Evolutionary Systems Theory: A Unifying Meta-Theory of Psychological Science

Abstract

Psychology is a theoretically heterogeneous discipline seeking a single, cohesive framework to unite the subdisciplines. To address this issue, I propose a hierarchical metatheory of psychological science that synthesizes neo-Darwinian selectionist thinking and dynamic systems theory by organizing evolutionary psychology, evolutionary developmental biology, developmental psychobiology, and the subdisciplines of psychology around four specific, interrelated levels of analysis: functional explanations for evolved, species-typical characteristics; explanations for between-groups differences arising from phylogenetic mechanisms; explanations for individual differences resulting from ontogenetic processes; and mechanistic explanations for real-time phenomena, respectively. Informational exchange between these levels advances their integration and facilitates important innovations, and the nonsubstantive metatheories of general selection and self-organization interpenetrate all four levels to promote consilience. I conclude by discussing the implications of this model for theory and research.

Bridging Evolutionary Biology and Developmental Psychology: Toward An Enduring Theoretical Infrastructure

“…Building a metatheory is a daunting task (Badcock, ; Geary & Bjorklund, ; Ploeger, Van Der Maas, & Raijmakers, ). Over 150 years ago, Charles Darwin () prophesized that psychology would be built on an evolutionary foundation.…”

Bridging developmental systems theory and evolutionary psychology using dynamic optimization

“…Developmental systems theorists and evolutionary psychologists interact less than they should, and when they do, these interactions tend to be antagonistic (Lickliter & Honeycutt, , , ; and commentaries by Buss & Reeve, ; Crawford, ; Krebs, ; Tooby, Cosmides & Barrett, ). There have, of course, been both points of agreement (Badcock, ; Barrett, , ; Bjorklund, ; Bjorklund, Ellis & Rosenberg, ; Ploeger, van der Maas & Raijmakers, 2008) and disagreement (Dennett, ; Sterelny & Griffiths, ). Where the sides seem to differ is in explanatory focus.…”

Interpreting Nursing Metatheory through Complexity Integration Nursing Theory: A Scoping Review

“…The interdisciplinary metatheory may be applied in nursing without clarification as a borrowed metatheory, for example, resilience as a power within for oncology patients even though historically nursing has utilized the resilience concept in multiple formats. The evolutionary psychology as a metatheory for the social sciences focused on how to gather interdisciplinary evidence for a psychological adaptation and mentioned medical and nursing science, however, no indication of medical or nursing participation in development or application of the evolutionary psychology as a metatheory occurred [51][52].Another example was the utilization of Kuyper's Social Work Metatheory as aguide for development and application of multiple nursing theories, even though Kuyper's metatheory was not completely developed or available in the nursing literature. Analyses of the interdisciplinary metatheories with nursing application indicated articles did not necessarily identify a nursing metatheory per se.…”