Luhmann’s conditioning means regulated temporal ordering of system elements

Evidence

The words ‘conditional’ or ‘conditioning’ have a different meaning in Luhmann’s writings than in behavioural psychology. Conditioning refers for Luhmann to the selective temporal arrangement of relationships between elements. Systems are not simply relationships between elements, since these relationships have to be regulated, and this is where he uses the term conditioning. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 87

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes Luhmann’s systemic conditioning from behavioral-psychology conditioning — a definitional trap the reader would otherwise misread.
• XREF: Connects to the reader’s Luhmann-to-Giddens argument: system conditioning (institutional regulation of relationships) is precisely the mechanism behind faceless commitments.