Development as a dynamic system.
Development is about creating something more from something less, for example, a walking and talking toddler from a helpless infant. One current theoretical framework views the developmental process as a change within a complex dynamic system. Development is seen as the emergent product of many decentralized and local interactions that occur in real time. We examine how studying the multicausality of real-time processes could be the key to understanding change over developmental time. We specifically consider recent research and theory on perseverative reaching by infants as a case study that demonstrates this approach.
Smith
Linda B.
LB
Department of Psychology, Program in Cognitive Science, Indiana University, 1101 East 10th Street, 47405, Bloomington, IN, USA
Thelen
Esther
E