Probabilistic epigenesis

The notion that phenotypic traits, including behavior, can be predetermined has slowly given way in biology and psychology over the last two decades. This shift in thinking is due in large part to the growing evidence for the fundamental role of developmental processes in the generation of the stability and variations in phenotype that researchers in developmental and evolutionary sciences seek to understand. Here I review the tenets of a metatheoretical model of development called probabilistic epigenesis (PE) and explore its implications for furthering our understanding of developmental and evolutionary processes. The PE framework emphasizes the reciprocity of influences within and between levels of an organism's developmental manifold (genetic activity, neural activity, behavior, and the physical, social, and cultural influences of the external environment) and the ubiquity of gene-environment interaction in the realization of all phenotypes.     

Individuals and populations: How biology's theory and data have interfered with the integration of development and evolution

Research programs in quantitative behavior genetics and evolutionary psychology have contributed to the widespread belief that some psychological characteristics can be “inherited” via genetic mechanisms. In fact, molecular and developmental biologists have concluded that while genetic factors contribute to the development of all of our traits, non-genetic factors always do too, and in ways that make them no less important than genetic factors. This insight demands a reworking of the Modern Evolutionary Synthesis, a theory that defined evolution as a process involving changes in the frequencies of genes in populations, and that envisioned no role for experiential factors now known to play essential roles in adaptive trait development. Furthermore, since evolution has been taken to be strictly a population-level phenomenon while development affects individuals, the two have been understood to require different levels of analysis; this understanding has given rise to incompatible research programs. This state of affairs is untenable because development and evolution mutually influence one another in fundamental ways, several of which are detailed in this article. The balance of this paper considers the conceptual problem that has arisen because understandings generated by developmental scientists cannot be enhanced by studies designed merely to account for variation across populations. Because the theoretical conceptions and methodological tools used to study development and evolution have produced non-corresponding sets of information about these closely related and mutually influential biological processes, these conceptions and tools are interfering with the establishment of a unified theory of biology that encompasses both phenomena.     

Continuities and Discontinuities in Self-Regulatory and Self-Evaluative Processes: A Developmental Theory Relating Self and Affect

This article presents a developmental theory of the relation between self and affect. Self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) is used as a framework for considering developmental and individual differences in children's self-concepts, self-regulation, and self-evaluation. Developmental changes in children's representational capacities are described that produce developmental shifts in this self-system. Different modes of caretaker-child interaction are distinguished in terms of how features of the interaction impact psychologically on the child. The implications of these differences for children's self-system and emotional/behavioral vulnerabilities are discussed. The development of self-regulatory and self-evaluative processes are distinguished with respect to developmental continuities and discontinuities. Patterns of sex differences in socialization, conduct, and emotional problems are described to exemplify the need for distinguishing these two processes developmentally. The question is raised whether children can be socialized to maximize the positive conduct valued by society and the positive self-regard valued by individuals.     

Précis of Evolution in Four Dimensions

In his theory of evolution, Darwin recognized that the conditions of life play a role in the generation of hereditary variations, as well as in their selection. However, as evolutionary theory was developed further, heredity became identified with genetics, and variation was seen in terms of combinations of randomly generated gene mutations. We argue that this view is now changing, because it is clear that a notion of hereditary variation that is based solely on randomly varying genes that are unaffected by developmental conditions is an inadequate basis for evolutionary theories. Such a view not only fails to provide satisfying explanations of many evolutionary phenomena, it also makes assumptions that are not consistent with the data that are emerging from disciplines ranging from molecular biology to cultural studies. These data show that the genome is far more responsive to the environment than previously thought, and that not all transmissible variation is underlain by genetic differences. In Evolution in Four Dimensions (2005) we identify four types of inheritance (genetic, epigenetic, behavioral, and symbol-based), each of which can provide variations on which natural selection will act. Some of these variations arise in response to developmental conditions, so there are Lamarckian aspects to evolution. We argue that a better insight into evolutionary processes will result from recognizing that transmitted variations that are not based on DNA differences have played a role. This is particularly true for understanding the evolution of human behavior, where all four dimensions of heredity have been important.     

