Linear thinking can be defined as simplistic, cause-effect thinking. According to Ollhoff and Walcheski (2002), most individuals think in straightforward, cause-effect and short-term fashion; it is called linear thinking, or attention to content over process.

Understandably, there is a great deal of reinforcement that must transpire in order to not think linearly. This is because work ethics and patterns typically remain the same. It is difficult to change one’s thinking, especially because most of us are preoccupied with content and objectives taking center stage in our minds.

These interactive patterns can be seen everywhere, and most people think and act on a linear level, considering only the end-point of the content rather than the process. Once we are pressed to consider the process of differentiation including both functions (relationship development and integration), we better understand our own social behaviors and with greater appreciation.

Of course, most individuals never associate their learning process with systems thinking, but unconsciously live their lives systematically.

By breaking down the concept of a system and its variations, we begin to identify with our impressions of how this is integrated within our practices. When the system is interdependent, all parts of the system can be interrelated with all other parts. Systems can vary, such as: (a) open systems, where the system shares information with its environment; and (b) closed systems, where the system is self-contained.

Other key concepts in complex systems include (a) homeostasis, where the push of the system is to stay the same; (b) anxiety, where the feeling of dread or inadequacy exists toward a particular issue; (c)
differentiation, where you have your own goals and can define yourself, but are still able to stay in relationships, even with individuals of differing opinions; (d) emotional triangle, when two people are in disagreement and draw in a third to stabilize the conflict (This is not mediation, attempting to solve the conflict); (e) forces of togetherness, which is the push to think alike, to reduce creativity and the diversity of thought; and (f)
identifying the patient, or the scapegoat.

In summation, the most important thing to remember is to recognize the differences between (a) linear thinking, considering only the content; and (b) systems thinking, considering the processes and the interactions.

Of course, this is not to imply that linear thinking is bad or wrong, but rather that it is only one level of thinking that is not seeing the big picture of the world and reality that is our environment.

To paraphrase the words of philosophers Edmund Burke (1729-1797) and George Santayana (1863-1952): Individuals who ignore history are doomed to repeat it; individuals who study history are doomed to know it is repeating.