For people who want to understand more about the vicious and virtuous cause-and-effect cycles raised in my discussions of climate change and counselling.
“Structures [feedback cycles] of which we are unaware hold us prisoner. Conversely, learning to see the structures within which we operate begins a process of freeing ourselves from previously unseen forces and ultimately mastering the ability to work with and change them.” (Senge, 1992, p. 94)
Systems theory recognises amplifying feedback as a dynamic through which any system can transform itself: ecosystems, minds, and societies (Maruyama, 1968).
Introduction to Systems Theory
The systems theory introduction
Examine feedback cycles organising
- A sound system
- Physical fitness and decline.
- Predator and prey populations
- Control of a sailing boat’s direction
Features of vicious cycles:
- Unconstrained vicious cycles eventually stop when they exhaust a necessary resource
- Physical changes in vicious cycles take time
- Some cycles can run in reverse
A Systems Theory Approach to Counselling
The counselling hub.
A practical resource for a counsellor guiding a client through addiction recovery.
Vicious cycles driving climate change
Physical cycles
A political cycle
Addictive cycles
Two vicious cycles driving fossil fuel addiction.
A vicious cycle takes control at a tipping point
A cycle supporting change
A well-targeted vision can form a self-reinforcing virtuous cycle
Complexity Theory
Chaos Theory: Understanding human behaviour through feedback loops connects psychology to chaos theory and the study of complexity: a realistic lens for human behaviour.
Self-organisation of human behaviour: How feedback cycles can organise (1) thoughts, feelings, ideas, (2) habits, and (3) character.
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