进化发展心理学：发展中的人类本性

进化发展心理学研究社会能力与认知能力发展背后的基因与环境机制,以及基因与环境机制在特定社会文化中的表现。进化发展心理学探讨的主要问题与设计到的主要概念包括：（1）自然选择在毕生发展的早期阶段发挥作用;（2）进化发展心理学特别重视适应在婴儿期及儿童期发展中的作用;（3）儿童期的延长有助于儿童学习人类社会的复杂性;（4）发展背景的方法可以用来理解成人外显行为的进化起源;（5）基因与环境因素相互影响约束个体发展;（6）认知能力与行为活动敏感于早期环境,但二者发展也具有可塑性     

Developmental-behavioral initiation of evolutionary change

The traditional approach to evolutionary psychology relies entirely on natural selection as the cause of the evolution of adaptations. Exclusive reliance on natural selection overlooks the fact that changes in development are a necessary prerequisite for evolutionary change. These developmental changes provide the material for natural selection to work on. In the neo-Darwinian scenario, the mechanisms of evolution are mutation or genetic recombination, selection, migration, and eventual reproductive isolation. In the spirit of evolutionary pluralism, the author describes a different 3-stage scenario in which migration (the invasion of new niches or habitats) may occur without mutation or genetic recombination and selection first initiating a change in genes or gene frequencies.     

The Brain and Development of Function

Neurobiological and functional development are discontinuous. The interrelationships between identifiable morphological processes and the developmental course of functional display are astonishingly weak. One of the first persons who tried to find a solution for this problem was McGraw. This paper takes up some of her ideas and develops them in the light of present knowledge. A plea is made for variability as the basic characteristic of normal development. Variability results from the fact that the normal brain is an active organ system which handles stimulations voluntarily. The brain's action/reaction ratio determines its functional integrity. During development variability has two aspects. One denotes the ability to construct pluriform strategies—primary variability—and the second the ability to select the proper strategy in any particular situation—adaptive variability. A damaged nervous system is characterized by a shift of the action/reaction ratio to the reactive side resulting in a decrease of variability and an inability to deal adequately with environmental changes. Issues like variations between and within individual infants and regressions of functional ability as features of normal—neurobiological—development were already recognized by McGraw as signs of nature/nurture interaction at a time in which neurobehavioral development was still considered to be a strictly maturational process. Her interpretation of behavioral development in terms of neurobiological processes stands at the cradle of modern insight.     

Primary and secondard process in the context of cerebral hemispheric specialization

Increasing knowledge of human cerebral hemispheric specialization suggests a relationship between the different formal modes of thinking attributed to the two hemispheres and those psychoanalysis has traditionally assigned to primary (similar to recessive hemispheric) and secondary (similar to dominant hemispheric) processes. The fact of a lifelong capability at the neurophysiological level for coequal, simultaneous registration and organization of experience in these different cognitive modes allows primary process to be conceptualized in developmental terms. As the first organizing mode of infantile development, it shapes the primitive content of the dynamic unconscious. Thereafter, it can be viewed as coexistent and commingled with secondary process in dynamic tension, complementarity, and developing complexity. Observations from normal behavior, current research, and the functioning of the psychoanalyst support this thesis and reinforce an emerging viewpoint in contemporary psychoanalysis that primary processes are not confined to archaic levels but are open to growth and developmental integration into the complete range of ego functions.     

A Unifying Principle Of Biological And Cultural Evolution And Its Implications For The Future

In this article I analyze a regular pattern in the developmental and evolutionary processes, formed by a gradual shortening of developmental stages. This shortening is the expected result of a selection process, in the biological as well as in the cultural evolutionary process. Biology and culture are in this way unified by a common mechanism. A mathematical analysis further indicates a vital condition for a continued progress of human culture, especially for a continued progressive scientific evolution, implying continued shortening of mental developmental stages by means of enhanced education.     

