Handbook of Developmental Systems Theory and Methodology

Developmental systems theory provides powerful tools for predicting complex, dynamic interactions among biological and environmental processes in human behavior and health. This groundbreaking handbook provides a roadmap for integrating key concepts of developmental systems theory (such as self-organization, reciprocal dynamic interaction, and probabilistic epigenesis) and simulation models (connectionist and agent-based models) with advanced dynamic modeling approaches for testing these theories and models. Internationally renowned developmental science scholars present innovations in research design, measurement, and analysis that offer new means of generating evidence-based decisions to optimize the course of health and positive functioning across the life span. Topics include epigenetic development and evolution; the relationship between neural systems growth and psychological development; the role of family environments in shaping children's cognitive skills and associated adult outcomes, and more.

I. Introduction1. Developmental Systems Theory and Methodology: A View of the Issues, Peter C. M. Molenaar, Richard M. Lerner, and Karl M. NewellII. Relational Developmental Systems Theory2. Relational Developmental Systems and Developmental Science: A Focus on Methodology, Willis F. Overton3. Relational Developmental Systems Theories of Positive Youth Development: Methodological Issues and Implications, G. John Geldhof, Edmond P. Bowers, Sara K. Johnson, Rachel Hershberg, Lacey Hilliard, Jacqueline V. Lerner, and Richard M. Lerner4. Developmental Systems Science: Extending Developmental Science with Systems Science Methodologies, Jennifer Brown Urban, Nathaniel Osgood, Janet Okamoto, Patricia Mabry, and Kristen Hassmiller LichIII. Epigenetic Development and Evolution5. Epigenetics and Generative Dynamics: How Development Directs Evolution, Mae-Wan Ho6. Dynamical Systems, the Epigenetic Landscape, and Punctuated Equilibria, Peter T. Saunders    IV. Neural Networks and Development7. Nonlinear Epigenetic Variance in Developmental Processes, Maartje E. J. Raijmakers, Kees Jan Kan, Annemie Ploeger, and Han L. J. van der Maas8. Dynamical Systems Thinking: From Metaphor to Neural Theory, Gregor SchönerV. Dynamics of Development9. Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation: The Linear Case, Flavio Cunha and James J. Heckman10. Dynamics of Development: A Complex Systems Approach, Han L. J. van der Maas, Kees Jan Kan, Abe Hofman, and Maartje E. J. Raijmakers11. Dynamic Development of Brain and Behavior, Kurt W. Fischer and Paul van Geert12. Dynamics of Motor Learning and Development across the Life Span, Karl M. Newell and Yeou-Teh LiuVI. Dynamics of Social Interaction13. Differential Equations for Evaluating Theoretical Models of Dyadic Interactions, Emilio Ferrer and Joel Steele14. A Differential Equations Model for the Ovarian Hormone Cycle, Steven M. Boker, Michael C. Neale, and Kelly L. KlumpVII. Nonlinear Dynamical Models of Development15. A Regimen-Switching Longitudinal Model of Alcohol Lapse-Relapse, Sy-Miin Chow, Katie Witkiewitz, Raoul Grasman, R. Shane Hutton, and Stephen A. MaistoVIII. Nonergodic Developmental Systems16. Idiographic Applications: Issues of Ergodicity and Generalizability, Wayne F. Velicer, Steven F. Babbin, and Richard Palumbo17. New Trends in the Inductive Use of Relational Developmental Systems Theory: Ergodicity, Nonstationarity, and Heterogeneity, Peter C. M. Molenaar and John R. NesselroadeIX. Complex Systems Model in Human Development: Reevaluation and Future Directions18. The Landscape of Inductive Developmental Systems, Phillip K. Wood

Peter C. M. Molenaar, PhD, is Distinguished Professor of Human Development and Psychology at The Pennsylvania State University. His research focuses on the development, testing, and application of person-centered analysis techniques; psychophysiological research; and psychological process modeling. The recipient of the 2013 Sells Award for Distinguished Multivariate Research from the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology, Dr. Molenaar has also received the Pauline Schmitt Russell Distinguished Research Career Award from Penn State and the Aston-Gottesman Award from the University of Virginia. Richard M. Lerner, PhD, is the Bergstrom Chair in Applied Developmental Science and Director of the Institute for Applied Research in Youth Development at Tufts University. Dr. Lerner's research focuses on the relations between life-span human development and social change, and the relations between adolescents and their peers, families, schools, and communities. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Psychological Association (APA), and the Association for Psychological Science, and is a recipient of the Urie Bronfenbrenner Award for Lifetime Contribution to Developmental Psychology in the Service of Science and Society from Division 7 of the APA. Karl M. Newell, PhD, is the Marie Underhill Noll Chair of Human Performance and Professor of Kinesiology and Biobehavioral Health at Penn State. His research focuses on the coordination, control, and skill of normal and abnormal human movement across the life span; developmental disabilities and motor skills; and the influence of drugs and exercise on movement control. Dr. Newell was named an Alliance Scholar by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance, and is a recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award from the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity.