A complexity science approach to occupation

Moving beyond the individual

Bibliographic Data

ID12644141
AuthorsDonald Fogelberg (0000-0002-8188-4252, University of Southern California, corresponding author), Stacy Frauwirth (Dominican University of California)
Year2010
Volume17
Issue3
Pages131-139
Publication date2010-08-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Occupational Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1442-7591 • E-ISSN: 2158-1576
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/14427591.2010.9686687
OpenAlexW2047996479
LanguageEN
Citations received25
References cited33

Contemporary scholarship in occupational science ranges from the biological to the cultural, which highlights the need for a systematic framework capable of addressing occupational phenomena at multiple levels of analysis. One way theorists in occupational science, as well as in other social and biological sciences, have addressed similar needs has been through models based on systems theory. These theories encourage a non‐reductionist, non‐linear approach to studying complex phenomena, and allow for the inclusion of multiple levels of analysis, from the micro to the macro. However, most of the previous applications of systems theory in occupational science have adopted a relatively narrow focus, stressing the occupation of individuals as the primary unit of analysis and viewing social and cultural phenomena as background factors influencing those occupations. Occupations performed by groups of individuals acting collectively have not been incorporated. In this article, we argue that social collectives, such as groups, communities, and populations also act as producers of occupation and that these collective occupations are also legitimate units of analysis for occupational science. We propose an analytic framework for understanding occupation which is grounded in complex systems theory, integrates across multiple levels of analysis, and highlights the socially distributed nature of occupation

Epistemology · Occupational science · Political science · Reductionism · Scholarship · Social science · Sociology · Systems science · Complex Systems and Decision Making · Occupational Therapy Practice and Research · Psychology · Urban Green Space and Health · Occupational Therapy

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