A Diversity Perspective on Contextualism.

CONTEXTUALISM (Philosophy); SOCIAL role; DEVELOPMENTAL psychology; PLURALISM; SELF-organizing systems; THEORY

This article delineates weaknesses in traditional theories of J. Piaget, Kohlberg, Erikson, and others which suggest that development is a maturation process with discrete, identifiable stages. It goes on to discuss the emerging contextualist themes in counseling and development that seem consistent with social role theory and life-span development that seem consistent with social role theory and life-span developmental psychology. Among the major criticisms of developmental theories are that the linear nature of these models fails to acknowledge the fact that development is often not unidirectional but multidirectional, the emphasis on the natural evolution of stages makes it difficult to account for situational influences in development, and there are troublesome value judgments associated with the end-stage of development, which may negate the value of pluralism. B. N. Steenbarger goes on to elucidate the contextualist worldview, which emphasizes the importance of understanding that development should be viewed as a person-situation interaction, where the person and the context of events have a reciprocal effect on one another, change and a degree of unpredictability are function of the human condition, and human beings are self-organizing systems, rather than passive organisms that unfold in a predetermined direction.