Running Head: META-NARRATIVES 1
Moral Meta-Narratives, Marginalization, and Youth Development
José M. Causadias and Kimberly A. Updegraff
T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics
Arizona State University
Willis F. Overton, Ph.D.
Department of Psychology
Temple University
Word count: 9,528
Author Note
Correspondence should be addressed to José M. Causadias, T. Denny Sanford School of
Social and Family Dynamics, Arizona State University, Cowden Family Resources Building,
850 South Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281. E-mail: [email protected]
META-NARRATIVES 2
Abstract
Morality, a central dimension of culture, is crucial for research on the development of youth
experiencing marginalization. In this article, we discuss two main meta-narratives as moral
frameworks that provide different meaning to the past and to cultural change: liberal progress,
focused on the struggle of those who have historically experienced marginalization (e.g.,
racial/ethnic minorities), and community lost, focused on those who are experiencing some forms
of marginalization in response to cultural and economic changes (e.g., rural Whites). Because
these two meta-narratives represent a false dichotomy, we use relational epistemology principles
–holism, identity of opposites, opposites of identity, and synthesis of wholes- to formulate an
integrated meta-narrative, community progress, to overcome this polarity and promote research
on the development of all youth experiencing marginalization. Acknowledging and
understanding these moral meta-narratives is crucial because they influence scientific discourse,
political action, and policy that impacts marginalization and youth development.
Keywords: culture; morality; meta-narratives; marginalization; development.
META-NARRATIVES 3
Moral Meta-Narratives, Marginalization, and Youth Development
The role of culture1, as well as research on racial/ethnic minority youth (henceforth,
minority youth2), have been historically neglected in developmental science. If marginalization is
defined as relegating ideas and groups to the fringe of society, both culture and minority youth
have experienced considerable marginalization in developmental research. It took decades for
scholars to convince their colleagues that culture is not peripheral, but of central importance in
human development (e.g., Quintana et al., 2006; Rogoff, 2003; Super & Harkness, 1986), and
that minority youth are under- and misrepresented in developmental research (e.g., García Coll,
Akerman, Cicchetti, 2000; Graham, 1992; MacPhee, Kreutzer, & Fritz, 1994; McLoyd &
Randolph, 1985). One of the major achievements of García Coll and colleagues (1996)’s
integrative model is that it addressed both forms of marginalization by placing culture and
minorities at the forefront of developmental science.
In this article, we advance this endeavor by presenting morality as a domain of culture
that is often neglected in developmental research on marginalization, and by discussing the role
of meta-narratives as moral frameworks that have profound impact on the development of youth
experiencing marginalization3. We center on two opposing meta-narratives that are implicitly
used to approach youth marginalization: liberal progress and community lost. We use Overton’s
(2010, 2015) relational epistemology to frame and propose their integration. Fundamental split
dichotomies, such as these opposing meta-narratives, are typical of Cartesian dualistic
epistemologies. However, from a relational epistemological viewpoint this separation represents
1 We define culture as a system of practices, symbols, values, and ideals that are shared by a community, transmitted from one generation to the next, dynamic and constantly changing, operating at the individual and societal levels, and related to ethnicity and race (Causadias, 2013; Cohen, 2009; Kitayama & Uskul, 2011). 2 We use the term minorities to represent membership in any non-White groups in the US, including, but not limited to, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders. 3 Consistent with the editorial for this Special Issue (see Causadias & Umaña-Taylor), we focus on “youth experiencing marginalization” or “youth marginalization”, rather than “marginalized youth”.
META-NARRATIVES 4
a false dichotomy, as both are in constant interpenetration, coaction, and reciprocal
bidirectionality (Overton, 2010, 2015). We employ relational epistemological principles –holism,
identity of opposites, opposites of identity, and synthesis of wholes- to approach these meta-
narratives and developmental research on youth experiencing marginalization, and to formulate a
new integrated meta-narrative: community progress. We believe this meta-narrative can guide
research, policy, and interventions to support the development of all youth experiencing
marginalization. Following García Coll and colleagues (1996)’s integrative model, we focus
primarily on youth residing in the United States.
Culture, Morality, and Development
García Coll and colleagues (1996) situated cultural influences in minority youth
development, not as isolated, but within the dominant stratification system of society. According
to this framework, minority youth development is inherently linked to culture, ethnicity, race,
gender, and class. Reflecting on the role of morality can further advance our understanding of
marginalization, as morality plays a central role in human development and culture (Jensen,
2008; 2015). Moral development is conceptualized as a universal aspect of children’s
socialization in all cultures and societies (Jensen, 2015). Within the field of developmental
psychology, research has focused heavily on the development of children’s moral reasoning with
regard to principles of justice, fairness, and individual rights (see Haidt, 2008). Kohlberg (1963,
1969) proposed a cognitive developmental theory of moral reasoning that posits an invariant
sequence of stages through which individuals progress. Although this theory was informed by
data from youth and young adult males in the U.S. (Colby et al., 1983; Kohlberg, 1963),
Kohlberg’s stages of moral reasoning were postulated as universal (e.g., Nisan & Kohlberg,
1982; Snarey, Reimer, & Kohlberg, 1985), but scholars argued that moral reasoning concepts
META-NARRATIVES 5
among children from different cultural groups are broader than the concepts articulated by
cognitive-developmental (Kohlberg, 1963) and domain approaches (Turiel, 1983).
