Rh. Wimmers et al., DEVELOPMENTAL-CHANGES IN ACTION - THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES, British journal of developmental psychology, 16, 1998, pp. 45-63
A tutorial is provided of how che concepts and methods of non-linear d
ynamical systems theory and, in particular, catastrophe cheery can be
of help in understanding the development of action. From this theoreti
cal perspective, development is viewed as a complex, time-evolving pro
cess in which new behaviours (e.g. reaching, walking, speech) are the
produce of self-organization. Qualitative changes in behaviour are int
erpreted-ex hypothesi-as discontinuous non-equilibrium phase transitio
ns or catastrophes. In the context of the study of the development of
prehension, it is illustrated how this interpretation can be investiga
ted empirically by testing if specific transition criteria are satisfi
ed. Once che presence of such criteria has been confirmed for the emer
gence of a particular behaviour, the next step is to determine if a ca
tastrophe model can be found chat applies to the data. Preliminary evi
dence is provided that the developmental change in prehension during t
he first six months of life is best described as a cusp catastrophe.