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without regard for the intensity of that stress (area B). The graph suggests that in combination these
two facets of perceived stress: intensity of the stressor and duration of exposure to a perceived stress,
result in group breakdown and eventual collapse. It suggests that not only can a group’s maximum
coping capacity be exceeded but also when this is exceeded, the integrative activities that bond
segments of the group together no longer adequately function and a breakdown of that group results.
Examples of societal breakdown or collapse resulting from exposure to extreme stress over a short
period or modest exposure over a prolonged period are rare. This dearth of historical examples may be
due to the complex inter-group dynamics between large social states. Societies exposed to modest
degrees of stress for long periods may dissolve completely (e.g., the decline of Easter Island [81]) or
may be subsumed by another social state (e.g., the fall of Rome to the Germanic Tribes [82]). Societal
breakdown resulting from acute traumatic stress usually follows war or natural disasters and may be
accompanied by a period of societal decline (e.g., the fall of Athens to Sparta [83]). It is important to
note that all societal collapses are complex, multifaceted, and result from a variety of causal factors.
Figure 1. The interaction of two independent variables: intensity of a stressor and the
duration of perceived stress- the impact on group integration.- Torrance’s Model Applied to Future Decline of Oil
Applying general systems theory, we extrapolate societal response to the perceived stress of
declining oil availability from general individual and group level responses to stress. We suggest that
when groups are conceptualized or envisioned as the collective ‘individuals’ within a society,
Torrance’s model of group reaction to intensity and duration of stress can be used to examine societal
reactions to stressors that vary in intensity and to which exposure is continuous and unabated.
We suggest that Torrance’s model can be used to understand the stress introduced to western society