Efforts to integrate developmental and cultural perspectives on moral reasoning has led to
an expansion of the concepts that are pertinent to moral development to better represent the
diversity of human experience in different cultures (Jensen, 2008). One such model involves an
emphasis on moral reasoning with regard to autonomy (i.e., individual rights and needs), divinity
(i.e., spirituality, religiosity, and divine law), and community (obligations and concerns for the
group’s welfare; Jensen, 2008; Shweder, Much, Mahapatra, & Park, 1997). These expanded
concepts of morality are pertinent to the study of youth marginalization in the U.S. For example,
many Latino youth are socialized to value concepts of community, such as placing the needs of
the family above the needs of the individual (Sabogal, Marín, Otero-Sabogal, Marín, & Perez-
Stable, 1987). As such, understanding moral development from a perspective that is informed by
developmental and cultural models has the potential to advance the field. But it also entails
recognition of the supra-individual nature of culture (Kitayama & Uskul, 2011), the
acknowledgement that morality goes beyond the development of moral reasoning at the
individual level. It also operates at the societal level through moral meta-narratives that impact
the development of youth experiencing marginalization.
Morality and Meta-Narratives
Morality4 specifies ideals, norms, values, virtues, ethics, and goals (Wuthnow, 1987),
informing the distinction between good and bad, right and wrong, fair and unfair, and
meaningful and meaningless (Smith, 2003). Morality is made of interrelated sets of values, rules,
4 We rely on some of the premises of Haidt and Graham’s moral foundations theory (Graham, Haidt, & Nosek, 2009; Graham & Haidt, 2010; Haidt & Graham, 2007). However, a detailed discussion of this theory goes beyond the scope and aims of this paper. For a comprehensive review, see Haidt (2012).
META-NARRATIVES 6
practices, identities, and organizations that work together to regulate individual behavior and
make social life possible. For individuals, morality provides a cohesive -but not always coherent-
set of assumptions, expectations, commitments, beliefs, aspirations, thoughts, judgements,
obligations, and feelings. But morality is not merely a set of abstractions far removed from
everyday life. Morality is a call for action, a motivating engine to enact and sustain moral orders,
a framework that inspires individuals to pursue what is good, valued, and just (Smith, 2003). For
groups, communities, societies, and nations, morality is enacted collectively in social practices,
rituals, and institutions. Morality is personified by institutions, so not merely limited to
subjective concerns for rules and values (Graham & Haidt, 2010). Morality plays a pivotal role
in cooperation and coalition building, as perceived moral outrage over transgressions galvanize
groups and facilitate social cohesion (Tooby & Cosmides, 2010). Ultimately, moral systems,
such as religions, bind individuals into moral communities (Graham & Haidt, 2010).
The broader cultural frameworks in which individuals derive their morals beliefs are
profoundly narrative in form. For instance, the “American experiment” meta-narrative argues
that brave and freedom-loving pioneers, fleeing religious and political persecution, came to the
New World to carve a new civilization (Smith, 2003). Through their hard work, they forged a
new society where equality and liberty rule. This meta-narrative has powerful effects in the lives
of Americans, and even citizens of other countries. It organizes practices, rituals, and obligations.
Without this narrative, “many Americans would confront the world with profound confusion and
disorientation” (Smith, 2003, p. 68).
We acknowledge the rich tradition of narrative research in developmental sciences, that
has documented the importance of root metaphors as cultural models of development (Cooper,
1987; Cooper & Denner, 1998), and cultural conflict and rapid social change (Greenfield, 1999;
META-NARRATIVES 7
Rogoff, 2003), to name a few approaches. However, we argue that morality and meta-narratives
are not central to their conceptualizations. Furthermore, while narrative research on youth
development has often focused on the role of master narratives, these are typically rooted in the
work of Erik Erikson and focus on identity (Hammack & Pilecki, 2012; McLean & Syed, 2015).
In contrast, our approach to meta-narratives is grounded in the work of Smith (2003) and Haidt
(2008, 2012), and centers on morality.
Moral meta-narratives (henceforth, meta-narratives) are a unique form of narratives. They
are broader and more encompassing than single narratives and master narratives5, in that they
include, in some cases, all history, experience, and meaning in a single story. Meta-narratives
function like invisible constitutions that guide and inspire communities. They are shared stories
that lay out the foundation for a moral order, offering a system of beliefs, ideology, and
obligations (Haidt, 2008). Meta-narratives go beyond chronicles of separate events placed in
time, but they aspire to express the magnitude and meaning of actions and events in a unified,
interconnected explanation (de Rivera & Sarbin, 1998). Meta-narratives are therefore
purposefully created to provide accounts and meaning to human history, usually by articulating
three common components: (a) a cast of characters who are the subjects or objects of action; (b)
a plot with a structured sequence of beginning, middle, and end, although not always in that
order; and (c) the transmission of an important message, whether it is a revelation, explanation,
or insight about life and the world (Smith, 2003). Many Western meta-narratives parallel or
emulate the Christian narrative, including elements of paradise lost, fall or awakening into sin,
temptations along the way, and a road for redemption (Smith, 2003).
5 For a discussion of differences and similarities between master and meta-narratives, see Supplemental Material.
META-NARRATIVES 8
In addition to providing meaning and social cohesion, meta-narratives have the function
of enforcing moral systems that challenge, perpetuate, or seek to reclaim social power. Power
dynamics lie at the center of meta-narratives because they serve to maintain a moral and social
order. They define who experiences marginalization and who does not, and who is entitled to
rights and privileges, access to resources, and even justice. They inform ideology and serve for
system-justification, motivating individuals and communities to defend the status quo and to
view current social arrangements as just, legitimate, and necessary (Jost, Federico, & Napier,
2009). But they can also articulate system-resistance by challenging the status quo and
illuminating the present conditions of some groups as unfair, unfair, and oppressive. Thus, these
meta-narratives are not power-neutral: they are biased towards responding to perceived threats to
privilege and social status or towards denouncing oppression. Next, we discuss the meta-
narrative that arguably inspired García Coll and colleagues (1996)’s integrative model, and that
is at the core of most developmental research on youth marginalization.
