Applications of Nonlinear Dynamics to Developmental Process Modeling

by Newell; Karl M.

• ISBN13: 9780805821154
• ISBN10: 0805821155
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-01-01
• Publisher: Psychology Pres

Summary

There has been an increasing interest in the application of dynamical systems to the study of development over the last decade. The explosion of the dynamical systems framework in the physical and biological sciences has opened the door to a new Zeitgeist for studying development. This appeal to dynamical systems by developmentalists is natural given the intuitive links between the established fundamental problems of development and the conceptual and operational scope of nonlinear dynamical systems. This promise of a new approach and framework within which to study development has led to some progress in recent years but also a growing appreciation of the difficulty of both fully examining the new metaphor and realizing its potential. Divided into 4 parts, this book is a result of a recent conference on dynamical systems and development held at Pennsylvania State University. The first 3 parts focus on the content domains of development that have given most theoretical and empirical attention to the potential applications of dynamical systems--physical growth and movement, cognition, and communication. These parts show that a range of nonlinear models have been applied to a host of developmental phenomena. Part 4 highlights two particular methodological issues that hold important implications for the modeling of developmental phenomena with dynamical systems techniques.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
1 Introduction: Modeling Development as Dynamical Systems	1	(14)
Karl M. Newell
Peter C.M. Molenaar
I PHYSICAL GROWTH AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT	15	(72)
2 Normal Human Growth as Saltatory: Adaptation Through Irregularity	15	(24)
Michelle Lampl
Michael L. Johnson
3 Modeling Coordination Dynamics in Development	39	(24)
Paula Fitzpatrick
4 Degrees of Freedom and the Development of Postural Center of Pressure Profiles	63	(24)
Karl M. Newell
II COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT	87	(92)
5 A Predator-Prey Model of Human Cerebral Development	87	(42)
Robert W. Thatcher
6 Dynamic Modeling of Cognitive and Language Development: From Growth Processes to Sudden Jumps and Multimodality	129	(32)
Paul van Geert
7 The Dynamical and Statistical Properties of Cognitive Strategies: Relations Between Strategies, Attractors, and Latent Classes	161	(18)
Han L.J. van der Maas
III DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNICATION	179	(64)
8 Nonlinear Dynamics of Brain Regions and the Design of Neuronal Growth-Cycle-Based Cognitive Tasks	179	(20)
Pieter H. Been
9 Dynamical Systems and the Structure of Behavior	199	(22)
Darren Newtson
10 Modeling Interpersonal Coordination Dynamics: Implications for a Dynamical Theory of Developing Systems	221	(22)
Richard C. Schmidt
Beth O'Brien
IV METHODS IN DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS AND DEVELOPMENT	243	(56)
11 Approximate Entropy (ApEn) as a Regularity Measure	243	(26)
Steven M. Pincus
12 Fitting Nonlinear Dynamical Models Directly to Observed Time Series	269	(30)
Peter C.M. Molenaar
Maartje E.J. Raymakers
Author Index	299	(8)
Subject Index	307