We built this culture (so we can change it): Seven principles for intentional culture change.

Abstract

Calls for culture change abound. Headlines regularly feature calls to change the "broken" or "toxic" cultures of institutions and organizations, and people debate which norms and practices across society are now defunct. As people blame current societal problems on culture, the proposed fix is "culture change." But what is culture change? How does it work? Can it be effective? This article presents a novel social psychological framework for intentional culture change-actively and deliberately modifying the mutually reinforcing features of a culture. Synthesizing insights from research and application, it proposes an integrated, evidence-based perspective centered around seven core principles for intentional culture change: Principle 1: People are culturally shaped shapers, so they can be culture changers; Principle 2: Identifying, mapping, and evaluating the key levels of culture helps locate where to target change; Principle 3: Culture change happens in both top-down and bottom-up ways and is more effective when the levels are in alignment; Principle 4: Culture change can be easier when it leverages existing core values and harder when it challenges deep-seated defaults and biases; Principle 5: Culture change typically involves power struggles and identity threats; Principle 6: Cultures interact with one another and change can cause backlash, resistance, and clashes; and Principle 7: Timing and readiness matter. While these principles may be broadly used, here they are applied to the issue of social inequality in the United States. Even though culture change feels particularly daunting in this problem area, it can also be empowering-especially when people leverage evidence-based insights and tools to reimagine and rebuild their cultures. Public Significance StatementCalls for culture change abound. Headlines regularly feature calls to change the "broken" or "toxic" cultures of the police, the workplace, U.S. politics, and more, and norms and practices across society are hotly debated. The proposed fix is "culture change." But what is culture change? How does it work? And can it be effective? This article presents an emerging social psychological framework for intentional culture change, with a focus on behavioral change and addressing societal disparities in the United States.

A leadership-level culture cycle intervention changes teachers’ culturally inclusive beliefs and practices

“…As a comprehensive culture change effort using the CCF, the research reported here yields several notable theoretical advances. Consistent with past theorizing ( 44 – 46 ), our findings suggest that initiating culture change using the CCF is both viable and effective in educational contexts ( 47 ). While past research has illustrated isolated effects between particular levels of the CCF ( 38 , 51 – 53 , 60 ), the current research demonstrated both causal and correlational effects across all levels, demonstrating the possibility of initiating cascading change through targeted action.…”

“…In any context, culture change is an ambitious goal ( 47 ). Yet, the persistent racial and socioeconomic disparities that span all aspects of education make the necessity of educational culture change readily apparent.…”

“…For example, research illustrates that culturally inclusive messaging about the purpose of education ( Ideas level) enhances working-class students’ psychological experiences and academic performance ( Individuals level) ( 38 , 51 – 53 ). While this research provides evidence of the CCF’s utility in creating isolated changes across levels of culture, particularly among Individuals , large-scale and sustainable culture change involves parallel and mutually reinforcing changes across multiple levels ( 45 , 47 ). This is the type of culture change we sought to create in service of fostering culturally inclusive learning environments.…”

“…1 ) ( 27 , 42 , 43 ), which identifies four interconnected levels of culture ( Ideas , Institutions , Interactions , and Individuals ) that give rise to different patterns of values, expectations, and behaviors. The CCF has been proposed as a tool for creating culture change in diverse contexts, including education ( 44 – 48 ), and a growing body of research supports the idea that fostering a desired change at one level of culture can create changes at other levels ( 43 , 49 , 50 ). For example, research illustrates that culturally inclusive messaging about the purpose of education ( Ideas level) enhances working-class students’ psychological experiences and academic performance ( Individuals level) ( 38 , 51 – 53 ).…”

Studying personality and social structure

“…People learn social structures and subsequently reenact or challenge them, in the process reinforcing or changing the larger social structure. Changing a social structure, thus, requires changing individuals (See Hamedani et al, 2023;Madva et al, 2023;Skinner-Dorkenoo et al, 2023, for similar perspectives.). Structural reforms, like policies, programs, or laws, require individual buy-in.…”