Main Concepts Flashcards
Homeostasis:
Systems tend to resist change and thus deal with issues by keeping things the same rather than dealing with problems. ○ Maintained through negative feedback and input loops.
Negative Feedback:
Behavioral reactions that correct a deviation of the system and return it to the previous state of homeostasis.
Positive Feedback:
In an effort to maintain homeostasis, the system participates in new behaviors, which then create and reinforce negative communication patterns and exacerbate the problem.
Calibration:
The normal operational system of the family.
Wholeness:
The whole system is combined of individuals.
○ Each individual can have an effect on one another causing change to the whole system
Equifinality:
The same results can be accomplished by different family systems.
○ Example: A man experienced the death of his mother when he was a young child, whereas a woman experienced the divorce of her parents
when she was an infant. As adults, both of these individuals experienced Major Depression despite having different early experiences.
the observation that in any open system a diversity of pathways may lead to the same outcome. This is a framework for viewing a persons behavior as a byproduct of many different circumstances in their lives (their living situation, ethnicity, biology, etc.).
Equipotentiality:
On the other hand, the same experience in a family system can end up with various results later in life.
○ Example: Two siblings go through the same experience of being verbally abused when they were young. Later in life, one sibling struggles with
being in relationships whereas the other sibling struggles with Depression
First Order Change:
Change happens within the family system but has no effect on the system, leaving it unchanged.
Second Order Change:
Changes that do impact the family system and how it functions.
Non-Summativity:
The family system is treated as a whole and not just each individual family member.
