Path dependence theory The path dependence theory is proposed

1. Detours in learning are not scary for children. How to avoid repeated detours? 2. Why is it called path dependence theory? 3. What does path dependence in urban sociology mean? 4. Why is it called path dependence theory? 5. The path dependence theory of American economist Douglas North is not terrible for children to take detours in learning. How to avoid repeated detours?

I came into contact with a concept: path dependence.

When I saw this concept, I naturally associated it with children, and I felt like I was enlightened. I think this concept will be very helpful when used in children's study and life.

If we could realize the impact of "path dependence" on children's learning early, we would not think that it does not matter how children learn when they are young. Anyway, primary school knowledge is so little, just do whatever you want. If we can know "path dependence" early, we will pay attention to children's habits and attitudes in the early stage, so that they can form benign path dependence.

(1) Examples of path dependence

"Path dependence" is not far away from us and can be seen everywhere in life.

(1)

Some people are very surprised when they get a gift for the first time when they buy something, and they like the feeling of getting a bargain. So he was used to asking for gifts every time he bought something, and would even go to the extent of asking for gifts. And every time he asks for a gift, it is a strengthened path dependence. He may even neglect the value-for-money ratio of the main product he wants to buy because the gift is expensive; or he may put down something he likes very much because there is no gift.

(2)

You have been doing a job for several years. You don’t like it but you are used to it. You are used to the work content and working methods of this position, and you are used to the colleagues around you. And the company's environment, do not want to change jobs to challenge new jobs, this is also path dependent.

If nothing special happens, you won’t be able to make up your mind to try a different path.

(3)

You are already very disappointed and sad about a relationship/marriage, but you are unwilling to interrupt or change it. Because you are used to the person around you and the way you get along with him. Even if you have a heart that wants to get out, it is difficult or impossible to get out. This is also a type of path dependence.

(4)

A child has very little homework in the first grade. The child always does homework while playing, or eating and doing homework at the same time. You don’t feel that there is any problem at that time. What's the problem? Anyway, the child has basically finished his homework before dinner.

But when your child gradually moves up the grade, the workload becomes larger and larger, the questions become more and more difficult, and when the child starts to stay up late, you will know the crux of the problem. If you want to adjust your children at that time, you will find it very difficult.

Because children have already formed a wrong path dependence in the early stages of developing habits. As soon as he sits down at the study table, he habitually wants to get a toy or some snacks. He has tied homework and play/snacks together.

(2) The concept of path dependence

The definition of "path dependence" on Baidu Encyclopedia is as follows:

Path-Dependence (Path-Dependence), It means that technological evolution or institutional changes in human society have inertia similar to that in physics, that is, once they enter a certain path, they will become dependent on this path. Once people make a certain choice, it is like embarking on a road of no return. The power of inertia will continue to strengthen the choice and prevent you from getting out easily.

A widely circulated example of path dependence is:

The standard distance between two tracks on a modern railway is four feet and eight and a half inches, the size chosen by the people who built the electric cars. designed, and this is the wheelbase standard used by trams. So, where did the standards for trams come from?

The people who built trams first built horse-drawn carriages, so the standards for trams follow the wheelbase standards of horse-drawn carriages. Why do carriages use this wheelbase standard?

Going back according to this rule, we will find:

This is because the long-distance old roads throughout Europe, including the United Kingdom, were laid by the ancient Romans for their armies, and the original Roman The chariot was pulled by two horses, and the width of the wheel track was the width of the two horses' buttocks, which was four feet and eight and a half inches.

The story does not end here. There are two rocket thrusters on both sides of the U.S. space shuttle fuel tank. After these thrusters are built, they must be transported by train, and some tunnels must be passed on the road. The width of these tunnels is only slightly wider than the train track, so the rocket booster The width is determined by the width of the rails.

So, the final conclusion is: path dependence caused the width of the US space shuttle rocket booster to be determined by the width of two horses' buttocks two thousand years ago.

(3) "Path dependence" in children's learning

The first person to make the "path dependence" theory famous was Douglas North, who used "path dependence" The theory successfully explained the evolution of economic systems, and Douglas North won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1993.

Douglas North believes that "path dependence" is similar to inertia in physics. Once things enter a certain path, they may become dependent on this path.

This is because economic life, like the physical world, has increasing returns and self-reinforcing mechanisms. This kind of mechanism will allow people to continuously strengthen themselves in the future development once they choose to embark on a certain path.

I think children’s learning status is similar to that of the physical world and economic life, and there are also mechanisms of increasing returns and self-reinforcement.

The famous educator Mann said: "Habit is like a cable. We wrap it with a new cable every day. Before long, it will become unbreakable."

