This is a theoretical article designed to summarize and evaluate social research relevant to two models of behavioral choice, a maximizing step function and a matching equation. Research is reviewed ...for a range of social situations, and, in each case, the data are described by a matching equation, never a step function. Several implications of the matching equations are detailed.
It is suggested that there are two families of ratio scales, the one obtained by marking off equal intervals and the other, by marking off equal ratios. Data are presented which suggest that the ...latter procedures seem to be operating in direct psychophysical scaling and in observational measures where frequency counts are made of behavior. The data suggest that both families of scales function comparably in mathematical experiments, although the parameters in the resulting equations differ in predictable ways. It is also suggested that ratio measurement is always relative to the origin of the relationship under investigation. This point is illustrated via experiments on the utility of wages.
The Diffusion of Collective Violence Pitcher, Brian L.; Hamblin, Robert L.; Jerry L. L. Miller
American sociological review
43, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Past explanations of violence have characteristically paid more attention to the issues of social conditions and psychocultural stimuli than to the issue of timing. Timing is the focus of this paper ...in which a differential equation model of the temporal diffusion of violence is developed. This model is derived from behavioral generalizations which indicate that aggression is both instigated and inhibited via direct and vicarious learning. The parameters of the model provide measures of the instigation and inhibition processes that take place throughout an outbreak. Twenty-five data sets representing a wide variety of collective outbreaks of violence are used to test the empirical fit and to evaluate the credibility of the assumptions of the model. The model describes the overtime distribution of incidents quite accurately and the assumptions and implications of the derivation appear to be consistent with the cultural conditions surrounding the outbreaks.
Analyses of political conflict typically concentrate on various structural dimensions and neglect the underlying dynamic processes. In this research, we depart from that practice and take the ...collective learning process inherent in large-scale and ongoing social conflict as our focus. A mathematical model and its theoretical rationale are developed and evaluated. The model, derived from well-grounded behavioral propositions, assumes that the trend in success/failure rates in this type of conflict is accounted for by the relative learning rates of the parties in conflict. In tests involving several sets of data on conflicts between government and opposition groups in Latin America from 1946 through 1975, the model quite accurately describes the distribution of outcomes. /// Les analyses de conflit politique se concentrent habituellement sur diverses dimensions structurelles et négligent les processus dynamiques qui les sous-tendent. Dans la présente recherche, on s'écarte de cette méthode pour mettre l'accent sur le processus d'apprentissage collectif inhérent au conflit social profond en cours. On élabore et on étudie ensuite un modèle mathématique et le raisonnement correspondant. Le modèle, dérivé de propositions behavioristes fondées, suppose que le pourcentage des succès/échecs dans ce genre de conflit s'explique par les niveaux d'apprentissage relatifs des antagonistes. Dans des tests mettant en cause plusieurs groupes de données sur des conflits entre le gouvernement et les groupes d'opposition en Amérique latine de 1946 à 1975, le modèle décrit de facon assez exacte les résultats.
A study to test the hypothesis suggested by E.Durkheim that group integration increases during a crisis, with particular reference to the question of whether integration will increase if a solution ...to the crisis problem is unavailable. A crisis situation was established for 12 pop's of 3 people of the same sex & age, with 12 other groups acting as control. Participants were either personal acquaintances of the staff or residents of a housing development for married S's. Indices of integration were: helping behavior, the absence of self-oriented behavior, praise given to fellow S's, & lack of antagonism toward the experiment or others in the group. Results indicated that integration decreases in the absence of a likely solution during a crisis. This can be accounted for by the fact that there is no good reason for cooperating if a solution is unavailable. Moreover, mounting frustration would cause members to over-react to things not normally irritating, thus leading to aggression & the withdrawal of help. Results of previous studies indicate that integration increases during crisis if a likely co-operative solution is present & decreases if a likely competitive solution is present. I. Taviss.
Modeling Use Diffusion Hamblin, Robert L.; Jerry L. L. Miller; Saxton, D. Eugene
Social forces,
03/1979, Volume:
57, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Two differential equations modeling the diffusion of use of cultural forms are developed as alternatives to an earlier model based on exponential epochs of diffusion. Both new models are similar in ...that they incorporate imitation and desertion effects, but differ in the manner in which these effects operate over the course of the diffusion of use. The model which has a Gompertz curve as its integrated form fits data from 17 instances of use diffusion better than the model which has a logistic curve as its integrated form and, in addition, is more parsimonious than the original exponential epoch model. The relationship between the observed values of the parameters representing imitation and desertion is discussed in the context of the process of use diffusion.
An experiment based on a two-by-two factorial design was conducted to test hypotheses involving the relationship of four supervisory styles to aggressive feelings and actions of subordinates. The ...supervisory styles were arrayed on two continuums: the close versus general and the punitive versus non-punitive. Close as compared with general supervision produced significant increases in aggressive feelings toward the supervisor and in indirect aggression toward the supervisor through lowered productivity, an insignificant increase in verbal aggression toward the supervisor, and an increase of borderline significance in aggressive feelings toward co-workers. Punitive as compared with non-punitive supervision produced significant increases in indirect aggression through lowered productivity and in verbal aggression, but no significant increases in aggression toward co-workers. The relationship between close supervision and aggresive feelings appears to be mediated by the self-esteem of the subordinate; an increase in aggresive feelings occurred only in subjects having low self-esteem. Finally, the combined effect of the close and punitive supervision dimensions, for both aggressive feelings and indirect aggression, was not a simple function, but was less than would be predicted on the basis of additive assumptions.
