FAMILY AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS: A CYBERNETIC APPROACH

A systems approach to the family as a self‐regulating, goal‐directed system is developed. It is viewed in terms of socio‐legal boundaries delimiting certain role relationships and interactional patterns or action‐strategies, which are regulated by a hierarchy of steering principles and meta‐principles. Steering principles include adaptation, self‐regulation, control of interaction and morphogenesis, while meta‐principles include values, identity and meaning. The applicability of systems theory to family policy is discussed; its predictive possibilities should not be used to control, but to facilitate morphogenesis.