Rigidity and Flexibility in Social Systems

约翰霍普金斯大学项目摘要这项研究提案的定义问题是：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在如何应对变化方面的行为模式？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僵化或促进代理人对内部条件而不是外部条件做出反应？为解决这些问题而开发的理论方法基于三个观察结果。首先，人们对变化的反应方式不同。沿着刚性-弹性维度的异质性在心理学文献中早已被注意到并被记录在案。基于这一观察，我们假设代理人在对变化的反应方面是不同的--有些相对刚性，有些相对灵活。其次，大多数社会制度都是等级制度。虽然这显然适用于公司和政府，但它也适用于许多非正式制度，对这些制度来说，地位是一种有效的力量。理论公式的第二个要素是代理人在等级制度中晋升的过程模型。社会系统中行为模式背后的一个关键因素被认为是选择过程，它决定了僵化或灵活的代理人是否存活并占据了系统的更高层次。第三，人们的部分行为是通过模仿他人来习得的。模仿作为社会学习的一种形式，对许多物种来说都有很好的记录。虽然一个人对变化的反应可能在一定程度上是与生俱来的(即由于所考虑的社会制度之外的因素)，但它也受到其他人表现出的僵化程度的影响，特别是那些级别较高的人(即社会地位较高的人)。理论表述的第三个要素是一个以模仿为机制的社会学习模型。模仿是一个分两步进行的过程：i)确定一组值得效仿的榜样；ii)从榜样的行为中得出推论，并将自己学到的东西整合到自己的行为规则中。因此，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制度中生存和进步，从而决定了一组榜样。社会学习影响那些处于等级制度最底层的人的特征，从而影响进行选择的人群。通过这个模型，我们将对元环境的特征如何影响人们应对变化的方式提供新的和实质性的见解。通过理解个人行为的决定因素，将有可能对组织行为有新的见解。为什么一些老牌公司未能对市场状况的重大变化做出充分反应(最近值得注意的例子包括IBM、西尔斯·罗巴克和凯马特)？面对经济或社会状况的剧烈变化，为什么一些政府反应迟钝，最终崩溃？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.