Abstract
The topical landscape of psychology is highly compartmentalized, with distinct phenomena explained and investigated with recourse to theories and methods that have little in common. Our aim in this article is to identify a basic set of principles that underlie otherwise diverse aspects of human experience at all levels of psychological reality, from neural processes to group dynamics. The core idea is that neural, behavioral, mental, and social structures emerge through the synchronization of lower-level elements (e.g., neurons, muscle movements, thoughts and feelings, individuals) into a functional unit—a coherent structure that functions to accomplish tasks. The coherence provided by the formation of functional units may be transient, persisting only as long as necessary to perform the task at hand. This creates the potential for the repeated assembly and disassembly of functional units in accordance with changing task demands. This perspective is rooted in principles of complexity science and non-linear dynamical systems and is supported by recent discoveries in neuroscience and recent models in cognitive and social psychology. We offer guidelines for investigating the emergence of functional units in different domains, thereby honoring the topical differentiation of psychology while providing an integrative foundation for the field.
Highlights
Humans perform an astonishing array of activities with varying degrees of complexity, and they do so at a wide range of operational levels
Brains are composed of neurons, motor behavior involves muscle contractions and limb movements, human minds represent the expression of thoughts, perceptions, and emotions, dyads consist of interacting individuals, and groups consist of many individuals in interaction
The model we have described offers a way to reframe distinct phenomena in terms of basic principles of synchronization dynamics
Summary
Humans perform an astonishing array of activities with varying degrees of complexity, and they do so at a wide range of operational levels. They may create music, write an essay or compose a poem, develop a theory, attempt to resolve a conflict, coordinate with other people to accomplish complex tasks, or play Pokémon Go. On less mundane days, they may create music, write an essay or compose a poem, develop a theory, attempt to resolve a conflict, coordinate with other people to accomplish complex tasks, or play Pokémon Go Each of these activities represents operations involving brain function, movement, perception, and higher-order cognition, and many of them involve social interaction and coordination with other people who have their own personal and interpersonal agendas
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