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Game Theory in Relation to Family Systems Theory

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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy

Name of Theory

Game theory

Introduction

Game theory, “the formal study of cooperation and conflict” (Turocy and von Stengel 2002, p. 403), is used in psychology, economics, and political science to understand how and why strategic decisions are made by interdependent parties (be they individuals, families, or large collectives such as nations) in a given situation (or “game”) (Osborne 2004). Together with general systems theory and cybernetics, game theory was influential in the development of family systems theory and several important schools of family therapy (White et al. 2008; Cicchetti 2016).

Prominent Associated Figures

Gregory Bateson is the primary figure associated with the connection of game theory and family systems theory, but the MRI group and their approach to family therapy were doubtlessly influenced by it as well (Heims 1977).

Description

Though many variations of the ideas existed prior, game theory as it is presently understood was largely brought to life in the...

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References

  • Bateson, G. (1971). The cybernetics of “self”: A theory of alcoholism. Psychiatry, 34(1), 1–18.

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  • Cicchetti, D. (2016). Developmental psychopathology, theory and method (Vol. 1). Wiley.

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  • Heims, S. P. (1977). Gregory Bateson and the mathematicians: From interdisciplinary interaction to societal functions. Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 13(2), 141–159.

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  • Osborne, M. J. (2004). An introduction to game theory (Vol. 3, No. 3). New York: Oxford University Press.

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  • Schuham, A. I. (1967). The double-bind hypothesis a decade later. Psychological Bulletin, 68(6), 409.

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  • Stanton, M. D. (1981). Strategic approaches to family therapy. In A. S. Gurman & D. S. Kniskern (Eds.), Handbook of family therapy (Vol. 1, pp. 361–402).

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  • Turocy, T. L., & von Stengel, B. (2002). Game theory. In H. Bidgoli (Ed.), Encyclopedia of information systems (Vol. 2, pp. 403–420). San Diego: Elsevier Science.

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  • von Neumann, J., & Morgenstern, O. (1944). Theory of games and economic behavior (Vol. 60). Princeton: Princeton University Press.

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  • White, J. M., Klein, D. M., & Martin, T. F. (2008). Family theories: An introduction (Vol. 4). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.

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Correspondence to Patrick S. Tennant .

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Tennant, P.S., Roane, P.D. (2019). Game Theory in Relation to Family Systems Theory. In: Lebow, J.L., Chambers, A.L., Breunlin, D.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49425-8_277

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