Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences

, Volume 16, Issue 4, pp 571–584 | Cite as

From stability to norm transformation: lessons about resilience, for development, from ecology

Article
First Online:
  • 129 Downloads

Abstract

Phenomenologists recognize the insights to be gained from looking at cognitive development. But our understanding of development, in turn, can be illuminated by ideas from ecology. Developmental studies in psychology and biology share with ecosystem ecology a concern with stability—with how things stay the same despite changes in the surrounding conditions, and how processes of change lead reliably to similar outcomes despite environmental variability. Recently, both ecologists and psychologists have reconsidered their earlier assumptions about the sources of stability, and explored new conceptions of resilience: a system’s ability to “bounce back” from a disturbance, to absorb change without harm, or to overcome obstacles to achieve good adaptive functioning. Developmental biologists, meanwhile, have explored related issues through conceptions of developmental plasticity and canalization. Distinct theoretical frameworks for resilience have emerged in these different fields, yet the phenomena that they treat are closely intertwined. Ecological work on resilience focuses on relationships between resilience, chaotic change, and adaptive function across multiple scales of nested systems, and implications for intervention or management. With some assistance from developmental biology, this body of work offers rich theoretical resources and important lessons for related thinking about cognitive development.

Keywords

Resilience Stability Ecology Developmental psychology Developmental biology Fragility Vulnerability 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Allmark, P., Bhanbhro, S., & Chrisp, T. (2014). An argument against the focus on community resilience in public health. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Anthony, E. J. (1974). The syndrome of the psychologically invulnerable child. In E. J. Anthony & C. Koupernik (Eds.), The child in his family: Children at psychiatric risk. Oxford: Wiley.Google Scholar
  3. Anthony, E. J., & Cohler, B. J. (1987). The invulnerable child. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
  4. Barker, G. (2008). Biological levers and extended adaptationism. Biology and Philosophy, 23(1), 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Bradshaw, A. D. (1965). Evolutionary significance of phenotypic plasticity in plants. Advances in Genetics, 13(1), 115–155.Google Scholar
  6. Brand, F. S., & Jax, K. (2007). Focusing the meaning(s) of resilience: Resilience as a descriptive concept and a boundary object. Ecology and Society, 12(1), 23–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
  8. Carpenter, S., Walker, B., Anderies, J. M., & Abel, N. (2001). From metaphor to measurement: Resilience of what to what? Ecosystems, 4(8), 765–781.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 8(04), 597–600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Clements, F. E. (1916). Plant succession: An analysis of the development of vegetation (Vol. 242). Washington: Carnegie Institution.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Day, R. L., Laland, K. N., & Odling-Smee, F. J. (2003). Rethinking adaptation: The niche-construction perspective. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 46(1), 80–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Desjardins, E., Barker, G., Lindo, Z., Dieleman, C., & Dussault, A. (2015). Promoting resilience. Quarterly Review of Biology, 90(2), 147–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Draganski, B., Gaser, C., Busch, V., Schuierer, G., Bogdahn, U., & May, A. (2004). Neuroplasticity: Changes in grey matter induced by training. Nature, 427(6972), 311–312.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  14. Ellis, B. J., Del Giudice, M., Dishion, T. J., Figueredo, A. J., Gray, P., Griskevicius, V., et al. (2012). The evolutionary basis of risky adolescent behavior: Implications for science, policy, and practice. Developmental Psychology, 48(3), 598–623.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Erikson, E. H. (1950). Childhood and society. New York: Stonton.Google Scholar
  16. Folke, C. (2006). Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses. Global Environmental Change, 16(3), 253–267. doi: 10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2006.04.002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Gallopín, G. C. (2002). Planning for resilience: Scenarios, surprises and branch points. In L. Gunderson & C. S. Holling (Eds.), Panarchy: Understanding transformations in human and natural systems (pp. 361–392). Washington: Island Press.Google Scholar
  18. Gunderson, L. H., & Holling, C. S. (2002). Panarchy: Understanding transformations in systems of humans and nature. Washington: Island Press.Google Scholar
  19. Holling, C. S. (1973). Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annual review of ecology and systematics, 4(1), 1-23.Google Scholar
  20. Holling, C. S. (1996). Engineering resilience versus ecological resilience. In P. C. Schulze (Ed.), Engineering within ecological constraints (pp. 51–66). Washington: National Academy Press.Google Scholar
  21. Holling, C. S. (2001). Understanding the complexity of economic, ecological, and social systems. Ecosystems, 4(5), 390–405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Holling, C. S., & Gunderson, L. H. (2002). Resilience and adaptive cycles. In L. Gunderson & C. S. Holling (Eds.), Panarchy: Understanding transformations in human and natural systems (pp. 25–62). Washington: Island Press.Google Scholar
