Dynamic Systems Theory And Hierarchical Theory

Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) and Hierarchical Theory both have contributions in explaining how infants develop their independent walking; however, independently they lack the details that the other theory provides. Thus the reason for their for being paired together to explain how infant develop their independent walking.

Dynamic Systems Theory (DST) is the combination of both the “Systems Theory” and the “Ecological Theory”. Systems Theory looks at the whole body as a mechanical system that is comprised of mass and is acted on by external and internal forces. The movement patterns are then dependent on the context and the result of the interplay between the body and the external forces acting on it. In order for the body to respond to the external forces and move in a particular pattern the

Esther Thelen, explains how infants develop their independent walking. Upright bipedal locomotion is a very complex skill and demanding motor task.5 In her article, Hidden Skills: A Dynamic Systems Analysis of Treadmill Stepping during the First Year. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, Thelen states, “First a walker must generate a synchronized ensemble of muscle contractions to produce the locomotor movement. This usually involves muscles spanning many joints and body segments: the legs alternate in a pattern of swing and stance, the pelvis rotates and tilts, and the arms and shoulders swing forward and back in phase with the opposite leg. But locomotion, like all other motor actions, involves not just muscle contractions but also the interrelation between the motor patterns and the biomechanical and dynamic requirements of moving segments with mass and viscosity through a gravitational environment.”5 This excerpt supports the prior explanation of what the DST and Hierarchical Theories are and how they are interrelated; both are required to explain the principles of how infants learn to