Relational developmental systems

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Relational developmental systems (RDS) is a developmental psychological metatheory and conceptual framework. [1] It is an extension of developmental systems theory that is based on the view that relationism is a superior alternative to Cartesian mechanism. RDS is the leading framework in modern developmental science. According to RDS metatheory, interactions between individuals and their environments, rather than either entity acting separately, are the cause of all aspects of human development. [2] The term "relational developmental systems paradigm" has been used to refer to the combination of the RDS metatheory and the relationist worldview. [3] The RDS framework is also fundamentally distinct from that of quantitative behavioral genetics, in that the former focuses on the causes of individual development, while the latter focuses on individual differences. [4] RDS theorists reject the dichotomies associated with Cartesian dualism, such as those between nature and nurture, and between basic and applied science. [5]

Contents

Origins

Relational Developmental Systems (RDS) is a set of rules for the theories in developmental psychology. It is based on a worldview known as relationism.

Worldviews are approaches taken to understand how the world works. [3] Relationism is a worldview suggesting that no element is separate to the context around it, including its relations to other elements. It is against the Cartesian worldview, which splits opposite ideas into divisions such as 'nature-versus-nurture', 'mind versus the body' and 'culture versus biology'. [3] Relationism instead forms explanations by combining ideas, even if they are separate and conflicting. [2] RDS and relationism can be combined to form an overall scientific framework for human development. [3]

RDS can also be considered as an extension to developmental systems theory, which suggests that factors such as genes and the environment interact to influence development. [6]

Assumptions

Relational Developmental Systems proposes that human development cannot be understood without understanding the multiple relationships between individuals and their biological, psychological, social and historical contexts. [7] [3] It therefore rejects the idea that development is primarily influenced by one factor, such as genetics. Current developmental psychologists explore the various types of relationships between the individuals and their context. [1]

Individuals can have an active role in choosing which contexts to engage with based on the benefits they provide. From an evolutionary perspective of psychology, this can be beneficial for survival. [7] [3]

RDS also emphasises that individuals can constantly develop across their life-span. [1] [3] These changes can occur across time and across locations. [7] RDS also suggests that experiences, thoughts and emotion are influenced by the link between a person, their biology and their culture. [3]

Research into RDS involves flexible research approaches considering associations across multiple variables, moving away from methods attempting to explain behaviour in terms of one causal variable. [8] RDS uses longitudinal studies to measure an individual's development across time, as well as methods that consider individuals, rather than variables, as the key focus of the study. [4] [8] Research indicates that RDS-based research approaches do not have to be in conflict with research methods into quantitative behaviour genetics, which is a field considering genes and the environment as separate influences on behaviour. [3] [4]

The 4-H study is a longitudinal study investigating how RDS can explain the development of adolescents' positive behaviours. [9] [8] It investigated factors influencing adolescents' development of five key traits: confidence, caring, connection, character and ability to perform a task. This study was conducted across 7 years of the adolescents' lives. Researchers found that positive youth development was influenced by contextual factors such as relationships with family and friends, as well as individual factors such as natural motivation and engagement levels. [9]

The 4-H study also provided evidence for the individual having an active role in their development. [8] [9] Adolescents were able to optimise their development by adjusting their personal goals and expectations based on the social situation and the environmental resources that they had access to.

Applications

The principles behind RDS have useful applications for developmental science.

RDS presents adolescents in a more positive light than some previous developmental science research, which portrayed adolescents as trouble-makers and poor contributors to society. [2] Therefore, RDS can be used to encourage positive development in adolescents. [2] [10] RDS suggests that due to our ability to constantly change, adolescents have the potential to develop co-operative and considerate behaviours. There has been increasing research into how policies can encourage adolescents' use of this potential by altering the context that individuals are in. [10] [9] Research also applies RDS to understanding the development of adolescents' health. [7]

In addition, RDS can be used to understand how senior citizens' involvement with sport can change. Research from the 'European Review of Ageing and Physical Activity' indicated that a combination of individual-related and context-related factors can influence sports participation in the elderly. [1]

Individual-related influences on senior citizens' sports involvement included:

Context-related influences included:

Within developmental psychology, RDS can be applied to understanding multiple forms of development, including our moral development and our development of consciousness. [3]

