Chaos as a Construct in Psychology

Author:

Guastello Stephen J.

Abstract

This chapter recounts the principal uses of the construct of chaos in psychology; these are entwined with other nonlinear dynamical constructs, especially catastrophes and self-organization. Chaos theory and research is primarily concerned with seeing the consequences of nonlinearity accurately and finding patterns in dynamics. The growth in substantive applications of chaos in psychology is partially related to the development of methodologies that work within the constraints of psychological data. Investigations in cognitive neuroscience, psychophysics, clinical and abnormal psychology, group dynamics, and organizational behavior all utilize the chaos construct and supporting empirical research. The chapter summarizes the current state of the chaos construct in empirical research and theory in psychology. Trends in research indicate that human systems do not remain chaotic indefinitely; they eventually self-organize, and the concept of the complex adaptive system (CAS) has become more useful for describing the balance between order and disorder within a system. Chaos or turbulence is generally higher in healthy systems compared to unhealthy ones, and there seems to be an optimum level of variability for producing adaptive responses across many types of living systems. Current research in group dynamics is examining the connection between the behaviors of a CAS and how movements and autonomic and EEG responses synchronize among group members.

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Cited by 1 articles. 订阅此论文施引文献 订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3