Seeing the world through a third eye:Developmental systems theory looks beyond the nativist-empiricist debate

Spencer, John P ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7320-144X, Samuelson, Larissa K ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9141-3286, Blumberg, Mark S, McMurray, Bob, Robinson, Scott R and Tomblin, J Bruce (2009) Seeing the world through a third eye:Developmental systems theory looks beyond the nativist-empiricist debate. Child Development Perspectives, 3 (2). pp. 103-105. ISSN 1750-8592

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

In response to the commentaries on our paper (Spencer et al., 2009) we summarize what a developmental systems perspective offers for a twenty-first century science of development by highlighting five insights from developmental systems theory. Where applicable, the discussion is grounded in a particular example-the emergence of ocular dominance columns in early development. Ocular dominance columns are a paragon of epigenesis and are inconsistent with the nativist view. We conclude with optimism that developmental science can move beyond the nativist-empiricist debate armed with both modern technological tools and strong theory to guide their use.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	keywords: developmental systems,nativism,empiricism,neural development,epigenesis
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Developmental Science Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Cognition, Action and Perception
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	13 Nov 2015 14:01
Last Modified:	18 Jun 2026 16:55
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/55199
DOI:	10.1111/j.1750-8606.2009.00087.x

Actions (login required)

View Item