Gregory Bateson’s Double Bind Theory

The double bind theory was coined and developed by anthropologist Gregory Bateson and his research team in Palo Alto, California (1956). It is framed in the systemic perspective and refers to those communicative situations in which contradictory messages are received.

This theory was formulated to explain the psychological origin of schizophrenia, leaving aside brain dysfunctions and organic hypotheses. Forks Schizophrenia remains one of the most puzzling mental illnesses. In fact, several theories have been postulated about how it originates, some of an organic or biological nature and others of a social nature. Let’s look in more depth at what the double bind theory consists of.

Brief background on Gregory Bateson

Gregory Bateson was born in Grantchester, United Kingdom, on May 9, 1904. He was an anthropologist, social scientist, linguist and cyberneticist whose work had an impact on many other intellectual fields. Some of his most notable writings are reflected in his books Steps towards an ecology of the mind (1972), Spirit and nature (1979) and The fear of angels: epistemology of the sacred (1987).

Bateson and some of his collaborators such as Jay Haley, Donald Jackson and John Weakland were pioneers in the development of the systems perspective. Indeed, in academic circles he is recognized as a cult figure whose appeal includes his obscurity, eccentricity and diversity of achievements. However, The growing interest in holism, systems, and cybernetics has naturally prompted educators and students to publish their work.

Communication for Bateson was what made human relationships possible, that is, something like their support. From his point of view, this includes all the processes through which a person influences others. From this perspective, the media become a determining component of the social structure that is worth analyzing.

So, Bateson said that we had to eliminate the double bind that appears sporadically in communication. He even stated that this phenomenon is constantly seen on television. For example, in one program a moral value is proclaimed and in the other it is violated, which generates conflicts in the viewer’s mind, especially if they are children or people with a low critical sense.

What is a double bind?

According to Bateson, A double bind is a communicative dilemma due to the contradiction between two or more messages. In this way, it doesn’t matter what you do because any choice is a mistake. A communicative situation that causes suffering and can lead to some psychological disorder.

Let’s see it better with an example. A boy tries to relate to his mother, who suffers from emotional difficulties. This He expresses how much he loves him but at a gestural level, the child only receives signs of rejection. Therefore, the message that the mother expresses verbally does not match the message that her body sends to her child. In this way, he finds himself trapped in a contradiction that involves affection and rejection.

Another example would be the famous statement “be spontaneous.” A double message of impossible fulfillment: if the person is not spontaneous, he does not comply with the command, but if he complies with it, in some way he is also failing to comply because he is not spontaneous as such, since obeying implies non-spontaneity.

The double bind theory

The double bind theory is based on the analysis of communications, and specifically on Russell’s theory of logical types. From this theory and observations made on schizophrenic patients, the situation called “double bind” is derived. As we have seen, in this situation, a person, no matter what he does, cannot win.

Bateson said that someone trapped by the double bind can develop schizophrenic symptoms.. The central thesis of double bind theory is that there is a discontinuity between a class and its members, since the class cannot be a member of itself. Nor can one of the members be the class, since the term used for the class is of a different level of abstraction.

In the pathology of real communications this discontinuity breaks continuously and inevitably.. In the same way, a pathology occurs in the human organism when certain formal patterns of this breakdown occur in the communication between mother and child. Thus, this pathology is classified as schizophrenia, a serious mental disorder, of a psychotic type, that causes alterations in thinking and language.

Ingredients necessary for the double bond to manifest

The ingredients necessary for a double bind situation to take place are the following:

Two or more people. One of them is the “victim.” The double bind is not supposed to be inflicted by the mother alone. It can be done by the mother alone or by some combination of mother, father and/or siblings.Repeated experience. The double bind is a recurring theme in the victim’s story. This is not a one-time traumatic experience, but rather an experience so repeated that the double bind structure becomes a common expectation.A negative primary mandate. This can be presented in one of two ways: “Don’t do that, or I will punish you” or “If you don’t do that I will punish you.” The learning context is based on the avoidance of punishment and is not a reward-seeking context. Punishment may consist of the withdrawal of love or the expression of hatred or anger. Even more devastating is that it can also consist of the type of abandonment that results from the expression of the parent’s extreme helplessness.A secondary mandate in conflict with the first on a more abstract level reinforced by punishments or signals that announce a danger to survival. The verbalization of the secondary mandate can take a variety of forms. For example: “Do not consider this a punishment” or “do not submit to my prohibitions.” There are other examples when the double bind is inflicted by two individuals. For example, one parent may deny the other’s command at a more abstract level.A negative tertiary command which prohibits the victim from escaping the field. It may be unnecessary to classify this mandate as a separate element. If the double binds have been imposed during childhood, it is naturally impossible to escape.

According to the double bind theory, This complete set of ingredients is no longer necessary when the victim has learned to perceive his universe under double bind patterns.. Almost any part of a double bind sequence can be enough to precipitate panic or anger.

The double bind effect

The double bind effect suggests that there will be a collapse in the individual’s ability to discriminate between Logical Types or communication modes. every time a double bind situation arises. This situation has general characteristics:

The individual is involved in an intense relationship. He feels that in the relationship it is very important to accurately discriminate what kind of message is being communicated. The individual is trapped in a situation in which The other people who intervene express two orders of messages and one of them denies the other.The person is unable to comment on the messages that are expressed to correct their discrimination of the order of messages to which they must respond. That is to say, cannot formulate a metacommunicative statement.

Bateson’s double bind theory has not been strong as an explanation of the cause of schizophrenia, but it has highlighted the importance of communication and family patterns in mental health. Although the double bind hypothesis has become obsolete in this sense, has been decisive for the evolution of systemic therapy.

Bibliographic references

Bateson, G., Jackson, D.D., Haley, J. & Weakland, J. Towards a theory of schizophrenia. 1956.

Bateson, Gregory (1972). Steps toward an ecology of the mind: collection of essays in anthropology, psychiatry, evolution, and epistemology. Ballantine Books.

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