Attractor State A stable and functional state of organisation which is energy

efficient and the body self-organises into

Affordance Invitations to action. Humans view invariants as affordances

for action.

Complex System Highly integrated systems with many interacting

components

Constraints Boundaries which shape the emergence of behaviour from a

movement system seeking a stable state of organisation
Newell’s model of Model describing how functional organisation emerges
constraints under influence of organismic, environmental and task
constraints

Organismic Personal characteristics of the learner

Environmental Variables in nature that affect the performance context

Task Specific to the performance context

Coordinative Structures Any way the CNS coordinates the DOF to produce action

Degeneracy Ability for complex systems to achieve the same or similar

outcome under varying contexts

Degrees of Freedom Independent components of a complex system

Dynamical systems theory Views learner as a complex neurobiological system

 composed of many independent but interacting degrees of
freedom.

The coordination of this system is dynamic and can

transition from stable into unstable states of coordination,
and from one attractor to another.

Self-organisation in response to constraints

Invariant The structure that underlies the changing superficial

structures that specifies action.

What are the things that will influence the way in which I
perform the skill?

Metastability System parts of a complex system come together just long

enough to achieve a functional movement goal

Used to achieve specific action goal under specific

circumstances.

(side step performed slightly differently under fatigue)

Metastability allows perform this side step.
Don’t save coordination pattern

More advanced learners dealing with variations in

performance context

Numerical phase space All the hypothetical states of organisation into which a
 dynamical system can evolve

Information-movement Movement generates information which in turn supports

coupling further movement.
Cyclical relationship

Direct perception Coupling perception and action directly by observing

affordances for action which limits cognitive processing

Indirect perception Performer needs to interpret information internally before

responding.
Sensory information compared to memory representations.

Interacting constraints Interaction of constraints on neuromuscular system results

in different states of coordination that are optimised with
 practice.

Phase Transitions Phase of instability that separates different attractor states

Self-organisation Systems capacity to use environmental energy to achieve

stable states of coordination

Inverse modelling A model of how the CNS controls an action

by predicting the consequences
and determining the motor programs needed to achieve it.
‘what if method’

Retrospective
Tau The solid visual angle that is projected onto the retina and
the rate of change of this projection indicates time to
contact.
Used as affordance for action

Variant The changing superficial structure that does not influence

action