Social _____ addresses how individuals interact with their environments.

The correct answer is ecology. Social ecology specifically examines how individuals engage with, are influenced by, and affect their environments. This concept emphasizes the relationships and interactions between people and their surroundings, exploring how various social factors — including cultural, economic, and political dynamics — shape these interactions.

In the context of community paramedicine, understanding social ecology can help practitioners recognize the broader social determinants of health, such as access to resources, environmental factors, and community support systems, all of which play a crucial role in patient care and health outcomes.

While the other options relate to important aspects of human behavior and social systems, they do not specifically focus on the interaction between individuals and their environments in the way that social ecology does. Social structure addresses the organized patterns of relationships and social arrangements within a community. Social psychology deals with how individual thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by social contexts. Social development refers to the progression and changes within social relationships and systems over time. Each of these areas contributes to our understanding of human interaction, but none encapsulate the dynamics of environmental interaction as thoroughly as social ecology.