The Liberal Progress Moral Meta-Narrative
One of the most consequential moral frameworks for the study of youth marginalization
is the “liberal progress” meta-narrative (henceforth, liberal progress), described as follows:
“Once upon a time, the vast majority of human persons suffered in societies and social institutions that
were unjust, unhealthy, repressive, and oppressive. These traditional societies were reprehensible because of their
deep-rooted inequality, exploitation, and irrational traditionalism --- all of which made life very unfair, unpleasant,
and short. But the noble human aspiration for autonomy, equality, and prosperity struggled mightily against the
forces of misery and oppression, and eventually succeeded in establishing modern, liberal, democratic, capitalist,
welfare societies. While modern social conditions hold the potential to maximize the individual freedom and
pleasure of all, there is much work to be done to dismantle the powerful vestiges of inequality, exploitation, and
repression. This struggle for the good society in which individuals are equal and free to pursue their self-defined
happiness is the one mission truly worth dedicating one’s life to achieving” (Smith, 2003, p. 82).
META-NARRATIVES 9
The core message of liberal progress is that injustice, oppression, and inequality
provoked significant suffering in the past, but modern democracy and science offer a chance to
reverse these effects by promoting equality and fighting to overcome the lingering consequences
of exclusion (Haidt, 2012). Issues of power are central to this meta-narrative because it focuses
on groups that have historically faced marginalization (e.g., ethnic/racial, sexual, and religious
minorities; women; immigrants6). According to liberal progress, these groups have been
oppressed, victimized, excluded, and neglected by those who hold positions of power and enjoy
exclusive social advantages and privileges (e.g., Whites7, religious majorities, heterosexuals,
men, nationals). Thus, liberal progress is not an abstract issue disconnected from the reality of
children and youth who have historically experienced oppression and exclusion. On the contrary,
this meta-narrative has had profound impact in the development of youth experiencing
marginalization. It has provided a roadmap for group action aimed at ending racial segregation
and discrimination, like the American civil rights movement. In turn, these movements resulted
in landmark legislations (e.g., Brown versus Board of Education, 1954; Civil Rights Act of
1964), that have led to some improvements in the educational opportunities and lives of minority
youth over the last decades.
The impact of this meta-narrative in developmental science on youth marginalization
cannot be overstated. We argue that García Coll and colleagues’ integrative model (1996) is
firmly embedded within this meta-narrative, as it conceptualizes marginalization as central rather
than peripheral for the theoretical understanding of minority youth development. Grounded
6 Individuals can belong to more than one of these groups, as proposed by the intersectionality framework (Crenshaw, 1991). We do not utilize this model because it has already been employed to approach marginalization (e.g., Santos, 2016), while using moral meta-narratives to address marginalization has not. 7 We use the term Whites to represent membership into any racial/ethnic group in the US of European ancestry, including, but not limited to, European-Americans, Anglo-Americans, and Caucasians.
META-NARRATIVES 10
within social stratification theory, a key emphasis of this framework is on its underlying
processes, including racism, discrimination, oppression, and segregation (García Coll et al.,
1996). Furthermore, this meta-narrative impacts development by inspiring, providing life
purpose and meaning, and articulating political, ideological, social, and professional goals to
those who embrace it (e.g., the struggle against inequality), including many minority scholars
(see Syed, in press).
The Community-Lost Moral Meta-Narrative
The community lost meta-narrative (henceforth, community lost) represents history and
morality in stark contrast to the liberal progress meta-narrative. Also framed as the Reagan
narrative (Westen, 2008), this meta-narrative is defined as follows:
“Once upon a time, folk lived together in local, face-to-face communities where we knew and took care of
each other. Life was simple and sometimes hard. But we lived in harmony with nature, laboring honestly at the
plough and in handcraft. Life was securely woven in homespun fabrics of organic, integrated culture, faith, and
tradition. We truly knew who we were and felt deeply for our land, our kin, our customs. But then a dreadful thing
happened. Folk community was overrun by the barbarisms of modern industry, urbanization, rationality, science,
fragmentation, anonymity, transience, and mass production. Faith began to erode, social trust dissipate, folk customs
vanish. Work became alienating, authentic feeling repressed, neighbors, strangers, and life standardized and
rationalized. Those who knew the worth of simplicity, authentic feeling, nature, and custom resisted the vulgarities
and uniformities of modernity. But all that remains today are tattered vestiges of a world we have lost. The task of
those who see clearly now is to memorialize and celebrate folk community, mourn its ruin, and resist and denounce
the depravities of modern, scientific rationalism that would kill the Human Spirit” (Smith, 2003, pp. 85-86).
In contrast to liberal progress, community lost focuses on groups who are now
experiencing some forms of marginalization (e.g., rural and working-class Whites, alienated
males) and argues that the excessive pressures and demands of modern societies -science,
urbanization, industrialization, secularization - have eroded and fragmented communities that
META-NARRATIVES 11
were previously harmonious, integrated, religious, and traditional in values and lifestyles. The
past plays a central role in community lost, and it is usually viewed as a splendid period of
prosperity and cohesion; happiness and harmony; and obedience to tradition and God. Cultural
change is perceived as negative, as alien ideas championed by intellectuals (e.g., professors,
journalists) challenged and perverted this order. Those who endorse this narrative see the present
as decadent and yearn for the past. They “have discovered that nostalgia can be a powerful
political motivator, perhaps even more powerful than hope. Hopes can be disappointed.
Nostalgia is irrefutable” (Lilla, 2016, p. xiv).
In part, community lost articulates the reaction to major demographic shifts in the US,
including the rapid growth in minority populations. By 2044, Whites will no longer be the
numerical majority in the US (Colby & Ortman, 2014). It also accounts for economic and
cultural changes, including the decline in health and rise in mortality as a result of worsening
economic conditions of rural and working-class Whites in the US (Case & Deaton, 2015, 2017),
their struggle to keep up with rapid cultural changes, deep resentment of urban liberals, and
feelings of betrayal and abandonment by the federal government (Hochschild, 2016). However,
it is problematic to equate the experience of rural, working-class Whites to that of groups that
have historically faced marginalization in ways that are quantitatively and qualitatively different
(see Causadias & Umaña-Taylor, in this issue). For instance, marginalization of rural Whites is
often related to class and education, while minority marginalization is also based on culture,
ethnicity, and race (Isenberg, 2016), which have different developmental implications.
