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Biocultural Orchestration of Developmental Plasticity Across Levels: the Interplay of Biology and Culture in Shaping the Mind and Behavior Across the Life Span

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Biocultural Orchestration of Developmental Plasticity Across Levels: the Interplay of Biology and Culture in Shaping the Mind and Behavior Across the Life Span Psychological Bulletin Copyright 2003 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 2003, Vol. 129, No. 2, 171–194 0033-2909/03/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.129.2.171 Biocultural Orchestration of Developmental Plasticity Across Levels: The Interplay of Biology and Culture in Shaping the Mind and Behavior Across the Life Span Shu-Chen Li Max Planck Institute for Human Development The author reviews reemerging coconstructive conceptions of development and recent empirical findings of developmental plasticity at different levels spanning several fields of developmental and life sciences. A cross-level dynamic biocultural coconstructive framework is endorsed to understand cognitive and behavioral development across the life span. This framework integrates main conceptions of earlier views into a unifying frame, viewing the dynamics of life span development as occurring simultaneously within different time scales (i.e., moment-to-moment microgenesis, life span ontogeny, and human phylogeny) and encompassing multiple levels (i.e., neurobiological, cognitive, behavioral, and sociocultural). Viewed through this metatheoretical framework, new insights of potential interfaces for reciprocal cultural and experiential influences to be integrated with behavioral genetics and cognitive neuroscience research can be more easily prescribed. Metaphorically speaking, two related pendulums, one swinging concerted biological and cultural influences (hence, biocultural back and forth from nature to nurture and the other from brain to coconstructivism) in tuning cognitive and behavioral development mind, have been running the clocks of developmental and cogni- throughout the life span. tive inquiries for centuries. Instead of polarizing toward either end, Coconstructivism or the related interactionism per se is not new. this review of recent advances in life and developmental sciences Conceptions of environmental, cultural, and behavioral factors approaches these two age-old debates through the lens of a cross- interacting with the biological inheritance of human development level dynamic biocultural coconstructivism. Details of this concep- have long philosophical traditions. For instance, Tetens (1777) tion will become clear as the article unfolds. It suffices here to assigned extraordinary plasticity to human nature, thus stipulating underscore the key notions of the term: The effects of a series of opportunities for environmental, cultural, and individual regulation interconnected feed-downward (culture- and context-driven) and during life span ontogeny. At the evolutionary phylogenetic level, feed-upward (neurobiology-driven) interactive processes and de- St. George Jackson Mivart (1871) suggested that behavioral velopmental plasticity at different levels (hence, cross-level) are changes and adaptation precede and affect natural selection. Mod- continuously accumulated via the individual’s moment-to-moment ern behavioral researchers of development have also been sensitive experiences (hence, dynamic) so that, together, they implement to the interplay between biology and various specific aspects of the developmental contexts. Conceptually, there is the consensus that individual ontogeny is hierarchically organized within an open This research was sponsored by the Max Planck Society. I am particu- developmental system that has multiple levels of contexts. Conse- larly grateful to Paul B. Baltes. The seed for this article was planted during quently, developmental phenomena need to be investigated by the various conversations with him while collaborating on a presentation at jointly considering interactions between endogenous and exoge- the 108th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, nous processes at various levels (e.g., Alexander, 1969; Anastasi, August 2000, Washington, DC. Throughout the process of preparing this 1958; Baltes, 1979; Baltes & Singer, 2001; Bronfenbrenner, 1979; article, I benefited from the many articles Paul B. Baltes suggested to me Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 1994; Gottlieb, 1976, 1998; Magnusson, and from stimulating conversations on various topics—in particular, his advocation of biocultural coconstructive influences on life span develop- 1988, 1996; Schaie, 1965). ment with biology and culture both playing active roles. I also thank Tania However, a general awareness of coconstructive notions as such Singer for fruitful exchanges on possibilities of cultural influences on the among developmental researchers is not enough in and of itself to neuronal bases of social