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MFTH560
Mid term words
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Cut-Off | Emotional or physical distancing from family relationships or a denial of thier importance. attempt to avoid the pain of unresolved emotional conflicts, interpersonal anxiety or a lack of differentiation; often falsely perceived as the solution to problem |
Disengagement | Emotionally distant and univolved family members with overaly rigid boundaries Family members become overly involved in one's another's lives (structural model) |
Enmeshment | A loss of autonomy due to diffuse boundaries creating a heightened sense of belonging Family members become overly involved in one another's lives (Structural Model) |
Coalition | Two family members form a covert alliance, either temporary or durable , against a third; Creates a power block in the family, which serves either to balance another coalition or to establish c |
Alliance | A bond or affiliation between two or more family members based on common interests, tasks or shared beliefs without the intent to exclude others |
Detouring | Two family members attempt to preserve thier relationship by defining their conflict as a disagreement about a third person (often a child), keeping the focus on the other person rather than on themselves and their interpersonal difficulties |
Triangulation | An unresolved conflict between two people (often parents) is extended to include a third person (often their child)whose loyalty is fought over (bowenian model) |
Ismorphism | Certain structural aspects or patterns of interaction in 1 system match structural aspects or patterns of interaction in another system. 2 + more subsystems exhibit similar or parallel char'tics in form or substance, or in rules or interactions. Parallel |
Behavioral Redundancy | Rule-determined repetitive patterns of interactions established by people in continuing relationships that are predicatable and can be evaluated |
Equipotestal | A type of family system in which a husband and wife are essentially equal with only occasional mild flucuations between paternal and maternal dominance (caplow) |
Marital Skew | A dysfunctional relationship style in which one partner dominates&the other is dependent &submissive;conflict is masked;they present as "normal"leading to a distortion of reality ;a discrepancy between what is felt & where what is admitted is not openly a |
Marital Schism | Dysfunctional relationship style in which partners are overly focused on their own problems, undermine the other & make frequent threats of separation or divorce; partners are unable to achieve role reciprocity or complementarity of purpose |
Pseudohostility | The noisy & intense way some families interact to mask and distort both affection & division; a defense for the system where hostility and conflict mask underlying family dysfunction |
Pseudomutuality | a pretense of harmony and closeness in some families that mask conflict and blocks intimacy; a defense of the system against an unnatural fear of separation |
Schismogenesis | A process of differentiation in the norms of individual behavior resulting from the cumulative interactions occurring between individuals |
Triadic | Relationship involving three people; has more complex interactions, but is often more stable than a dyad; can be either pathological or healthy depending on the context |
Parallel | Relationship characterized by mutuality where role flexibility and variety exist, and both members accept and share responsibility for the relationship Combination in which both complementary and symmetrical kinds of behaviors occur |
Communication | the exchange of information among the components (members) of a system It is comprised of the message sent & the message received Congruent communication refers to the relational "fit" between digital and analogic |
Digital The report aspect of a mesage; the content defining mode of communicaiton | Verbal mode;has powerful logical syntax (organization), but lacks semantics (meaning)Discrete packages of information expressed in verbal, analytic, reasonable, logical sentences. Clear messages of facts, definintions, explanations, interpretations, speci |
Analogic | Nonverbal mode + the context;has profound semantics but lacks syntax. Representations of info expressed in images,metaphors,symbols,stories, signs,gestures,nonverbal messages may be congruent or incongruent.lacks precision,syntax,structure;has encoded |
Sequence | A discrete package of recurring or repetitive patterns of communicative interactions. the beginning and ending of a sequence varies depending on punctuation of communications |
Punctuation | A systemic dynamic by which people perceive and mark distinctions in their interactions they think what they say is caused by what other said;a communicative sequences map |
Punctuation(2) | other said;a communicative sequences map. to treat a certain element in a causal sequence as the originating cause even though may have been caused by something else; where emphasis is placed subjectively |
Double Bind | Repeated experience in which an individual in an intense relationship with one or more other indivs receives a comm which expresses 2 contradictory messages. |
Double Bind (2) | 1 message denies the other with no possibility of commenting upon the contradictions for fear of punishment, withdrawal of love, expressions of anger or abandonment |
Limitation | In a communicational sequence, every exchange of messages narrows down the number of possible next moves (ex. possible types of messages that can be sent) |
Metacommunication | Communication about communication;talking about a communicative process, messages are usually nonverbal & qualify or clarify another commun. efforts made to clarify incongruent nonverbal messages |
Positive Connotation | Deliberate use of language to suggest that the situation being described is in a positive state of affairs;attributing postitive meaning to a person/event |
Mind-Reading | tendency of people in a relationship that has evolved over time, & which has developed rules & established patterns of communication, to assume they understand the message & meaning of one anothers words & behaviors |
Complementary | Relationship based on inequality in established role;an imbalance of power & control. Partners demonstrate opposite matching behaviors;fulfill needs/demands of other. based on inequality, compliance, cooperation & maximization of differences. |
complementary 2 | interactions complement one another; a pattern of one-up & one-down. Rigid Complementarity: inflexibility, redundancy, unable to alter established roles |
Symmetrical | Relationship based on equality of roles;fair/equal distribution of power&control. partners demonstrate logically similar reciprocal behaviors;compete with 1 another. based on equality, competition, confrontation,& a minimization of differences |
Symmetrical 2 | interactions mirror each others' behavior; a pattern tending toward one-upmanship Escalating Symmetry: rapid escalation of conflict; unable to negotiate roles |
Boundaries | A way of including & excluding elements from a system so that the line between those within the system & those outside the system is clear to all; are what separates a systems structure from its environment; serve to differentiate 2 or more systems, |