< p>A thought and an action are both an invisible "path" and a "rope".

For example:

If a child thinks he is talented in mathematics, he will listen to lectures and solve problems with strong confidence, and every time he successfully solves a problem, will once again strengthen his invisible path of "talented in mathematics". Then this continuous self-reinforcement mechanism will make the ruts on this path deeper and deeper, making this child increasingly think that he is capable in mathematics.

Similarly, if a child feels bad about himself, bad ruts and path dependence will also develop.

For example, behavior:

A child gets up at six o'clock every morning and reads English for 10 minutes and Chinese for 10 minutes. At the end of the semester, when the teacher randomly checked English recitation and article recitation, the child was very fluent and proficient.

Getting up early and reading early is also an invisible path. If a child repeats it every day, the ruts on this path will deepen; and every time the teacher checks, he will memorize more fluently and reciting it than others. The recognition given to him by the teacher is the "increasing returns" given to him by this path, which will encourage him to continue along this path, and this rut ??will become more and more profound.

Similarly, if a child always copes with homework, no matter whether it is right or wrong, just finish it. Then such behavior will also form a rut and become a wrong path dependence, which will affect the long-term learning effect of the child.

(4) Quotation marks for children to establish correct "path dependencies"!

I believe that it will be very troublesome for us to help children establish the correct "path dependence" at the beginning, but once we guide the children to establish the correct path dependence, it will become easier and easier for us in the future!

Napoleon Hill said: “Sow an action and you shall reap a habit; sow a habit and you shall reap a character; sow a character and you shall reap a character. Destiny."

The destiny of our children deserves to go the extra mile.

So, I hope the next few methods can give you some help and inspiration.

(1) Different behaviors, different attention!

Children will have many, many behaviors every day. We don’t need to pay attention to every behavior and make them behave; we don’t need to give children some rules and regulations everywhere so that they can’t behave at all. own.

We need to distinguish clearly which behaviors require our guidance and regulation, and which behaviors children can do as they please.

For example:

When a child goes to school, under the premise of safety, whether he likes to walk slowly, walk quickly, or run, it’s up to you. We don’t want to control, let alone regulate.

After the child finishes his homework, he has the freedom to choose whether to play with toys, draw pictures, or go to the square downstairs. Respect him and give him no restrictions.

However, if a child comes out to eat apples while doing homework, comes out again to play with toys, and comes out three times in half an hour, then we need to intervene, guide, and use appropriate methods. This way allows children to sit safely at the study table and concentrate on their homework.

What is the appropriate approach?

For example: eat and drink well before doing homework; take out toys after he finishes homework; put only school supplies on the study table and clear away other items that have nothing to do with learning;

< p>We can even accompany our children to do homework for a period of time, maybe a week or two, maybe a month or two. Once the children develop the habit of focusing on homework, and the rut of this path dependence is deep enough, we can be free. .

(2) Cultivating good habits and abandoning bad habits is a very critical part of education

Whether it is a good habit or a bad habit, it is path dependent. As parents, what we have to do is to make the "rut" of bad habits become shallower and shallower, and to make the "rut" of good habits deeper and deeper. This can be done from two aspects: "increasing the difficulty of implementing bad habits" and "reducing the difficulty of implementing good habits."

a Make it more difficult to implement bad habits

If a child wants to watch TV while sitting on the sofa, then we need to let him watch TV. This action is not easy to implement.

For example:

Put the remote control out of his reach;

Turn off the TV (or even unplug the movie).

If a child wants to watch TV, he has to turn on the TV manually and ask an adult to help him get the remote control. Add two more steps and you'll reduce the frequency of your child's TV viewing.

bReduce the difficulty of achieving good habits

When you want your children to develop the habit of getting up early and getting dressed alone, you can reduce the difficulty of achieving it.

For example:

Wake him up ten minutes in advance so that he can lie down for a while and relieve his sleepiness;

Do some parent-child interaction with him and kiss him Give him a hug, scratch his back, or say a few thoughtful words to him, so that he will be in a good mood when he wakes up;

We check the weather forecast in advance and dress the child according to the clothes he wears today. Place them next to the child's bed in order, so that the child can put them on in an orderly manner when he sits up.

(After the children have developed the habit of getting up early and dressing independently, we will then cultivate their new habit of finding the next day’s clothes before going to bed. We must not be impatient in parenting, we must proceed step by step.)

(3) Repeated practice, timely follow-up, and appropriate encouragement!

The development of a habit requires repeated practice. I believe everyone is aware of this.