Despite these differences, the impact of the community lost meta-narrative should not be
easily disregarded, even if its premises are questionable. This meta-narrative articulates
arguments employed by the populist wave that depicts liberal progress as a threat to the social
META-NARRATIVES 12
status, power, and privilege of Whites. It sheds light on the rise of Donald J. Trump to the
presidency of the United States under the call for a return to the past and the status quo of
unapologetic and uncontested White dominance (“Make America Great Again”). It has profound
effects on the development of youth who have historically experienced marginalization because
it directly threatens their wellbeing, not only by removing protections, but by potentially
criminalizing undocumented, transgender, and minority youth.
However, community lost may have the positive effect of calling attention to the adverse
experience of rural White youth. In recent years, rural White youth have been afflicted by the
heroin epidemic (Cicero, Ellis, Surratt, & Kurtz, 2014), and have surpassed urban youth in
substance abuse (Lambert, Gale, & Hartley, 2008; Roberts et al., 2016). Landmark research on
the development of White youth has documented the role of social class identity development in
the context of educational and career pathways (Bettie, 2014; Bullock & Limbert, 2003; Fine &
Sirin, 2007), and White youth and their feelings of marginalization in school, their multi-ethnic
communities, and more broadly, society (Azmitia, Syed, & Radmacher, 2008). Nevertheless,
more developmental research on rural White youth is necessary.
Moral Meta-Narratives, Marginalization, and Youth Development
Liberal progress and community lost impact emotional responses and cognitive
processing, provide meaning to the past, help explain the present, and give guidance for the
future. Most importantly, these two meta-narratives are central to understand the development of
youth experiencing marginalization, as they define (a) who has been the victim of
marginalization, (b) what are the causes of social injustice and exclusion, (c) what are the
solutions to these issues, and (d) how morality influences the development of youth experiencing
marginalization, as they operate at the individual and societal levels.
META-NARRATIVES 13
First, liberal progress and community lost are important because they define who has
experienced marginalization and entitled to supports and resources. By providing the blueprint of
a moral order, they identify what is right or wrong and who has been treated unfairly. Thus, they
challenge the status quo (system-resistance) by advocating for social inclusion of minorities and
other groups that have historically experienced marginalization (liberal progress), or rationalize
maintaining the status quo (system-justification) or restoring prosperity to ethnic majorities and
historically dominant groups that have experienced the whiplash of globalization and threats to
their social status (community lost). Liberals may support social justice programs because their
morality is rooted in care for the disadvantaged and equality among groups, while conservatives
may oppose such programs because they counter their ethic of autonomy and personal
responsibility (Haidt & Graham, 2007; Haidt, 2012).
Second, meta-narratives play a pivotal role in delineating the causes of marginalization.
This usually involves identifying the sources of oppression and injustice, typically by portraying
an out-group as the causal agent in the marginalization of the in-group. Liberal progress finds
White supremacy and patriarchy as the root causes of the oppression of minorities, immigrants,
and women, which often leads to blaming conservative White males for their marginalization.
The community lost places the responsibility for the unwanted changes on their communities on
secularism, liberalism, and globalization; which often leads to blaming liberals, professors,
journalists, women, minorities, and immigrants.
Third, meta-narratives play a pivotal role in delineating solutions to the problems of
youth marginalization, which have a direct impact on cultural, ethnic, and racial relations and
youth development. While liberal progress places a major emphasis on systemic change to
overcome structural issues of power, privilege, and exclusion; community lost argues in favor of
META-NARRATIVES 14
individual agency and personal merit to achieve autonomy and prosperity, denying the role of
structural forces. These opposite and apparently irreconcilable perspectives result in very
different policies, programs, and legislation. They also prescribe very different research agendas.
Fourth, meta-narratives display how morality have a direct influence on the development
of youth experiencing marginalization, as they operate at the individual and societal level. At the
individual level, these meta-narratives shape development by providing a moral order and a
historical account that gives meaning and purpose to how youth make sense of their own
experiences. At the societal level, these meta-narratives can have a decisive influence in child
development, as they provide a moral order to institutions that become the contexts of
development (Super & Harkness, 1986). Neighborhoods, schools, and governments may
explicitly or implicitly subscribe to liberal progress or community lost, which in turn, conditions
how children and adolescents are treated, what resources are afforded to them, and their
likelihood to overcome marginalization. This is consistent with research and theory linking
societal-level cultural processes and individual development (see Greenfield, 1999; 2009).
Integrating Opposing Moral Meta-Narratives Using the Process-Relational Paradigm
It is challenging to find a middle ground between two seemingly contradictory moral
frameworks (Stout, 1988), such as liberal progress and community lost. How does one reconcile
what seems irreconcilable? How can one perspective that sees racial and gender equality as the
goal (liberal progress) and another that sees it as a problem (community lost) be brought
together? To answer this question, we need to address the notion of “levels of meta-theory”.
While meta-narratives operate at the meta-theoretical level to provide grounding that informs the
way we study specific domains of inquiry, it is important to note that there several levels of
meta-theory (see Figure 1). Although liberal progress and community lost function at a high
META-NARRATIVES 15
level of discourse (i.e., metatheoretical discourse – metatheory), the ontological-epistemologic
level is above it and informs all other levels (i.e., metatheoretical discourse – ontologic-
epitemologic groundings). It is variously referred to as a “worldview” or, when applied
specifically to science, a “scientific research paradigm” level of meta-theory (Overton, 2010,
2015). And it is at this level that the solution to the integration of the two meta-narratives must
be found.
