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Keith E Rice's Integrated SocioPsychology Blog & Pages

Aligning, integrating and applying the behavioural sciences

Richard Dawkins’

How the Brain develops the Mind

with minor editing by Chris Cowan This feature was originally published on the old Humberside Partnership Connexions web site in June 2001. Developed by Don Beck & Chris Cowan (1996) from the ground-breaking work of Clare W Graves (1970) and integrating Richard Dawkins’ (1976) concept of ‘memes’, Spiral Dynamics expands exponentially Abraham Maslow’s (1943) human motivation model, Hierarchy of Needs. It is the most advanced of the ‘Levels of Existence’ theories – yet, at the same time, its ‘map’ of human motivation is very easy to use. The biggest field trial of Spiral Dynamics to date was in South Africa in the early-mid 1990s when Don Beck used it to help Nelson Mandela and F W DeKlerk design the transition from Apartheid to multi-cultural democracy. However, it has also influenced the Community Policing Policy of Victoria, New South Wales, been championed as a means of investigating new strands of racism on the Atlantic Seaboard and more recently has been taken up by Dutch Traffic Planners(!). The work of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) psychologist Robert Dilts (1990) on Neurological Levels provides a useful frame for understanding Spiral Dynamics. Dilts identifies that the mind orders its perceptions of the world at 5 levels…. Identity… Read More

Glossary M

Nos   A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P-Q    R    S     T     U    V    W    X-Y-Z McDonaldisation: George Ritzer (1993) argues that the fast food restaurant is the ultimate model of rationalisation, based on 4 key elements:- Efficiency – economies of scale, assembly line production of food and limited menus cut costs and facilitate the fast processing of customers Calculability – every aspect of the food production and consumption is measured and evaluated on the basis of rational calculation Predictability – Ritzer states “in a rational society people prefer to know what to expect in all settings at all times”. So customers should be able to enter a McDonald’s anywhere in the world and have exactly the same experience. Control – through training, supervision and technology, McDonald’s exercise rigid control of their employees and the food production process. There is even a degree of control of the customers, with hard seats, bright lights and, in some cases, security guards to make customers behave themselves and do not linger over their meal Ritzer and later commentators such as Soumyaditya Dasgupta (2015) see McDonaldization is a by-product of ‘Americanization’ or ‘Westernization’ which… Read More

Theory FAQs

Click the question to go to its answer… 1. What is the relationship between the Gravesian approach, Spiral Dynamics and Spiral Dynamics integral? 2. What’s the difference between 1st Tier and 2nd Tier in the Gravesian approach? 3. What’s the difference between Integrated SocioPsychology and Integral Psychology and where does Integrated SocioPsychology fit in with the concepts of Integrated Spirituality? 1. What is the relationship between the Gravesian approach, Spiral Dynamics and Spiral Dynamics integral? Updated: 16/05/16 Just as the ‘Freudian approach’ is to do with the work of Sigmund Freud himself and/or developments of Freud’s work which adhere very closely to the principles of his theories, so the ‘Gravesian approach’ is to do with Clare W Graves’ research and/or developments of it. Spiral Dynamics was developed by Don Beck & Chris Cowan (1996) from Graves’ work by linking it with the new science of Memetics developed by the likes of Richard Dawkins (1976) and Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi (1993). They coined the term ‘vMEME’ for the Gravesian systems of thinking and saw them as attracting memes pertinent to the vMEME’s motivation. Thus, they extended Graves’ concept of his systems (themas) having preferred schemas. Beck & Cowan also colour-coded the levels to make them easier… Read More

