What is Bowen's Social Emotional Process? Reading Bullying and Educational Heat as Differentiation

The social emotional process is one of the eight core concepts of Bowen's theory of the family system, and it is a concept that the way of anxiety and emotional reactions appear in the family are similar in society as a whole. As the anxiety of society increases, the pressure of people to lean on each other emotionally and become the same increases, and as a result, the level of differentiation of society as a whole decreases.

In the family counseling and treatment task, the question is asked to analyze social problems with this concept, and I will explain the conceptual organization and analysis method in turn.

What is the relationship between self-differentiation and anxiety?

The center of Bowen's theory is self-differentiation. Self-differentiation is the ability to distinguish between feelings and thoughts, to be close to others and to keep one's own thoughts and judgments. People with high levels of differentiation are more likely to be calm in anxious situations, but those with low levels of differentiation are more susceptible to being swept up in anxiety, making them overly attuned to others, or cutting ties. All eight concepts are summarized in the Bowen Family System Theory wiki article.

Understanding this relationship can naturally explain that the social emotional process is also the problem of the differentiation of individuals and families in the end.

How does the social emotional process work?

Bowen sees unrest in society as increasing during times of competition and uncertainty. Anxiety increases people's tendency to be more attached to groups, less tolerant of differences, and more likely to blame other people or groups for problems. Selfish behavior, aggression, and increasing problem avoidance can also be explained by these signs of regression. Just like the family projection process in which parental anxiety is transferred to the child, social anxiety is also transmitted to individuals and families.

By laying out these flows in stages, we can break down any social issue into the same framework: Causing Anxiety → Binding Pressure → Regressive Behavior Transferring to → Individuals and Families.

비교표를 만들 때 기준을 먼저 정해 두면 칸 채우기가 훨씬 쉽더라고요. 각 이론이 실제로 쓰이는 장면을 하나씩 떠올려 보는 것도 좋을 것 같아요.

How do you analyze bullying and educational columns?

In an environment where the future is insecure, such as entry-level competition and job insecurity, anxiety among students also increases. At this time, it can be interpreted that the pressure to be grouped into the same group intensifies, and bullying can appear that pushes the group and other children away. In addition, society's anxiety about the importance of discipline is transmitted to parents, leading to an educational column that overly clings to the child's grades, and the anxiety can be read as a structure that is projected back to the child. When analyzing, the application of the theory is clear if it is summarized in the flow of → individual and family behavior that reduces the pressure of social anxiety → cohesion and the level of differentiation.

What would it take to increase the level of differentiation?

Increasing the level of social differentiation may include varying the evaluation criteria so that people are not judged by grades or discipline, including character education that addresses emotions and respects differences in the curriculum, and providing parental education to help prospective parents avoid transferring their anxiety to their children. On an individual level, the practice of pausing and organizing your thoughts instead of reacting immediately when you are anxious is the starting point of differentiation. The task is Bowen's Theory and the Eight Concepts → Social Emotional Processes → Social Problems Two analytical measures to increase the level of → differentiation If I write in the order of → my thoughts, the flow is clear. The campus-down Bowen Social Emotional Process Analysis Data, which analyzes bullying and excessive educational heat due to Bowen's social emotional process, and presents measures such as changing evaluation standards, integrating personality education, and prospective parent education on page 5, is good for referring to the composition of tasks that read social problems through family therapy theory. Apply the same framework to other social issues.