So, if we want to help children develop a good habit of reading, we need to guide them to continue reading. If you accompany your children to read, you also need to plan your own time and read regularly every day. Every time you do it, the "rut" in reading will deepen and the habit will become more consolidated.

Remember three days to fish and two days to dry the net.

At the same time, if the child has done well or made small progress, we must follow up in time and give the child appropriate recognition and encouragement.

For example: when the child gets dressed independently for the first time and stands in the kitchen, we can say with a surprised expression: "Wow! Baby got dressed so quickly? Didn't even ask mom to help? That's amazing. ! Baby has really grown up!”

When a child is recognized, he will have a very high sense of accomplishment. And this sense of accomplishment will greatly encourage him to give his mother the same surprise the next day and get the same recognition from her mother.

Of course, we should not exaggerate too much.

Any words are too much and too little. If you say too much, it will gradually lose its effect, including criticism and praise.

If we say "you are awesome" to our children every day, no matter what the children do, we say "you are awesome", then the sentence "you are awesome" will slowly become "you are awesome" "Hello" and "Have you eaten?" are meaningless, let alone encouraging.

When we praise our children, we should praise them on specific things and at the right time, and we should also give positive feedback to them from the heart.

"Path dependence" stems from the variables brought about by changes. It also stems from the fact that once people develop their working, studying and living habits, they are no longer willing to bear the pain of change, because this kind of pain is common to most people. Not willing to face it.

Finally, I sincerely hope that the "path" of the children's life and study will be correct and beneficial; I hope that the children can emerge from their cocoons and become butterflies and have a happy life of their own. Why is it called path dependence theory?

Once things enter a certain path, they may become dependent on this path.

The problem of path dependence was first proposed by Paul David in 1985. Later, W. Malan Arthur further developed it on this basis and formed the systematic idea of ??path dependence in technological evolution. Later, Douglas ·North extended the previous thoughts on this aspect to the field of social system change, thereby establishing the path dependence theory in system change. Its specific meaning is that technological evolution or institutional changes in human society have inertia similar to that in physics, that is, once you enter a certain path (whether it is "good" or "bad"), you may become dependent on this path. .

Do you know what the standard distance between two railroad tracks in the United States is? If you know, then do you know how it is established? The following allusion can give you a detailed explanation and at the same time vividly Tell us what exactly is the "path dependence" theory.

The American railways were originally built by the British. The track width of the British railways is 4 feet 8.5 inches. Why is the track width of British railways 4 feet 8.5 inches? Because the British railway builders originally built trams, and the track width of trams is 4 feet 8.5 inches. Why is the track width of a tram 4 feet 8.5 inches? Because the people who built the tram used to build horse-drawn carriages. When the ancient Roman chariots rolled over the European continent, they left the width of the ruts on the British road. It was 4 feet 8.5 inches, so carriage builders also used this width.

Why did ancient Rome set the carriageway at 4 feet 8.5 inches? Because the width between the buttocks of two horses was 4 feet 8.5 inches. The width of the hips of two horses determines the width of the carriageway, which later became the width of the streetcar lane, and then became the width of the railroad tracks. People call this phenomenon "road dependence." Even the distance between the two rocket thrusters on both sides of the U.S. space shuttle fuel tank is 4 feet 8.5 inches!

Because after these thrusters are built, they must be transported to the rocket launch site by train. The road has to pass through a tunnel, and the width of the rails under the tunnel is also 4 feet 8.5 inches.

From this, we can draw the conclusion that the choices people made in the past determine their current and possible future choices. Therefore, when we do anything today, we must choose carefully to avoid unnecessary impact on future development.

In fact, all theories about habits can be explained by "path dependence".

So, how to avoid the negative effects of path dependence from having unnecessary impacts on our work and life? There is only one answer:

That is to find the right direction from the beginning. Everyone has his own basic thinking model, which will largely determine your future life path. The foundation of this model is actually laid as early as childhood. Once you make your first choice, you set your own life.

In the international IT industry, Dell Computer is a myth of wealth. Dell Computer Company has grown from US$1,000 when it was founded in 1984 to sales reaching US$31 billion in 2001. It is a legendary experience. Dell has two magic weapons: "direct sales model" and "market segmentation" method. According to Michael Dell, the founder of Dell, he had laid the foundation for these two magic weapons as early as his youth.

When Dell was 12 years old, he embarked on his first business adventure. In order to save money, he who loved stamp collecting no longer wanted to sell stamps at auctions, but convinced himself that a stamp collector also liked collecting stamps. His neighbor entrusted him with stamps and then advertised the sale of stamps in professional publications. Unexpectedly, he earned $2,000, and for the first time he tasted the benefits of "direct contact" without the middleman. This first time was something he would never forget. Later, Dell's entrepreneurship has been inseparable from this "direct sales" model.

