Book contents
- The Psychology of System Change and Resistance to Change
- The Progressive Psychology Book Series
- The Psychology of System Change and Resistance to Change
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction and Overview
- Part I Intergroup Relations and Group Processes
- Part II The New Psychology of Intergroup Relations
- Chapter 6 Intergroup Relations in the World Ecological and Environmental Context
- Chapter 7 Interconnected Resilience and Resistance
- Chapter 8 Societies as Ecosystems
- Chapter 9 Temporal Cycles and the Psychology of Time
- Chapter 10 Beyond Linear Change
- Chapter 11 Leaders, Artists, Innovators
- Chapter 12 Conclusions, Reflections, and an Agenda for the Psychology of Transformative Change
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Chapter 10 - Beyond Linear Change
From Shocks and Disruption to Inflection Points and Emergence
from Part II - The New Psychology of Intergroup Relations
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 September 2025
Book contents
- The Psychology of System Change and Resistance to Change
- The Progressive Psychology Book Series
- The Psychology of System Change and Resistance to Change
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction and Overview
- Part I Intergroup Relations and Group Processes
- Part II The New Psychology of Intergroup Relations
- Chapter 6 Intergroup Relations in the World Ecological and Environmental Context
- Chapter 7 Interconnected Resilience and Resistance
- Chapter 8 Societies as Ecosystems
- Chapter 9 Temporal Cycles and the Psychology of Time
- Chapter 10 Beyond Linear Change
- Chapter 11 Leaders, Artists, Innovators
- Chapter 12 Conclusions, Reflections, and an Agenda for the Psychology of Transformative Change
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
This chapter explores the dynamics of non-linear changes within social systems, focusing on the processes that lead to societal collapse and ‘emergence’ (when a new social order forms that is qualitatively different from the past). The chapter first reviews the forces that create stability, differentiation, and oscillation. The DIME model is introduced, which explores how activists choose tactics to follow up the success or failure of their collective action. The chapter explores dynamics of intergroup contestation, including polarisation and backlash that drive systems towards either emergence or collapse. System stability is supported through coordinated identities and norm sequences that are often localised spatially, which act as homeostatic mechanisms to create resilient systems. However, behavioural changes manifest as actors establishing new cues and framing collective actions in ways that channel energy towards new identities and norms. Finally, the chapter explores mutual radicalisation, where mutual feedback loops of failure and threat signals between groups drive radicalisation, reinforcing intergroup tensions.
Information
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- The Psychology of System Change and Resistance to ChangeA New Psychology of Intergroup Relations, pp. 201 - 219Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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