Qualitative methods for the exploration of complexity in human social systems: Applications in family psychology

Abstract

The study of Complex Systems has expression in the many fields dedicated to human social systems. However, Family Psychology has been slow in integrating contributions from complexity science, although the interaction could open new research avenues towards a deeper understanding of the processes underlying family emergence, development, change and adaptation. The mathematics of complex systems are appealing and many authors have applied them in psychological studies. However, there are many aspects of the family, as a human social systems, which are not amenable to quantitative analyses, at least without significant loss of the same features of complexity that need to be understood. In this paper, we discuss the use of qualitative methods in complexity research and present an integrative view of a Complexity-Informed, Qualitative, Case-Based Discovery-Oriented Family Psychology, oriented by a General Complexity Thinking approach where Abduction, along with induction and deduction, drives the enlargement of our understanding of complexity.