DYNAMICAL SYSTEM THEORIES

In dynamical systems theory, a motor skill is viewed as an emergent property of diverse

systems exhibiting complexity. Today, the ideas of dynamical systems theory are applied by
movement scientists working across a broad range of sub-disciplinary areas. Although different
names may be given to the theories employed across various sub-disciplinary communities (i.e.,
nonlinear dynamics, action theory, dynamical theory, movement dynamics, constraints-led
approach, etc.), they all share common assumptions that we shall mean to imply by the more
generic (and widely understood) term dynamical systems theory. A psychological approach to
the study of perception that was first advanced by Gibson in the 1960s (1966, 1979), called
ecological psychology, has played such an integral role in addressing issues concerning
perception within dynamical systems approaches that it is also probably acceptable to consider
it as part of dynamical systems theory approaches to the study of motor skills.

The Emergence of Motor Skills—A Dynamical Systems Analysis

Regardless of the specific theoretical model one applies, all dynamical systems theories
assume basic, common premises. Three in particular are critical to the study of motor behavior:
Any analysis of human movement from a dynamical systems perspective includes, among other
aspects, consideration of three premises about the control and learning of all motor skills:
 MOVEMENT CONSTRAINTS

The first of these is that systems are always constrained to act within certain
boundaries. … Various constraints impose boundaries on movement possibilities.

Human movement, as a dynamical system of many bodily and environmental

subsystems interacting, is limited by both biological and environmental
constraints. Clark (1995) has observed that constraints are the boundaries
limiting the movement capabilities of individuals. Newell (1986) has identified
three categories of constraints; these are constraints imposed by the organism
(i.e., the person), the environment, and the task itself. All three can also act
together to impose new forms of constraint.

 SELF-ORGANIZATION

The second, as we have mentioned, is that new patterns emerge from the
interaction of systems in a manner referred to as self-organization. Diverse
movement system components self-organize into emergent patterns.
 The concept of self-organization is one of the most intriguing to come out of
dynamical systems theory and one of the most important and far-reaching
concepts in modern science. As previously defined, self-organization refers to a
process whereby the organization of a system spontaneously increases and
becomes more stable because of inherent properties within the system itself.
Self-organization is the counter intuitive idea that something left to itself tends
to become more organized. Normally, we tend to think that things left to
themselves become more disorganized, that they decay or run down, but nature
is filled with examples of self-organizing systems.

 ATTRACTORS

Thirdly, the new patterns that emerge are organized around preferred behaviors
or patterns that are called attractors. Self-organization directs emergence toward
preferred, attractor states.

An attractor is an organizational arrangement that keeps a system’s component

parts working in harmony to fulfil the system’s mission. A system may have a
number of attractors, each one being more effective than the others under given
environmental conditions. Relative to human movement systems, attractors are
states of spatial-temporal muscular organization that are able to maintain stable
movement patterns with the greatest efficiency in specific situations (Huys,
Daffertshofer, and Beek, 2004; Wallace, 1996).

Taken together, the application of these three premises to the study of movement
coordination has revealed many new insights into how motor skills are controlled and acquired.
We will look more closely at each of these themes and consider how they help explain the
characteristics of motor behavior.

We will turn our attention to a discussion to MOVEMENT CONSTRAINTS ONLY.

MOVEMENT CONSTRAINTS
 Task Constraints - constraints on human movement imposed by the task
performed, including task goals, equipment used, and mandated rules and
procedures.
  Organismic/Individual Constraints – characteristics of an individual that act as
constraints on movement, including structural characteristics such as height,
weight, and body shape, as well as functional characteristics such as intelligence,
motivation, and psychological states.

 Environmental Constraints - Features of the physical environment such as

gravity, temperature, and light that act to constrain movement patterns; also
includes social features such as cultural norms that constrain movement
behavior.

SUMMARY (CHAPTER 5)
 Scientific theories explain a broad range of diverse facts and observations by a few
encompassing principles, and they allow for the prediction and testing of future
observations.
 ..
 Two major theoretical approaches dominate motor learning and control scholarship
today. The oldest of these approaches are cognitive-based theories, whereas more
recent challenges have come from dynamical systems theory.

 Cognitive-based theories are closed system theories in which the central nervous system
is held to be responsible for all elements of motor control, with the primary agent of
control being a motor program. The dominant expression of cognitive-based theories are
information processing models.

 Dynamical systems theories are a response to criticisms of cognitive-based theories.

Bernstein first identified the degrees of freedom problem with cognitive-based theories
and proposed the concept of the synergy as one solution.

WATCH AT GROUP PAGE:

VIDEO 4 FOR CHAPTER 5- DYNAMIC SYSTEM THEORY (1)
VIDEO 5 FOR CHAPTER 5 – DYNAMIC SYSTEM THEORY (2)