Rigidity and Flexibility in Social Systems

约翰霍普金斯大学项目摘要本研究计划的定义问题是：在一个社会系统中，如公司，政府，甚至整个社会，是什么决定了其成员的行为模式，关于他们如何应对变化？外部环境的某些特征是否有利于代理人的行为僵化？社会系统内部结构的某些特征是否有利于促进刚性或促进代理人对内部条件而不是外部条件作出反应？ 解决这些问题的理论方法是基于三个观察。首先，人们对变化的反应不同。在心理学文献中，人们很早就注意到并记录了沿着刚性-柔性维度的异质性沿着。基于这一观察，它是假设代理是异质的，他们如何应对变化，有些是相对刚性和一些是相对灵活的。其次，大多数社会制度是等级制的。虽然这对公司和政府来说显然是正确的，但它也适用于许多非正式制度，因为地位是一种运作力量。理论公式的第二个要素是代理人通过等级制度向上移动的过程模型。社会系统中行为模式背后的一个关键因素是选择过程，它决定了刚性或柔性代理人是否生存并占据系统的更高层次。第三，人们的部分行为是通过模仿别人来学习的。模仿作为社会学习的一种形式，在许多物种中都有很好的记录。虽然一个人如何应对变化可能部分是天赋的（即由于所考虑的社会系统外部的因素），但它也受到其他人表现出的刚性水平的影响，特别是那些具有高等级（即高社会地位）的人。理论公式的第三个要素是以模仿为机制的社会学习模型。模仿被建模为两个步骤的过程：i）识别一组值得模仿的角色模型; ii）从角色模型的行为中得出推论，并将所学到的知识整合到自己的行为规则中。选择和社会学习是相互交织的过程，因为选择影响着谁在社会系统中生存和发展，从而决定了一套榜样。社会学习影响着等级制度底层的人的特征，从而影响着选择作用的人群。 有了这个模型，新的和实质性的洞察力是如何提供元环境的功能影响的方式，人们对变化的反应。通过理解个体行为的决定因素，将有可能对组织行为有新的认识.为什么一些老牌企业不能对市场条件的重大变化做出充分的反应（最近的著名例子包括IBM、西尔斯罗巴克和凯马特）？在应对经济或社会状况的急剧变化时，为什么有些政府反应迟钝，最终垮台？这项研究应该有助于回答这些问题。

Johns Hopkins University Project Abstract The defining question of this research proposal is: within a social system such as a corporation, government, or even society at large, what determines the behavioral pattern of its members regarding how they respond to change? Are certain features of the external environment conducive to agents being rigid in their behavior? Are certain features of the internal structure of the social system conducive to promoting rigidity or promoting agent's to respond to internal rather than external conditions? The theoretical approach developed to address these questions is predicated upon three observations. First, people differ in how they respond to change. Heterogeneity along a rigidity-flexibility dimension has long been noted and documented in the psychology literature. Based on this observation, it is assumed that agents are heterogeneous in how they respond to change-some are relatively rigid and some are relatively flexible. Second most social systems are hierarchical. While this is clearly true for corporations and governments, it is applicable to many informal systems for which status is an operative force. A second element of the theoretical formulation is a model of the process by which agents move up through a hierarchical system. A key factor behind behavioral patterns within a social system is conjectured to be the selection process which determines whether rigid or flexible agents survive and occupy a system's higher levels. Third, part of people's behavior is learned by imitating others. Imitation as a form of social learning is well-documented for many species. While how a person responds to change may be partly endowed (that is, due to factors external to the social system under consideration), it is also influenced by the level of rigidity exhibited by others, and especially those with high rank (that is, high social status). The third element of the theoretical formulation is a model of social learning with imitation being the mechanism. Imitation is modeled as a two-step procedure: i) identification of a set of role models worth emulating; and ii) drawing inferences from a role model's behavior and integrating what one learns into one's own behavioral rule. Selection and social learning are then intertwined processes in that selection influences who survives and advances within the social system and thus determines the set of role models. Social learning affects the characteristics of those at the bottom of the hierarchy and thus influences the population upon which selection operates. With this model, new and substantive insight is to be provided into how features of the meta-environment influence the way in which people respond to change. By under- standing the determinants of individual behavior, new insight into organizational behavior will be possible. Why do some established firms fail to adequately respond to significant changes in market conditions (notable recent examples include IBM, Sears Roebuck, and Kmart)? In response to a drastic change in economic or social conditions, why are some governments unresponsive and ultimately collapse? This research should contribute to answering such questions.