vital stages adaptively.

Intervention in cases of socio-cultural deprivation: Compensatory Education Programs

The Compensatory Education Programs have the objective of reducing the educational limitations in groups that present sociocultural and economic deprivation that makes it difficult for them to obtain their inclusion in society as a whole in a satisfactory. Its ultimate goal is to achieve a positive link between the family, the school and the community..

These programs are located within an ecological or systemic explanatory perspective, which is why they prioritize directing their intervention in the environmental context in which they take place. circumscribes the individual by analyzing and altering (if necessary) economic factors, offering psychoeducational guidelines on the relevance of collaborating with the area school, addressing the emotional problems of students and working to promote teacher training.

In conclusion

Throughout the text it has been observed and contrasted how determinant is the quality and enriching nature of the context in which an individual develops to facilitate or bring him closer to greater emotional or psychological well-being. One more time, It is shown that the way in which the different factors are interrelated is very diverse., both internal or personal and external or environmental, to configure how the individual development of each human being is produced.

For this reason, in the field of psychology, the attribution of a certain event or psychological functioning to a single specific and isolated cause cannot be correct.

Bibliographic references:

• Baeza, M. c. Educational intervention on fundamental problems of social maladjustment. (2001). http://www.um.es/dp-teoria-historia-educacion/programas/educsocial/interv-educ.doc.

• Cano Moreno, J. (2000). Educational attention to special needs related to the sociocultural context.

• Del Arco Bravo, I. (1998). Towards an intercultural school. Teachers: training and expectations. Lleida: Educació i món actual.

• Domingo Segovia, J. and Miñán Espigares, A. (2001). Special educational needs related to the socio-cultural context. Chapter 25, in Psychopedagogical Encyclopedia of Special Educational Needs. Malaga: Cistern.

• Grau, C.; Zabala, J.; bouquets. c. Early intervention programs as compensatory education: model of a structured program: Bereiter - Engelmann. Available here.

• Martinez Coll, J. c. (2001) "Social needs and Maslow's pyramid", in The Market Economy, virtues and disadvantages.