PROSOCIAL Can Improve The Quality Of Life – One Group At A Time

Whenever people form groups, it is typically to do something together that cannot be done alone. The group can be as small as a pair or as large as a nation. The purpose can be as jovial as a party or as serious as a rescue mission. In all cases, members of the group must coordinate their activities in a way that provides a shared good, which is the reason that they came together in the first place.

It is common for scientists who study cooperation to describe it as a puzzle before offering their particular piece towards its solution. By now, enough pieces have been put together to make a pretty satisfying picture. Even better, this picture can be used to evaluate and improve the performance of real-world groups. That is the mission of PROSOCIAL, a practical framework for improving the efficacy of groups that has been under development at the Evolution Institute for several years and is now available for use.

PROSOCIAL represents a fusion of scientific disciplines including evolutionary theory, economics and political science, and the applied behavioral sciences. We have boiled these down to a set of core design principles that are required for groups to accomplish shared goals – no matter what the specific goal might be. The scientific foundation for PROSOCIAL is described in a number of academic publications listed at the end of this article. In my own work, I have applied the core design principle approach to groups as diverse as schools, neighborhoods, churches, and businesses. PROSOCIAL enables any group to quickly learn about the core design principles, give itself a checkup, and formulate goals for improving its efficacy in the future.

The first design principle required for any group to function well is a strong sense of identity and purpose. PROSOCIAL begins with an exercise that helps group members reflect upon their specific purpose and the underlying values that make it worthwhile to come together as a group. Group members also reflect upon the factors that interfere with achieving shared goals, which can be either internal (e.g., conflicts of interest among group members) or external (e.g., difficulties working with other groups or being allowed to manage one’s own affairs). The exercise is based upon techniques with proven effectiveness at helping individuals increase their psychological flexibility and move toward valued goals. In a group setting, the exercise can go a long way toward creating a strong sense of identity and purpose in a single session.

The other design principles concern matters such as an equitable distribution of costs and benefits, fair and efficient decision making, monitoring and responding to lapses in agreed-upon behaviors, fast and fair conflict resolution, the authority of the group to manage its own affairs, and appropriate relationships with other groups. These design principles are easy to understand and are spontaneously implemented by some groups without requiring coaching, but they are sadly lacking in other groups. Moreover, the design principles are a bit like the organs of your body: All of them are needed and removing any one will result in death (or a severely compromised group). Hence, nearly any group can benefit from a review and “checkup” to see how well the core design principles are being implemented. PROSOCIAL accomplishes this in a single session along with an opportunity to identify auxiliary design principles that are important to achieve particular goals – in addition to the core design principles that are needed to achieve almost any shared goal.

The next step of PROSOCIAL is to identify short-term goals that address shortcomings in the design principles and otherwise move the group in its valued direction. Whenever possible, these goals should be measurable, should have a deadline, and should have clearly identified group members responsible for their execution. This is standard good business practice, but it is remarkable how many groups (including businesses!) fail to employ them. PROSOCIAL makes it the standard operating procedure.

Any group can become involved in PROSOCIAL through a facilitator. Anyone experienced at working with groups can function as a facilitator. PROSOCIAL provides the specific training for walking the group through the process. Currently there is a website enabling facilitators to interact with each other and with the development team. Plans are underway for an internet platform that provides a website for each group and the means for groups to interact directly with each other.

Another notable feature of PROSOCIAL is that it will create a scientific database. While many pieces of the cooperation puzzle are in place, there is always more to learn. PROSOCIAL is structured so that the development team can learn from the groups while sharing its current knowledge about the science of cooperation. Your group can partake in the excitement of scientific research while enhancing its own performance.

PROSOCIAL is available free of charge during this phase of its development. To apply, please briefly describe your group and your interest in becoming involved by contacting Alan Honick here.

It is not an exaggeration to say that PROSOCIAL can substantially improve the quality of life – one group at a time.

Please watch the video below for more information on PROSOCIAL:

For more on the scientific foundation of PROSOCIAL, please consult the following academic articles.

Wilson, D. S., Ostrom, E., & Cox, M. E. (2013). Generalizing the core design principles for the efficacy of groups. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 90, S21–S32. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2012.12.010

Wilson, D. S., Hayes, S. C., Biglan, A., & Embry, D. (2014). Evolving the future: Toward a science of intentional change. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, in press.

Polk, K., & Schoendorff, B. (Eds.). (2014). The ACT matrix: A new approach to building psychological flexibility across settings and populations. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Wilson, D. S., Kauffman, R. A., & Purdy, M. S. (2011). A program for at-risk high school students informed by evolutionary science. PLoS ONE, 6(11), e27826. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027826

Wilson, D. S., Marshall, D., & Iserhott, H. (2011). Empowering groups that enable play. American Journal of Play, 3(4), 523–538.