Boundaries 2 | as well as to form the interface between systems; the separating line between generations |
Open | A living system with functionally porous or flexible boundaries internally&externally. permits free exchange of information&resources with other systems increasing its function. allows a system to have extensive interfaces with other systems in environmen |
Closed | self-contained system w/impermeable boundaries internally/externally.Resists change,operates w/minimal interactions w/the outside increasingm its dysfunction.Limits interface between a system &other systems in environment. Rigid bound seen patholgical |
Flexible | Defined boundaries that can change and adapt to information..internally & externally |
Diffuse | Boundaries that are not clearly defined or maintained resulting in blurred generational roles or responbilities ; often leads to enmeshed relationships |
Rigid | Boundaries which are inflexible and impermeable often leading to isolation and disconnection between or among family members and others |
Fusion | Opposite of differentiation resulting in the lack of a separate self, and high levels of reactivity. A blurring of intellectual and emotional boundaries between family members |
Rubber Fence | A boundary which seems yielding, but it is in fact impenetrable to outside infromation & penetration; the rules governing this boundary are often in constant flux |
Homeostasis | dynamic state of system where one or more variable elements are stable & balanced. steady state functioning limits the range of behavioral variability & ability to change |
Homeostatis 2 | the tendancy of a system to strive for balance (equilibrium)in order to achieve stability. efforts of a sytem to maintain consistency in structure & organization under stress |
Feedback Loops | a process that indicates variations & fluctuations & serves to increase the probability of the survival of a system; a circular mechanism for reintroducing information into a system. an aspect of recursion involving self-correction; |
Feedback Loops 2 | a looping chain of events that influence one another ; any one point in the chain of events can reinitiate the entire chain of events. When something new is introduced into a system, the system either adapts or rects to it |
Negative | Corrective information that flows back into a system to minimize deviation. keeps system functioning within prescribed limits & discourages change. Information about fluctuations & disturbances is opposed and stability is maintained. |
Negative 2 | Way in which a family corrects a deviation in functioining so as to return to homeostasis. lessens a problem & dampens the reaction to change . restores homeostasis |
Positive | information about a deviation from an established norm is fed back into the system. arises as changes occur with the introduction of new information into a system. assumed to be responsible for the development of problems in families. |
Positive 2 | attempted solution worsens or maintains the problem. doing more of the same reinforces the problem. amplifies deviation; deviation amplication increases instablity & facilitates change causes an escalation of symptons & excerbates reaction to change |
System Rules | Characteristic relationship patterns that distinguish one system from another system. Rules act as a gatekeeper for the flow of information into and out of the system. Homeostatic mechanisms that regulate behavior;form the boundaries of the system |
Rules, Roles, Messages may induce guilt and can perpetuate themselves over time | Relationship agreements which prescribe & limit family members behavior in the system & that occur in repetitive & redundant cycles. they are often implicit & covert;established by the systems hierarchy. they impart power & control, |
Patterns of Interaction predictable ways of interacting among members | occur among the members of system;circular not linear in nature. often develop around unspoken rules and established roles in the system. repetitive cycles which help maintain equilibrium &provide clues about how members should function in the system. |
Functioning | symptoms are often viewed as an expression of a set of habits&patterns w/in the family system. the identified client's problem is seen as a symptom of how the system functions,not just a symptom of the individual maladjustment, history & psycho-social dev |
Structure | sum total of interrelationships among the elements of a system that defines its organ, including membership in the system &boundary between system & environment. a relatively enduring, stable framework |
Process | the observable, dynamic, relatively transient & emergent interactions of the parts of a family system including movement, action, reaction, behavior, & emotional expression |
Families | Systems of interconnected & interdependent individuals,none of whom can be understood in isolation from one another. each indiv.can be understood in terms of the unique organ. of their own family system, &each family system is unique from other family sys |
Family Systems | perspective that believes indiv.are best understood by assessing the interactions between & among family members;problems arise in the context of family dynamics. development & behavior of 1 member is inextricably interconnected w/others |
Perturbation | interactive process or therapeutic intervention involving questioning,describing,explaining &attributing meaning.l designed to unbalance the system &promote change. intervention or an event which intro a small changew/out altering the systems basic organ. |
perturbation | an external stimulator for change in a system; environment can be a perturbing agent |
Autonomy | Highest level of recursion or feedback processes of a system. the range of deviation or level of stability maintained is the organization of the whole. autonomous systems are interactive |
Equipotentiality | similar initial events can produce different results (related to feedback loops)many different outcomes may result from one precipitating event |
Equifnality | a similar outcome can be obtained from different initial events. a system demonstrates redundant patterns of interaction characteristic of its end state |
Ecosystemic Epistemology in an interactive system | a non-dualistic conceptualization that recognizes complete circuits, rather than isolated parts of which act, react, or transact with eachother a framework of ideas based on cybernetics, ecology,&systems theory both pragmatic & aesthetic components exist |
Cybernetic Epistemology | way of discerning & knowing patterns that organize sequences or events. a shift from the paradigm of things to the paradigm of patterns |
Epistomology | how we know what we know, the way we construct & know the world of experience. all experience is in-formed & self-referential. perception & behavior are recursively related. a process of knowing, construing, & maintaining a world of experience |
Discontinuous | sudden unanticipated change in an organization brought on by the crisis or intervention. results in a sudden change in perception, beliefs or perspective |