  We investigate the cosmological dynamics in a spatially flat
Friedmann--Lema\^{\i}tre--Robertson--Walker geometry in scalar-tensor and
scalar-torsion theories where the nonminimally coupled scalar field is a
complex field. We derive the cosmological field equations and we make use of
dimensionless variables in order to determine the stationary points and
determine their stability properties. The physical properties of the stationary
points are discussed while we find that the two-different theories,
scalar-tensor and scalar-torsion theories, share many common features in terms
of the evolution of the physical variables in the background space.
