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Dynamic Systems Approach Develop

This document summarizes the book "A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action" which presents a new theory of cognitive and motor development based on dynamic systems theory. It proposes that multimodal experiences form the basis for self-organizing perception-action categories through exploration and selection. The book also applies this framework to reinterpret several classic issues in early cognitive development.

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136 views

Dynamic Systems Approach Develop

This document summarizes the book "A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action" which presents a new theory of cognitive and motor development based on dynamic systems theory. It proposes that multimodal experiences form the basis for self-organizing perception-action categories through exploration and selection. The book also applies this framework to reinterpret several classic issues in early cognitive development.

Uploaded by

Blagoje
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action | The MIT Pr...

Page 1 of 2

A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and


Action
By Linda B. Smith
Overview
A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action
presents a comprehensive and detailed theory of early human development based
on the principles of dynamic systems theory. Beginning with their own research in
motor, perceptual, and cognitive development, Thelen and Smith raise
fundamental questions about prevailing assumptions in the field. They propose a
new theory of the development of cognition and action, unifying recent advances in
dynamic systems theory with current research in neuroscience and neural
development. In particular, they show how by processes of exploration and
selection, multimodal experiences form the bases for self-organizing perception-
action categories.

Thelen and Smith offer a radical alternative to current cognitive theory, both in
their emphasis on dynamic representation and in their focus on processes of
change. Among the first attempt to apply complexity theory to psychology, they
suggest reinterpretations of several classic issues in early cognitive development.

The book is divided into three sections. The first discusses the nature of
Hardcover | Out of Print developmental processes in general terms, the second covers dynamic principles in
| 408 pp. | 7 x 10 in | July process and mechanism, and the third looks at how a dynamic theory can be
1994 | ISBN: applied to enduring puzzles of development.
9780262200950
Paperback | $52.00 Cognitive Psychology series
Short | 43.95 | 408 pp. About the Author
| 7 x 10 in | January 1996 Linda B. Smith is a Professor of Psychology and Cognitive Science at Indiana
| ISBN: 9780262700597 University.
Mouseover for Online Endorsements
Attention Data A radical departure from most of current cognitive developmenttheory....
Nativists, structuralists, empiricists and socialconstructivists will disagree with
different parts of this book.Yet this landmark volume is essential reading for all of
them.
Annette Karmiloff-Smith and Mark H. Johnson, Nature
Also by this Author
Those of us who study development have been searching for years for ways to
make the field more dynamic. Here finally Thelen and smith have put together a
choherent dynamic systems framework on which we can build. They not only
portray the best dynamic systems research, but they ground it in an exciting,

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/dynamic-systems-approach-development-cognition-and-act... 05-Aug-17
A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action | The MIT Pr... Page 2 of 2

powerful way of thinking that will serve as a new foundation for helping to remake
the study of developing behavior.
Kurt W. Fischer, Ph.D.
The emphasis this book places on dynamic processes and change in development
is welcome and will benefit developmental psychology. We badly need both theory
and research on how change comes about. That, after all, is the reason for a
developmental approach. I welcome, too, the strong view that change and
development have to be the result of interactions of multiple factors, not single
causes, either enviornmental or genetic.
Eleanor J. Gibson, Susan Lynn Sage Professor of Psychology, Emeritus,
A Dynamic Systems Cornell University
Approach to Development

https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/dynamic-systems-approach-development-cognition-and-act... 05-Aug-17

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