What is "reflexivity"

n. The condition or state of being reflexive.

1. n. the coreferential relation between a reflexive pronoun and its antecedent [syn: reflexiveness]

2. (logic and mathematics) a relation such that it holds between an element and itself

Reflexivity might mean:

• Reflexivity (grammar)
• Reflexivity (social theory)
• Self-reflexivity (see Self-reference)

Reflexivity refers to circular relationships between cause and effect. A reflexive relationship is bidirectional with both the cause and the effect affecting one another in a relationship in which neither can be assigned as causes or effects. In sociology, reflexivity therefore comes to mean an act of self-reference where examination or action "bends back on", refers to, and affects the entity instigating the action or examination.

To this extent it commonly refers to the capacity of an agent to recognize forces of socialization and alter their place in the social structure. A low level of reflexivity would result in an individual shaped largely by their environment (or "society"). A high level of social reflexivity would be defined by an individual shaping their own norms, tastes, politics, desires, and so on. This is similar to the notion of autonomy. (See also Structure and agency and Social mobility.)

In economics, reflexivity refers to the self-reinforcing effect of market sentiment, whereby rising prices attract buyers whose actions drive prices higher still until the process becomes unsustainable and the same process operates in reverse leading to a catastrophic collapse in prices. This is an instance of a positive feedback loop.

In grammar, reflexivity is a property of syntactic constructs whereby two arguments (actual or implicit) of an action or relation expressed by a single predicate have the same reference.

Reflexivity may be expressed by means of: reflexive pronouns or reflexive verbs. The latter ones may be constructed with the help of reflexive affixes (e.g., in Russian) or reflective particles (e.g., in Polish).