Who put the self in self-organization? A clarification of terms and concepts for developmental psychopathology

Author(s): Granic, I.

Journal/Book: Dev Psychopathol. 1999; 11: 40 West 20Th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA. Cambridge Univ Press. 365-374.

Abstract: The term self-organization has at least two meanings for developmental psychopathologists: the spontaneous emergence of order in developing systems and the consolidation of that part of the person called the self. The first meaning is shared across the sciences at large, and it denotes a general model of change and growth in complex systems. We review principles of self-organization from the natural sciences and discuss their application to the study of human development. We then suggest possible sources and consequences of terminological confusion in developmental psychology and offer some potential resolutions. The ''self'' in self-organization seems a special case of this confusion, and it can be addressed by modeling the self as both autonomous agent and emergent form. We outline preliminary directions for this modeling and then go on to a more general discussion of how principles of self-organization can help bring developmental psychopathology closer to its goals.

Note: Article Lewis MD, Univ Toronto, Dept Human Dev & Appl Psychol, OISE, 252 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1V6, CANADA

Keyword(s): MODEL

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