When considering the broader fields of psychology and behavioural science, RDS parallels new approaches taken to evolution and to the mind-body problem. A recent approach to evolution indicates that we can evolve through our genes' constant adaptations to environmental contexts. [11] [12] Findings from the International Journal of Epidemiology links this research to RDS, suggesting that our ability to change over time involves interaction between genes and the environment. [13] The approach of RDS also influences the view that the mind is not separate from the context of our physical body. [3]

Research suggests that RDS is currently considered to be the "leading framework in developmental science". [2] It can provide a foundation for recent discoveries in the fields of genetics, evolution and cultural psychology, that are based on interactions between elements. [3]

Criticisms

The approach of RDS to methodology can be practically difficult to commit to and therefore pose a "challenge" to researchers. [8] It can also be difficult to select factors influencing each individuals' development. In practice, this difficulty create uncertainty when evaluating programs influencing young peoples' development. [8]

It can also be hard to apply results from research that gathered data from a particular point in time to the whole duration of a person's development. [8] This is further supported by research from the journal 'Human and Development', which suggests that it may be hard to apply research based on RDS to all situations that an individual can be in. [5]

Although RDS rejects the Cartesian worldview, this worldview has been "influential" in developmental science in the past. [3] For example, a cognitive approach to the mind-body problem suggesting that the mind is the brain and separate from external environments is "framed" by a Cartesian approach. Moreover, some cross-cultural research in developmental psychology has considered culture as being separate from the individual. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Developmental psychology</span> Scientific study of psychological changes in humans over the course of their lives

Developmental psychology is the scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult development, aging, and the entire lifespan. Developmental psychologists aim to explain how thinking, feeling, and behaviors change throughout life. This field examines change across three major dimensions, which are physical development, cognitive development, and social emotional development. Within these three dimensions are a broad range of topics including motor skills, executive functions, moral understanding, language acquisition, social change, personality, emotional development, self-concept, and identity formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adolescence</span> Human transition from puberty to adult

Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood. Adolescence is usually associated with the teenage years, but its physical, psychological or cultural expressions may begin earlier or end later. Puberty typically begins during preadolescence, particularly in females. Physical growth and cognitive development can extend past the teens. Age provides only a rough marker of adolescence, and scholars have not agreed upon a precise definition. Some definitions start as early as 10 and end as late as 30. The World Health Organization definition officially designates an adolescent as someone between the ages of 10 and 19.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peer group</span> Primary group of people with similar interests, age, background, or social status

In sociology, a peer group is both a social group and a primary group of people who have similar interests (homophily), age, background, or social status. The members of this group are likely to influence the person's beliefs and behaviour.

Social cognition is a topic within psychology that focuses on how people process, store, and apply information about other people and social situations. It focuses on the role that cognitive processes play in social interactions.

In the psychology of self, one's self-concept is a collection of beliefs about oneself. Generally, self-concept embodies the answer to the question "Who am I?".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attachment theory</span> Psychological ethological theory about human relationships

Attachment theory is a psychological and evolutionary framework concerning the relationships between humans, particularly the importance of early bonds between infants and their primary caregivers. Developed by psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby (1907–90), the theory posits that infants need to form a close relationship with at least one primary caregiver to ensure their survival, and to develop healthy social and emotional functioning.

Relational aggression, alternative aggression, or relational bullying is a type of aggression in which harm is caused by damaging someone's relationships or social status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Positive youth development</span>

Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. This is sought through a positivistic approach that emphasizes the inherent potential, strengths, and capabilities youth hold. PYD differs from other approaches within youth development work in that it rejects an emphasis on trying to correct what is considered wrong with children's behavior or development, renouncing a problem-oriented lens. Instead, it seeks to cultivate various personal assets and external contexts known to be important to human development.

Human behavioral ecology (HBE) or human evolutionary ecology applies the principles of evolutionary theory and optimization to the study of human behavioral and cultural diversity. HBE examines the adaptive design of traits, behaviors, and life histories of humans in an ecological context. One aim of modern human behavioral ecology is to determine how ecological and social factors influence and shape behavioral flexibility within and between human populations. Among other things, HBE attempts to explain variation in human behavior as adaptive solutions to the competing life-history demands of growth, development, reproduction, parental care, and mate acquisition. HBE overlaps with evolutionary psychology, human or cultural ecology, and decision theory. It is most prominent in disciplines such as anthropology and psychology where human evolution is considered relevant for a holistic understanding of human behavior.