The Primary Process: Bridges to Interdisciplinary Studies of Mind

ABSTRACT

Psychoanalytic theory is one of the world’s grand theories. Not merely clinical, psychoanalytic general theory introduces two momentous contributions. One, the key role of primary processes, is the subject of this issue and this article. Here I maintain that primary processes are a-rational, not irrational, hence not pathological, but developmental, and prevalent also in nonhuman animals. I review empirical evidence supporting the existence of such primary process mentation. Brief accounts are then given of several interdisciplinary bridges to mind and behavior studies based on this expanded view of a-rational primary processes. Interdisciplinary areas discussed range from the biological (conditioning and evolutionary considerations) to vexing issues in the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of action (agency and belief).     

Sibling differentiation, identity development, and the lateral dimension of psychic life

The lateral dimension of psychic life, lived through relationships with siblings and their substitutes, is structured around a distinct psychic challenge: to find one's unique place in a world of similar others. Like the challenge that structures the vertical parent-child dimension, the lateral challenge is fraught with conflict and ambivalence; its resolution imbues psychic structure. That resolution may be accomplished through a process of differentiation, an active and unconscious process of identity development by which a child amplifies differences with siblings and minimizes similarities. Differentiation from siblings serves to mitigate interpersonal rivalry with them and to ease internal conflict associated with the lateral dimension. Three clinical examples are offered to illustrate the operation of sibling differentiation and its costs, particularly in terms of constricted identity and attenuated relationships with siblings and peers. Differentiation as a process of becoming what the other is not has been eclipsed by identification in psychoanalytic theories of identity development. Yet differentiation is a common strategy for resolving the primary rivalries and conflicts of the lateral dimension, and has unique developmental and clinical implications.     

发展级联:解释个体纵向发展的新视角

发展级联(developmental cascades)近年来已成为发展心理学追踪研究中一种重要的理论视角。其基本观点是:人的发展过程是一个诸多发展特征不断产生级联效应的过程,某个时间点上个体特征的发展状况会对该特征的后续发展产生影响,并影响其他领域的发展,进而影响到个体的整个发展进程。在发展级联的理论观点基础上形成的相关方法学模型,为探究发展系统中多个因素之间的纵向关联提供了方法学依据与指导。本文介绍了发展级联的相关概念、理论基础、主要观点以及相关的方法学问题,并对其在实证研究中的应用进行了展望。     

Developmental dynamics and contemporary evolutionary psychology: status quo or irreconcilable views? Reply to Bjorklund (2003), Krebs (2003), Buss and Reeve (2003), Crawford (2003), and Tooby et Al. (2003)

The authors address commentaries by D. F. Bjorklund (2003); D. M. Buss and H. K. Reeve (2003); C. B. Crawford (2003); D. L. Krebs (2003); and J. Tooby, L. Cosmides, and H. C. Barrett (2003) on their analysis of the underlying assumptions of contemporary evolutionary psychology (R. Lickliter & H. Honeycutt, 2003). The authors argue that evolutionary psychology currently offers no coherent framework for how to integrate genetic, environmental, and experiential factors into a theory of behavioral or cognitive phenotypes. The authors propose that this absence is due to a lack of developmental analysis in the major works of evolutionary psychology, resulting in an almost exclusive focus on adaptationist accounts of evolution by natural selection rather than a more broad-based focus on the process and products of evolution by epigenetic developmental dynamics.     

Irrational thinking in humans: An evolutionary proposal for Ellis' genetic postulate

An evolutionary proposal is outlined for Ellis' genetic postulate for irrational thinking in the human species. Evolutionary bases are explored for demanding and grandiose thought constructs (cognitive products) which are either learned and/or created during one's lifetime due to a genetic potential to think irrationally (cognitive processes). Demandingness and grandiosity are emphasized because they serve as primary cognitive tendencies in rational-emotive therapy (RET) which appear to drive most other irrational belief systems. The main postulate is that a genetic potential to think irrationally has evolved and is genetically coded in humans because it facilitated adaptive behavioral and emotional responses as a means of securing critical advantages in early childhood development, increased reproductive success, and basic survival. Sociobiological and Darwinian principles are applied to support this hypothesis.William J. Ruth, Ph.D., Staff Psychologist and Practicum Supervisor, Institute for Rational-Emotive Therapy, New York City; School Psychologist, Board of Cooperative Educational Services, Westchester, New York; Private Practice, Hartsdale, New York.     

Discussion of Slade “Imagining Fear”

This discussion addresses the importance of fear as a key feature of attachment, examining some of the implications of Slade’s argument both for clinical work and for understanding of developmental process. The discussion also is focused on the kinds of genetic and evolutionary theories most useful in thinking about interactive effects, namely epigenetics, the study of genes in context. Finally the discussion identifies relational theory, which focuses on fear as an implicit dimension of attachment. Bromberg’s work on dissociation is cited as an example of work in which fear plays a prominent role.     

Parent‐ and child‐driven effects during the transition to adolescence: a longitudinal,genetic analysis of the home environment

Theoretical models of child development typically consider the home environment as a product of bidirectional effects, with parent‐ and child‐driven processes operating interdependently. However, the developmental structure of these processes during the transition from childhood to adolescence has not been well studied. In this study we used longitudinal genetic analyses of data from 6646 UK‐representative twin pairs (aged 9–16 years) to investigate stability and change in parenting and household chaos in the context of parent–child bidirectional effects. Stability in the home environment was modest, arising mainly from parent‐driven processes and family‐wide influences. In contrast, change over time was more influenced by child‐driven processes, indicated by significant age‐specific genetic influences. Interpretations of these results and their implications for researchers are discussed.     

Dynamic instabilities as mechanisms for emergence

That competences may emerge given appropriate environmental and behavioral context is a long-standing theme in developmental research. Work in the motor domain, but also in cognitive development, has made it possible to transform this idea into a mechanistic account closely linked to empirical evidence. In dynamic systems thinking, such capacities as keeping a motor goal in mind, remembering a location, or resisting a motor habit, are all understood in terms of the generation of stable patterns of neuronal activation. These may be input-driven, but also be stabilized by interactions within neuronal representations. A key theoretical insight is that whether a particular pattern of activation is stable or not is not determined by any single factor, learning process, or structural parameter. Instead, ongoing activity, recent activation history, current input, all may affect when a particular dynamic regime is reachable. In spite of such broad interdependence, sharp transitions may characterize the onset of a skill in any given context. Dynamic instabilities are the mechanistic basis for this phenomenon and thus form the basis for understanding development in terms of emergence. We exemplify the concepts of instability and emergence around the phenomenon of infant perseverative reaching and discuss implications for identifying key markers of development and their link to neuronal processes.     

Individual development and evolution: experiential canalization of self-regulation

In this article, we contrast evolutionary and psychobiological models of individual development to address the idea that individual development occurring in prototypically risky and unsupportive environments can be understood as adaptation. We question traditional evolutionary explanations of individual development, calling on the principle of probabilistic epigenesis to suggest that individual development resulting from the combined activity of genes and environments is best understood to precede rather than follow from evolutionary change. Specifically, we focus on the ways in which experience shapes the development of stress response physiology, with implications for individual development and intergenerational transmission of reactive, as opposed to reflective, phenotypes. In doing so, we describe results from several analyses conducted with a longitudinal data set of 1,292 children and their primary caregivers followed from birth. Our results indicate that the effects of poverty on stress response physiology and on the development of the self-regulation of behavior represent instances of the experiential canalization of development with implications for understanding the genesis and "adaptiveness" of risk behavior.