Unit of Analysis in Transit: From the Individual's Knowledge to the Ensemble Process

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Abstract
Many researchers view development as evolving through interaction between the individual and the social environment. Successive units of analysis, previously suggested in the literature, gave increasing access to studying development from this perspective. However, a few conceptual and practical difficulties in the application of these units remain unresolved. This article suggests a different unit of analysis, the ensemble. The ensemble is the smallest group of individuals who directly interact with one another during developmental processes related to a specific activity context. Like the musical ensemble, the developmental ensemble is characterized by the interdependence and interrelation between the development of its members. As a unit, the ensemble has several advantages. First, it accommodates the dynamic social constellations that form and change within social settings during unconstrained developmental processes. Second, the unit is objective and clearly identifiable. Finally, the underlying stru...