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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

Li, Shu-Chen·2003·Psychological Bulletin

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Abstract

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.

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Authors: Li, S.-C.
Affiliations: Max Planck Society (DE)
Corresponding author: Li, Shu-Chen
ORCID: Li, Shu-Chen
Venue: Psychological Bulletin
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 2003
Volume: 129
Issue: 2
Pages: 171-194
ISSN: 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
1939-1455
DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.129.2.171
OpenAlex: W2043039730
Cited by: 287
References: 296
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 30 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 25 · 2012: 11
FWCI: 3.31
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics (submittedVersion)
Max Planck Digital Library (submittedVersion)
MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Psychology of Development and Education
Social Sciences › Cultural Studies › Language and cultural evolution
Keywords: developmental plasticity, lifespan development, microgenesis, human phylogeny, cultural influences on development, behavioral genetics, cognitive neuroscience, mind and behavior
MeSH terms: Aging, Cultural Characteristics, Ethnicity, Biological Evolution, Humans, Personality Development, Phylogeny, Social Behavior, Social Environment

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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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