Algedonian loop
The term Algedonian loop was introduced by the British business economist Stafford Beer to describe the feedback that an organism, an organization or a machine receives from the environment. The word Algedonian comes from the Greek αλγος, pain and ηδος, pleasure. It is all about the control through reward and punishment of behavioral results and not of behavior by the environment.
Because the understanding of contexts (meta systems) is not taken into account, this can lead to overly opportunistic behavior in people. Examples of this are alienation from work or the overvaluation of school grades instead of knowledge and skills.
See also
literature
- Stafford Beer: Cybernetics and Management . 4th edition. Fischer S. Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 1970, ISBN 3-10-106801-0 .