1. Chapter 2: Theory and Research 1

2. Theories and our Understanding Psychoanalytic Theory - Freud Psychosocial Theory – Erikson Object Relations Theory Behavioral Theory - Skinner Social Learning Theory - Bandura Cognitive Theory - Beck Humanistic Theory – Rogers Biological Theory Family Systems Theory 2

3. General Systems Theory- elements or parts of system are _____________ and strive to maintain _______ GST - broad, applies to all types of systems - the body, home heating and cooling, schools and businesses Needed a systems approach related to the family. 3

4. Characteristics – Family System Focus is on ______ not individual members Family is made up of ____________ parts that interact in ___________________ ways Something must regulate and govern how the system functions 4

5. What produces this regular, enduring and persistent pattern? It is... _____ that govern interactions and regulate repetitive behavior Rules - where are they? Often, rules are outside the family’s _________. You must have individuals to have a family but the individuals themselves do not create the ___________ No system until … This pattern is created by _____. 5

6. Wholeness Family - more than the ___ of the individual parts, more than a collection of _________ As family members interact they create a __________ that is far more than just the combined sum of each individual member. 6

7. The Smith family a complex group organized around a set of _____, acting and reacting to each other in many ways as they function as family To understand this family, one must _______ the dynamic relationships that exist among family members as they _______. How does one get to know the Smith family? 7

8. 8 Wholeness focus: change in one part of the system influences __________________________ The system is constantly changing, acting and reacting to _____ of various kinds There is interdependence Example… Satir’s mobile model

9. Homeostasis and Feedback The family system- complex patterns of interactions governed by rules This pattern makes the family comfortable and __________. Behaviors are _________. Deviations from this pattern (rules) are reacted to so that the customary _______ is maintained. 9

10. The process of monitoring stability and balance is done through ________ A system which does this monitoring so that balance is maintained is called a ______ ______. homeostatic system Examples: - the body - the home heating system - the family. 10

11. The family - not static system Some feedback pushes for change; other forces seek the previous balance How well the system adjusts is important to the health of the system Positive feedback (amplifying feedback) pushes for ______ Negative feedback (attenuating feedback) ______________________. Input/Output: System monitors _____ to see if it is in accepted range Behavior is ______ for the individual, yet it is input for the system. 11

12. If a member’s behavior ________ falls outside the accepted range, this information is fed back into the system ______ and this results in responses that attempt to bring the system back into _______. Subsystems in families – - the spousal subsystem - the parental subsystem - the sibling subsystem Other subsystems 12

13. Boundaries Boundary - line of demarcation between two systems, subsystems, or entities Example: city limits Boundaries in families are more_____________. May be physical or psychological Boundaries protect – ________________________ ___________________ Examples in families. 13

14. The ease with which a system allows information to flow in and out relates to boundary ___________ Permeability may change over time Much information flow - __________ Little information flow - ___________ Families fall on a continuum Closed -------------------- Open 14

15. Causality: Two Types Linear Causality: A  B  C The cause of behavior can be determined if we can just find the chain of events leading up to the behavior A person takes a drug. Drug causes physiological changes. Changes lead to dizziness How do we explain dizziness? It is caused by the drug which produces physiological changes. 15

16. Circular Causality Family systems theory - where you have many parts which interact with each other in an organized but complex way, linear causality is _________ The Circularity Causality Model In families forces influence each other in a ___________ or _____________ way A change in one person influences every family member This change is feedback into the system and influences every other part of the system. 16

17. So it goes in a never ending cycle Searching for one true cause is pointless; answers are not found in the individual parts, but in the ______ itself X does not cause Y;Y does not cause X Rather X and Y interacting together _____ each other. 17

18. Searching for a starting point is fruitless When parents ask children, “Who started it,” each child blames the other. 18 Circular Causality

19. Who started it depends on… where in the chain of the feedback loop the search begins FST does not look for “the cause” but turns the attention to _______ attempting to discover the pattern of interactions taking place which influence the whole system Behaviors are the result of constant and complex interactions within the system. 19

20. Environmental forces outside the system may ______ the system, but these forces do not determine what a system does Example: A ball and what happens when someone kicks things that are in the shape of a ball A soccer ball ____, a bubble ball______, and a cannonball ____________. 20

21. Response is determined by the specific structure of each object The environment does not determine how the system responds, but provides the context for allowing the system to respond in a way which its ________ determines Just as the structure of objects differ, the structure of families also differ Example: family therapist. 21

22. In Family Systems Therapy knowing what causes C or predicting what effect A will have, becomes futile Focus instead is on process – how family members interact Focus is on ____ rather than why Focus on _______ rather than past. 22

23. Family system theorists ask how questions: How do family members communicate as they interact with each other? This is in contrast to ____ questions: Why do family members say what they say? Why do they do what they do? 23

24. Equifinality / Equipotentiality These concepts relate to prediction and causality Equifinality - many activating events can be associated with the same result/outcome 24 Event A Outcome A Outcome B Outcome C (equipotentiality) Event AEvent B Same Outcome (equifinality) Equipotentiality - the same activating event can be associated with many different results/outcomes.

25. Equifinality: A parent’s overprotective behavior or a parent’s over permissive behavior could result in a child’s rebellious behavior. 25 Equipotentiality: A spanking may lead to more misbehavior, less misbehavior, or no change in behavior. Overprotective behavior Over permissive behavior Rebellious behavior Spanking More misbehavior No change Less misbehavior

26. Research: Helping us understand Science – based on empirical data-information that is systematically _________, ________, and ________ Goals of researcher To accurately ________ To accurately _______ Description The survey: importance of random sample Naturalistic observation - Gottman The case study 26

27. Prediction Correlation Studies Ascertaining the relationship between 2 variables Findings reported using ___________________ A number from ____________ Researcher interested in ______________ and power - how close to +1.00 or –1.00 Let’s look at direction Let’s look at power Examples Caution – correlation does not prove ________. 27

28. Explanation The Experiment Highly controlled situation in which experimenter __________ a variable, ________ a variable, and _______ for extraneous variables. Manipulates a variable – independent variable Observes a variable – dependent variable Control extraneous variables – usually through random assignment Example. 28