A Survey of Dynamic Systems Methods for Developmental Psychopathology

Developmental psychopathologists have been particularly concerned with their inherited mechanistic paradigm. This chapter suggest that methods derived from dynamic systems (DS) theory may be useful for addressing this dilemma. It has three main objectives: to outline key dynamic systems principles and highlight their commensurability with developmental psychopathologists' core conceptual concerns; to provide a survey of research designs, methodological techniques, and measurement strategies currently being used and refined by developmental DS researchers; and to elaborate on one specific DS method, state space grid analysis, and provide several empirical examples using this method. The concepts of state space, attractors, and multistability have informed several research designs and methodologies in recent years. The chapter provides a clear enough picture of various DS methods to inspire developmental psychopathologists to expand their analytic repertoire and, thus, test their systems‐based models more directly.