Systems Theory

Theodore M. Godlaski
College of Social Work
University of Kentucky

Initial Considerations

| Systems theory springs from biology.

| It is content free and applicable to many
fields of study.
| It is not actually a theory but a rather high
level abstraction: “a working hypothesis, the
main function of which is to provide a
theoretical model for explaining, predicting,
and controlling phenomenon.” Bertalanffy, L.
(1962) General systems theory: A critical review. General
Systems Yearbook,7:1-20; p.17.

Initial Considerations

| Its function is to focus the attention on the

diverse systems in which any complex living
entity participates.
| Systems are organized wholes comprised
of component parts that interact in a distinct
way over time.
| In its time it was revolutionary because it
emphasized the interrelatedness and
mutual interdependence of systems
elements.

1
 Initial Considerations

| It was especially important in social

work because it allowed movement
out of an essential medical and linear
model of causation.
| The emphasis is on the complex and
diverse factors that can influence any
specific human behavior.

x-y y-y
Hormonal difference Hormonal difference

psychic psychic
family family
system system
system system

mainstream
local culture local
culture culture
educational educational
system system

Some Basic Assumptions

| A social system is made up of

individuals, interrelated to constitute a
whole.
| The limits of a social system are
defined by established or arbitrary
boundaries.
| Boundaries give a social system its
focus and identity as distinct from
other social systems with which it
interacts.

2
Some Basic Assumptions

| A systems environment is by definition

outside the systems boundaries.
| The life of a social system is more
than the sum of its member’s
activities.
| A social system can be studied as a
network of unique, interlocking
relationships with identifiable
structural and communications
patterns.

Some Basic Assumptions

| There is a high degree of organization

and interdependence among
members of a social system.
| All systems are sub-systems of larger
systems.
| There is interdependence and
interaction between and among social
systems.

Some Basic Assumptions

| A social system is adaptive and goal-

oriented or purposive.
| A change in one member of the social
system affects the nature of the social
system as a whole.
| Transactions or movements across social
system boundaries influence a social
systems functional capacity and internal
structure as well as its ability to adapt.

3
Some Basic Assumptions

| Change from within or outside a social

system that moves the system to an
imbalanced state will result in an
attempt by the system to reestablish
that balance (homeostasis).

Functional or General Systems

Theory

| What has been described is

essentially Functional or General
Systems Theory.
z It places strong emphasis on the
maintenance of homeostasis.
z Change tends to be seen as disruptive
and even causative of pathology.
z It takes the analogy of biological
organism very literally but ignores the
fact that change is also essential to
viability.

Functional or General Systems

Theory
| Systems maintain homeostasis by adequately
performing specific functions:
z Adaptation is the ability to cope with changes in the
external environment by obtaining necessary
resources and modifying itself, the environment, or
other systems to create a more hospitable situation.
z Goal Attainment is the setting of priorities and the use
of appropriate resources to obtain desired ends.
z Integration is the process of organizing internally the
activity of individuals who make up the system.
z Latency is the process of maintaining motivation and
dealing with internal tensions.

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Robert Merton’s Paradigm
Cultural Goals Institutional Modes of
Means Adaptation

+ + Conformity

+ - Innovation

- + Ritualism

- - Retreatism

+ + Rebellion

- -

Social Network Theory

| A network is a set of relationships

| More precisely, it is a set of objects
(nodes) and a mapping or description
of their relationship.

1 2

Social Network Theory

| The mapping may indicate a

directional relationship
| One likes two

+
1 2

5
 Social Network Theory

| The relationship could be symmetrical or

non-directional
| One and two like each other
| The relationship might also imply the
exchange of information or gifts.

+
1 2

Social Network Theory

| Two nodes may be connected to each other

by a third or intermediary node.
| One is connected to three via two
| The relationship here is directional and not
reciprocal.

1 2 3

Social Network Theory

| The relationship could be reciprocal and symmetrical.
| One and two like each other and two and three like
each other.
| The distance between nodes can be described in
steps: one is two steps removed from three.

+ +
1 2 3

6
 Social Network Theory
| The relationship could be reciprocal and symmetrical.
| One and two like each other and two and three like
each other.
| The distance between nodes can be described in
steps: one is two steps removed from three.

+ +
1 2 3

Social Network Theory

| If one also likes three than we have a

transitive or balanced network.

+ +

+
1 3

Social Network Theory

| Types of Networks
z Ego-centric
• Focus on a single node
• My family and friends, all the companies who do
business with Widgets Inc.
z Socio-centric
• “networks in a box”
• All the children in a classroom, all the executives
of a corporation, workers in an organization
z Open systems
• Networks where the boundaries are unclear
• Individuals influencing current energy policy,
individuals influencing decisions about a specific
social policy.

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Social Network Theory

| Propinquity
z At all levels of analysis nodes are
more likely to be connected with one
another, other conditions being equal,
if they are geographically near to one
another.
z This principle has been demonstrated
time and again for individuals in a
neighborhood, membership on boards
of directors, and trade among nations.

Social Network Theory

| Homophily
z Nodes are more likely to be connected if
they share common attributes and
characteristics to a degree higher than would
be expected in the population from which
they are drawn.
z Common norms may draw individuals with
common attributes together or being
together may breed common norms.
z It could also be that operating in the same
area leads to developing common norms
and attributes.

