Children's age-related speed-accuracy strategies in intercepting moving targets in two dimensions

This study investigated the age-related speed-accuracy strategies of children, adolescents, and adults in performing a rapid striking task that allowed the self-selection of the interception position in a virtual, two-dimensional environment.

The moving target had curvilinear trajectories that were determined by combinations of simulated weightings of gravity and velocity. Mass and coefficient of restitution were also assigned to the target to encourage interception with maximal effector velocity. The performance outcome was the measure of the distance that the target traveled following interception that was the result of the effector velocity and angle of motion at the time that the target was struck.

The number of accurate interceptions increased linearly with age. Younger children hit the object at a slower velocity and had longer response latency and movement times compared with older age groups. Effector velocity at contact was shown to be parabolic and reached an asymptote for older children and adolescents followed by a decrease in effector velocity at contact among the adults, although horizontal effector displacement increased linearly with age.

The increased effector displacement and the asymptotic/parabolic trend for effector velocity at contact with age reveals an age-related speed-accuracy trade-off in this interception task. The age limitations appear more related to the reduced capacity to predict the spatial-temporal properties of the target trajectory than do age-related limitations in the speed of information processing.