Definition of Coexistence:
Coexistence is any expression or action by which an individual expresses their acceptance of living, working, residing, traveling, or studying in the presence of others without the need for direct interaction or dealing with them. Through coexistence, an individual maintains formal or neutral relationships with others.
The Role of Coexistence in Social Gatherings:
Coexistence is a social behavior that an individual can engage in daily life. It is also the first survival behavior they adopt to begin socializing with others. The role of coexistence in this regard appears marginalized, not significantly contributing to social gatherings. This is due to the neutral or formal nature of the coexisting individual during their time in the environment. This may be due to their young age, as in the case of an infant two years of age or younger, or due to weaknesses in personality, knowledge, or skills, as in the case of the disabled sometimes and those with weak personalities or weak judgments at other times. This may also be due to the individual’s newness to the environment and their lack of familiarity with its characteristics and secrets. This forces them to experience what happens there for a specific period of time until they develop the confidence and ability to act beyond coexistence, such as by adapting, for example.
Standard Indicators of Coexistence:
Coexistence behavior is often kinetic and silent, formal or neutral in its form and style. Whenever an individual is observed moving, working, studying, and interacting with people like a robot, without a clear “give and take” with them, or engaging in a friendly conversation, joke, story, conversation, or personal question about health, illness, or need, he or she is coexisting. Most of his or her actions, including gestures and language, are recorded and treated as coexistence: positive if these actions are neutral and harmless to people, and negative if they are offensive to their feelings, rights, or duties, or are inconsistent with them.
Behavioral Subclassifications of Coexistence:
For each main social question in the classification proposed in this chapter, we propose four behavioral subclassifications, respectively: a yes/no classification, or the positive and negative forms of behavior; a classification of behavior according to its psychological dimensions; a classification of behavior according to its human-social dimensions; and a classification of behavior according to its practical stage of social interaction.
A. Coexistence according to its positive and negative aspects: Coexistence occurs in a positive form that can encourage further growth in social behavior and interaction in the future, such as:
1. Positive coexistence, such as: I know the names of many people, but I am ignorant of much about their lives and work. Coexistence can also occur negatively, resulting in the individual refraining from interacting with people at all, or, in extreme cases, leading to clashes or conflict with them.
2. Negative coexistence, such as: I feel a desire to withdraw from a situation simply because of the presence of other people.
B. Coexistence according to its psychological dimensions: Coexistence can be classified according to these dimensions into three categories: cognitive, affective, or emotional, and psychomotor. Examples of these types include:
1. Cognitive coexistence, such as: I limit direct interactions with people to a degree that does not negatively impact my presence with them.
2. Emotional coexistence, such as: I live contentedly in a neighborhood with which I have limited relationships.
3. Psychomotor coexistence, such as: I study or work with peers, but I do not interact with them much.
C- Coexistence according to its human and social dimensions: The dimensions can be classified into six categories as follows:
1. Coexistence with oneself, such as: I believe in the truth of the saying (neutrality with people is a virtue).
2. Coexistence with family, such as: I don’t mind whether my family is close or distant.
3. Coexistence with the neighborhood, such as: I live in a neighborhood with people where each of us lives in his or her own way.
4. Coexistence with work or employment, such as: I consider many of the individuals I study or work with to be neutral colleagues.
5. Coexistence with friends, such as: I overlook the mistakes of friends until circumstances allow them to reflect.
6. Coexistence with people in the public/open environment, such as: I avoid direct interaction with many of the people around me.
D- Coexistence according to its practical stage of social interaction: Coexistence is classified according to this criterion into three categories as follows:
1. Coexistence within oneself, such as: I agree in my life with the proverb (Live alone and you will be satisfied).
2. Transitional or temporary coexistence, such as: feeling comfortable in the presence of others without needing to socialize.
3. Procedural coexistence with social gatherings, such as: riding public transportation with others without being bothered by them or interacting with them at all.
Definition of Adaptation:
Adaption is any expression by which an individual conforms to the desires, needs, or customs of others to become an acceptable member of their community. An individual’s daily habits, fulfilling the needs of work, family, study, and peers, and speaking and discussing with them are all socially adaptive behaviors. The opposite is antisocial behavior, indicating a lack of adaptation or balance between the individual and others or the environment.
The Role of Adaptation in Social Society:
Adaption results from an individual’s adequate knowledge of the environment and their confidence in their ability to interact successfully with it. A child aged 3–6, with their command of language and daily life tasks, spends most of their time practicing adaptation to family, peers, and the surrounding environment. This gives us confidence in their ability to behave appropriately outside the family, thus beginning their first school life at the age of 6.
For the average individual, their initial knowledge of the environment leads them to adopt its behaviors and daily habits, including eating, drinking, clothing, work, and general interaction styles and values, which we call the cultural generalities of society. As a result, we observe such an individual maintaining a psychosocial balance in their interactions with others, helping them remain within their behavioral frameworks for managing the basics of life or meeting daily needs.
Measurable Indicators of Adaptation:
Adaption is behavior that is compatible with the environment. An individual’s behaviors or habits in eating, drinking, clothing, household appliances and furnishings, communication, transportation, appearance, learning behaviors, teaching, achievement, language, and communication styles, whether taken literally or with some modification, taking into account the needs and/or desires of others, are all adaptations and are recorded on this basis. The daily behaviors that people display and use in their interactions, to meet their needs, and to maintain balanced relationships acceptable to all, are adaptive behaviors and are classified within this behavioral category.
Behavioral Subcategories of Adaptation:
A- Adaptation according to its positive and negative aspects, such as:
1. Positive adaptation, such as: I try to do what benefits people in meeting their needs.
2. Negative adaptation, or maladaptive or maladaptive, such as: I conduct my life as I please without regard for others.
B- Adaptation according to its psychological dimensions:
1. Cognitive adaptation, such as: I find it difficult to gather my thoughts when discussing with a group of people.
2. Emotional adaptation, such as: I tend to learn the lifestyle habits of others to be accepted by them.
3. Motor adaptation, such as: I do what people need in my daily interactions with them.
C- Adaptation according to its human-social dimensions:
1. Intrinsic adaptation, such as: I feel nervous when speaking in front of colleagues at work or school.
2. Family adaptation, such as: I consider the wishes and needs of my family in my daily life.
3. Neighborhood adaptation, such as: I try not to do anything that would upset my neighbors.
4. Work/job adaptation, such as: I take the initiative to change my studies or jobs when I encounter any difficulty.
5. Friends adaptation, such as: I understand what my friends mean when they talk and deal with them accordingly.
6. Adapting to people in daily life, such as: I change my interactions or interventions with others according to their changing needs.
D- Adapting according to the practical stage of social interaction:
1. Self-adaptation or self-intervention, such as: I feel angry or dissatisfied with life.
2. Phased or transitional adaptation, such as: I believe life is a give-and-take process. People interact with each other to meet their daily needs.
3. Procedural adaptation to social interaction, such as: I exchange conversations with colleagues while studying or working.