Positive Feedback in Family Systems Theory

Name of Concept

Positive Feedback in Family Systems Theory

Synonyms

Morphogenesis; Positive feedback loops

Introduction

Positive feedback occurs in a family system when members respond to the introduction of new information in such a way that destabilizes the unit. The feedback is labeled “positive” not because of intended valence, inherent health, or value to the system but rather to indicate the presence of an active shift away from the standing rules, roles, and norms of the system.

Theoretical Context for Concept

Positive feedback was extended to the realm of family systems theory after anthropologist Gregory Bateson’s participation in the Macy Conferences on Cybernetics in 1946. At the conferences, Bateson worked alongside Norbert Wiener, a mathematician who studied how machines and their control processes become self-regulating via the automated application of output data as new input data (Stagoll 2006). Bateson applied the notion that systems teach themselves to react to their...