There are currently two alternative scientific research paradigms that can inform the
meaning of moral meta-narratives: the Cartesian-mechanistic-dualistic and the process-relational
paradigms. The Cartesian epistemology establishes relations between paradigms as an
unavoidable dichotomy in which either one or the other constitutes reality. Thus, it offers no
guidance for a reconciliation between the moral orders articulated and embodied by liberal
progress and community lost. Embracing the tenets of this dualistic meta-theory -that follows a
reductionist “divide and conquer strategy” with respect to fundamental concepts– leads to split,
dichotomous either/or conceptual approaches to problem solutions. Thus, within this context, one
must choose one of the two moral meta-narratives as the fundamental truth, and its opposite
becomes derived, epiphenomenal, or a special case of reality (Overton, 2015). The idea that the
two moral meta-narratives are simply rivals is one Cartesian solution, another is the idea that one
can contain and subsume the other. In contrast, the process relational paradigm demonstrates
how the split or opposition of these two meta-narratives can be resolved and both can constitute a
whole whose parts are reciprocally coacting and interpenetrating. The process relational
paradigm is composed of four principles, which serve to eliminate splits and offer a stable base
from which to pursue science within a relational world (Overton, 2010, 2015).
META-NARRATIVES 16
First, the principle of holism is the assertion that the meaning of any entity or event
derives from the context in which it is embedded. Just as reductionism is the overarching
principle of the Cartesian paradigm, holism forms the basic principle of relational epistemology.
Any system is a relational set of processes such that the whole determines the nature of the parts
and the parts determine the nature of the whole (Overton, 2015). Holism invites us to appreciate
that even if we focus on one meta-narrative or one component of each one –past as paradise lost,
equality as promised land- we also need to recognize that these components must be
contextualized as parts of systems that function as wholes: communities, states, and nations.
Also, we need to pay attention to the historical development from which each moral meta-
narrative emerged: civil rights movements for liberal progress and modernity and globalization
for community lost (see Figure 2A).
This attention to the whole ecosystem of development and history is consistent with the
aim of García Coll and colleagues (1996)’s integrative model of recognizing the role of culture
in development, as well as historical and structural forces driving marginalization. Holism invites
researchers to consider critical components of the experience of marginalization that impacts
development and may be neglected, including ecological changes at the community,
neighborhood, county, state, national, and global levels. For example, how climate change
threatens the health, wellbeing, and life of vulnerable youth of every ethnic background
(Wheeler & Von Braun, 2013). Likewise, it points out the role meta-narratives can play in
promoting awareness and action against climate change (liberal progress) or denial of research
evidence and avoidance of action under the pretext that environmental protections will destroy
jobs (community lost). Holism also encourages developmental researchers to consider, not only
ecological, but also historical and cultural forces shaping the development of youth experiencing
META-NARRATIVES 17
marginalization. Holism can foster a new appraisal of historical and cultural processes
traditionally misrepresented as distal, but that exert powerful influence on the development of
youth experiencing marginalization and are commanding engines of meta-narratives. For
instance, how the Atlantic slave trade impacts the development of African American youth and
motivates liberal progress, or how the US civil war shapes the development of rural White youth
in the South and fuels community lost. In the end, holism can help overcome the false dichotomy
of liberal progress versus community lost by illustrating how they are both embedded in
ecological, cultural, and historical forces that shape the development of all youth experiencing
marginalization.
Holism also encourages developmental researchers to look inwards, in addition of
looking outwards. It underscores the notion that developmental science is a knowledge enterprise
that is framed, pursued, and conducted by developmental researchers whom are not morally
neutral, but committed to certain meta-narratives. Ultimately, developmental research on youth
marginalization is an exercise of power by the developmental researcher, because it documents
and legitimizes some experiences of social exclusion, but not all. “One aspect of power is the
ability to determine what counts as knowledge and to make knowledge appear ‘natural’ rather
than a human construction (Gjerde, 2004, p. 145)”.
The second principle of relational epistemology is termed the identity of opposites. It
constitutes one moment of analysis that relaxes the logical law of contradiction and, thus,
establishes an identity among parts of a whole. In this moment, the parts are understood not as
exclusive contradictions (as in the Cartesian split epistemology), but as differentiated and equal
polarities of a unified and indissociable relationship (Overton, 2010). As differentiations, each
pole is defined recursively: each pole defines and is defined by its opposite. Here each category
META-NARRATIVES 18
contains and is its opposite, they are coequal and inseparable. Consequently, based on the
identity of opposites principle, community lost is liberal progress and liberal progress is
community lost. Both are part of the matrix of American history, culture, morality, and meaning-
making (Figure 2B).
Community lost and liberal progress are constantly engaged in a co-constructing
feedback loop, non-additive and reciprocal codetermination (Overton & Reese, 1973), that we
are only beginning to understand. First, landmark issues of community lost, such as perceived
cultural change; threats to social status and competition for scarce resources during economic
crisis can directly trigger further disadvantage of groups championed by liberal progress. Recent
studies have revealed that perceived scarcity may change perceptions of race in ways that
aggravate racial discrimination, underscoring how marginalization can be exacerbated during
times of economic duress (Krosch & Amodio, 2014). Times of economic scarcity also influence
the educational opportunities of Latino youth, for example, but such impact depends on the
developmental timing of the economic crisis in their lives (Pérez-Brena, Wheeler, Rodriguez de
Jesus, Updegraff, & Umaña-Taylor, 2017). Youth who transitioned out of high school during the
2007 economic downturn, as compared to their older siblings who transitioned prior to this
historical event, were less likely to pursue post-secondary education and less likely to attend a
four-year higher education institution (Pérez-Brena et al., 2017). Second, one meta-narrative can
reinforce the other, as Whites who resent Blacks might feel that they are falling behind if they
perceive that Blacks are making progress (Norton & Sommers, 2011). Whites who endorse the
current US status hierarchy as legitimate are more likely to report that Whites were victims of
racial discrimination when minority racial progress was salient (Wilkins & Kaiser, 2013).
