Psychological interventions in organizations: An evolutionary perspective.

Abstract

Throughout the 20th century, managers and policy makers have relied on psychological interventions to help solve organizational problems. Yet, the results of these interventions rarely meet expectations. One reason may be that some of the perspectives used in thinking about interventions are at odds with how interventions and organizations function. This article argues that applied psychologists may benefit from an evolutionary perspective. Although it holds an important place in basic psychology and organization theory, an evolutionary perspective is nearly absent in applied psychology. It views the development and use of social technologies as part of sociocultural evolution—driven by variation, selection, and retention. This article provides a framework for theory and research on an evolutionary perspective in applied psychology and suggests implications for practice. Key concepts in the design of interventions include uncertainty, variation, and conflict.

Consultation and interprofessional collaboration: Modeling for the future

“…Some consulting models (Dougherty, 2000a;Gallessich, 1982Gallessich, , 1985, psychological interventions in organizations (Colarelli, 1998;Morgan, 1997), and interprofessional collaboration (Akerson et al, 2003;Brabeck et al, 2003;Johnson et al, in press;Lawson, in press;Stuart Foundation, 2002) were addressed insufficiently. However, the Workgroup remains optimistic about future opportunities for the field of professional psychology and for individual practitioners through deliberate attention to consultation and interprofessional collaboration.…”

Guest editorial: Evolutionary psychology and consumption

“…Colarelli's (1998) evolutionary analysis of organizational interventions and insight that applied practice in organizational settings, even if it deviates from the prescriptions of research, may be ultimately "correct," because those practitioners have had their behavior shaped and selected by the immediate organizational environment, is extended to the practices of marketing. Using principles of evolutionary psychology and cultural evolution, Colarelli and Dettman describe examples of successful (and not so successful) marketing campaigns in light of their relevance to the EEA.…”

Intuitive evolutionary perspectives in marketing practices1

“…It is the development and introduction of variations based on estimates that some of them will produce desired results. Through cultural selection mechanisms (e.g., imitation), social systems select variations and (usually) retain those that are functional (Colarelli, 1998). The efficiency of a new social practice does not ensure that social systems will select it and use it.…”

“…Cultural evolution is a process whereby social systems and practices develop from variations and by a process of trial and error, rather than through deliberate design (D. T. Campbell, 1975;Colarelli, 1998). With cultural evolution, acquired characteristics, such as behaviors and values, are culturally selected and retained (Boyd & Richerson, 1985;D.…”