A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action

by Esther Thelen, Linda B. Smith

Beginning with their own research in motor, perceptual, and cognitive development, the authors (both, psychology and cognitive development, Indiana U.) 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. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Genres: Psychology, Science, Neuroscience

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1994

Reviews

[Mark Longo · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book provides a great introduction to thinking of cognition in dynamic systems terms, it is incredibly myopic in its treatment of the phenomenon. The authors write as if humans were the only species on the planet and that studying learning within the lifetime of an individual were the only way to understand cognitive development. A brief analysis of learning in just about any other species would uncover cognitive development that is much more "hardwired" and stereotyped. A butterfly doesn't go through the same processes the authors describe to learn how to navigate its world, yet it navigates its world quite successfully. This is because learning processes similar to those the authors describe happen across vastly different timescales; not just within the lives of individuals but across the lives of generations. Evolution by natural selection carves the channels of interactions between neural systems which lead to both the more stereotyped behavior of other species and the basis of our own learning.