Defined by Beavers as part of the Beavers-Timberlawn Model, a family system dynamic in which members are tightly bound to one another emotionally and encouraged to seek gratification from one another
This means simply "towards the centre " Most commonly it is encountered in mechanics A centripetal force is the force attracting an object to the centre during circular motion The opposite to centripetal is centrifugal On cells, centripetal waves travel toward the nucleus As the nucleus is toward the rear of a cell, such waves move, approximately, from front to back
tending to move toward a center; "centripetal force" of a nerve fiber or impulse originating outside and passing toward the central nervous system; "sensory neurons" tending to unify