a causal loop also known as a feedback loop uses arrows to show how parts of a system affect one another using this tool helps move the focus away from linear cause and effect to seeing circular cause and effect often cause and effect relationships are described in a simple linear fashion a cause creates an effect and that's the end of the story a great example of this is we have a problem we take action the problem goes away and again end of story causal loops show that the story actually continues a problem affects the amount of action which comes back around and affects the problem which continues to affect the amount of action here's a more specific example if the amount of money in a bank account goes up the amount of interest earned goes up which causes the amount of money in the account to rise even higher loops are either reinforcing or balancing this is a reinforcing loop because all else being equal the elements continue to move in the same direction either rising or falling over time the story of this loop describes the money in the account going up over time here's another example if the amount of stress goes up the coping strategies to deal with that stress go up causing the amount of stress to go down with the stress now low coping strategies are reduced thus allowing the stress level to go back up again this is a balancing feedback loop because all else being equal the elements either oscillate or seek a goal the story of this loop describes how stress can go up and down as an oscillation a plus sign indicates that both elements change in the same direction or that the first element adds to the next in this case the stress goes up so the coping strategies go up a minus sign indicates that the elements change in opposite directions or that the first element subtracts from the next in this case the coping strategies go up so the stress goes down identifying loops in isolation can be difficult finding them within other diagrams such as stock flow maps is a good way to get started here are two stock flow maps showing two different perspectives on cinderella's level of happiness in the first example if cinderella's happiness is low the fairy godmother's concern goes up which increases the ability of cinderella to participate which increases her happiness as a result the fairy godmother would be less concerned this is a balancing loop which results in cinderella's happiness increasing quickly at first and then slowing down all else being equal in the second example as cinderella is kind to others her happiness goes up which causes her to be even more kind and thus more happy this is a reinforcing loop since her happiness increases more and more with each time around the loop again all else being equal notice that we've drawn boxes around the stocks even when they're represented in a loop this simple practice helps to see the key accumulations in the system thank you for watching this short introduction to causal loops brought to you by the creative learning exchange to see additional examples of causal loops you can view the connection circle video