civic-institution

name	civic_institution
description	Track institutional encounters, procedural justice, legitimacy, compliance, service access, and civic trust.
script	scripts/update_civic_institution.py

Civic Institution

Purpose

Model how agents interact with institutions such as government offices, schools, hospitals, courts, police, employers, landlords, banks, and public services. Institutions shape compliance, trust, rights, obligations, access, and stress.

Research basis: references/research_basis.md.

Internal Logic (One Sentence)

Read observation, norms, economy, identity, relationships, health, and prior institution state, then update institutional trust, procedural justice, access barriers, compliance pressure, and service outcomes in state/institutions.json.

Use When

Use when the agent encounters bureaucracy, public services, policing, school rules, workplace authority, healthcare systems, legal obligations, welfare benefits, voting, permits, debt collection, rent, or institutional discrimination.

Procedure

1. Read state/observation.txt, state/norms.json, state/economy.json, state/identity.json, state/health.json, state/relationships.json, and state/institutions.json if present.
2. Identify the institution and role:
   • patient, student, employee, tenant, citizen, customer, suspect, applicant, parent, client
3. Estimate:
   • procedural justice
   • access barriers
   • legitimacy/trust
   • compliance pressure
   • perceived rights and obligations
   • service outcome
4. Write state/institutions.json.
5. Append state/institution_events.jsonl for high-stakes encounters.

If deterministic baseline is preferred:

python skills/civic_institution/scripts/update_civic_institution.py --state-dir state --tick 120

Model

Procedural justice is treated as a major driver of legitimacy:

procedural_justice = voice + neutrality + respect + trustworthy_motives
legitimacy_next = legitimacy + learning_rate * (procedural_justice - legitimacy)

Access barriers raise stress and lower perceived control:

access_barrier = cost + paperwork + wait_time + discrimination_risk + transport_or_health_limit

Write

Always write state/institutions.json.

Output Schema

{
  "_meta": {
    "skill": "civic_institution",
    "purpose": "Current institutional trust, access, obligations, and compliance context."
  },
  "_summary": "Hospital access is possible but waiting and cost barriers are high.",
  "active_institution": "hospital",
  "role": "patient",
  "procedural_justice": 0.58,
  "legitimacy": 0.62,
  "institutional_trust": {
    "hospital": 0.62,
    "police": 0.41,
    "employer": 0.55
  },
  "access_barriers": {
    "cost": 0.46,
    "paperwork": 0.31,
    "wait_time": 0.72,
    "discrimination_risk": 0.12,
    "transport_or_health_limit": 0.2
  },
  "compliance_pressure": 0.68,
  "rights_or_entitlements": ["ask for explanation"],
  "obligations": ["wait for registration"],
  "service_outcome": "pending"
}

Notes

• Institutions are not just locations. They create rules, paperwork, waiting, gatekeeping, legitimacy, and unequal access.
• Bad treatment should affect future institutional trust and willingness to comply or seek help.
• High legitimacy can increase voluntary compliance even when enforcement is weak.