Social Network Theory

| Homophily and Connections
z The stronger the homophily the more likely two nodes
will be connected.
| Homophily and Individuals
z People are more likely to have connections,
friendships, and association if they have common
attributes.
| Homophily and Collectives
z In organization, whether homophily leads to greater
connection depends on the kind of connection and the
focus of the organization.
| Individuals or groups with homophilous relations are
more likely to share similar attitudes.

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Social Network Theory

| Problems (pathology) can arise in a network

z Because of the failure of a unit to identify its
core self (mission)
z Because a node does not recognize what
other nodes expect
z Because what one node wants for itself is
out of synchronization with that other nodes
want of it.
| When these conditions are not present,
nodes exist in a state of mutual recognition
and mutual regulation.

Social Network Theory

| “Mutual” does not necessarily mean

equal.
| For a state of mutual recognition and
mutual regulation to exists each node
must have some ability to take on the
role of other nodes.
| In brief, some degree of empathy is
essential for mutuality and balance to
exist in a social network.

Social Network Theory

| From what has been said so far, imagine that a city
government wants to build an anti-drug coalition and
invites the school principles and guidance counselors,
representative administration and staff of the mental
health clinic, the police and county prosecutor, the
administration of the local hospitals, and the
administrator of the public health department to
participate.
z Do these groups share propinquity?
z Do they have homophily?
z What are their common attributes?
z How likely will the coalition have mutual regard and
mutual regulation?

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 7 6

2 5
1

3 4
∆=L/g(g-1)

c
C D b
a

A e
d

7 6

2 5
1

3 4

Social Network Theory

| Weak ties facilitate the flow of information

from otherwise distant parts of a network.
z Individuals with few weak ties will be
deprived of information and confined to the
views of their close friends
| Weak ties help integrate social systems
z Social systems lacking weak ties tend to be
limited and easily fragmented and
incoherent.

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 Centrality
b
a
f b c
e
a
e
c
d d

Membership Andre
Degrees
Beverly
0.667 Diane
Carol
0.556 Fernando
Diane
0.556 Garth
Ed
0.444 Andre
Fernando
0.444 Beverly
Garth
0.333 Carol
Heather
0.333 Ed
Ike
0.333 Heather
Jane
0.222 Ike
0.111 Jane
Group Size 10
Potential Ties 90
0.400 AVERAGE
Actual Ties 36
Density 40%
0.334 CENTRALIZATION
Computing geodesics
36 paths of length 1
48 paths of length 2 : Closeness
16 paths of length 3
12 paths of length 4 0.643 Fernando
0.643 Garth
0 paths of length 5
0.600 Diane
0.600 Heather
Weighted Avg. Path Length: 0.529 Andre
2.04 0.529 Beverly
0.500 Carol
: Betweeness : Uniform 0.500 Ed
0.429 Ike
0.389 Heather 0.310 Jane
0.231 Fernando
0.231 Garth 0.528 AVERAGE
0.222 Ike
0.102 Diane 0.271 CENTRALIZATION
0.023 Andre
0.023 Beverly
0.000 Carol
0.000 Ed
0.000 Jane

0.122 AVERAGE

0.297 CENTRALIZATION

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Number of Reported Research Studies Utilizing
a Systems Theory Approach by Decade

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
'70-'79 '80-'89 '90-'99 '00-'07

Usefulness of Systems
Theory
| It focuses attention on the vast and diverse
factors that influence even the most simple
human behavior.
| It highlights the role played by different
systems in facilitating or inhibiting
behavioral change.
| It cautions against the application of linear
(tame) solutions to complex (wicked)
systems problems.
| It is perhaps the only theory that is non
reductiuonistic.

Usefulness of Systems
Theory
| It allowed for the recognition that
social systems can change and adapt
to their environment.
z This is done by constant exchange of
energy from without and within the
system and a continuous
reorganization into more complex
forms (morphogenesis).
z “structuring, destructuring,
restructuring.” (Buckley, 1968).

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 Usefulness of Systems
Theory
| Such adaptive systems are what Ilya Prigogine
called, in physics, dissipative structures: structures
that do not obey the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
| Such systems have an equilibrium that is essentially
fluid and even a little chaotic which is a quite
different picture than the more mechanistic and
static stability of early systems theory.
| A primary factor in whether a specific system will be
adaptive or not is its openness.

Usefulness of Systems
Theory
| Open Systems:
z Have more permeable boundaries,
z Have constant active interchange of energy with
their environment.
z Experience constant significant strains on their
structure.
z Are capable of increasing differentiation and/or
number and types of roles.
z Provide potential for individuation and
development.
z Have dynamic interplay of subsystems
z Tend to maintain a reservoir of alternative ideas
and behaviors.

Usefulness of Systems
Theory
| Systems theory has been valuable in
indicating that social change, in order
to be fully effective, must occur on
multiple system levels simultaneously.
| It has been especially useful in
development of family therapy
approaches.

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Usefulness of Systems
Theory
| Systems Theory focus in family therapy:
z Communication and interaction between
people affects every aspect of behavior.
z Despite of all other factors, how people treat
each other here-and-now significantly affects
how they function for better or worse.
z In any durable relationship patterns of
interaction develop and persist because of
reciprocal reinforcement.

Usefulness of Systems
Theory
| Systems Theory focus in family therapy (cont):
z Although such interactions occur in all social
organizations it is especially important in the
family.
z When a “problem” arises and persists that is
seriously distressing, it is because other
behavior must be occurring that provokes
and maintains the problem behavior.
z The resolution of a problems requires an
appropriate change of behavior in the
system or a change in evaluation of the
behavior.

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