Under homeostasis, daily adjustments are made via what I would identify as first-order change (Argyris, 2001). They require first-order learning that is usually based on habitual ways of thinking. Such a model of stasis might effectively operate in a highly stable world. However, our world might be operating in a rugged and perhaps even moving (dancing) landscape that looks nothing like a flat, stable plain (Miller and Page, 2007). There is no return to a previous state. Rather as Sterling proposes, adjustments are made based on what we predict will be the next setting of this dancing environment. These adjustments require shifts in the interpretation of environmental meaning and anticipation of specific environmental challenges. These shifts, in turn, require second-order learning and second-order change (Argyris, 2001).
Polystasis Comes Alive
All this exploration of polystatic processes may seem mechanistic and abstract (an occasional critique of Miller, Galanter, and Pribram’s T.O.T.E. model). However, Polystasis comes alive and is vital, especially when we recognize that this recursive process moves quickly. It is often not amenable to the slow thinking described by Daniel Kahneman (Kahneman, 2011) nor to the reflective practice of Don Schön (1983).
Polystasis also comes alive when we apply it to real-life situations. For example, my blood pressure might not return to “normal” if I am anticipating other lions (real or imagined) (Sapolsky, 2004). A new “normal” is quite fluid–for I continue to appraise, adjust, and act (moving through the hostile environment of the Savannah). Polystatic processes are essential to my survival in this anxiety-ridden environment. Dynamic feedback based on T.O.T.E. is alive and well in this hostile environment. I am also alive and well—thanks to polystatic processes.
Thermostats and Body Temperature
I next offer an example of Polystasis by returning to the classic homeostatic example of thermostatic regulation. First, in keeping with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, I must live in a comfortable environment. I address this matter by adjusting the thermostat if I anticipate the window remains open to provide some ventilation. However, I can make an even more immediate adjustment. I can choose to put on or take off my sweater. I can change chairs. These actions enable me to sit further away from the window.
Even more immediately and intimately, my body will adjust based on what it predicts I will do to accommodate the temperature change. I know that the thermostat is a slow and often secondary Polystatic player. The homeostatic adjustments of the thermostat will often arrive late. These adjustments are not very effective when compared with the act of adding or removing the next layer of clothes or moving to another chair.
Production, Craftsmanship, and Stress
What about our production of finely crafted chairs when our master craftsman is absent from work? There is the more distant (“distal”) solution. Just as we may have to change the thermostat in our home, a decision might be made to train someone else to build the high-priced chairs. We do this if we are uncertain about the long-term health condition of our master craftsman. However, our polystatic adjustments are much more immediate (proximal). They are based on immediate predictions regarding what is taking place on our production floor.
As the production manager, I immediately predict that something must change when my master craftsman calls in sick. I set new (temporary) standards and priorities regarding what we will produce today. We’ll increase production of the cheaper chairs. Predicting the future (distal planning) I will inform our marketing person that we need to push the sales of these cheaper chairs (at least for a short duration).
At an even more proximal level, my mind will be predicting that my body’s stress level is about to increase. I will be activating the sympathetic level for a short duration until I get things “arranged” and “adjusted” for the coming production day. I will also spend some time reflecting on what is likely to be the longer-term health status of my senior craftsman. I can overthink and over-worry (inventing lions) or be realistic (assessing the presence of real lions).
