A New Paradigm for Developmental Science: Relationism and Relational-Developmental Systems

The Cartesian-Split-Mechanistic scientific paradigm that until recently functioned as the standard conceptual framework for sub-fields of developmental science (including inheritance, evolution, and organismic—pre-natal, cognitive, emotional, motivational, socio-cultural—development) has been progressively failing as a scientific research program. An alternative scientific paradigm composed of nested meta-theories with Relationism at the broadest level and Relational-Developmental-Systems as a mid-range meta-theory is offered as a more progressive conceptual framework for developmental science. Termed broadly the Relational-Developmental-Systems paradigm, this framework accounts for the findings that are anomalies for the old paradigm, accounts for the emergence of new findings, and points the way to future scientific productivity—and a more optimistic approach to evaluate-evidence-based applications aimed at promoting positive human development and social justice.