When he was in junior high school, Dell had already started in the computer business. He bought the parts himself, assembled them and then sold them. In the process, he discovered that an IBM personal computer priced at $3,000 had parts that could be purchased for only $600 or $700. At that time, most people who ran computers did not know much about computers and could not provide technical support to customers, let alone provide suitable computers according to customers' needs. This gave Dell an idea: to abandon the middlemen and modify the computers by itself, it not only has price advantages, but also has advantages in quality and service, and can provide computers with different functions according to the direct requirements of customers.

In this way, the "direct sales" and "market segmentation" models that later became popular around the world were born. Its core is: truly design and manufacture products according to customer requirements, and deliver them directly to customers in the shortest possible time.

Since then, Dell has relied on the model he discovered and continued to do so. From 1984, when Dell dropped out of school to start his own company, to 2002, when he was ranked 131st among the Fortune Global 500, Dell became one of the most famous companies in the world in less than 20 years. It was the correct choice of path when he first started doing business that laid the foundation for Dell's subsequent success.

Confucius said: "A little success is like nature, and habits are like nature." In our career, we cannot get rid of this path dependence. Once we choose our "horse butt", our life trajectory may It's only 4 feet 8.5 inches wide. We may not be satisfied with this width in the future, but it is already difficult to change it.

The only thing we can do is to carefully choose the width of the "horse's butt" at the beginning. For young friends who are about to graduate and enter the society, they should choose their first job carefully. What exactly does path dependence mean in urban sociology?

Path dependence definition: Once people make a certain choice, it is like embarking on a road of no return. The power of inertia will make this choice continue to strengthen itself and prevent you from easily getting out. The first person to make the "path dependence" theory famous was Douglas North. Because he used the "path dependence" theory to successfully explain the evolution of economic systems, Douglas North won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1993. North believes that "path dependence" is similar to inertia in physics. Once things enter a certain path, they may become dependent on this path. This is because, like the physical world, economic life has a mechanism of increasing returns and self-reinforcement. This mechanism enables people to continue to be self-reinforced in future development once they choose to embark on a certain path. After the "path dependence" theory was summarized, people widely applied it to all aspects of choices and habits. To a certain extent, all people's choices will be horribly affected by path dependence. The choices people made in the past determine their possible choices now. All people's theories about habits can use "path dependence" to explain why they are called path dependence. Theory

The term "path dependence" is called path dependence theory, which was proposed by Paul David, a professor at Stanford University in the United States in 1975. He said about path dependence theory: "Once you make a certain choice, it is like embarking on a road of no return. The power of inertia will make this choice continue to strengthen itself."

So, To a certain extent, all people's choices will be affected by path dependence. Once they make a certain choice, they will continue to invest various resources, whether they invest human, material, financial or time.

When making the next choice, you will inevitably consider these early investments, whether they can be recovered or not, and whether they are really valuable. If one day people find that the path they have chosen is no longer suitable for them and has no value, the initial investment will be like super glue, sticking us to the original path, unable to make new choices, and the greater the investment, the more we will be stuck. The tighter it sticks.

Excellent people are outstanding because of path dependence, while ordinary people are mediocre because of learned helplessness. The path dependence theory of American economist Douglas North

The main spirit is that once people do Making a certain choice is like embarking on a road of no return. The power of inertia will make this choice continue to strengthen itself and prevent you from easily walking out.

American economist Douglas North was the first scholar to propose the "path dependence" theory of institutions. He believes that there are two reasons for institutional changes: increasing returns of the institution and network externalities. There are significant transaction costs in the economy and society. Whether this view is valid requires further research. Douglas North won the 1993 Nobel Prize in Economics for successfully explaining the evolution of economic systems using the "path dependence" theory.

North believes that path dependence is similar to "inertia" in physics. Once you enter a certain path (whether it is "good" or "bad"), you may become dependent on this path. The established direction of a certain path will be self-reinforcing in subsequent developments. The choices people made in the past determine the choices they may make now and in the future. A good path will have a positive feedback effect on the enterprise. Through inertia and momentum, it will produce a flywheel effect, and the enterprise's development will enter a virtuous circle; a bad path will have a negative feedback effect on the enterprise, just like a bad luck cycle, and the enterprise may It will be locked in some inefficient state and lead to stagnation. And once these choices are locked, it becomes very difficult to get out.

His theory has been carried forward in modern time series research. In particular, the recent rapid development of long memory time series has proven the correctness of the path dependence theory from mathematics and economic theory (especially well verified in the financial market).