GDL

A theory of social communication is developed to explain the endogenous processes by which stable organiza- tion is achieved in social collectives. The theory shows how two orders of social relations, flux (the distribution of energy) and control (spatial and temporal constraints on behavior) activate the potential energy of the collec- tive's members---~eir capacity for physical and social behavior--and directs the expenditure of this energy towards collective ends. The work is divided into two parts and begins inductively, in Part 1, with an empirical analysis using existing data from a longitudinal study of 46 social collectives. Sociometric measures of flux and control are developed and their relationship to stability (group survival) is investigated. Results from statistical analyses, including multivariate discriminant analysis, show that the interaction between the two relational orders is a strong predictor of stability, while measures of the coUective's normative and structural organization and of the members" social characteristics have no predictive power. Building on these results, Part 2 draws on the con- cepts of energy and information from the natural sciences to show how the interaction between flux and control operates as an information processing system. The interaction between the two orders effects stability by gather- ing and communicating information about internal organization throughout the collective. The interaction in- forms (gives shape to) the members' expenditure of energy and results in stable, effective collective organization. The work concludes with a theoretical model that shows how different patterns of endogenous communication, different configurations of flux and control, produce various states of functional and dysfunctional organization.

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