Use of Systems Theory, Directed Graphs, and Pulse Process Models in an Adaptive Approach to Agroecosystem Health and Sustainability - Integrated Assessment of Health and Sustainability of Agroecosystems - page 125

most cases—as value stability. Absence of value stability (which implies pulse sta-
bility) or at the very least quasi stability can therefore be interpreted as a reflection
of cognitive imbalance (failure to consider the opposite effects of a relationship) and
hence an inaccuracy in the cognitive map as representation of the domain modeled.
Cognitive maps dealing with goals and objectives are likely to have cognitive imbal-
ances due to the tendency to perceive regenerative or degenerative spirals related to
goals or problems. A regenerative spiral is when no limits to goals and objectives are
foreseen, while a degenerative spiral is when no limits to deterioration of the prob-
lem situation can be foreseen.
Understanding the ways in which stability can be imparted to the digraph may
provide insights on the relationships on which these imbalances are predicated. As
an example, the Gikabu digraph becomes value stable if arcs [2, 3], [9, 26], and
[9, 18] are removed while arcs [25, 24], [9, 13], and [26, 29] are inverted. This indi-
cates that the regenerative spiral in this digraph is predicated on the perception that
improvements in the markets would produce unbounded and direct increases in tea
production and the same for increased efficiency of the dairy cooperative on dairy
production, among others. The different stabilizing strategies represent the possible
scenarios in which the perceived spirals do not exist. The impact of community goals
based on the digraph resulting from these stabilizing strategies can be used to assess
community goals in the absence of cognitive imbalances.
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