Gregory Bateson's Double Bind Theory

Gregory Bateson's Double Bind Theory is framed in the systemic model, a conceptual framework focuses on the interrelation and interdependence between the members of a system, such as a family, rather than the characteristics of the components themselves themselves.

This theory was developed with the aim of explain the psychological causes of schizophrenia, which Bateson associated with inappropriate family communication patterns.

Although the double bind hypothesis has become obsolete in this regard, it determinant for the evolution of systemic therapy.

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Biography of Gregory Bateson

Gregory Bateson (1904-1980) was an English anthropologist who made important contributions to fields as varied as linguistics, epistemology, and cybernetic sciences. This was due to his focus on systems theory, a multidisciplinary scientific framework.

His first wife was Margaret Mead, the celebrated anthropologist who contributed to the sexual revolution of the 1960s by studying gender roles in the indigenous tribes of the Pacific and Southeast Asia.

Bateson belonged to the Palo Alto School during his early days. He and his collaborators, primarily Donald Jackson, Jay Haley, and John Weakland, were pioneers in the development of family and systemic therapies.

In addition to the double bind theory, Bateson studied the evolution of organisms, the concept of homeostasis applied to psychology and anthropology and scientific methodology, among others topics.

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The double bind theory

Double bindings are communication dilemmas due to the contradiction between two or more messages. This leads to the fact that, whatever the receiver responds, they will always be making a mistake; in short, she is conveyed to him that she has to do something but also that she cannot do it.

In the double bind, messages are usually encoded at different levels of abstraction; thus, a incongruity between digital or content level and the analog or relationship. The typical example is that of a mother who says "I love you" to her daughter or son, but whose body language conveys rejection.

This means that two simultaneous requests or orders are carried out, but it is impossible to fulfill one of them without disobeying the other. According to Bateson, many people in positions of authority use double bindings as a tool to control others.

If they occur continuously, as in some families, these paradoxes lead the person in a subordinate position to feel distress regarding relationship and insecurity about his own perspective on reality.

Bateson described five main characteristics that define the double bind. For this to occur, these conditions must be met in a given communicative context.

1. Interaction between two people

Double bonds occur in verbal exchanges between two people. One individual should have respect for the other, who is often defined as an authority figure.

Although normally there is talk of the double bind in relation to parents or primary caregivers of a child, it can also occur in teachers, for example.

2. Recurring experience

The double bind should not be understood as a specific situation but rather as a recurring experience for the individual. For this to happen, most of the time it is enough that one of the parents uses the double bonds on a regular basis.

3. Primary negative command

At the digital or content level of the message a primary negative mandate has a place; this means that the issuer refers to a punishment what will happen if the subject carries out (or not) a certain behavior. In the family context, this punishment usually implies the deprivation of affection or an expression of hatred and contempt.

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4. Secondary negative command

Secondary negative command occurs at the analog or relational level of communication. It consists of an abstract, possibly non-verbal command that contradicts the primary negative command.

5. Negative tertiary mandate

Sometimes a third request also appears that prevents the recipient from escaping the dilemma. The negative tertiary mandate implies that the subject cannot metacommunicate, that is, talk about the incongruity between the primary and secondary mandates or the levels of content and relationship.

The causes of schizophrenia

Bateson developed the double bind theory to explain the psychological causes of schizophrenia. He believed that in his time the diagnosis of this disorder was made with an excessive frequency and tried to delimit the specific patterns by which it developed.

According to this author, the alterations in thinking and language that characterize schizophrenia are They are due to the adaptation of the person to a family context in which interactions occur incongruous. In such cases the contradictory logic of the double bind is internalized, leading the individual to escape from reality through delirium.

Although Bateson's theory was very influential, the truth is that has never been confirmed by investigations. At present it is believed that the double bind can be considered as a type of stressor of the many that can cause the appearance of psychotic symptoms in people biologically predisposed.

• Related article: "The 6 types of schizophrenia and associated characteristics"

His contribution to mental health

Current theories on the etiology of schizophrenia propose a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Psychotic symptoms have a high heritability, but an environmental component (such as substance abuse or family stress) is also necessary for schizophrenia to appear.

Despite its lack of robustness as a hypothesis on the development of schizophrenia, Bateson's double bind theory brought to the table the relevance of communication and family patterns in mental health. It was also one of the first psychopathological explanations that were based on the General Theory of Systems.