Behavior Settings

Abstract

Extra-individual, dynamic ecological structures that are generated through the collective actions of individuals. These naturally occurring, emergent ecological structures are composed of both individuals’ actions and the material features (affordances) that support them. Behavior settings are quasi-stable systems whose participants act to preserve setting integrity if circumstances threaten its stable functioning. By virtue of their participation in behavior settings, individuals’ actions are constrained through their expression of the normative practices that characterize that setting. For this reason, behavior settings serve as reliable predictors of individuals’ actions. The core concept in Roger Barker’s ecological psychology.