Complex system approaches to the development of action

Traces the historical roots of complex systems approaches to motor development based on principles of self-organization which can be distinguished in terms of their allegiances to deterministic or stochastic principles. More recent approaches, such as synergetics, attempt to account for both principles and as such are particularly relevant for tackling the neglected, but central issue of qualitative transitions in motor development. Accordingly we conclude that ontogenetic change results from an interplay of deterministic and stochastic processes and that the mathematical tools for modelling such change can be found in contemporary approaches to complex behaviour.