The systems approach in developmental psychology: fundamental concepts and principles

Abstract

-Developmental Psychology seems to have come to an unifying theoretical framework which may make feasible to overcome the fragmentation so frequently referred to within the discipline. This is indicated by the widespread support being given to the systems approach, enriched by dialectic and contextual postulates. In this article, we briefly review the antecedents of this approach and explore its core concepts, indicating their roots and the precise way in which they are applied to developmental analyses today. We also examine the implications of the systems approach for developmental investigation, and its challenges.Keywords: developmental psychology, contextualism, interactionism, systems view. Visão Sistêmica na Psicologia do Desenvolvimento:Conceitos e Princípios Fundamentais RESUMO -A Psicologia do Desenvolvimento parece ter chegado a uma estrutura teórica de trabalho que pode tornar possível vencer a barreira da fragmentação, frequentemente referida na disciplina. Isto pode ser verificado pelo vasto suporte dado a visão dos sistemas, enriquecido pelos postulados contextuais e dialéticos. Neste artigo, nós brevemente revisamos os antecedentes dessa abordagem e exploramos seus conceitos básicos (centrais), indicando suas origens e caminhos precisos nos quais eles são aplicados na análise do desenvolvimento nos dias de hoje. Nós também examinamos as implicações da visão sistêmica para investigação do desenvolvimento e seus desafios.Palavras-chave: psicologia do desenvolvimento, contextualismo, interacionismo e visão sistêmica. Since its origins, Developmental Psychology has been characterized by the coexistence of theoretical perspectives, many of which are considered incompatible. This is the case with Piagetian and classical behavioral approaches, based respectively on organismic and mechanistic meta-theoretical assumptions (Overton & Ennis, 2006).Developmental psychologists frequently denounce the fragmentation of the discipline and have called for a unifying framework. Now may be a suitable moment to achieve this, judging by the support being given to the systems view, enriched by dialectic and contextual postulates. Important figures in current Developmental Psychology such as Bronfenbrenner, Gottlieb, Lerner, Magnusson and Thelen have defended the idea that this perspective may become a "new theoretical framework" to guide any future investigation and interpretation concerning development (Bronfenbrenner & Evans, 2000;Gottlieb, 1997;Lerner, 2006;Magnusson, 1998;Thelen & Smith, 2006). Moreover, this vision appears to be coherent with the assumptions of the new "relational metatheory" proposed by Overton and Ennis (2006) to integrate traditionally opposing worldviews.The aim of the present work is to offer an introductory and synthetic approach to prevailing theoretical assumptions on Developmental Psychology. We start this article by briefly mentioning some core antecedents of the systemic view, then going on to analyze its core concepts. Basing on widely accepted recent system theories, we indi...

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