cognition and emotion and feedback on earlier resolve the nature–nurture and mind–brain controversies. In fact, versions of this article. I would also like to thank Susan Bluck, Elizabeth these debates have again intensified after the publication of two Carhart, Michael Carhart, Alexandra M. Freund, Gilbert Gottlieb, Judith working drafts of the sequence of the human genome in February Glu¨ck, Tilmann Habermas, Steffen Hillmert, Laura Martignon, Katherine 2001 (Lander et al., 2001; Venter et al., 2001). Through the Nelson, Justin Powell, Jacqui Smith, Paul Verhaeghen, and Qi Wang for marketplace of ideas, media and press coverage of the progress in their valuable discussions or comments on earlier versions of the article. I genomic research are now swinging the age-old pendulums in the give special thanks to Julia Delius for her helpful assistance in language mind of the general public toward genetic and brain determinism and style editing. Last but not least, special thanks also go to all the researchers whose work is reviewed in this article. (Kay, 2000; Moore, 2002; Pa¨a¨bo, 2001). Never has a time been so Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Shu- in need of reifying biocultural coconstructive conceptions than Chen Li, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for Life today’s genome era. Span Psychology, Lentzeallee 94, Berlin D-14195, Germany. E-mail: Integration of experiential and cultural influences into the day- [email protected] to-day research practices of behavioral genetics (e.g., McGuffin, 171 172 LI Riley, & Plomin, 2001), neuroscience (Shepherd, 1991), and cog- across levels. Third, I review reemerging coconstructive concep- nitive neuroscience (e.g., Gazzaniga, 2000) requires that interac- tions and exemplary empirical findings of developmental plasticity tive processes and mechanisms implementing biocultural cocon- at various levels that extend beyond the period of child develop- struction of brain, mind, and behavior at different levels be further ment, specifically highlighting interactive processes and examples specified. The lack of such specifications, in part, has been one of showing reciprocal cultural influences operating on different time the reasons why the nature–nurture and mind–brain debates have scales corresponding to various levels of developmental plasticity. continued (cf. Ingold, 1998; King, 2000). Thus, a further critical Fourth, to address converging evidence from different levels, I aspect of reifying coconstructive conceptions to help integrate present a summary section of examples of sociocultural influences research from related subfields of developmental and life sciences on, and subsequently expressed through, language development is the need for detailed cross-level frameworks with which inter- and processing. This section is specifically given as a focal illus- active processes and developmental plasticity across different lev- tration of the intimate interconnections between interactive pro- els and time scales can be linked and unified. cesses and developmental plasticity at various levels unfolding across different time scales. Last, new insights into possible inter- Goal and Organization of the Review faces for integrating cultural and experiential influences into the current research agenda and paradigms of behavioral genetics and Taken together, an integral whole of biocultural coconstructive cognitive neuroscience are discussed. influences on life span cognitive and behavioral development most likely are implemented by a series of closely interconnected inter- A Triarchic View of Culture: Resource, Process, and active processes and mechanisms across different levels. Although Developmental Relevancy there have been attempts to study the nature–nurture and mind– brain interactions by different strands of developmental and life A comprehensive treatment of anthropological theories of cul- sciences, studying them separately misses the dynamic gestalt of ture is not within the purview of this article (interested readers the open developmental system cutting across multiple levels. This should see Shweder, 1991; Wertsch, 1985; Wertsch, de Rio, & makes the task of integrating cultural and experiential influences Alvarez, 1995). Here, the focus is on a conception that simulta- into the research practices of behavioral genetics and neuro- neously highlights three distinct but related aspects of culture that sciences extremely difficult, as the interconnections between in- are of direct relevance for considering the dynamics of biocultural teractive processes and developmental plasticity across different coconstructive influences on life span development. Previously, levels and time scales are not in the foreground of many current some scholars have criticized the inadequacy of notions of culture coconstructive conceptions. that view it as acting only to supplement and extend biologically To remedy this situation, the task of this review is thus
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