Definition
Dynamic systems is a theoretical framework that is used to understand and predict self-organizing phenomena in complex systems that are constantly changing, reorganizing, and progressing over time. Often mathematical formulae are used to capture processes of change within a given system.
Introduction
The term “dynamic systems” is used to refer to a variety of phenomena in nonliving and living systems that display nonlinear behavioral changes over time. Behavioral change can occur in clouds formations in the sky or in a chemical reaction; it can reflect a sudden transition of gait pattern in a biological system, or a shift in flying pattern formation in a flock of birds. Dynamic systems aim to study the complex processes driving those changes. They are complex because whether occurring in a single system/organism, or a group of individuals, change occurs as the product of multileveled interactions between the various elements constituting these systems. Collectively, these...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Alberts, J. R. (1978). Huddling by rat pups: Group behavioral mechanisms of temperature regulation and energy conservation. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 92(2), 231.
Atun-Einy, O., Berger, S. E., Ducz, J., & Sher, A. (2014). Strength of infants’ bimanual reaching patterns is related to the onset of upright locomotion. Infancy, 19(1), 82–102.
Casey, M. B., & Martino, C. M. (2000). Asymmetrical hatching behaviors influence the development of postnatal laterality in domestic chicks (Gallus gallus). Developmental Psychobiology, 37(1), 13–24.
Chiel, H. J., & Beer, R. D. (1997). The brain has a body: Adaptive behavior emerges from interactions of nervous system, body and environment. Trends in Neurosciences, 20(12), 553–557.
Corbetta, D., & Bojczyk, K. E. (2002). Infants return to two-handed reaching when they are learning to walk. Journal of Motor Behavior, 34(1), 83–95.
Corbetta, D., Williams, J., & Snapp-Childs, W. (2006). Plasticity in the development of handedness: Evidence from normal development and early asymmetric brain injury. Developmental Psychobiology, 48(6), 460–471.
Corbetta, D., Friedman, D. R., & Bell, M. A. (2014). Brain reorganization as a function of walking experience in 12-month-old infants: Implications for the development of manual laterality. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 245.
Davis, B. E., Moon, R. Y., Sachs, H. C., & Ottolini, M. C. (1998). Effects of sleep position on infant motor development. Pediatrics, 102(5), 1135–1140.
Diedrich, F. J., & Warren, W. H., Jr. (1995). Why change gaits? Dynamics of the walk-run transition. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 21(1), 183.
Farley, C. T., & Taylor, C. R. (1991). A mechanical trigger for the trot-gallop transition in horses. Science, 253(5017), 306–308.
Gershkoff-Stowe, L. (2001). The course of children’s naming errors in early word learning. Journal of Cognition and Development, 2(2), 131–155.
Gordon, D. M. (2010). Ant encounters: Interaction networks and colony behavior. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Gottlieb, G. (1992). Individual development and evolution. New York: Oxford University Press.
Helbing, D., Buzna, L., Johansson, A., & Werner, T. (2005). Self-organized pedestrian crowd dynamics: Experiments, simulations, and design solutions. Transportation Science, 39(1), 1–24.
McGraw, M. B. (1943). The neuromuscular maturation of the human infant. New York: Columbia University Press.
Moussaïd, M., Perozo, N., Garnier, S., Helbing, D., & Theraulaz, G. (2010). The walking behaviour of pedestrian social groups and its impact on crowd dynamics. PloS One, 5(4), e10047.
Pin, T., Eldridge, B., & Galea, M. P. (2007). A review of the effects of sleep position, play position, and equipment use on motor development in infants. Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 49(11), 858–867.
Schöner, G., & Kelso, J. S. (1988). Dynamic pattern generation in behavioral and neural systems. Science, 239(4847), 1513–1520.
Shelton, D., Price, B., Ocasio, K., & Martins, E. (2015). Density and group size influence shoal cohesion, but not coordination in Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Journal of Comparative Psychology, 129(1), 72–77.
Thelen, E. (1995). Motor development: A new synthesis. American Psychologist, 50(2), 79.
Thelen, E., Fisher, D. M., & Ridley-Johnson, R. (1984). The relationship between physical growth and a newborn reflex. Infant Behavior and Development, 7(4), 479–493.
Thelen, E., & Smith, L. B. (2006). Dynamic systems theories. In Handbook of child psychology. Hoboken: Wiley.
Vilensky, J. A., Libii, J. N., & Moore, A. M. (1991). Trot-gallop gait transitions in quadrupeds. Physiology & Behavior, 50(4), 835–842.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Connell, J.P., DiMercurio, A., Corbetta, D. (2017). Dynamic Systems Theory. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1594-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1594-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47829-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences