Bad Behavior is Everywhere - The Unweaving of Our Culture
An Introduction
There is probably a meaningful consensus among us that have lived a long time that Bob Dylan was right when he sang “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” Those of us look around and know that we are in deep trouble. Others, usually younger, may not know. The nuance provided by a cumulative historical perspective makes a difference.
The democracy known as the United States of America is in serious trouble. In the past few years we have experienced:
Widespread loss of trust in basic institutions (e.g. the press, government, education, church, and science). How we behave is a primary concern.
Struggling with a pandemic that took in excess of 1.07 million lives. Many of these lives were lost because of refusal by some to believe that the pandemic existed or to take recommended precautionary actions such as wearing a mask, maintaining a safe physical distance from others, or seeking vaccination as opportunities arose. How we behave is a primary concern.
Increased political divisiveness to the point where basic civility is nearly absent across party lines. Compromise, negotiation, and cooperation are absent. How we behave is a primary concern.
An assault on the nation’s Capitol by a mob of angry citizens who had become convinced that a national presidential election had been fraudulently stolen. How we behave is a primary concern.
Becoming more divided. The Economist published a series of articles about racism in the US in 2021. They concluded that America “is becoming less racist but more divided by racism.” How we behave is a primary concern.
An increase in demonstrations for racial justice, ignited in several cases by instances of cross-racial police brutality. How we behave is a primary concern.
Significant increase in violent crime rates in some of the biggest US cities. The Center for American Progress has documented that the recent rise in violent crime is driven by gun violence. Their statistics show that as gun crimes and gun homicide rates have increased, the number of mass shootings has also grown considerably. How we behave is a primary concern.
Witnessing multiple mass shootings, some with racial implications, others in school settings where it threatens the integrity and safety of our educational system. How we behave is a primary concern.
Decreasing feelings of safety and security in our children that are impacted by witnessing events around them that do not promote their own safety. This experience minimizes their propensity to engage in prosocial behavior. How we behave is a primary concern.
Failure in our schools to incorporate and provide educational practices for our youth such as Direct Instruction methods that are proven and provide methods for precise measurement of learning and progress. It is important to reinforce the practice of lifelong learning so that we can keep up with the evolving future and become citizens that engage in worthy performances. How we behave is a primary concern.
Not teaching civics (how to behave as responsible and informed citizens) in our schools for some time. We do not encourage the rewarding practice of engaging in public service (civiced.org). How we behave is a primary concern.
A significant gradual decline in the number of marriages with a corresponding decline in divorce. The traditional structure of what a family is and the role each person plays has changed. These changes impact the most important practice of parenting - educating and shaping our children on how to engage in prosocial behavior. We do not precisely understand the process and know the consequences of these drastic cultural changes, which also include technological innovations such as “relating” through social media, to the behavior of our youth. You will learn that it is a fact that environmental changes set the occasion for behavior change. How we behave is a primary concern.
A failure to address immigration policy in a humane and effective manner. Immigration has played a major role in driving population growth and cultural change throughout much of the history of the United States. The US has a larger immigrant population than any other country in the world. Indeed, since the coming of our original founders, we are, and continue to be, a country of immigrants. Immigrants historically have made significant contributions to the US economy and our way of life. Immigrants increase potential economic output by increasing the size of the labor force. Views toward immigrants are quite variable. They tend to be polarized by party lines. In spite of the importance of dealing with immigration, we do not have a formal methodology to facilitate the process for the immigrant to adapt and incorporate into the culture and become a contributing as well as an accomplished and worthy citizen. How we behave is a primary concern.
An increase in toxic work environments. A 2019 survey conducted by hr.com found that regressive behaviors are on the rise in offices around the country and that toxic workplace cultures are pervasive. Harassment, distrust, conflicts among employees and leadership, and lack of mediation skills were noted as prevalent in toxic workplaces. How we behave is a primary concern.
A failure to slow global warming. Chris Mooney in The Washington Post (1/22/15) wrote in a well-documented article on climate and environment that “The U.S. caused more global warming than any other country. Here’s how the Earth will get its revenge.” Scientists predict that with the known rate of West Antarctic ice loss over the years, the US will “actually get a lot more sea level rise than many other parts of the world.” He pointed out that, “Humans have a hard time conceiving of the incredible scale of an ice sheet, so the consequences of such a change can be lost upon us.” We don’t experience direct consequences now by acting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, so we do not behave to prevent future catastrophic consequences later (delay discounting - more about this later). How we behave is a primary concern.
