Definitions
Social structures refer to the patterns of behavior and relationships between and within groups. When social structures exist and are healthy within a single group, such as a family, they shape and maintain stable, cohesive, predictable, and repeating socially cooperative/reinforcing behavior. That is why healthy family life is so important. Social structures can also be vast and complex. Family, religion, law, economy, education, social service organizations, government, and social class are common social structures. Social structure helps to provide a framework in which individuals behave and interact on an interpersonal level based on their values, interests, and the other developmentally and individually shaped and learned behavior that defines who one is as a person. They facilitate the cement of society by shaping and reinforcing stable, predictable patterns of behavior that support, maintain, and reinforce cooperative behavior. Society is conceptualized to be grouped into structurally related groups with a set of rules, defined consequences for following or not following the rules, and defined roles, with different functions, meanings, and purposes. Social structure is the framework upon which a society is established. It determines the norms and patterns of relations between the various social groups and institutions of the society. The collective behavior of the members of a society drive, evolve, shape and define the existing health of the culture of the commons.
It is essential that the commons evaluate, reframe, and behaviorally engineer ( apply the laws of behavior to practical problems) the social structures that support the culture in order to maintain and improve the health of the culture. A culture needs care, maintenance, and when needed, repair. When the frequency of prosocial and cooperative behavior decreases in the culture and 'I' behavior is frequently reinforced and becomes publicly prevalent, as we observe presently, it is time to evaluate the factors that are driving the behavior of the commons. It is time to reframe our culture by focusing on the social contingencies and dynamics of the structures that shape and maintain our communal behavior.
Engineering the Upswing
In our book, Engineering the Upswing: A Blueprint for Reframing our Culture (2022), we refer to the work of Putnam and Garrett from their comprehensive social science research published in their book The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can do It Again (2020). Their research documented the significant cultural changes that evolved in the United States over the last century to the present. Based on these longitudinal data, they concluded, "The story of the American experiment in the twentieth century is one of a long upswing toward increasing solidarity, followed by a steep downturn into increasing individualism. From 'I' to 'We,' and back to 'I' again."
Putnam and Garrett "examined how economic inequality, political polarization, social fragmentation, cultural narcissism, racism, and gender discrimination each evolved over the course of 125 years." They concluded that the up and down swings of communal solidarity (behavior shaped and sustained by social structures) are constructed by "human agency," but that "Change, whether for the better or for the worse, is not historically inevitable." Communal behavior drives the swings of the culture and we are continuing to let it happen and the culture continues to evolve, unmeasured and unguided. This usually ends in unintended consequences, some are catastrophic like the frequent acts of violence in our present culture. We propose that together, we can properly implement a guided and measured behavior-based approach to managing our cultural evolution. The hard fact is, that as with any evolutionary process, it is going to take some time to regain our culture's health.
It is our view that there is a need to rehabilitate many of our ailing social structures. In future postings, we intend to address many of the behavior patterns that are shaping some of our social structures and what interventions might facilitate guiding them toward the greater good. Future postings will address issues such as parenting, poverty, economics, education, law enforcement, justice, government, and policy-making among others.
For now, we will focus on an institution that has contributed to the development of qualities in the youth that joined and participated, such as being "trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent." Those are the Scouts. One of the Pearls of Wisdom proposed by Lord Baden-Powel, founder of the Boy Scouts, included, "We must change scouts from a 'what can I get' to a 'what can I give' attitude." We need to teach and learn how to engage consistently in such behavior. If more of us frequently engage in such prosocial behavior, then 'We,' as a group, can become a force that ignites the cultural evolution needed to facilitate the upswing and our cultural healing.
First, the Bad
Marvin Harris (1980) suggested that the evolution of cultural practices is guided by two functions: production and reproduction. Thus, practices that impose limitations on either or both of these processes will be selected out and replaced by practices whose effects are supportive or at least neutral. Otherwise, the culture will become extinct. Behavior is selected by its consequences. That is, all operant behavior that is learned and acquired and continues to be performed is a function of its consequences. Operant behavior is that which is said to meet two conditions: 1) It is freely emitted, in the sense that there is no obvious triggering stimulus. 2) It is susceptible to reinforcement and punishment by its consequences, such that it can be caused to increase or decrease in frequency, respectively. In fact, what determines what is reinforcing or punishing for an individual is largely a function of the developmental and social-environmental history. If behavior increases in frequency it is being reinforced, if it decreases in frequency it is no longer reinforced, or possibly punished. That means that my experiences with the environment define what is reinforcing or punishing to me. That is why it is so important to have a social environment that rewards good behavior (that which benefits the culture) and consistently punishes bad behavior. Social norms and rules require the application of immediate consequences to be effective. Some individuals may be aware that participating in certain actions, such as stealing, is not beneficial. However, when rules are lax and consequences are inconsistent for both positive and negative behaviors, it weakens society and can eventually result in chaotic behavior.
Bad behavior that meets Harris' criteria may be exhibited by individuals who participate in otherwise worthy institutions such as the Scouts. We know it should not occur in such settings, but it does. It goes to show that there is variation and selection in the acquisition of individual behavior. Several reports have surfaced over the years regarding incidents of sexual abuse within the Boy Scouts of America. Many children were damaged by these acts. This has resulted in legal proceedings that resulted in the filing for bankruptcy in 2020. In 2022 they secured approval for a reorganization plan and have recently emerged from bankruptcy. The Scouts organization has now developed a Youth Protection program, to educate youth, leaders, and parents about the problem as a whole and to implement barriers to prevent sexual abuse, but if they have a history of getting away with doing it without any negative consequences then that behavior becomes established because it is reinforced. The fact is that a person that seems fine, based in general on the observation of how they interact in one social environment, can learn and engage in behavior, like abusing a child, that may be quite damaging to others. Consistent consequences for behavior and well-defined rules that are enforced are practices that cement our society. Some are behavior-based approaches to prevention, such as no adult member can be alone with any youth member as well as requiring adults to participate in a youth protection course, as well as undergo a criminal background check. The New York Times reported on July 27, 2021 a loss of about 1.7 million members during the pandemic. Between 2019-2020 there was a 43% decrease in membership. This steep decline is most likely significantly influenced by the loss of trust in the organization. This demonstrates how the few can destroy our trust and diminish an organization like the Scouts.
On a personal note, I (Francisco Perez) recently attended an Eagle Scout Court of Honor where my granddaughter was awarded the Eagle Scout rank. It was such an amazing experience and we are so proud of her. I became personally aware of what the true teachings and goals of the Scouts are. Now that young women can be on track to become eagle scouts, my granddaughter went for it and did share the same experiences, like hiking 50 miles and multiple service projects, that boy scouts have had to do all along. Scouts are now an institution that has embraced equality, inclusion, and diversity. Also, I became aware of the historical role the Scouts have played in preparing many of our leaders.
Some Scouts that have Contributed to Shape the World
Neil Armstrong, Jim Lovell, Franklin Roosevelt, Gerald Ford, Sam Walton, Steven Spielberg, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr, Tom Cruise, Gerald Ford who was an Eagle Scout, Jimmy Carter was a Scout Master, Joe Biden, Bill Gates, Jimmy Buffet, Harrison Ford, Michael Jordan, Hank Aaron, Bill Clinton, Jay Leno, Nolan Ryan, Richard Gere, Jimmy Stewart and many more…Obviously, scouts are in good company!
Engineering Cultural Practices for the Upswing
For a society to thrive and create a healthy culture, we need to engineer a social environment that promotes and reinforces stable and predictable patterns of behavior as well as cooperative behavior. Such prosocial behavior (behavior that benefits the culture) is learned. We need to reframe the social structures of our culture so we become both students and teachers of prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior is learned and teaching and learning usually begin in early childhood. The primary burden of teaching prosocial behavior lies with the parents and family unit (more on this later). However, we cannot rely on parenting alone. This is where other social structures and institutions such as educational, religious as well as service organizations, among others, play a major role. The Scouts over the years have developed a social environment where the primary mission is to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetime by teaching and promoting prosocial values. They teach leadership, respect, service to the community, kindness, lifelong learning, safety, diversity, love, and respect for the outdoors. In sum, engaging in the activities of scouting promotes collaboration, problem-solving, conflict resolution, and simply, becoming your best self. The process of scouting teaches the scout to embrace positive social values and develop kindness, helpfulness, and cheerfulness. They learn the value of service and civic duty. In the end, they have a greater sense of hope for their future. They are empowered by engaging in service to others.
Contributing to the Health of Our Culture
A society and the culture it creates are composed of many independent small groups (such as the scouts), that integrate into larger groups and these larger groups become a society. Societies are defined by their shared values, beliefs, and cultures. In a healthy society, people work together and cooperate to improve the collective well-being of its members. Above, we provided a brief list of influential individuals who, in part, were shaped by the scouts' experience. The fact is that most scouts learn to “become your best self.” Now that the scouts are incorporating young women into their traditional scouting programs and encouraging and reinforcing their behavior to attain the eagle scout rank, we have no doubt that we will see many influential women in the ranks of our brief list above.
Robert Putnam has warned us that we are becoming a country of people Bowling Alone (2000). That is, we are becoming disengaged from each other leading to a gradual collapse of our community. It is time for us to encourage our children to join organizations, such as the Scouts. It is also worth noting the importance for us, as adults, to actively get involved and participate in service social groups and volunteer organizations if we are able, such as the Food Bank. These social/service organizations provide a mutually reinforcing environment where a group of people interacts on the basis of mutual expectations and who share a common identity. The fact is that service and social groups influence you and shape your behavior by increasing your prosocial behavior. Participating in Scouts early in life has demonstrated that it might help to develop academic skills including a love for lifelong learning, self-confidence, ethics, leadership skills, and citizenship skills that influence their adult life. An increase in this should be welcomed.
Pass it on and see you next week,