Functional Synchronization: The Emergence of Coordinated Activity in Human Systems
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 expe...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2017-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00945/full |
| _version_ | 1818624498940772352 |
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| author | Andrzej Nowak Andrzej Nowak Robin R. Vallacher Michal Zochowski Agnieszka Rychwalska |
| author_facet | Andrzej Nowak Andrzej Nowak Robin R. Vallacher Michal Zochowski Agnieszka Rychwalska |
| author_sort | Andrzej Nowak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T18:57:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c50f9b2594bd4c3b8e06028905346d8b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T18:57:55Z |
| publishDate | 2017-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-c50f9b2594bd4c3b8e06028905346d8b2022-12-21T22:20:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782017-06-01810.3389/fpsyg.2017.00945239459Functional Synchronization: The Emergence of Coordinated Activity in Human SystemsAndrzej Nowak0Andrzej Nowak1Robin R. Vallacher2Michal Zochowski3Agnieszka Rychwalska4Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and HumanitiesWarsaw, PolandDepartment of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca RatonFL, United StatesDepartment of Psychology, Florida Atlantic University, Boca RatonFL, United StatesDepartment of Physics and Biophysics Program, University of Michigan, Ann ArborMI, United StatesThe Robert Zajonc Institute for Social Studies, University of WarsawWarsaw, PolandThe 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.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00945/fullsynchronizationfunctionself-organizationmindbrainsocial systems |
| spellingShingle | Andrzej Nowak Andrzej Nowak Robin R. Vallacher Michal Zochowski Agnieszka Rychwalska Functional Synchronization: The Emergence of Coordinated Activity in Human Systems Frontiers in Psychology synchronization function self-organization mind brain social systems |
| title | Functional Synchronization: The Emergence of Coordinated Activity in Human Systems |
| title_full | Functional Synchronization: The Emergence of Coordinated Activity in Human Systems |
| title_fullStr | Functional Synchronization: The Emergence of Coordinated Activity in Human Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Functional Synchronization: The Emergence of Coordinated Activity in Human Systems |
| title_short | Functional Synchronization: The Emergence of Coordinated Activity in Human Systems |
| title_sort | functional synchronization the emergence of coordinated activity in human systems |
| topic | synchronization function self-organization mind brain social systems |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00945/full |
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