Editing Vicious circle (section)

{{Short description|Self-reinforcing sequence of events}}
{{Other uses||Vicious Circle (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2012}}
[[File:Cycle of depression.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Depression (mood)|Depression]] expressed as a vicious circle]]

A '''vicious circle''' (or '''cycle''') is a complex [[chain of events]] that reinforces itself through a [[feedback loop]], with detrimental results.<ref>{{cite book |author=Charles Webel, [[Johan Galtung]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hULHeXWxLLQC&pg=PA189 |title=Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies |date=19 March 2012 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780203089163 |access-date=19 March 2012}}</ref> It is a system with no tendency toward [[List of types of equilibrium|equilibrium]] ([[social equilibrium|social]], [[Economic equilibrium|economic]], [[ecological equilibrium|ecological]], etc.), at least in the short run.  Each iteration of the cycle reinforces the previous one, in an example of [[positive feedback]]. A vicious circle will continue in the direction of its momentum until an external factor intervenes to break the cycle. A well-known example of a vicious circle in economics is [[hyperinflation]]. 

When the results are not detrimental but beneficial, the term '''virtuous cycle''' is used instead.