Human Development in the Twenty-First Century Visionary Ideas from Systems Scientists

How do human beings develop and function in relation to the human and natural world? The science of dynamic systems focuses on connections and relationships between people rather than on individual actions alone. This 2007 collection of engaging, non-technical essays, written by dynamic systems scientists in psychology, biology, anthropology, education, and sociology, challenges us to consider novel ways to enhance human development worldwide in the face of poverty, violence, neglect, disease and crises in our families. Focusing specifically on how to think about interventions and policies that will benefit human development from a systems perspective, this book brings research into the realm of application and policy. The authors use real-life examples to propose changes in clinical, educational and policy-making practices that will be of interest to professionals and practitioners alike.

Preface: the dynamic systems approach to fostering human development Alan Fogel, Barbara J. King and Stuart G. Shanker; Part I. Dynamic Relationships between Genetics and Environments: 1. Developmental dynamics: the new view from the life sciences Robert Lickliter; 2. Genes, experience and behaviour Timothy D. Johnston; 3. How dynamic systems have changed our minds Ken Richardson; 4. Individual development as a system of coactions: implications for research and policy Gilbert Gottlieb and Carolyn Tucker Halpern; 5. Gene-environment interactions and inter-individual differences in rhesus monkey behavioral and biological development Stephen J. Suomi; Part II. The Dynamic System of the Child in the Family: 6. Relationships that support human development Alan Fogel; 7. The impact of emotions and the emotional impact of a child's first words Stuart G. Shanker; 8. Emotional habits in brain and behaviour: a window on personality development Marc D. Lewis; 9. Creating family love: an evolutionary perspective Barbara J. King; Part III. The Dynamic System of the Child in Social and Physical Environment: 10. The tempest: anthropology and human development Peter Gow; 11. An anthropology of human development: what difference does it make? Christina Toren; 12. The social child Tim Ingold; 13. Learning about human development from a study of educational failure Gillian Evans; 14. Dynamic views of education Lynette Friedrich Cofer; 15. Embodied communication in non-human animals Barbara Smuts; 16. Children in the living world: why animals matter for children's development Gail F. Melson; Part IV. Dynamic Systems Approaches to Mental Health: 17. A dynamic developmental model of mental health and mental illness Stanley I. Greenspan; 18. Dyadic microanalysis of mother–infant communication informs clinical practice Beatrice Beebe and Joseph Jaffe; 19. Current problems of Japanese youth: some possible pathways for alleviating these problems from the perspective of dynamic systems theory Alan Fogel and Masatoshi Kawai; 20. A different way to help George Downing; 21. Why do siblings often turn out very differently? Michael E. Kerr; 22. A dynamic systems approach to understanding family and peer relationships: implications for effective interventions with aggressive youth Isabela Granic; 23. Prenatal substance exposure and human development Daniel S. Messinger and Barry M. Lester; Part V. Conclusions and Outlook: 24. Dynamic systems methods for the life sciences Alan Fogel, Stanley Greenspan, Barbara J. King, Robert Lickliter, Pedro Reygadas, Stuart G. Shanker and Christina Toren.

A dynamic group of systems scientists challenges us to reconsider how to enhance human development worldwide. The engaging, non-technical essays in this 2007 collection propose ways to deal with poverty, violence, neglect, disease and crises in our families and will be of interest to professionals and practitioners alike.