References 217selecting subsamples of subjects for more intensive examina-
tion of a particular process of interest. For example, Beitel
and Parke (1998) conducted a survey of 300 families to as-
sess maternal attitudes toward father involvement in infant
care. To supplement this approach, in which a self-report
questionnaire was used, a subsample of 40 families was
observed in their homes as a way of validating the self-report
data. Similarly, Reiss et al. (2000) generated a nationally rep-
resentative sample of stepfamilies, and in a second stage of
their work, they observed these families in interaction tasks
in the home. These combined approaches increase the gener-
alizability of findings and, at the same time, allow us to illu-
minate basic social processes.
A GLANCE INTO THE FUTURE
Where are we going next? Today, a proliferation of minithe-
ories has replaced single dominant positions or theoretical
frameworks, and each of these smaller-scale theories ac-
counts for a limited set of issues. This domain-specific nature
of theory is one of the hallmarks of our current state of the
field. It represents a disenchantment with grand theories both
of a century ago and of our more recent past. Part of the rea-
son for the current proliferation of smaller and more modest
paradigms is the lack of a new overarching paradigm to re-
place the disfavored grand theories.
The next stage of our development as a field involves the
creation of such a new overarching paradigm or framework
to help us with our integrative efforts. There are signs that a
new integration may be emerging in the form of a systems
perspective that will bring together biological, social, cogni-
tive, and emotional minitheories into a more coherent frame-
work (Fogel & Thelen, 1987; Sameroff, 1994). Although the
promise of a general dynamic systems theory is appealing
and has been applied with considerable success to the motor
development domain, especially by Thelen (1989), it remains
to be seen whether the stringent requirements of this ap-
proach for precise parameter estimation and measurement
can be met in other domains (Aslin, 1993). Whether we have
reached the stage of being able to quantify social behavior or
children’s theories of mind with sufficient precision to make
this approach useful, beyond being merely metaphoric, is an
open question.
We are cautiously optimistic that a systems approach is a
promising one and has proven useful both in organizing data
and in pointing to new research directions in recent family
research, as well as in research on the organization and func-
tioning of social contexts. Perhaps we need to develop a family
of systems-theory integrations that would be hierarchically
organized and would represent the levels of analysis that are
intrinsic to different areas of development, just as we have
long recognized that biological, biochemical, and social levels
of inquiry may each have its own set of integrative principles
(Sameroff, 1994). Multiple integrative approaches may be
needed to cover different parts of the development terrain. The
goal is to retain the advances that our retreat to minitheories
has brought but, at the same time, to begin to put the “whole
child” back together again. Our forebears had the vision to
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