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paper is to examine the possible societal and individual stress that is likely to be perceived by
American society resulting from resource depletion associated with the decline of oil.
- General Systems Theory and Stress
Stress, in the sense the word is used in psychology, occurs when there is a union between a stressor
(the cause of the stress) and the “individual” perceiving the stressor; stress cannot exist without
exposure to, and perception of, the stressor. Throughout this paper we refer to “stress” with the
understanding that all stress exists only because it is perceived. Hobföll’s Conservation of Resources
stress model links the production of stress directly to the perceived threat of resource depletion, actual
resource depletion, and lack of gain in resources following energy investment [16]. He suggests that
people strive to acquire, maintain, and protect resources and that when these resources are threatened,
when there is potential or actual loss of these resources, stress is induced. While Hobföll speaks of
stress caused by various types of resource depletion and references ‘people’ as his level of analysis, we
believe that his thinking is applicable to societal as well as individual stress. We suggest that the
American public, as a whole, will experience stress as an outcome of perceived and real resource
depletion associated with the decline of oil. These possible psychological and social reactions will not
be limited to the individual and small group level but will be exhibited on the societal level.
Boulding’s general systems theory suggests that observations and analyses of behavior and actions
of “individuals” (the term Boulding uses to describe the unit of analysis) at lower levels may be used
to understand and suggest possible behaviors and actions of “individuals” at higher levels. In other
words, societies are composed of small groups, small groups are composed of individuals, individuals
are composed of organs, organs are composed of cells, etc. [17,18]. While acknowledging differences
associated with scale, we believe that an assessment of societal response to oil depletion using research
and theory designed for smaller scale analysis may provide insight into patterns of social behavior.
According to Boulding, although the definition of the “individual” (unit) may vary greatly, every
scientific discipline studies some sort of “individual” and each of these “individuals” exhibit
“behavior”, action or change that is related in some way to the environment of which that “individual”
is a part [17]. This model, based on the premise of similar typologies among working components at
various vertical levels within a society, establishes the theory of scale-free dynamics within social
systems. This results in social networks that surpass the specifics of a distinct system and are
inherently tied to, and reflective of, the action taken by “individuals” occupying similar roles at higher
and lower levels within a network. Boulding further suggests that when the individual is a human
being, it is not only the person but also the roles of those persons that create the next level, the social
system of which they are a part [17,18]. The connectedness between these levels facilitates analysis of
behavior, actions and changes at multiple levels. In other words, observations/analyses of behavior
occurring at one level can be employed to provide a better understanding of behavior occurring at
adjacent levels. We believe that examining relevant individual psychological and small group sociological
research, which explores individual and group reactions to experiences perceived as stressful, provides
a starting point to facilitate an analysis of possible small group and societal reactions to depleting
oil resources.