System Dynamics Applied To Psychological and Social Problems

Originally, system dynamics dealt with problems in manufacturing, management, resource use, and in urban problems. With notable exceptions, there are very few applications of system dynamics to psychological problems, per se, or the use of psychological variables in models which focus on management problems. Some psychologists have influenced the system dynamics, but their contribution has focused upon studying the process of systems thinking, cognitive maps, and the limitations of people dealing with feedback processes. Unfortunately, one rarely finds psychologists who are interested in and are competent in system dynamics. This paper suggests ways to include the use of psychological and social variables in specifying the structure of one’s model. It examines the underlying assumptions of system dynamics, such as the use of the bathtub metaphor. For modeling problems of attitudes, it is argued that the bathtub metaphor, which assumes potential conservation of material, may not be appropriate. On the other hand, emotional variables, such as anger, do display properties that are analogous to a draining process