Behavior settings and eco-behavioral science: a new arena for mathematical social science permitting a richer and more coherent view of human activities in social systems, part I: Concepts, measurements, and linkages to economic data systems, time-allocation matrices, and social system accounts

Abstract

The concept of behavior settings (settings for behavior) was originated by the psychologist Roger Barker in 1950. It was used by him to classify all activities of the residents of a town in the course of a year and to estimate the allocation of their living-time among those activities. The concept has been applied successfully to surveys of other communities and of several types of organizations. The implications of the behavior setting concept for the social sciences are far-reaching. Behavior settings are the immediate environments of all human behavior and experience. They are objectively defined, directly observable entities with clear-cut boundaries in space and clear-cut beginnings, durations, and endings in time. On the descriptive level, behavior settings can be classified into categories analogous to (and in some cases identical with) industries, the roles performed by persons in behavior settings can be classified into occupations and quasi- occupations. Part I of this paper presents Barker's concepts, links them with standard economic data systems, and suggests their use as a basis for time-allocation matrices and social system accounts. Part II discusses the relationships of behavior settings and eco-behavioral science to established disciplines and points out some major areas in need of mathematical and theoretical development.