PYC4808 Assignment 3
(COMPLETE ANSWERS) 2025
- DUE 17 September 2025
FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE PLEASE
CONTACT
,Question 1 — Ecomap for the Jackson family
Below is a simple, printable ecomap you can hand-draw or copy into a genogram program. I give
a legend, the diagram as ASCII/art you can redraw, and a written key describing strength/quality
of each connection and directional flows. Use thick lines for strong supportive relationships;
dashed or jagged lines for stressful/tense connections; arrows where influence is directional (e.g.,
one-way emotional demands).
Legend
Solid thick line — strong, supportive relationship
Solid thin line — neutral/typical contact
Dashed line — distant/weak connection
Zigzag / jagged line — stressful or conflictual relationship
Arrowhead — direction of emotional demand / caregiving burden
ASCII ecomap (center = household circle). You can redraw with circles for people and boxes for
institutions.
[Retirement Village / George]
(jagged)▲
\
\
\
[Peter (Laura's dad)] --- thin --- [Laura] ==== solid ==== [David]
| \ / \
| \ / \
thick dashed zigzag dashed
| | / \
[Jake] [Lily] [School Counselor]
||| | |
||| | |
(jagged) thick thin (referral)
\ /
\ /
[Family Home (Jackson household)]
Written key / how to draw properly
1. Central box/circle: draw a circle labelled “Jackson household” or place individual
circles for: George (71), Evelyn (65), David (45), Laura (41), Jake (17), Lily (13). If you
prefer a genogram, show marriage line between David & Laura, vertical lines to children,
and a dotted line from George to the household indicating assisted-living move.
2. Connections:
o George ↔ David: jagged / tense / authoritative (zigzag). Direction: George’s
expectations/authority → David (one-way pressure historically).
o Evelyn ↔ David: thin / distant (Evelyn emotionally caretook children
historically but is deferential to George; now more peripheral).
, o David ↔ Laura: solid thin with zigzag overlay; annotate pursue–withdraw
(David withdraws, Laura pursues). Put an arrow from Laura → David indicating
emotional labor directed toward him.
o Laura ↔ Jake: thick supportive but enmeshed — solid thick line with
annotation parentified/over-functioning (Laura heavily emotionally involved in
Jake).
o David ↔ Jake: dashed / distant — annotate perfectionist expectations /
emotional distance.
o Lily ↔ family: solid thin to Laura, dashed to Jake (Lily is “easy child,”
independent, avoids emotional mess).
o Family ↔ School counsellor / Therapist: thin to solid with arrow from school
counsellor → family (referral) and arrow to psychologist (new openness).
o Family ↔ George’s assisted living: jagged impact line (shows stress ripple).
o Family ↔ Internship/External achievement systems (Jake’s performance
pressure): add a dashed line labelled “achievement / performance pressure
(external expectation).”
3. Annotate triangles: draw a small triangle between David–Laura–Jake indicating
triangulation (Jake drawn in as emotional buffer). Also an intergenerational triangle:
George–David–Jake (pressures passed downward).
4. Permeability / boundary notes: near Laura–Jake draw the word “enmeshed / blurred
boundary”. Near David–Jake draw “rigid boundary / emotional distance”.
This ecomap visually communicates sources of support (Laura for Jake), stressors (George’s
dementia), referral systems (school counsellor), and problematic internal dynamics (triangles,
enmeshment).
Question 2 — First-order cybernetic
perspective: description, therapist role and
concept discussion (25)
A. What is a first-order cybernetic family view (short)
First-order cybernetics treats the family as an observable system governed by measurable
feedback loops and homeostatic rules. The therapist is conceptualised as an objective
observer/engineer who can identify circular causality and then modify inputs or rules to change
observed behaviour. Intervention tends to be behavioural/systems-regulation focused — reduce
problematic feedback, strengthen corrective feedback, or change how information flows —
usually without challenging the family’s rules/identity (i.e., focuses on surface behaviour).
