← Adler's Destination, Systems Thinking's Route

The loop you learn

A small system dynamics model of the argument in The Courage to Be Disliked, Kishimi and Koga's dialogue on Adler's psychology. Two loops compete to relieve the same deficit. One pays off fast and erodes the other. Press Play, or run the three presets in order.

Live causal loop diagramFour nodes: seek recognition, no sense of worth, contribute to others, and vertical relationships. Moving dots and link thickness show which loop is currently carrying the load. Seek recognition No sense of worth Contribute to others Vertical relationships Separation of tasks Praise and approval I have no place here Horizontal relationships Others define your worth Weakens this link +− +− +− B1B2R
SENSE OF WORTH50
CAPACITY TO CONTRIBUTE60
TOLERANCE0.00
Time seriesSense of worth and capacity to contribute over simulated months, with a faint ghost of the previous run for comparison. Sense of worth Capacity Previous run month 0
TROUGH DEPTHn/a
MONTHS TO RECOVERn/a
WORTH NOW50
Separation of tasks0%
Unwitnessed contribution0%
Paused

The parameters were chosen so the shape is legible, and nothing is fitted to data. The months are illustrative too. The build that takes about two years here takes a season in the article's plan, and only the order of events and the relative depths carry over. Relief from recognition arrives at once and loses strength as tolerance rises. Relief from contribution lags the act by about ten months and carries no tolerance term. Seeking recognition erodes the capacity to contribute; unwitnessed contribution rebuilds it. Try building capacity by hand with separation at zero, then press Cut now at different points. The trough stops being punishing somewhere around 50 to 60 percent capacity.