THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY 55

and provide the subtle overtones of group association, they give the
members something to talk about, and at the worst they lead to passing
misunderstandings and irritations. Thus the fact that one American coyly
persists in answering the telephone with an "Are you there?," in the
English manner, will hardly lead to a modification of the conventional
"Hello." Likewise, the fact that one man failed to learn respect for the
eighth commandment and learned instead to live on the produce of his
neighbor's fields will hardly lead to the general abandonment of agri-
culture and the adoption of brigandage. Moreover, the expression of any
attribute of individuality is subject to social checks, with the consequence
that a person who might contribute to some change in his society is often
persuaded or coerced into repressing all outward signs of individuality
and into conforming outwardly to the established ways.

Only a few of the many attributes of individuality that appear in the
members of a social group are sociologically significant. Designated as
"enterprise" or "individual initiative," these few are commonly con-
sidered to be a single attribute. It must be realized, however, that initia-
tive, the term that will be used here, is not one kind of human behavior
but is, rather, a combination of particular attributes of individuality. No
one of these can of itself lead to significant changes in society, and the
combination of them can do so only under particular conditions.

Atypical Motivation.—In each social system there is a normative level
of individual motivation for each of the various aspects of life—a normal
intensity of desire to marry upon reaching maturity, to become a father,
to produce material goods, to secure or improve social status, etc. When,
as a consequence of malfunctioning of the socializing processes, any con-
siderable number of the members of a group are hypomotivated, i.e., less
than normally motivated, in respect to many aspects of life (and in terms,
of course, of the normative levels of motivation for that group), the
vigor of the society diminishes, the established social practices or some
of them fall into disuse, and in extreme instances the population numbers
decline and the standard of living falls off.1 A gradual increase in the num-
bers of hypomotivated individuals was undoubtedly involved in the his-
toric decline of the Greek city-states and of the Roman Empire; and it
has been an important factor in the eclipse as world powers of such
modern nations as Spain and, more recently, France.

Conversely, whenever any considerable number of the members of
a social group are hypermotivated, i.e., more than normally motivated, in

1 Other factors, such as deterioration of the level of health and prolonged social
adversity with resulting demoralization, may have the same consequences. The
prevalence of hookworm and the use of devitalized corn meal as a major item of
diet are, for example, important factors in the social apathy of the so-called "poor
whites" of our South.