In practice, the first-order therapist:
(COMPLETE ANSWERS) 2025
- DUE 17 September 2025
FOR FURTHER ASSISTANCE PLEASE
CONTACT
,Question 1 — Ecomap for the Jackson family
Below is a simple, printable ecomap you can hand-draw or copy into a genogram program. I give
a legend, the diagram as ASCII/art you can redraw, and a written key describing strength/quality
of each connection and directional flows. Use thick lines for strong supportive relationships;
dashed or jagged lines for stressful/tense connections; arrows where influence is directional (e.g.,
one-way emotional demands).
Legend
Solid thick line — strong, supportive relationship
Solid thin line — neutral/typical contact
Dashed line — distant/weak connection
Zigzag / jagged line — stressful or conflictual relationship
Arrowhead — direction of emotional demand / caregiving burden
ASCII ecomap (center = household circle). You can redraw with circles for people and boxes for
institutions.
[Retirement Village / George]
(jagged)▲
\
\
\
[Peter (Laura's dad)] --- thin --- [Laura] ==== solid ==== [David]
| \ / \
| \ / \
thick dashed zigzag dashed
| | / \
[Jake] [Lily] [School Counselor]
||| | |
||| | |
(jagged) thick thin (referral)
\ /
\ /
[Family Home (Jackson household)]
Written key / how to draw properly
1. Central box/circle: draw a circle labelled “Jackson household” or place individual
circles for: George (71), Evelyn (65), David (45), Laura (41), Jake (17), Lily (13). If you
prefer a genogram, show marriage line between David & Laura, vertical lines to children,
and a dotted line from George to the household indicating assisted-living move.
2. Connections:
o George ↔ David: jagged / tense / authoritative (zigzag). Direction: George’s
expectations/authority → David (one-way pressure historically).
o Evelyn ↔ David: thin / distant (Evelyn emotionally caretook children
historically but is deferential to George; now more peripheral).
, o David ↔ Laura: solid thin with zigzag overlay; annotate pursue–withdraw
(David withdraws, Laura pursues). Put an arrow from Laura → David indicating
emotional labor directed toward him.
o Laura ↔ Jake: thick supportive but enmeshed — solid thick line with
annotation parentified/over-functioning (Laura heavily emotionally involved in
Jake).
o David ↔ Jake: dashed / distant — annotate perfectionist expectations /
emotional distance.
o Lily ↔ family: solid thin to Laura, dashed to Jake (Lily is “easy child,”
independent, avoids emotional mess).
o Family ↔ School counsellor / Therapist: thin to solid with arrow from school
counsellor → family (referral) and arrow to psychologist (new openness).
o Family ↔ George’s assisted living: jagged impact line (shows stress ripple).
o Family ↔ Internship/External achievement systems (Jake’s performance
pressure): add a dashed line labelled “achievement / performance pressure
(external expectation).”
3. Annotate triangles: draw a small triangle between David–Laura–Jake indicating
triangulation (Jake drawn in as emotional buffer). Also an intergenerational triangle:
George–David–Jake (pressures passed downward).
4. Permeability / boundary notes: near Laura–Jake draw the word “enmeshed / blurred
boundary”. Near David–Jake draw “rigid boundary / emotional distance”.
This ecomap visually communicates sources of support (Laura for Jake), stressors (George’s
dementia), referral systems (school counsellor), and problematic internal dynamics (triangles,
enmeshment).
Question 2 — First-order cybernetic
perspective: description, therapist role and
concept discussion (25)
A. What is a first-order cybernetic family view (short)
First-order cybernetics treats the family as an observable system governed by measurable
feedback loops and homeostatic rules. The therapist is conceptualised as an objective
observer/engineer who can identify circular causality and then modify inputs or rules to change
observed behaviour. Intervention tends to be behavioural/systems-regulation focused — reduce
problematic feedback, strengthen corrective feedback, or change how information flows —
usually without challenging the family’s rules/identity (i.e., focuses on surface behaviour).
In practice, the first-order therapist:
