Toward a Process Approach in Psychology

Paul van Geert is Emeritus Professor of developmental psychology at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He is considered a pioneer in the application of the (complex) dynamic systems approach to a broad range of developmental areas, including cognitive and early language development, second language acquisition, learning-teaching processes, and educational processes. Naomi de Ruiter is a developmental psychologist and an Assistant Professor at University College Groningen, the Netherlands. In her research, she applies a (complex) dynamic systems approach to the study of self and identity, and to classroom interactions.

• Introduction; 1. Change, the final frontier; 2. A (selected) foundation for a process approach; 3. The goal of Socrates; 4. Esteeming entities; 5. A person acting amongst persons; 6. Cliffhangers and utilitarian infants; 7. Causes, kings and interventions; 8. (Compl)explanation and King Alfonso's lament; 9. What's in a name?; 10. (Un)certainties; 11. Troubled waters of Hercalitus' river?; 12. Psychological science as a complex dynamic system.

'Contemporary psychology has supplemented its traditional cabinet of curiosities, where inner substances such as 'intelligence' and 'extraversion' have long been on display, with the discovery of several others we didn't know we have. Virtuous substances such as 'self-esteem', 'grit', and 'self-compassion' are now exhibited alongside more noxious substances, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or Borderline Personality Disorder. For those who might, at this point, feel there are just too many inner substances to keep track of, Paul van Geert and Naomi de Ruiter offer some relief. They argue that many research programs in psychology get caught up in their own dubious assumptions, neglecting the vicissitudes of individual lives as lived over time. With learning and humor, ranging from Ancient Greece to Monty Python, they invite readers to contemplate a less rigid, more dynamic and process-oriented research agenda in psychology.' Paul Harris, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Education, Harvard University, USA