Engaging in more unhealthy patterns of behavior. In the US, many of the leading causes of death and chronic disease are a consequence of engaging in unhealthy behavior. Poor nutrition and fatty diet, low levels of physical activity, smoking, alcohol and drug use, poor sleep, and chronic stressful activities among other unhealthy behaviors are associated with a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. Mathew Yglesias (Substack July 25, 2022) documented that “Americans have markedly worse health outcomes and life expectancies than residents of Western Europe or rich Asian countries.” He advocated, “Tackling America’s weirdly short life expectancy should be a priority.” One of his recommendations when addressing Health and Inequality is right on spot. He wrote, “But I think it’s worth looking pretty hard at more forceful interventions into behavior.” This actually applies to all aspects of health - healthy behavior contributes to a healthy life. How we behave is a primary concern.
An increase in distracted driving and traffic fatalities. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released (11/3/22) the early estimation of traffic fatalities for the first quarter of 2022, which showed a record increase in fatalities nationwide. As a consequence, the US Department of Transportation, as part of its strategy to prevent traffic deaths, launched a public education campaign “to address one of America’s most dangerous driving behaviors - speeding.” As noted in their proposed Speeding Wrecks Lives campaign, their aims are “to change general attitudes toward speeding and reminding drivers of the deadly consequences.” In our opinion, these typical educational programs, such as “reminding drivers of the deadly consequences of speeding” are not effective and are a waste of time and money. Changing attitudes is difficult and attitude change does not necessarily lead to behavior change. Our government has wasted enough money dictating costly and ineffective programs and policies aiming at behavior change that have failed. In the coming essays, we will present what the science of behavior teaches us about the determinants of behavior and the evidence-based practices of behavior change. A clue, look at the immediate consequences of a given behavior. If the consequences are positive/rewarding frequently - you will do it again and the frequency of doing it will increase. If the consequences are negative/punished consistently your behavior will gradually decrease. In practice, it can be quite complex since many people can learn behavior strategies that may avoid negative consequences (such as lying). For example, when driving, most people don’t get caught speeding, they are rewarded (i.e. get there sooner) and usually no costly consequences are imposed. It also has to do with the fact that we are not teaching and learning prosocial behavior (my behavior that benefits others) from an early age. These days, the culture fails to consistently reward prosocial behavior. How we behave is a primary concern.
A record increase in the national debt. Steven Rattner, who was a counselor to the Treasury secretary in the Obama administration, wrote a guest essay in The New York Times (11/4/2022) - The Huge Problem That Nobody Cares About. He was addressing a major problem we are facing that is rewarding us now but will catastrophically punish future generations that nobody talks about, and that is “The Treasury Department reported last month that the nation closed its fiscal year with the national debt having reached a record $31 trillion, a stunning rise from a comparatively modest $20 trillion just six years earlier.” Rattner concluded, “without action, deficits will remain above $1 trillion (per year) indefinitely.” He predicted, “But a nation in which debt is growing faster than the economy will eventually be brought to its knees.” Fiscal responsibility seems to be nowhere to be found. Consumerism and free rides seem to be easily rewarded now at the expense of punishing the unborn later. How we behave is a primary concern.
An increase in mental health conditions. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression are increasing worldwide, particularly among adolescents and young adults. This increase is attributed in part to our way of life and our cultural environment. Many blame social media as the driving mechanism. In our view, this approach is too simplistic. We believe that what drives the increase in mental health problems is multifactorial and based on cultural and environmental variables that are eroding trust and changing our stable patterns of behavior, cooperative behavior, and solid social norms associated with consequences for following or not following the rules. These are the practices that cement society. We will elucidate this very important topic later. How we behave is a primary concern.
The fact is that bad behavior (defined as unstable, non-trusting, uncooperative, and unpredictable patterns of behavior, associated with significant variability and erratic rule-following) is usually correlated with inconsistent or no negative consequences, which makes it difficult to predict and manage, has become a major problem in our society and culture. And as we noted in the examples above, seems to be present everywhere. Matthew Yglesias, in his Substack post on January 10, 2022, noted, “All kinds of bad behavior is on the rise.” He wrote, “With that in mind, I think it is under discussed the extent to which we seem to be living through a pretty broad rise in aggressive and antisocial behavior.” We couldn’t agree more with him.
