Evolving the future: toward a science of intentional change

Area of Science:

• Behavioral Sciences
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Applied Behavioral Science

Background:

• Human capacity for behavioral and cultural change is significant, yet management abilities are limited.
• Phenotypic plasticity mechanisms allow species adaptive environmental responses; some are evolutionary processes.
• Human symbolic thought offers a unique inheritance system with combinatorial diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To outline a basic science of intentional change, integrating evolutionary principles.
• To present examples of intentional behavioral and cultural change from applied behavioral sciences.
• To bridge the gap between basic and applied behavioral sciences for a unified theory.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual integration of diverse behavioral science traditions (behaviorism, social constructivism, social psychology, cognitive psychology, evolutionary psychology).
• Analysis of applied behavioral science examples as management of evolved phenotypic plasticity.
• Framing intentional change within an evolutionary perspective of variation and selection.

Main Results:

• Proposes a unified theoretical framework for basic and applied behavioral sciences.
• Demonstrates how applied behavioral science examples illustrate managing phenotypic plasticity.
• Highlights the potential for a cohesive science of intentional change.

Conclusions:

• Unifying basic and applied behavioral sciences is crucial for understanding and managing intentional change.
• An evolutionary perspective provides a common ground for diverse behavioral science fields.
• Effective management of behavioral and cultural change is achievable through a unified scientific approach.