"I can think of a few reinforcing processes in the body -- spreading an
epidemic for one -- but the only examples I can think of represent
sickness and disease.
"I'm thinking that in the human body and in nature, Balancing processes
are healthy and reinforcing processes are sickness and disease."
In case you want to ponder this for a moment... I'll share my answer on
the next screen
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In our courses we ask people to avoid a tendency to think of Reinforcing
process as good (Growth!), and Balancing process as bad (Slowing forces!
Ugh!). But this instructor's question turns it around.
I replied:
I like your thinking. I can think of lots of reinforcing processes that
can occur in humans.
Accelerating spread of an epidemic is a good example (until you run out
of un-infected population).
Just to get the macabre out of the way, Cardio - Pulmonary arrest is
reinforcing and ends in death unless interrupted. Less blood flow, less
oxygen, heart loses power, even less blood flow, etc.
Arguments, family fights, human animosity, war -- the excesses in all these
come from reinforcing processes.
I think many examples of mental illness are reinforcing processes.
Can a fever be a reinforcing loop? Can a fever affect the body in a way
that causes the temperature to rise even more?
Action science maps can easily be reinforcing: Beliefs -> Actions ->
Results. If the results reinforce the original beliefs, that's
reinforcing.
Argyris' ladder of inference can easily be reinforcing: Our conclusions
and beliefs create unconscious filters that cause us to tend to see data
consistent with our beliefs, thus reinforcing them.
And the great eight year old example, "Yeah, it's like when you have a
mosquito bite. It iches, you scratch it, and this makes it itch even more."
In all these cases, the imperative is to break the reinforcing cycle and
restabilize things.
All these are sickness and disease. Quite a difference from the natural
tendency in our programs for people to approach this topic thinking
Reinforcing is good growth, and Balance is bad slowing of growth.
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In case this sounds like "jargon" to anyone -- See either of Senge's
books.
Reinforcing Process = Closed loop sequence of cause and effect
relationships in which a change at any point ripples through the loop and
comes back to reinforce the original change. An accelerating, snowball
effect.
Balancing Process = Closed loop sequence of cause and effect relationship
in which a change at any point ripples through the loop and comes back to
offset the original change. The thermostat is an obvious example.
Richard Karash ("Rick") | (o) 508-879-8301 | Mac * Flying
Innovation Associates, Inc. | (fax) 508-626-2205 | Systems Thinking
3 Speen St, Framingham MA 01701 | rkarash@world.std.com | Std. Disclaimer