Gehart Ch. 2 Flashcards
Systems Theory
A set of mid-20th century theories from which family therapy emerged
Postmodernism
Became a major influence of family therapy beginning in the late 20th century. Focuses on the construction of meaning at linguistic, individual, relational, and societal levels
The Macy Conferences
A series of conferences in the 1940s which gave birth to general systems theory and cybernetic systems theory
Gregory Bateson
British anthropologist and key figure (along with his then-wife Margaret Mead) in the Macy Conferences. Helped to develop the double-blind theory of schizophrenia
Heinz von Foerster
Austrian-born systems theorist who studied physics before developing before focusing on cybernetics and developing radical constructivism, a postmodern theory that describes how an individual constructs reality
Milton Erickson
Psychiatrist, therapist, hypnotist, and a key figure in the development of solution-based therapies
Bradford Keeney
Family therapist and student of Gregory Bateson who has studied second-order cybernetics, which acknowledges the impact of the observer (or therapist) on what is observed. In his more recent anthropological work, he has studied shamanism and the cybernetic worldviews of indigenous cultures, notably the Kalahari Bushmen. He also developed improvisational therapy and resource-focused therapy, a strengths-based, systemic approach
Von Bertalanffy
Austrian biologist and key figure in the emergence of general systems theory, which was one of the foundational theories discussed at the Macy Conferences
3 Major Concepts of General Systems Theory
1) The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
2) Systems can be viewed in terms of hierarchy, executive organization, and subsystems.
3) Systems strive toward self-preservation and therefore its members work in service of the system as well as themselves.
Open Systems vs. Closed Systems
Open systems regularly interact with the environment and other systems. Closed systems do not.
Entropy vs. Negative Entropy (or Negentropy)
Entropy is the natural process by which systems breakdown and become more chaotic. System therapists strive to foster negative entropy (or negentropy), which involves a healthy balance between being open and closed.
Equifinality
A single end state can have many possible causes.
Equipotentiality
A single cause can have many potential outcomes.
Circular Causality
How each member in a system affects others, mutually influencing the others’ behavior and (often) creating a recursive pattern that repeats over and over.
Cybernetic Theory
Describes how systems maintain balance or homeostasis through self-correction. Anthropologist Gregory Bateson pioneered the study of social systems using cybernetic theory, which has had the most influence on the field of family therapy.
Homeostasis
A state of dynamic (not static) equilibrium.
Morphogenesis
How a system can adapt and change its internal structure
Morphostasis
How a system resists changing its internal structure
Negative Feedback
Pushes a system back toward its previous homeostasis
Positive Feedback
Moves a system further away from its previous homeostasis, potentially resulting in a new homeostasis
Second Order Change
When a system restructures its homeostasis in response to positive feedback and the rules that govern the system fundamentally change
First Order Change
When a system returns to its previous homeostasis after positive feedback
Pragmatics of Human Communication
The early work of the Bateson team resulted in this classic 1967 text by Watzlawick et al. which proposed the following axiom: One cannot not communicate.
Report vs. Command Aspects of Communication
The report is the content or the literal meaning of the statement. The command is the metacommunication, or the communication about how to interpret the communication. The command aspect always defines the relationship between two people.
The Bateson Group
A research group spearheaded by Gregory Bateson and also including Don Jackson, Jay Haley, William Fry, and John Weakland
3 elements of a double-bind communication
- Two people are in an intense relationship that has high survival value
- Within this relationship, a message is given that is structured with: (a) a primary injunction (e.g., a request or order) and (b) a simultaneous secondary injunction that contradicts the first, usually at the metacommunication level
- The receiver of the contradictory injunctions has the sense that they cannot escape or step outside the cognitive frame of the contradictions, either by metacommunicating (e.g., commenting on the contradiction) or by withdrawing, without threatening the relationship. The receiver is made to feel “bad” or “mad” for even suggesting there is a discrepancy.
Symmetrical Relationships
Relationships in which the parties have “symmetrical” or evenly distributed abilities and roles in the system: an equal relationship
Complementary Relationships
Relationships in which each party has a distinct role that balances or complements the other, often resulting in a form of hierarchy
4 basic propositions that arise from viewing the family as a system or “holon”
- No single person orchestrates the interactional patterns
- All behavior makes sense in context
- No single person can be blamed for family/relational distress
- Personal characteristics are dependent on the system
Epistemology
The study of knowledge and the process of knowing
Bateson’s general point about epistemology
Most of the propositions that humans assume to be true are erroneous; they appear true because they capture one dimension of an interactional sequence, but they rarely include the broader awareness of how observer and observed reciprocally reinforce and impact each other
Second-Order Cybernetics
Refers to applying systemic principles to the observing system, which in family therapy is the therapeutic system (therapist observing the family system)
4 assumptions shared by systemic and social constructionist theories
- A person’s lived reality is relationally constructed
- Personal identity and an individual’s symptoms are related to the social systems of which they are a part
- Changing one’s language and description of a problem alters how it is experienced
- Truth can be determined only within relational contexts; an objective, outsider perspective is impossible
Systems Theory vs. Social Constructionism: Different Metaphors
Systems theory uses a systems metaphor: a family is a system, a group of individuals who coordinate meaning and their understanding of the world.
Social constructionism uses a textual metaphor: people narrate their lives to create meaning using the social discourses available to them.
Kenneth Gergen
Social psychologist whose work has laid the foundation for the development of social constructionist therapy approaches, most notably collaborative therapy and to a lesser degree narrative therapy
Sheila McNamee
Communications theorist who, working with Ken Gergen, has been a leader in translating social constructionist ideas to therapy, including an in-depth exploration of ethical issues
John Shotter
Social constructionist whose work focuses on how people coordinate joint action through shared meanings and understanding. His work emphasizes the ethics of mutual accountability in social relationships.
Michel Foucault
Social critic and philosopher who rejected labels (e.g., postmodernist, structuralist, and poststructuralist) and who described how power and knowledge shape individual realities in a given society. He was a significant influence on Michael White’s narrative therapy and his work introduced political and social justice ramifications of language and power in therapy.
Ludvig Wittgenstein
Austrian philosopher whose philosophy of language is highly influential in postmodern therapies, notably solution-focused brief therapy and collaborative therapy. He describes language as inextricably woven into the fabric of life and argues that language cannot be meaningfully removed from its everyday use, as it commonly is in philosophical and theoretical discussions.
Mikhail Bakhtin
Russian critic and philosopher who worked on dialogue and concepts of identity, emphasizing that the self is unfinalizable (can never be fully known) and that self and other are inextricably intertwined.
6 Postmodern Theoretical Concepts
- Skeptical of objective reality
- Reality is constructed
- Language is formative rather than representative
- Knowledge is a communal achievement, not an individual one
- Multiple Realities
- Self is a dynamic, relational social construct
Culture
A set of “goods”––in the form of values and meanings––that a community uses to coordinate joint action
How culture creates oppression (from a postmodern perspective)
To effectively coordinate human interactions, all cultures are oppressive in some form because they must identify behaviors that are acceptable and unacceptable.
Dominant Discourses
The ideals, beliefs, and values that a culture uses to coordinate behavior
Local, Nondominant, or Minority Discourses
Alternative cultural values (i.e., alternative to the “mainstream” or dominant discourses)
Marginalization
Being treated as “less than.” What happens to people who are not aligned with the dominant discourses within a given society