META-NARRATIVES 19
García Coll and colleagues (1996)’s integrative model showed the importance of culture,
ethnicity, and race in the development of youth experiencing marginalization. The identity of
opposites can inform and guide research on such youth by encouraging developmental
researchers to see that minorities and majorities are part of the same matrix, as they are co-
dependent, and intimately connected. Majorities cannot exist without minorities and vice versa,
as their relationship exemplifies the dynamic of mutually constructed contrasts. For instance, in a
hypothetical homogeneous society, ethnicity becomes irrelevant because the idea of ethnic
groups is founded on differences, and requires boundaries, contrasts, and interactions (Gjerde,
2004). Majorities and minorities are part of the same system, so changes in one component
(demographic growth of minorities), triggers a reaction in the other (sense of alienation and loss
of power among Whites), and this relation feeds into opposing meta-narratives. This idea of an
inseparable connection between two poles has been employed successfully in developmental
psychopathology, a framework that emphasizes the notion that normal development cannot be
understood without studying abnormal development and vice versa (Sroufe, 1997).
Studying the implications of the US demographic shift in the balance of White versus
minority youth is an example of the application of identity of opposites. Further, this major
demographic shift is likely to impact distinct groups of youth at different developmental points
(e.g., early childhood, adolescence, the transition into adulthood). More broadly speaking,
identity of opposites challenges us to approach different groups at opposite developmental
periods that can have important parallels. For instance, graying and browning are twin
demographic revolutions currently reshaping American society (Pastor, Scoggins, & Treuhaft,
2017). First, graying refers to the growing trend in the senior population, who is predominantly
White, and is projected to double and outnumber youth for the first time in US history by 2033
META-NARRATIVES 20
(Pastor et al., 2017). Second, browning refers to the growing trend in the minority population,
who is projected to become the majority of the US population by 2044 (Pastor et al., 2017).
These twin processes -the aging White population and the browning of younger generations- can
trigger a racial generation gap that can exacerbate opposing meta-narratives, but also manifests
the joint fate of these two groups. Seniors are less likely to support education spending on youth
when they are from another racial groups (Lafortune, Rothstein, & Schanzenbach, 2016), while
minority groups might feel less inclined to support rising health care benefits mostly aimed at
elderly Whites.
The third principle of relational epistemology is the opposites of identity. This principle
establishes a stable foundation for inquiry by moving to a second moment of analysis following
the identity of opposites, in which the law of contradiction is restated and categories again
exclude each other (Overton, 2010). As a consequence of this exclusion, parts exhibit unique
identities that differentiate each from the other. These unique differential qualities are stable
within any dynamic system and thus, may form a relatively stable platform for empirical inquiry.
Hence, liberal progress and community lost now each attains a unique identity that differentiates
one from the other. They become standpoints, points of view, lines of sight (Latour, 1993), or
levels of analysis, not bedrock realities as in the Cartesian paradigm (Overton, 2010). Although
explicitly recognizing that both meta-narratives exist, impact, and mobilize individuals and
groups, alternative perspectives allow analyzing marginalization from a liberal progress or
community lost standpoint. They no longer represent competing accounts; rather, they are two
reciprocally related points of view on marginalization. Liberal progress can provide a unique
platform to approach the development of minority youth as they struggle with institutional and
structural barriers, while from the community lost perspective we can investigate how economic
META-NARRATIVES 21
decline and rapid cultural change promotes adversity and alienation that affects rural White
youth development (Figure 2C).
Garcia Coll and colleagues (1996)’s integrative model argues that there is “no theoretical
or empirical reason to assume that individual primary developmental processes operate
differently for children of color than for Caucasian children in Western society” (p. 1893).
Developmental researchers can advance this idea by using the opposites of identity principle and
recognizing that liberal progress and community lost are only standpoints – again, not rock
bottom realities - to address youth development. But minority and White youth are not
essentially different, even if they face very different and unique cultural and ecological
influences. Taking the community lost perspective, in addition to the liberal progress standpoint,
can also advance the field. Proponents of liberal progress have been criticized for not including
conservatives in their vision of social change. But advances in diversity and inclusion of youth
experiencing marginalization cannot be maintained or consolidated if those who are opposed or
feel affected by them are excluded from this conversation. Ultimately, including conservative
voices and perspectives is crucial in advancing cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity because
political beliefs are key components of culture (Redding, 2012).
Finally, the synthesis of wholes principle functions as a third moment of analysis in the
dialectical undertaking of relational epistemology. It establishes a resolution to the bipolar
tension of the opposites of identity by moving away from this conflict and discovering a new
system, a synthesis, that integrates these two moral meta-narratives and provides a more stable
base for future research (Overton, 2010). The synthesis of wholes can also inform developmental
research on youth marginalization. For instance, by using both liberal progress and community
lost to approach the development of minority youth, we may account for the historical
META-NARRATIVES 22
consequences of stratification and segregation, articulated in Garcia Coll and colleagues (1996)’s
integrative model, as well as how recent cultural changes and growing populism can trigger
further exclusion and compromise any social progress. We can even entertain the need for
progress and the sense of community lost as moments experienced by both racial minorities and
majorities, recognizing progress lost (the sense that there was a golden age of improvement in
social justice and inclusion) and conservative progress (the desire for social change that brings
about a stronger sense of God and country). Likewise, rural minority youth experience most of
the same adversities as White rural youth (in addition to others), while Black Muslims might feel
as alienated by secularization as White evangelists. The synthesis of wholes can inform and
guide research on the development of youth experiencing marginalization by inviting us to
overcome the moral empathy gaps in American culture wars (Ditto & Koleva, 2011) and expand
our moral compass to include all youth experiencing marginalization in our conceptualizations,
research, training, interventions, and policy.
