Institutions as production systems

This paper proposes a formal mode of representation and a corresponding way of thinking about institutionalized social action. It draws its representational technique and its way of thinking about its subject from several sources, including systems theory, cognitive science, and structuralism. It is based on the idea that a model involves a proposed generative mechanism for observable patterns of action and that such a generator must be a system of rules. We discuss the philosophical and sociological presuppositions of our proposal, then outline in detail and illustrate the idea of a production system model. Following this, we argue that the proposed mode of representation is appropriate for “the action frame of reference” and then develop a series of specific “problematics” involving the structural analysis of institutionalized social action. We conclude with a discussion of issues and problems for further research. The paper does not include mathematical work found elsewhere, although it tries to indicate its significance. Similarly, it does not include data analyses reported elsewhere, although it tries to show that the models make definite predictions about certain forms of data. In short, the paper strives to be a readable introduction to the conceptual foundations of a line of investigation.