AI reviewed · sources pending. Book associations have not been verified.

Negative feedback

Concept

A feedback response counteracts a deviation or change.

Explanation or usage

A negative, or balancing, feedback loop returns information about a system's state to a process that opposes the change. This can stabilize a variable near a target when the response is appropriately timed and strong. Long delays or excessive responses can still produce oscillation; negative describes direction, not whether the outcome is desirable.

Common misunderstandings

Negative feedback means criticism, harm or guaranteed stability.

In Thinking in systems

General context reviewed · book attribution and sources pending

Balancing loops oppose changes in stocks or goal gaps; a thermostat is an illustrative model.

In Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology E-Book (Guyton Physiology)