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Related Experiment Videos

Motor development. A new synthesis

E Thelen1

  • 1Department of Psychology, Indiana University, Bloomington 47405.

The American Psychologist
|February 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Recent advances in developmental psychology reveal how infants and children acquire motor skills through exploration and self-organization. This multidisciplinary approach integrates insights from movement science and neuroscience, moving beyond nature-nurture debates.

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Area of Science:

  • Developmental Psychology
  • Movement Science
  • Neuroscience
  • Dynamic Systems Theory

Background:

  • The study of motor skill acquisition in developmental psychology has experienced a resurgence.
  • Contemporary research integrates insights from diverse fields like movement science, perceptual psychology, neuroscience, and dynamic systems theory.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the processes by which infants and children learn to control their bodies.
  • To understand the multicausal, fluid, contextual, and self-organizing nature of developmental change in motor skills.
  • To highlight the interconnectedness of perception, action, and cognition in motor development.

Main Methods:

  • Multidisciplinary approaches integrating perceptual psychology, neuroscience, and dynamic systems theory.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Focus on process-oriented studies examining component cooperation for stability and change.
  • Emphasis on the role of exploration and selection in emergent behaviors.

    • Main Results:

    • New insights into the complex processes underlying infant and child motor skill acquisition.
    • Demonstration of the self-organizing and contextual nature of motor development.
    • Understanding of how exploration and selection drive the emergence of new motor behaviors.

    Conclusions:

    • Motor skill acquisition is a dynamic, multicausal, and self-organizing process.
    • The traditional nature-nurture debate is less relevant in understanding motor development.
    • A unified approach to perception, action, and cognition is crucial for studying motor control.