Psychological resilience is the ability to cope mentally and emotionally with a crisis, or to return to pre-crisis status quickly.

Personality development encompasses the dynamic construction and deconstruction of integrative characteristics that distinguish an individual in terms of interpersonal behavioral traits. Personality development is ever-changing and subject to contextual factors and life-altering experiences. Personality development is also dimensional in description and subjective in nature. That is, personality development can be seen as a continuum varying in degrees of intensity and change. It is subjective in nature because its conceptualization is rooted in social norms of expected behavior, self-expression, and personal growth. The dominant viewpoint in personality psychology indicates that personality emerges early and continues to develop across one's lifespan. Adult personality traits are believed to have a basis in infant temperament, meaning that individual differences in disposition and behavior appear early in life, potentially before language of conscious self-representation develop. The Five Factor Model of personality maps onto the dimensions of childhood temperament. This suggests that individual differences in levels of the corresponding personality traits are present from young ages.

Ecological systems theory is a broad term used to capture the theoretical contributions of developmental psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner. Bronfenbrenner developed the foundations of the theory throughout his career, published a major statement of the theory in American Psychologist, articulated it in a series of propositions and hypotheses in his most cited book, The Ecology of Human Development and further developing it in The Bioecological Model of Human Development and later writings. A primary contribution of ecological systems theory was to systemically examine contextual variability in development processes. As the theory evolved, it placed increasing emphasis on the role of the developing person as an active agent in development and on understanding developmental process rather than "social addresses" as explanatory mechanisms.

Paul B. Baltes was a German psychologist whose broad scientific agenda was devoted to establishing and promoting the life-span orientation of human development. He was also a theorist in the field of the psychology of aging. He has been described by American Psychologist as one of the most influential developmental psychologists.

Socio-ecological models were developed to further the understanding of the dynamic interrelations among various personal and environmental factors. Socioecological models were introduced to urban studies by sociologists associated with the Chicago School after the First World War as a reaction to the narrow scope of most research conducted by developmental psychologists. These models bridge the gap between behavioral theories that focus on small settings and anthropological theories.

Positive deconstruction, in relation to Christian apologetics, is a term first used by Nick Pollard in Evangelism Made Slightly Less Difficult, to describe a methodology for engaging with worldviews in Christian apologetics. The process is one of deconstruction because it involves 'dismantling' the worldview in order to identify areas of conflict with a Christian worldview. It is positive because the intention is not to destroy a person's ideas and belief system, but to build on areas of agreement between the two worldviews in order to argue for the truth of the Christian worldview.

Some of the research that is conducted in the field of psychology is more "fundamental" than the research conducted in the applied psychological disciplines, and does not necessarily have a direct application. The subdisciplines within psychology that can be thought to reflect a basic-science orientation include biological psychology, cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, and so on. Research in these subdisciplines is characterized by methodological rigor. The concern of psychology as a basic science is in understanding the laws and processes that underlie behavior, cognition, and emotion. Psychology as a basic science provides a foundation for applied psychology. Applied psychology, by contrast, involves the application of psychological principles and theories yielded up by the basic psychological sciences; these applications are aimed at overcoming problems or promoting well-being in areas such as mental and physical health and education.

Information behavior is a field of information science research that seeks to understand the way people search for and use information in various contexts. It can include information seeking and information retrieval, but it also aims to understand why people seek information and how they use it. The term 'information behavior' was coined by Thomas D. Wilson in 1982 and sparked controversy upon its introduction. The term has now been adopted and Wilson's model of information behavior is widely cited in information behavior literature. In 2000, Wilson defined information behavior as "the totality of human behavior in relation to sources and channels of information".

Psychology encompasses a vast domain, and includes many different approaches to the study of mental processes and behavior. Below are the major areas of inquiry that taken together constitute psychology. A comprehensive list of the sub-fields and areas within psychology can be found at the list of psychology topics and list of psychology disciplines.

In psychology and related fields, future orientation is broadly defined as the extent to which an individual thinks about the future, anticipates future consequences, and plans ahead before acting. Across development, future orientation is particularly important during periods of major changes, for example during the transition from adolescence to adulthood, when youth must make choices about social groups, academic paths, as well as risky behaviors like drug and alcohol use, and sexual activity. Several models have been developed to describe the various factors that combine to impact future orientation.

