The science underneath
Self-organisation
In shortMany patterns of behaviour form from interactions, the way a flock of birds moves without a leader.
The idea
A flock of birds makes complex shapes without any bird directing it: each follows simple rules relative to its neighbours. Many patterns of behaviour form like this, in the interaction between the person, the body, other people and the environment, and not by order of a ‘centre’. This changes the question: instead of ‘what is wrong with this child?’, ‘what interactions keep this pattern going?’.
What to try
- Describe the pattern like a dance: who does what, after whom.
- Change one small piece of the interaction (the time, the first sentence, who is there) and see what changes.
- Notice the places where the pattern does not appear: what is different there?
The common mistake
Looking for a single cause inside the person when the pattern depends on several interactions.
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Start here
Short, plain pieces by the researchers and good writers.
The science behind itHow strong the evidence is, the model, videos and references.
How strong the evidence is
A way of thinking A lens for interpreting what a child does, not a rule from trials.
In dynamical systems (Kelso; Thelen and Smith), behaviour emerges from couplings between components and constraints (organism, task, environment), without a central programme. Friston (2013) links self-organisation to maintaining states through inference. For formulation: identify control parameters (what, when varied, changes the pattern) and collective variables (what describes the pattern), and treat variability as information about the pattern’s stability.
More technical books
Self-organisation and attractors applied to brain and behaviour.
See on Amazon ›Development as a dynamic system, not a programme that unfolds.
See on Amazon ›Amazon links are affiliate links: if you buy, Bounded Uncertainty receives a small commission at no cost to you.
External videos, chosen because they agree with these ideas. Bounded Uncertainty has no link to the channels.
References
- Kelso, J. A. S. (1995). Dynamic Patterns: The Self-Organization of Brain and Behavior. MIT Press.
- Thelen, E., & Smith, L. B. (1994). A Dynamic Systems Approach to the Development of Cognition and Action. MIT Press.
- Friston, K. (2013). Life as we know it. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 10, 20130475.
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