PS282 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Ecological Psychology
Document Summary
Not interested in individual personalities but in patterns of behaviour characteristic of a setting regardless of which individuals were there. Behaviour settings are the primary unit of analysis for ecological psychology. Behaviour settings have a place, time, and standing pattern of behaviour. Some behaviour settings embedded within larger behaviour settings (classes within a school) Some occur only occasionally like a wedding or talent show. Persons in a behaviour setting are largely interchangeable and they have rules that maintain standing behaviour pattern. Rules can be seen in specific behaviour patterns: Program circuits: guide the standing behaviour pattern, ex an agenda for meeting or routines. Goal circuits: satisfy goals of individuals, ex customer purchasing an item. These rules incorporate control mechanisms to channel/limit individual involvement: Deviation-countering circuits: training individuals for roles in behaviour setting, correcting their behaviour to improve role performance. Vetoing circuits: occur when individuals are excluded from behaviour setting, ex expulsion.
