In this article we contribute a new theoretical perspective to the analysis of the relationship between individual and culture, and the person and the environment. Many hotly debated issues in cultural psychology, such as reification, the discourse of personality traits, and models of part—whole hierarchies are productively addressed. Taking a systems-theoretical approach following Niklas Luhmann and others, we distinguish three different types of system and their operational processes (biotic, psychic and social) and suggest that the person—environment relationship should be conceptualized as a process of co-evolution of psychic and social systems. We discuss the critical role of communication in this process and its implications for the concept of culture. Our own research on classroom disruptions and problem behavior in educational settings provides illustrative examples for the kinds of methodological considerations generally relevant to a systems-theoretical approach in empirical research.
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