program selection system

Software development is performed by groups of individuals. When individuals become a members of a group, behavior changes. The group becomes focal and the individuals become background. The group behaves as a system and exhibits system-level behavior. Groups as a system exhibit primitive emotional behaviors that can derail the group from its stated primary task.

Cognitive scientists say we are more productive and happier when our behavior matches our hardwiring. That is, when what we do and why we do it matches the way we have evolved to survive over tens of thousands of years. One disturbing behavior we are hardwired to perform is to decide instantly who we trust. It is a particularly interesting characteristic of this behavior that we aren’t aware of what we are doing or why we are doing it. This hardwired evaluation often prevents us from working well with others.