Reflexivity
Etymology
From Latin "reflexus," bent back. In social science it marks the way observers are entangled with what they observe; financier George Soros built his market theory on it, arguing that biased perceptions move prices, which then validate or upend the perceptions. The word thus turns a plain feedback idea onto belief itself.
noun · /ree-flek-SIV-ih-tee/
A feedback loop in which participants’ beliefs about a situation change the situation itself, which then changes their beliefs.
What it names
A tool for systems where observation isn’t neutral — markets, politics, reputations — where expectations move reality and reality moves expectations, so prediction and outcome chase each other.
Example
The bank run was reflexive: fear of insolvency drove withdrawals that actually caused the insolvency.
Related idea
Sharper than a generic feedback loop: reflexivity is specifically a loop that runs through human belief and expectation, so the system’s own participants are part of the mechanism.