The perils of a science of intentional change

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-428
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ali Khalidi
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Applied Science ◽  
Moral Hazards ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Intentional Change ◽  
Social Arrangements

AbstractThe attempt to construct an applied science of social change raises certain concerns, both theoretical and ethical. The theoretical concerns relate to the feasibility of predicting human behavior with sufficient reliability to ground a science that aspires to the management of social processes. The ethical concerns relate to the moral hazards involved in the modification of human social arrangements, given the unreliability of predicting human action.

Improving Crisis Communication Efficiency Through Nudging

2022 ◽  
pp. 142-160
Author(s):  
Till Neuhaus
Keyword(s):  
Human Behavior ◽  
Crisis Communication ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Human Perception ◽  
Human Action ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
Intentional Change ◽  
Communication Efficiency

Human action is not rational, and this irrationality manifests itself especially in decisions under uncertainty – the COVID-19 pandemic is one example of many in this respect. At the same time, various branches of research have been able to identify systematic patterns in irrational human behavior, and these have been attempted to be subsumed under the umbrella term of 'nudging'. Nudging describes the intentional change of decision architectures with the purpose of transforming irrationalities and/or distortions of human perception into predictable action. Thus, nudging represents a potent communication tool, especially in crisis communication scenarios. After presenting the basic theoretical assumptions of nudging, two examples of highly effective crisis communication strategies employed during the COVID-19 pandemic will be used to illustrate, contextualize, and reflect on central mechanisms and workings of nudging. This chapter ends with a summary of the most central findings as well as a critical reflection on potential future fields of action.

On the Production of Religious Configurations

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 239-253 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Benavides
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Sexual Differentiation ◽  
Social Evolution ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Hominid Evolution ◽  
The Other

AbstractResearch on the emergence of the configuration known as “religion” requires tracing the articulation among biological, psychological and social processes. This research must take into account evolutionary approaches; first, in terms of hominid evolution, for it is only by taking into consideration work on symbolization, language development, the capacity to engage in metacognition and cooperation, the tendency to form hierarchies, engage in violence, sexual differentiation, and related topics, that one can hope to trace the emergence of certain relatively stable features of human behavior. But since symbolization and the other capacities mentioned above are exercised in specific social circumstances—which themselves could not have come into existence were it not for the exercise of those capacities—it is essential to consider social evolution, especially insofar as this evolution leads to the appearance of stratified societies and to the kind of labor that prevails in them.

Political Consumption as Supplement to Conventional Political Participation in Promoting Social Change

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-62
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Adugu
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
Food Safety ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Ethical Concerns ◽  
Using Data ◽  
A Site ◽  
Political Consumption

Research indicates that individual consumers with food safety, environmental and ethical concerns regarding the provisioning of food may be motivated to use the marketplace as a site for political action to promote social change—a phenomenon known as political consumption (PC). Using data from Ohio 2007 Survey of Food, Farming and Environment, this research examined individual level attributes shaping engagement in PC and conventional political action. Findings based on logistic regression analyses, reveal that engagement in conventional political behavior is positively related to the likelihood of engagement in political consumption. This suggests that engagement in conventional political action and political consumption are not mutually exclusive. The main factors associated with engagement in political consumption are: knowledge about food production, environmental and food safety concerns. These findings suggest that consumers with concerns about the organization and character of food production believe they can create social changes via their consumptive decisions.

Glocalising the theory of generations: The case of Spain

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 333-357
Author(s):  
Manuela Caballero ◽  
Artemio Baigorri
Keyword(s):  
Social Change ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Social Research ◽  
Social Processes ◽  
Social Changes ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
American Society ◽  
A Current

This work poses difficulties in the use of the generation concept as a social research instrument, due to its complex and multidimensional nature. A complexity by which is not a concept widely used in a current Sociology that focuses more on the mathematisation. But some social processes cannot be reduced to algorithms. For the theoretical review we have used contributions from Sociology, Philosophy and History, because it is of a transversal disciplinary nature, and we have applied it to the identification of Spanish generations in the 20th century. Inspired by Ortega’s theses and Strauss and Howe empirical development implemented for American society, the resulting model presents six generations with different collective identities that reflect the social changes in the history of Spain during the last century. A model that, after being tested in sectorial investigations, may constitute a useful new tool for the analysis of social change.

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