Bibliography D

A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P-Q    R    S     T     U    V    W    X-Y-Z d’Ancona, Matthew (2018): ‘Enoch Powell is gone, but his Hateful Tricks are still with Us’ in The Guardian (16 April) Dabbs, James, Timothy Carr, Robert Frady & Jasmin Riad (1995): ‘Testosterone, Crime and Misbehaviour among 692 Male Prison Inmates’ in Personality & Individual Differences #18 Dabbs, James, F J Bernieri, R K Strong, Rebecca Campo & R Milun (2001): ‘Going on Stage: Testosterone in Greetings and Meetings’ in Journal of Research in Personality 35/1 Dabbs, James, Robert Frady, Timothy Carr & Norma Besch (1987): ‘Saliva Testosterone and Criminal Violence in Young Adult Prison Inmates’ in Psychosomatic Medicine #49 Dabbs, James, & Marian Hargrove (1997): ‘Age, Testosterone and Behaviour among Female Prison Inmates’ in Psychosomatic Medicine 59/5 Dabbs, James, Gregory Jurkovic & Robert Frady (1991): ‘Salivary Testosterone and Cotisol among Late Adolescent Male Offenders’ in Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology #19 Daily Mail Reporter (2008): ‘Youngsters “Turning to Gangs instead of Parents”’ in Daily Mail (7 August) Daily Telegraph (2014): ‘MH17: Dutch PM urges Ukraine to stop fighting near Crash Site’ (29 July) Daily Telegraph (2017): ‘More than… Read More

Knowing Me, Knowing You

An Integrated SocioPsychology Guide to Personal Fulfilment & Better Relationships Available as a FREE downloadable PDF!!! (see below) Read what they’ve said about this book! “Best Psychology Book of the Year”– Bill Hajdu, Berkeley, California on www.amazon.com 368 pages paperback with comprehensive index, includes 74 diagrams and charts. Available from Trafford Publishing. ISBN 9781412082914 The handsome paperback version of ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ can be purchased directly from the Trafford website and Internet retailers such as Amazon and Books Etc.  ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’ can also be ordered via high street chains such as W H Smith and Waterstones and most reputable high street bookstores, using ISBN-10 1412082919 or ISBN-13 9781412082914. ‘Knowing Me, Knowing Y0u’ is also available as a PDF. The PDF contains 373 pages , with comprehensive index, includes 74 diagrams and charts (most in full colour). About ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’… Do you want to know more about you – why you do what do, why you think and feel as you do? Do you want to resolve issues – perhaps that have been troubling you for years…? Do you want to understand others more? Do you want to improve key relationships – so that you and the other… Read More

Schemas & Memes

Updated: 15 May 2017 Love is a meme. The Beatles made great music is a meme. Smart clothes is a meme. Smart is a meme. Clothes is a meme. Depression, as a description of a weather system, is a meme. Weather system is a meme. Weather is a meme. System is a meme. Depression, as a description of a mental state, is a meme. Mental is a meme. State is a meme. Schema is a meme. Meme is a meme. And, if you take this in and believe it, then meme is one of your schemas! (The plural of schema is sometimes referenced as schemata.) Schemas and memes are arguably two reflectors of the same concept – ideas! (from the instinctive and unspoken structural to the metaphysical abstract) – in different contexts. The theories around both terms emphasise the enormous impact of ideas upon the human psyche. A schema can be defined as any cognitive construct or encoded packet of information in the mind-brain. A meme is a unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is contained in a medium of communication – eg: a book – or is transmitted verbally or by repeated action (behaviour) from one… Read More

Formation more than Education

I find that one of the more interesting aspects of my part-time return to secondary school teaching is that of being a form tutor. The role has a pastoral element built into it not obviously present in classroom teaching or general school management. For someone interested in the development of children and young people and how their psychology affects their performance at school (and beyond), the role of form tutor offers possibilities of making the kind of difference that most other roles in school life don’t. What’s more, a good form tutor can create a climate of trust that enables members of his or her tutor group to open up and confide some of the turbulence going on inside their teenage heads. Recent examples I’ve had to deal with include a 14-year old girl distraught because her mother had started calling her “fat” and “ugly” over the past few months – having previously tended to tell her daughter how beautiful she was. Investigation revealed that the catalyst for the change in Mum’s behaviour was the arrival on the scene of a new serious boyfriend. It looked pretty much to me like Mum was belittling her daughter because the daughter (who was… Read More