Hi Malcolm and welcome to the LO group,
I have been meaning to share an example of a reinforcing loop I came
across way back in 1983. Your note has motivated me.
As part of our preparation for marriage, my wife and I participated in
counseling sessions through our church. The sessions included study of a
book called "A Joyful Meeting - Sexuality in Marriage" by Drs. Mike and
Joyce Grace.
This book introduced me to my first reinforcing loop, picture and all.
The negative cycle goes:
* husband feels hostile, neglects wife
* wife's sex drive becomes weaker
* wife rejects husband sexually
* back to the first variable - husband feels hostile, neglects wife
And then there is the positive cycle:
* husband feels warmth, is considerate, friendly toward wife
* wife's sex-drive becomes stronger
* wife accepts husband sexually
* back to the first variable - husband feels warmth, etc
As you described, our familiy lives are full of recurring cycles of
behavior. Watching for the patterns and seeking to understand their
variables and how they influence our relationships has been a big help to
us.
-- Geof Fountain tfyy93a@prodigy.comLearning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>