Relational developmental systems

Relational Developmental Systems (RDS) is a set of rules for the theories in developmental psychology. It is based on a worldview known as relationism. Worldviews are approaches taken to understand how the world works. == Assumptions ==

Relational Developmental Systems proposes that human development cannot be understood without understanding the multiple relationships between individuals and their biological, psychological, social and historical contexts. RDS uses longitudinal studies to measure an individual's development across time, as well as methods that consider individuals, rather than variables, as the key focus of the study. It investigated factors influencing adolescents' development of five key traits: confidence, caring, connection, character and ability to perform a task. This study was conducted across 7 years of the adolescents' lives. Researchers found that positive youth development was influenced by contextual factors such as relationships with family and friends, as well as individual factors such as natural motivation and engagement levels. The 4-H study also provided evidence for the individual having an active role in their development. Adolescents were able to optimise their development by adjusting their personal goals and expectations based on the social situation and the environmental resources that they had access to. == Applications ==

The principles behind RDS have useful applications for developmental science. RDS presents adolescents in a more positive light than some previous developmental science research, which portrayed adolescents as trouble-makers and poor contributors to society. RDS suggests that due to our ability to constantly change, adolescents have the potential to develop co-operative and considerate behaviours. There has been increasing research into how policies can encourage adolescents' use of this potential by altering the context that individuals are in. Findings from the International Journal of Epidemiology links this research to RDS, suggesting that our ability to change over time involves interaction between genes and the environment. The approach of RDS also influences the view that the mind is not separate from the context of our physical body. Research suggests that RDS is currently considered to be the "leading framework in developmental science". It can provide a foundation for recent discoveries in the fields of genetics, evolution and cultural psychology, that are based on interactions between elements. == Criticisms ==

The approach of RDS to methodology can be practically difficult to commit to and therefore pose a "challenge" to researchers. It can also be difficult to select factors influencing each individuals' development. In practice, this difficulty create uncertainty when evaluating programs influencing young peoples' development. It can also be hard to apply results from research that gathered data from a particular point in time to the whole duration of a person's development. This is further supported by research from the journal 'Human and Development', which suggests that it may be hard to apply research based on RDS to all situations that an individual can be in. Although RDS rejects the Cartesian worldview, this worldview has been "influential" in developmental science in the past. For example, a cognitive approach to the mind-body problem suggesting that the mind is the brain and separate from external environments is "framed" by a Cartesian approach. Moreover, some cross-cultural research in developmental psychology has considered culture as being separate from the individual. ==References==