Understanding the Family as a System. . .and Other TheoriesHPER F258Marriage and Family InteractionKathleen R. Gilbert, Ph.D.

Family as a system

•“The map is not the territory . . . The name is not the thing named." __ Korzybski (1942)

•What do you think this statement means?

Living Systems and Reductionism

•Reductionism ▫Any organized entity is composed of

smaller parts and the entity can be understood by reducing it to its smallest part.

•Living systems are nonreductionistic.•Family systems are living systems.

Definitions of systems

• Definition 1: “A system is defined as a whole made up of interacting parts. You can not add these parts together and get the total system--the system is more than the sum of its parts.”

• Definition 2: “A family system is a social and/or biological construction made up of a set of people related by blood or intention.”▫ How comfortable are you with this definition?

Elements in System

•Members interact in reciprocal relationships, responding to one another in the context of roles.▫Interaction – the interplay between

members▫Reciprocity – both parties influence

each other as they interact with each other

▫Roles – a character or function one plays

Wholeness

•To understand the family, it is necessary to look at it in its entirety – not just at one or some parts.

Boundaries•The "lines of demarcation" that

indicate who is in and who is out of a system.

•Boundaries can be physical or symbolic (or both)

•Permeability▫ Ability to enter and exit the system▫ Degree to which the system is open

•Boundary Ambiguity▫ Uncertainty about who is in and who is out of

the system▫ Very common at times of transition

Hierarchies – power

•One Up/ One Down - Superior/ Inferior  ▫ “Captain first mate”▫ Captain makes decisions and first mate carries

them out

•Egalitarian▫ Both partners maintain or attempt to maintain

an equal relationship▫ Difficult to maintain, if focus is on total

equality, in every way

Important concept in understanding how systems work: “Change vs. Stability

•Family systems are stable in their chaos and orderly in their disorder . . .

• Families are predictable in general, unpredictable in detail.

•What does this mean?

Homeostasis •The tendency of a system to return to a

state of equilibrium

•This is counteracted by the need for change in a living system (or the natural state of change in living system)

Entropy vs. Negentropy•Entropy --

▫The natural tendency of systems to dissipate.

•Negentropy -- ▫Requires change (addition of energy to

system) to occur in order for the system to continue to exist

Epigenesis •Whatever we do early in our lives

and our relationships has a significant impact on what happens later in our lives.

•This is why your early experiences in your family have such an impact on you and why it’s difficult to change long-standing patterns.

•Can you think of an example?

Equifinality and Equipotentiality•Equifinality -- Many beginnings can lead to

the same outcome.

•Equipotentiality -- the same beginnings can result in different outcomes.

Subsystems

•Smaller units in the larger system which share the characteristics of the larger system

•Because of subsystems, you have multiple identities in the system

•Examples?

Alliances –

•Weaker elements in a system join with stronger (or combine with other weak ones) to counter a stronger element.

▫ An example– the “Grand” alliance

In small groups, define and provide examples of:

•Reductionism•System elements

▫Interaction▫Reciprocity▫Roles

•Wholeness•Boundaries

▫Permeability▫Ambiguity

•Hierarchies•Homeostasis•Entropy vs.

negentropy•Epigenesis•Equifinality –

equipotentiality•Subsystems•Alliances

Other Theories in the Text

Rational Choice/ Social Exchange Theory

•Self interest theories▫People maximize self interest by making

rational choices that maximize profit and minimize loss in interactions

•Equality in relationships ▫When partners are more equal, more

likely the relationship will be stronger and that goals of the relationship will be achieved.

Change Theories / Family Life Course

•Change assumption▫Everything in families changes

•The community nature of family life▫Family development is affected by the

connections in the family •Off-time transitions

▫Off-time changes are more difficult than on-time ones

•Epigenesis principle▫What we do earlier in life has significant

impact in our lives later on

Conflict Theory• Inequity principle

▫Inequality in resource distribution creates conflict.

▫Resources are almost never equally distributed. •Struggle and synthesis principle

▫Families struggle with distribution of resources.

▫Families that are best able to distribute resources are best able to achieve synthesis (i.e., combine elements into a coherent whole)

Symbolic Interaction Theory•Perception as reality

▫That which is perceived as real is real in its effects.

•Role strain ▫This occurs when filling one role causes

conflict with another role.

Thinking about how we define family – Facilitated Article Discussion

•In small group, you will be discussing reading #32, which addresses a different way of conceptualizing family.

•Note: Your discussion leader will demonstrate how to facilitate discussion by distributing a sample summary of the article and will use a set of guide questions he or she has put together for discussion.

Small group: Final Thoughts and Conclusions

•In your small group, identify at least one thing from family theories that surprised you or confirmed something you already knew about how families operate. Identify one concept that you believe you can apply to your own family life.