An Integrated Moral Meta-Narrative: Community-Progress
Using the synthesis of wholes, we formulate a new meta-narrative that integrates both
liberal progress and community lost, and aims at addressing both traditional and new forms of
youth marginalization. Toward this end, we propose the community progress meta-narrative
(community progress; Figure 2D):
“Once upon a time, different groups came together under very different circumstances, creating the
American Experiment. Some came from another land voluntarily, others were forced, and others were displaced or
conquered. Within each of these groups, some individuals did better than others. For a long period of time, some
were treated unfairly, others inhumanely, while others enjoyed prosperity and wealth. Regardless of economic
issues, many of these groups lived in communities united by culture, religion, and traditions. But then change
happened, and it had an impact, both for the better and for the worse. The struggle for justice and equality resulted in
the improvement in the lives of some who were previously treated unfairly or inhumanely, but this progress was
META-NARRATIVES 23
insufficient and incomplete. At the same time, others experienced a deterioration of their communities and quality of
life. Traditions started to vanish, faith eroded, and the bonds that kept the community together started to weaken.
Rapid cultural change and globalization also affected their economic wellbeing and have led to rising inequality.
Today, we strive to recognize and address that many continue to struggle to overcome social exclusion, while others
are coping with the deterioration of their communities. The future of America depends on including all of them, to
build a more perfect union with liberty and justice for all”.
Guided by this proposed meta-narrative, we strive to promote a shared moral foundation
that can guide conceptualizations, research, training, interventions, and policy to overcome all
forms of youth marginalization, moving away from the false dichotomies of liberal progress and
community lost. Community progress gives a new meaning to the American experiment by
illustrating the existence of different forms and degrees of marginalization, the simultaneous
coexistence of social exclusion for some groups and prosperity for others, and the urgent need to
come together to make this experiment viable and sustainable. This complex perspective
promotes inclusion without illusion, a more nuanced appreciation of the unique and
interconnected experiences of marginalization of different groups in the history of the U.S.
This proposed meta-narrative cannot magically bridge our moral divide or reverse our
current political, cultural, and economic polarization, as this divide operates within a Cartesian
framework. For the community progress narrative to be plausible, first we need to understand
that human beings are profoundly moral creatures who gravitate towards different meta-
narratives (Haidt, 2008, 2012; Smith, 2003). These meta-narratives, in turn, provide individuals,
communities, and institutions with different moral foundations that guide the things they care
about, hold sacred, and determine who is experiencing marginalization and who are the
beneficiaries of power, privilege, and resources. Developmental research on youth
marginalization can advance by recognizing the importance of morality, embodied in meta-
META-NARRATIVES 24
narratives, and building a program of research, training, interventions, and policy inspired by
community progress that aims at addressing all forms of social exclusion. Important to this
process is admitting the influence of meta-narratives on researchers themselves. The social and
psychological sciences have been characterized as being ideologically homogeneous, favoring
liberal progress (Redding, 2012). In fact, more than 80% of psychology professors described
themselves as liberal in their political views, and less than 10% labeled themselves as
conservative (Duarte et al., 2015; Inbar & Lammers, 2012). But even though liberal progress is
largely endorsed in American psychology, minorities are still not well represented in the
discipline, and research on marginalization is still lacking. Most doctoral recipients in the
psychological and social sciences (72%) are White (NSF, 2015). Further, studies of culture,
ethnicity, race, and stratification processes, while increasing, still accounted for less than 1% of
all peer-reviewed articles targeting the periods of childhood and/or adolescence in PsycINFO in
the past two decades8.
In terms of applied developmental science, there is a need for policies, interventions, and
training programs that embrace community progress and target the universal needs of all youth
experiencing marginalization and the specific needs of particular youth populations. For
instance, poverty, obesity, drug abuse, and limited access to quality health care and education are
examples of social problems that currently affect both minority and rural White youth. At the
same time, it is important to design, implement, and evaluate policies, interventions, and training
programs specifically tailored to the development of specific groups. Policies and programs
8 A PsycINFO search ((childhood OR adolescence) AND (racism OR discrimination OR segregation OR prejudice OR oppression) AND (race OR ethnic* or cultur*)) conducted on April 10, 2017 yielded 317 peer-reviewed articles from 1975 to 1995 and 2,233 from 1997 to 2017, accounting for .002% and .006% of all articles on childhood and adolescent samples during these periods, respectively.
META-NARRATIVES 25
promoting the adaptation of refugee populations in the U.S. are one such example. Research that
tests the direct impact of meta-narratives on youth marginalization is necessary, for instance, by
examining how the rise of community lost can exacerbate anxiety among undocumented
minority youth and compromise educational achievement, leading to leaks in the academic
pipeline (see Cooper, Cooper, Azmitia, Chavira, & Gullatt, 2002). Likewise, more investigations
are needed on the development of rural White youth afflicted by the heroin epidemic (Cicero et
al., 2014). Other potentially fruitful future research directions include looking at the link between
meta-narratives and master narratives in youth development; the association between meta-
narratives and the development of moral reasoning regarding autonomy, divinity, and
community (Jensen, 2008; Shweder et al., 1997); and the role of meta-narratives on the interplay
between culture, development, and psychopathology (Causadias, 2013). Because this discussion
was focused on the role of meta-narratives in the development of youth experiencing
marginalization in the US, more research is necessary on how these processes unfold in other
regions of the world with unique meta-narratives and cultural, ethnic, and racial dynamics.
Importantly, further investigations are indispensable to address how effective community
progress can be in mobilizing resources and institutional support for all youth experiencing
marginalization. While we pursue diversity and inclusion, we should avoid color-blind racism
that perpetuates inequality by denying subtle forms of bias, discrimination, and marginalization
(Dovidio, Gaetner, & Saguy, 2015). After all, good intentions are insufficient to accomplish
social justice (Kalev, Dobbin, & Kelly, 2006). But we should also admit that the current cultural
and political polarization in the US is unsustainable, and that we should strive to find a shared
moral framework.
