Year: 1994
Type: article
Abstract: Within the framework of the dynamical systems theory of movement coordina• tion and control we provide tools and methods to study coordination changes and stability characteristics in human locomotion.The first part of the paper offers a tutorial on dynamical systems principles, in particular what the central tenets are of a law-based approach to movement coordination.This law-based approach empha• sizes the self-organizing principles that underly the formation of new movement pat• terns and the unity in organizing strategies across scales of observation (Kugler & Turvey, 1987).Central to the formation of new patterns is the thermodynamic the• ory of dissipative structures as developed by Prigogine (1980).We then turn to a description of mechanical pendular properties of the rhythmic oscillations of the limbs and assess their different stability characteristics of mechanical and dissipative processes.Different approaches (e. g., dissipative structures, synergetics theory and dynamical models) that directly relate to the formation of new movement patterns are elaborated upon.The second part of the paper provides empirical data from our own research, using dynamical systems tools and principles in studying coordination changes in healthy and pathological gait.Finally, we discuss some of the implica• tions of this dynamical approach for the study of developmental changes in locomtory patterns.
Authors: Richard E.A. van Emmerik, Robert Wagenaar
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W50558943