Yglesias sees the behavior problem as “deep and widespread.” He concludes, “I don’t have a great policy solution here that’s going to make everything feel happy and healthy and psychologically stable… I just have the observation that I’ve tended to see people looking at one corner of this problem and condemning soft on crime liberals or fanatical anti-maskers and developing a very politicized and narrow view of things.” These types of observations are the first step in applying a methodical science-based approach to identifying the root causes of the problem and then applying the quantifiable, slow, and cumulative scientific method to solving the problems we face, including creating a cultural/social environment that sets the stage for modifying and diminishing bad behavior and shaping and promoting prosocial behavior. That is the approach we are proposing and will be addressing in our postings. We now have a mature science of behavior that provides evidence-based guidance in evolving the culture towards rewarding the greater good by increasing the frequency of prosocial and cooperative behavior that benefits the culture, including applying effective conflict resolution practices and positive behavior. We do believe that bad behavior is the most pressing public health problem we face as a nation. We need to start an informed conversation!
David Brooks, an opinion columnist with The New York Times, published (1/13/2022) America is Falling Apart at the Seams. He discusses many issues, including, driving irresponsibly, increased altercations in airplanes, the increasing murder rate in our cities, drug overdoses increasing, Americans drinking more, nurses reporting that patients are getting more abusive, “and so on.” He also noted, “As Americans’ hostility toward one another seems to be growing, their care for one another seems to be falling.” He quoted a study from Indiana University’s Lilly Family School of Philanthropy that found that the share of Americans who give to charity is steadily declining. Brooks suggests that “some of our poisons must be sociological -- the fraying of the social fabric.” He also considered that “some of our problems must be cultural” citing The Washington Post (July 3, 2018) story headlined, “America is a Nation of Narcissists, According to Two New Studies.”
Brooks hinted, “But there must also be some spiritual or moral problem at the core of this. Over the past several years, and over a wide range of different behaviors, Americans have been acting in fewer pro-social and relational ways and in more antisocial and self-destructive ways. But Why?” In our postings, we will look into this most important question. Brooks concluded his commentary: “As a columnist, I’m supposed to have some answers. But I just don’t right now. I just know the situation is dire.” We will address this concern.
How we got here, and more importantly, what can we do, together, in order to reframe our culture for the greater good, is what we are about. Tony Biglan (valuestoaction.org) has taught us that our values leading to actions define the greater good. The fact is that value drives prosocial and trustworthy behavior, defined as “behavior that one frequently engages in that benefits others in a consistent fashion.” Prosocial behavior in practice is associated with greater psychological well-being, better social relationships, and better physical health including living longer and healthier. Values to action are engaging in healthy, trustworthy, and cooperative behavior that benefits the culture.
Bad behavior is unweaving our culture. We propose that the change to more prosocial behavior can be effectively managed, and that is what our instructive mission is all about. The government tries to do it by implementing laws, executive orders, and well-intentioned public policy, but most of us would agree that quite often the government gets a failing grade. Small changes are made, and the mistakes of the past are repeated. The money spent is gone. Perhaps there is a better way. We, together, through our actions and prosocial behavior, have to weave back the fabric of our country (weareweavers.org) one community at a time. We need to learn how to weave our culture - it is through our prosocial behavior, together with others - united.
Looking forward to more sharing, and most importantly, your feedback.
Thank you. I’ve subscribed to your newsletter for a while, but just now really reading it. I appreciate your comment that “attitude change does not necessarily lead to behavior change.” I’ve been wondering about this. It seems like a great deal of effort is toward “changing the narrative” with the assumption a changed narrative will lead to changed world. But will it? What about entrenched power structures for example? I look forward to reading what you have to say about things like this.
Also, I have to disagree with paragraph about federal deficit. U.S. government is a currency issuer and cannot run out of money. Please read The Deficit Myth by Stephanie Kelton for a full discussion. In my opinion, the real problem is household debt, where people have to borrow money just to stay alive. Thanks again for a great column.
"You had me at Hello....."
I completely agree with your analysis of the issues, but like some of the journalists you cited, I'm at a loss as to where to begin to start to turn the ship around. I look forward to reading more of your thought-provoking essays and working to develop thoughts as to how I can contribute to a more prosocial culture. Thanks.