Studying development is about understanding change. Development itself is a consequence of intertwined processes that occur in time and at multiple levels of analysis. Development is more than growth, maturation or the unfolding of a predefined program. Under the microscope of detailed empirical studies in animals and humans, ontogeny shows some of the same qualitative properties of complex adaptive systems (e.g. self-organization, non-linear dynamics, multicausality).

For this workshop we have brought together researchers of both natural and artificial systems to discuss the nature of developmental change and its role in understanding the behavior of intelligent systems. Specific examples that illustrate the multileveled and multi-time scaled nature of developmental change are present throughout the workshop.

The broad topics of the invited talks cover the nature of psychological development, both at the behavioral and biological levels, the broadest time scale of change (evolution) and its bidirectional relationship to development, dynamical field theory as a approach to understanding development and studies of development in artificial systems, both in robotic platforms and in artificial life models. The workshop will include ample time for discussion and two small-group brainstorming activities.