What Is Motor Development? The Lessons of History

Abstract

Recently the definition of motor development seems to have engendered a debate among a number of scholars in the field. We suggest that the controversy stems from confusion about whether motor development is a product or a process. When motor development is defined as change over time in motor behavior, the focus is on motor performance (i.e., product), whereas when motor development is defined as a process, the emphasis is on the underlying mechanisms of change. Clearly, the proper definition of motor development includes both the product and process of change. Through an historical overview of the field, we trace the origins of this definitional confusion and its impact on the study of motor development. The paper concludes with our position as to the future directions for motor development research.