Systems Theory
Adapted from the article originally written by Elizabeth Shedd
for the Cabrera's, Cornell University, System Thinking in Public Affairs Course
Summary and Examples
Developmental Systems Theory (DST) expands on the systems work amongst biologists, psychologists, and those in the field of developmental psychobiology. [5] “It is intended to facilitate the study of interactions between the many factors that influence development.” [1]
DST addresses development, heredity, and evolution, and has six major themes.
- Joint determination by multiple causes: Individuals' traits “are produced by the interaction of many developmental resources.” [2] Genetics play a role in development but is not to be singled out as the primary influencer in
- Context sensitivity and contingency: One “cause” of change cannot be singled out: since everything is responding to the world around it, we should look at how it interacts/reacts with its world, before citing it as the cause for
- Extended inheritance: “An organism inherits a wide range of resources that interact to construct that organism's life cycle.” [2] Someone isn't just a child born with a genetic predisposition to X disease, she was a child with a genetic predisposition to X who was also influenced by myriad factors around
- Development as construction: Traits are not “transmitted to offspring. Instead, traits are made in development...[T]he practice of changing one variable at a time while holding others constant is important, but it is incomplete.” [2]
- Distributed control: Development is not a dictatorship: no one factor solely controls the whole's
- Evolution as construction: Organism-environment systems change over time: “evolutionary change is the result of interactions in which outcomes are codetermined, or co-constructed,by populations and environments with their own intricately interrelated histories and characteristics.” [2]
DST can be further distilled into two core concepts:
- Epigenesis: “development unfolds and is not performed,” and [4]
- Developmental dynamics: “The interaction out of which the organism develops is not one, as is so often said, between heredity and environment. It is between organism and environment...and the organism is different at each stage of its development” [4]
An Example of Developmental Systems interactivity [3]
Its themes offer a framework with which we can understand the field of evolutionary biology, and a perspective that could be beneficial to understanding any multi-party system dynamic: families, organizations, businesses, and communities. Its lessons can provide guidance in public policymaking, including social programs, economic policies, and political strategy.
Strengths
Connects complementary fields in unexpected ways Is adaptable to criticism and change
Weaknesses
Lacks deep knowledge of evolutionary science [5] Too vague to be applicable and useful. [6]
Summary
DST's possible benefits should be evaluated within the framework it offers: we see the lessons as they could be seen from a variety of perspectives. While it connects disparate fields, that, to the serious scientific community, it may seem disjointed and lacking focus. To be its most useful, someone should be trained not just in DST, but in the issue at hand and the needs and expectations of the intended audience.
Citations and Further Reading
- Griffiths, P. & Gray, R. Biol Philos (2005) 20: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10539-004-0758-1
- Oyama, S. (n.d.). Cycles of Contingency. Retrieved from https://teoriaevolutiva.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/oyama-et-al-2001-cycles-of-contingency.pdf
- Griffiths, P. E., & Tabery, J. G. (1970, January 1). Developmental systems theory: what does it explain, and how does it explain it? - Semantic Retrieved from https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Developmental-systems-theory:-what-d oes-it-explain,-Griffiths-Tabery/728e4944f818c9f7e25d8e381076887c28c0929 3
- Griffiths, P. E., & Tabery, J. G. (1970, January 1). Developmental systems theory: what does it explain, and how does it explain it? - Semantic Retrieved from https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Developmental-systems-theory:-what-d oes-it-explain,-Griffiths-Tabery/728e4944f818c9f7e25d8e381076887c28c0929 3
- Barberousse, A., Merlin, F., & Pradeu, T. (2010). Introduction: Reassessing Developmental Systems Theory. Biological Theory, 5(3), 199–201. doi: 10.1162/biot_e_00046
- Griffiths, P., & Stotz, K. (n.d.). Developmental Systems Theory as a Process Theory. Retrieved from https://oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780198779636.001.000 1/oso-9780198779636-chapter-11?print=pdf