Cybernetics and Systems Flashcards
fundamental assumptions systems/cybernetics
What, reciprocal causality, holistic, dialectical, subjective/perceptual, freedom of choice/proactive, patterns, here-now focus, relational, contextual, relativistic
simple cybernetics
place ourselves outside the system as observers of what is going on inside the system; we do not see ourselves as part of said system nor concerned with why it does, only on what is happening
recursion
=mutual influence
circularity; mutual cause and mutual influence; relational–how each interacts and influences the other reciprocally
relation between individuals and elements as each defines the other
feedback
=recursion involving self-correction
=process whereby information about past behaviors is fed back into the system in a circular manner
=self-correction
positive feedback
=change amplifying
=acknowledges change has occurred and has been accepted by the system
negative feedback
=maintenance of the status quo
=deviation counteracting
morphostasis
tendency of a system toward stability/state of equilibrium
morphogenesis
system-enhancing behavior that allows for growth, innovation, and change
allows system to adapt to changing needs in ways that continue to support individuals within that system
rules
unique to a system; determine how a system operates; comprised of the characteristic relationship patterns within the system; express values of system as well as roles appropriate to behaviors within the system
determine boundaries of a system and help to distinguish a system from other systems
often unspoken
boundary
connotes separateness of a system from a larger system; ____ act as a buffer for information from outside the system AND outflow of information from the system
invisible lines that separate groups and subgroups
may be open, closed, or exhibit varying degrees of permeability
openness/closedness
extent to which a system screens out (closedness) or permits the input of (openness) of information
entropy
tending toward maximum disorder and disintegration (aka dysfunctional)
negentropy
tending toward maximum order (balance, equilibrium, survival)
equifinality
different starting points–> same end point
multifinality
same starting point–> different end point
digital mode
verbal communication; least powerful in defining how message is received
nonverbal mode
command aspect of message (voice, tone, inflection, gestures, facial expression)– tells how message should be received and therefore is the relationship-defining mode
analog
nonverbal+context
context
where we are, who were are with, when, what each person is thinking
content
digital portion; spoken word
process
=analog= context and nonverbal
incongruent communication
process and content do not match
congruent communication
process and content align
cybernetics of cybernetics
the observer is a part of/participant in that which is observed; no reference to an outside environment–boundary is unbroken and system is closed; mutual connectedness of observer and observed
system+ observer understood to be mutually interacting within a larger system whose boundary is closed
autonomy
=organization as the whole
attained by self-reference; highest order of recursion or feedback processes whereby range of deviation or stability maintained is that of the organization of the whole
structure
relations between the parts as well as the identity of the parts that constitute the whole
ex: organization of a family with different structures: married man and woman with child; or child and child’s paternal grandmother
organization
relations that define a system as a unity and determine its properties (no reference of identity)
ex: individuals operating according to some generational hierarchy in support of mutual welfare and individual development= organization of a family
autopoiesis
process of self generation as an autonomous system
structural determinism
the system determines the range of structural variations it can accept without loss of identity
system is limited by the virtue of its structure to what it can and cannot do
from this POV–what a system does is always correct b/c the system can only do what its structure determines it can do
structural coupling
degree to which systems are able to coexist
organisms survive by fitting with one another and with other aspects of their context
reality as a multiverse
each of us lives in and creates a reality in a different manner based off of our frame of reference and each of thus therefore lives in a slightly different but equally true and valid reality
there is no one way in which the system is
we live in a multiverse of equally valid, observer-dependent realities
first order change
occurs within the system CONSISTENT WITH the rules of that system
what we think of as logical solutions to problems
second order change
change of the rules of the system and thus a change of the system itself –different system altogether
illogical to context or when considered within framework of existing rules
reframe
change in perception
takes a situation and lifts it out of its old context/old set of rules and places it in a new context with a new set of rules that defines it equally well
stochastic
=random
meaningful noise
questions/reflections offered by the therapist’s presence and interactions within the system that help the family to create a new perspective that allows them to see things differently and thus behave differently
aesthetic
inherent goodness
cybernetics
concerned with understanding and managing patterns of organization
study of feedback mechanisms in self-regulating systems
mind
the mind is a cybernetic system because it contains feedback
calibration
control of feedback
homeostasis
process of maintaining stability through change; and/or process of achieving change through management of stability
pragmatics
mechanics of practical strategies and problem solving
systems
groups of parts and their relationships to each other that when viewed together have a meaning and purpose that cannot be understood by observing the parts separately
wholeness
whole is different from the sum of its parts–parts+ interactions and relationships among parts+ context
metarule
rules about changing rules/rules about rules
tend to be less flexible
isomorphism
patterns of interactions in families are reflected in several areas of the family’s functioning
pattern
occur repeatedly over time and across content areas (recursion)
punctuation
tendency to believe there is a starting point