  23. Holling, C. S., & Meffe, G. K. (1996). Command and control and the pathology of natural resource management. Conservation Biology, 10(2), 328–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  24. Kirmayer, L. J., Sehdev, M., Whitley, R., Dandeneau, S. F., & Isaac, C. (2009). Community resilience: Models, metaphors and measures. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 5(1), 62–117.Google Scholar
  25. Levin, S. A. (1998). Ecosystems and the biosphere as complex adaptive systems. Ecosystems, 1(5), 431–436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Levins, R. (1968). Evolution in changing environments: Some theoretical explorations (Vol. 2). Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
  27. Luthar, S. S. (2003). Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Luthar, S. S., Cicchetti, D., & Becker, B. (2000). The construct of resilience: A critical evaluation and guidelines for future work. Child Development, 71(3), 543–562.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Mageau, M. T., Costanza, R., & Ulanowicz, R. E. (1995). The development and initial testing of a quantitative assessment of ecosystem health. Health, 1(4), 201–213.Google Scholar
  30. Masten, A. S. (2001). Ordinary magic: Resilience processes in development. American Psychologist, 56(3), 227–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Masten, A. S. (1999). Resilience comes of age: Reflections on the past and outlook for the next generation of research. In M. D. Glantz & J. L. Johnson (Eds.), Resilience and development: Positive life adaptations (pp. 281–296). New York: Plenum.Google Scholar
  32. Masten, A. S., Best, K. M., & Garmezy, N. (1990). Resilience and development: Contributions from the study of children who overcome adversity. Development and Psychopathology, 2(04), 425–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. May, R. M. (1977). Thresholds and breakpoints in ecosystems with a multiplicity of stable states. Nature, 269(5628), 471–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Mikkelson, G. M. (2011). Weighing species. Environmental Ethics, 33(2), 185–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Odum, E. P. (1969). The strategy of ecosystem development. Science, 164, 262–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Oyama, S. (1985). The ontogeny of information: Developmental systems and evolution. In Cambridge. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
  37. Oyama, S., Griffiths, P., & Gray, R. D. (2001). Cycles of contingency : Developmental systems and evolution (life and mind). Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
  38. Pahl-Wostl, C. (1995). The dynamic nature of ecosystems: Chaos and order entwined. Chichester: Wiley.Google Scholar
  39. Pigliucci, M. (2001). Phenotypic plasticity: Beyond nature and nurture. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
  40. Sen, A., & Nussbaum, M. (1993). Capability and well-being. The Quality of Life, 1(9), 30–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  41. Smith-Gill, S. J. (1983). Developmental plasticity: Developmental conversion versus phenotypic modulation. American Zoologist, 23(1), 47–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Stearns, S. C. (2002). Progress on canalization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 99(16), 10229–10230. doi: 10.1073/pnas.172388999.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Taleb, N. N. (2012). Antifragile : Things that gain from disorder (1st ed.). New York: Random House.Google Scholar
  44. Tansley, A. G. (1935). The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms. Ecology, 16(3), 284–307.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Van Buskirk, J., & Steiner, U. (2009). The fitness costs of developmental canalization and plasticity. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 22(4), 852–860.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. Volk, A. A., Camilleri, J. A., Dane, A. V., & Marini, Z. A. (2012). Is adolescent bullying an evolutionary adaptation? Aggressive Behavior, 38(3), 222–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Waddington, C. H. (1942). Canalization of development and the inheritance of acquired characters. Nature, 150(3811), 563–565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Walker, B., Holling, C., Carpenter, S. R., & Kinzig, A. (2004). Resilience, adaptability and transformability in social–ecological systems. Ecology and Society, 9(2), 5–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. West-Eberhard, M. J. (2003). Developmental plasticity and evolution. In Oxford. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  50. Wilson, M., & Daly, M. (1997). Life expectancy, economic inequality, homicide, and reproductive timing in Chicago neighbourhoods. British Medical Journal, 314(7089), 1271–1274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Wright, S. (1932). The roles of mutation, inbreeding, crossbreeding and selection in evolution. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the Sixth International Congress on Genetics,Google Scholar
  52. Wright, M. O. D., Masten, A. S., & Narayan, A. J. (2013). Resilience processes in development: Four waves of research on positive adaptation in the context of adversity. In S. Goldstein & R. B. Brooks (Eds.), Handbook of resilience in children (pp. 15–37). New York: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Rotman Institute of PhilosophyUniversity of Western OntarioLondonCanada

Personalised recommendations