Environmental sensitivity describes the ability of an individual to perceive and process information about their environment. It is a basic trait found in many organisms that enables an individual to adapt to different environmental conditions. Levels of Environmental Sensitivity often vary considerably from individual to individual, with some being more and others less sensitive to the same conditions. Such differences have been observed across many species such as pumpkinseed fish, zebra finches, mice, non-human primates and humans, indicating that there is a biological basis to differences in sensitivity.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gayman, Amy M.; Fraser-Thomas, Jessica; Baker, Joseph (2017-07-25). "Relational developmental systems metatheory: a conceptual framework to understand and promote older adults' involvement in sport". European Review of Aging and Physical Activity . 14 (1): 12. doi: 10.1186/s11556-017-0182-6 . ISSN   1861-6909. PMC   5526265 . PMID   28770013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Ettekal, Andrea Vest; Burkhard, Brian; Fremont, Ettya; Su, Shaobing (2017). "Relational Developmental Systems Metatheory". The SAGE Encyclopedia of Out-of-School Learning. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. pp. 650–651. doi:10.4135/9781483385198.n250. ISBN   9781483385211.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Overton, Willis F. (2013-01-01). "Chapter Two - Relationism and Relational Developmental Systems: A Paradigm for Developmental Science in the Post-Cartesian Era". In Lerner, Richard M.; Benson, Janette B. (eds.). Advances in Child Development and Behavior. Vol. 44. JAI. pp. 21–64. doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-397947-6.00002-7. ISBN   9780123979476. PMID   23834001.
  4. 1 2 3 Overton, Wills F. (July 2011). "Relational Developmental Systems and Quantitative Behavior Genetics: Alternative or Parallel Methodologies?". Research in Human Development . 8 (3–4): 258–263. doi:10.1080/15427609.2011.634289.
  5. 1 2 Callina, Kristina Schmid; Lerner, Richard M. (2013). "Relational Developmental Systems Theories and the Ecological Validity of Experimental Designs". Human Development . 56 (6): 372–380. doi: 10.1159/000357179 . ISSN   0018-716X.
  6. ↑ "Cycles of Contingency". MIT Press. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Lerner, Richard M.; Brindis, Claire D.; Batanova, Milena; Blum, Robert Wm. (2018), Halfon, Neal; Forrest, Christopher B.; Lerner, Richard M.; Faustman, Elaine M. (eds.), "Adolescent Health Development: A Relational Developmental Systems Perspective", Handbook of Life Course Health Development, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 109–121, doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-47143-3_6 , ISBN   978-3-319-47143-3 , retrieved 2024-03-16
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "PDF | Relational developmental systems theories of Positive Youth Development: Methodological issues and implications. | ID: 2z10x214h | Tufts Digital Library". dl.tufts.edu. Retrieved 2024-03-19.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Geldhof, G. John; Bowers, Edmond P.; Lerner, Richard M. (2013-01-01). "Special Section Introduction: Thriving in Context: Findings from the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development". Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 42 (1): 1–5. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9855-7. ISSN   1573-6601.
  10. 1 2 Lerner, Richard M.; Lerner, Jacqueline V.; Lewin-Bizan, Selva; Bowers, Edmond P.; Boyd, Michelle J.; Mueller, Megan Kiely; Schmid, Kristina L.; Napolitano, Christopher M. (2011-09-01). "Positive Youth Development: Processes, Programs, and Problematics" (PDF). Journal of Youth Development. 6 (3): 38–62. doi:10.5195/jyd.2011.174. ISSN   2325-4017.
  11. ↑ Henrich, Joseph (2016). A PUZZLING PRIMATE. In The Secret of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter (pp. 1–7). Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvc77f0d.4
  12. ↑ Henrich, Joseph (2016). HOW TO MAKE A CULTURAL SPECIES. In The Secret of Our Success: How Culture Is Driving Human Evolution, Domesticating Our Species, and Making Us Smarter (pp. 34–53). Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvc77f0d.7
  13. ↑ Bateson, Patrick; Gluckman, Peter (2012). "Plasticity and robustness in development and evolution". International Journal of Epidemiology. 41 (1): 219–223. doi:10.1093/ije/dyr240. ISSN   1464-3685. PMID   22422456 – via Oxford Academic.
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