Movement Speed in Children

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to investigate movement speed in children of 6, 8, 10, and 12 yr of age. Different information loads were presented to the children on a serial task (Experiment 1), and on a discrete task (Experiment 2). On both tasks there was a linear relationship between movement time and information load. Reaction time was relatively unaffected by an increase in the difficulty of the required movement. By employing the formula, capacity = (Index of Difficulty) /(movement time), there was an increase in capacity by age with very little overlap between the ages. Strategies on the serial task were discussed and comparisons with adult subjects were made.