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Données individuelles ou données de groupe dans les approches du développement en termes de systèmes dynamiquesThis article discusses the logic of explanation in the context of processes of change and development. It is argued that so-called generalizable models—which are assumed to be generalizable because they are based on inter-individual variability occurring in samples said to represent some sort of population—have in general only very little to say about the nature and mechanisms of the processes that occur in individuals constituting this population. The differences in the causes of variability in individual time series on the one hand and in samples consisting of independent individual cases on the other hand are explained. A short introduction into complex dynamic systems thinking about development is presented. It is concluded that research and theory formation in developmental psychology, if not psychology as a whole, is in need of a radical change of direction, if these disciplines ever one to achieve their goal of understanding the processes of development and behavioral change, in theoretical as well as in applied contexts.