A Selectionist Perspective on Systemic and Behavioral Change in Organizations

Sandaker, Ingunn

doi:10.1080/01608060903092128

Cited by 50 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…One definition of a cultural entity is "a complex adaptive social system possessing several observed and agreed upon characteristics prevalent and recognizable over time even though members of the system are replaced by new ones." (Sandaker, 2009).…”

Section: Cultural Analysis Of Taggingmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ethnographic Study of Tagging Cultures

2017

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Tagging is a kind of graffiti that involves writing one's name using markers or spray paints. In Brazil, the tagging behavior has spread all over the country and especially in the big cities. Aspects of the culture deserve careful attention by behavioral scientists. This article describes possible variables controlling the behavior of members of tagging cultures of Brazil, based on a behavior analytic framework. We performed an ethnographic study in which the researcher accompanied the taggers in all their normal activities as a participant observer of their culture; in addition, he conducted interviews. Our findings identified at least four different properties of the cultural practices: (i) The transmission of symbolic communication characterizing the cultural unit as distinguished from the rest of society. (ii) The shaping of increasingly sophisticated expression and artistic proficiency. (iii) The high visibility-high risk-high impact paradox. (iv) The hierarchical organization and status distribution. Having identified these cultural properties and the related behaviors, we discuss the contribution of a behavior analytic conceptual framework both for the purpose of tracing the possible contingencies of reinforcement and to suggest possible strategies for intervention that could result in alternative prosocial behaviors to replace tagging.

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Section: Cultural Analysis Of Taggingmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ethnographic Study of Tagging Cultures

2017

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“…First, in order for differential selection to occur, there must be some form of variation in the output of a given process (see Sandaker, 2009). As Sandaker and Couto (2016) identified, selection of culture may work across the outputs of several lower-level selection processes, including natural selection (which may influence the gene pool and the traits of constituents within a group/culture) and operant selection (which may influence the behaviors and practices of individuals and sub-groups within a larger group/culture).…”

Section: Criteria For a Selective Processmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Glenn and Malott (2004) conceded that defining boundaries of a system in this manner may be somewhat arbitrary given that these boundaries are permeable; we cannot ignore the interaction between internal processes and external entities. Similarly, Sandaker (2009) argued that the boundaries of a system as a unit of analysis do not necessarily correspond with the formal boundaries of an organization or institution. Mattaini (2006) also argued that arbitrarily defining a system as a series of interacting elements according to our own interests and agenda may result in key factors involved in the governance of those interactions being overlooked.…”

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confidence: 99%

Positive Feedback Loops of Metacontingencies: A New Conceptualization of Cultural-Level Selection

Krispin

2017

Behav. Soc. Iss.

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Couto and Sandaker (2016) proposed two complementary processes, selection of cultures and cultural-selection, as successors to the metacontingency in the process of cultural-level selection. They argued that the selective processes in the metacontingency were limited to within-groups selection, and might be included in the discussion pertaining to the selection of cultural practices. Further, they argued that the selection processes outlined in the metacontingency model failed to address the selection of cultural-social environments, which they suggested might result in the selection of between cultures, or between groups, features and would be more in line with the third level of selection processes which Skinner (1981; described as resulting in the evolution of cultures. This article incorporates an understanding of feedback from systems theory that is broader than the common application of the concept in the field of behavior analysis, and considers several examples that illustrate how positive-feedback loops between multiple metacontingencies may result in the between-groups, cultural-level selective processes described by Couto and Sandaker, and how such systems may emerge via processes of self-organization. KEYWORDS: cultural-level selection; cultural-selection; emergence; metacontingency; selection of cultures; self-organization Since the time of Darwin (1859), processes of selection have been integrated into a number of theories addressing processes of change in the world around us. Skinner (1981) suggested that there were three fundamental levels of selection by consequences. These levels were natural selection, which operates at the biological level; operant selection, which operates at the behavioral level; and cultural selection, which Skinner asserted operates at the anthropological level. Skinner (1953;1981;1989) believed that a "third kind" of selection by consequences (1953, p. 430; 1981, p. 502) resulted in the evolution of social environments or cultures.Even though the first two levels are relatively well-understood at this point, the processes operating at the third, cultural level remain somewhat elusive to attempts at definition. Dawkins (1984), in seeking to understand the parallels between the various levels of selection by consequences, pointed out that natural selection clearly defines both the replicator involved, and the consequences that are produced by the replicator. The replicators in the process are the genes; they are both the entity that is capable of forming a lineage across multiple generations of a species and the entity that is selected in natural selection. The consequences produced by the genes are the phenotypes that result in the various traits exhibited by the organism and by which the replicator is selected. He argued that, at the level of the evolution of cultures, Skinner (1981) was not clear 1 The author may be reached at jvkrispin@valdosta.edu.

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“…Culture is a complex adaptive social system possessing several observed and agreed upon characteristics which are recognizable over time even though members of the system are replaced by new ones (Sandaker, 2009). The corrupt activities of some lawyers, detectives, and judges in Brazil who sold judicial decisions is a case in point of collusive behavior as corrupt cultural practices.…”

Section: Corruption As Cultural Practicementioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral and Cultural Accounts of Corruption in the Interface Between Public Officer and Client

Agbota¹,

Sandaker²,

Carvalho³

et al. 2017

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RESUMOO presente artigo aplica uma perspectiva analítico comportamental para examinar comportamento corrupto. Com esse artigo, pretende-se atender a um chamado feito há algumas décadas aos analistas do comportamento para estender os interesses e estratégias de sua disciplina a domínios tradicionalmente atribuídos às ciências sociais. Este artigo tem três objetivos: primeiro, examinar a corrupção como fenômeno comportamental e cultural; segundo, alertar a comunidade das ciências sociais para a utilidade das ferramentas conceituais analítico-comportamentais para a investigação da corrupção; terceiro, chamar a atenção de analistas do comportamento para algumas pesquisas sobre corrupção, que é uma das questões mais críticas do século XXI.Palavras-chave: Corrupção, Contingências, Metacontingências, Práticas culturais, Cultura.ABSTRACT This paper applies a behavior analytic framework to examine corrupt behavior. With this article, we heed to the call made some decades ago to behavior analysts to extend the interests and strategies of their discipline into domains traditionally assigned to the social sciences. This article has three objectives: First, to examine corruption as behavioral and cultural phenomena; Second is to draw the attention of the social sciences community to the potentials of behavior analytic tools to investigate corrupt behavior; Third, to appeal to behavior analysts to direct some research attention to corruption, which is one of the most critical issues of the twenty-first century.

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A Selectionist Perspective on Systemic and Behavioral Change in Organizations

Cited by 50 publications

References 14 publications

An Ethnographic Study of Tagging Cultures

An Ethnographic Study of Tagging Cultures

Positive Feedback Loops of Metacontingencies: A New Conceptualization of Cultural-Level Selection

Behavioral and Cultural Accounts of Corruption in the Interface Between Public Officer and Client

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