META-NARRATIVES 26
Admittedly, morality is not the only dimension of culture that accounts for youth
marginalization. Racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism,
islamophobia, and classism, to name a few, also play a meaningful role in perpetuating social
exclusion. But morality is another important piece of the puzzle, and one that requires further
research in developmental sciences addressing youth marginalization. If it is true that “rarely is
progress made in conceptualizing, measuring, and understanding human behavior without
appreciation of and response to the inadequacies of extant, dominant conceptual frameworks and
methodologies (McLoyd, 2004, p. 185)”, developmental research can benefit from expanding
our view of culture to study the role of moral meta-narratives in development and considering all
youth experiencing marginalization. More broadly, understanding the important role of morality
and meta-narratives also forces us to face the limitations of developmental science, and science,
in general. Human beings are ultimately believers, who embrace moral orders, even when these
beliefs and assumptions cannot be verified empirically, are not derived from a deeper, objective,
or independent body of knowledge, and are not universal, self-evident, or shared by all groups
(Smith, 2003). Instead of using reality and verifiable facts to guide their beliefs, beliefs condition
to a large degree how facts are construed and knowledge is built (Alston, 1993). The result is that
individuals rely on their faith in beliefs that cannot be proven except by those same beliefs
(Haidt, 2012). Thus, developmental research is not enough and advocating against
marginalization based on scientific arguments is insufficient. We should also rely on the moral
argument that youth marginalization is wrong, unfair, and unacceptable. In order to do so, we
must find a common moral ground, like the one articulated by the community progress meta-
narrative.
META-NARRATIVES 27
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Figure 1. Levels of discourse proposed by Overton (2010). Reproduced with permission of the
author.
Life-Span Development: Concepts and Issues 3
procedures. For example, one metatheory may prescribe that no “mental” concepts (e.g., “mind”) may enter theory, and that all change must be understood as strictly addi-tive (i.e., no emergence, no gaps, strict continuity), and hence will be measured by additive statistical techniques. This is a description of some features of early behavior-ism. Another metatheory may prescribe that mind is an es-sential feature of the system under consideration, that the system operates holistically, that novel features emerge, and that nonadditive statistical techniques are a welcome feature of any methodological toolbox. This is a descrip-tion of some metatheoretical features of what is termed a “relational developmental systems approach,” which is described in detail later in the chapter. Metatheoretical assumptions also serve as guidelines that help to avoid conceptual confusions. Take, for example, the word stage. In a metatheory that allows discontinuity of change and emergence, “stage” will be a theoretical concept referring to a particular level of organization of the system; in a metatheory that allows only continuity, if “stage” is used at all—it will be a simple descriptive summary statement of a group of behaviors (e.g., the stage of adolescence), but never as a theoretical concept.
Together with metatheory, theory, and method, it needs to be kept in mind that concepts can and do operate at dif-ferent levels of discourse (see Figure 1.1). Theories and methods refer directly to the empirical world, whereas metatheories refer to the theories and methods themselves. The most concrete and circumscribed level of discourse is the observational level. This is one’s current commonsense level of conceptualizing the nature of objects and events in the world. For example, one does not need a profes-sional degree to describe a child as “warm” “loving,” “dis-tant,” “angry,” “bright,” or even “attached,” “aggressive,” or “depressed.” This observational, commonsense, or folk level of analysis has a sense of immediacy and concrete-ness, but when refl ected on, it is often unclear, muddy, and ambiguous. It is the refl ection on folk understanding that moves the level of discourse to a refl ective level, which is the beginning of theoretical discourse. Here, refl ection is about organizing, refi ning, and reformulating observa-tional understandings in a broader, more coherent, and more abstract fi eld. At the theoretical refl ective level, con-cepts are about the observational level, and these range from informal hunches and hypotheses to highly refi ned theories about the nature of things, including human be-havior and change. Relatively refi ned theories may them-selves be narrow or broad. For example, some theories of memory are relatively narrow, whereas Demetriou and
colleagues (Chapter 10 of this volume) present a theory of the architecture of mind that is very broad. Similarly, the theories of Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, and Werner are grand theories—theories designed to explain a broad sweep of the development of psychological functioning—whereas Bowlby’s theory more narrowly focuses on at-tachment and its development.
The metatheoretical level itself operates above, and functions as a grounding for, the theoretical level. At the metatheoretical level, refl ective thought is about basic concepts that, as mentioned earlier, form the contextual frame for the theoretical and observational levels. And here, to make matters a bit more complicated, it is fur-ther possible to discriminate levels of metatheory. Thus, arguably, theories such as “relational developmental sys-tems,” “dynamical systems,” “embodiment,” “action,”
METATHEORETICAL DISCOURSEONTOLOGIC-EPISTEMOLOGIC GROUNDINGS
METATHEORETICAL DISCOURSEMETATHEORIES
THEORETICAL DISCOURSE(REFLECTIVE)
OBSERVATIONAL DISCOURSE(COMMONSENSE)
DOMAIN OF INQUIRY
Figure 1.1 Levels of discourse.
JWBT287-01.indd 3JWBT287-01.indd 3 6/7/10 7:10:25 AM6/7/10 7:10:25 AM
META-NARRATIVES 36
A. First Principle: Holism
B. Second Principle: Identity of Opposites
C. Third Principle: Opposites of Identity
D. Fourth Principle: Synthesis of Wholes
Figure 2. Graphic Depiction of Relational Epistemological Principles Applied to Meta-
Narratives.
First Principle: Holism
World History
US History
Racial relations
Liberal Progress
Second Principle: Identity of Opposites
Liberal Progress
Community Lost
American History and Culture
Third Principle: Opposites of Identity
Liberal Progress
Community Lost
Ethnic Minority Youth Rural White Youth
Fourth Principle: Synthesis of Wholes
Liberal Progress
Community Progress
CommunityLost
Ethnic Minority Youth Rural White Youth
All Marginalized Youth