CUES (SOCIAL)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 777 ▶ |
| Object type | Human sciences |
Signals that the individuals may perceive as a result of the collective behavior of their group .
Social cues are obvious in practically all forms of societies, animal or human.
They are very diverse in nature: concentrated pheromones , collective behavioral change , rituals , ideological calls, etc.
They are kinds of feedbacks between the individuals and their group . Public opinion, for example, as in a famous engraving by A. BÖCKLIN, is a self-reproducing fractal monster. Every individual is imprinted in the same form by his collectivity and contributes to the permanent reproduction of the collective behavior, in a kind of systemic scaling self-similarity .
Social cues may sometimes evolve, but this process is generally quite slow and may be hazardous. Radical shifts of social clues types are very exceptional, as expressed through the famous sicilian “Gattopardo” behavior described by LAMPEDUSA: “Introducing some change in order to maintain things as they are”
Of course, when the social clues lose their clear meaning , the society is in great danger to lose its bearings.