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The "Motor" in Implicit Motor Sequence Learning: A Foot-stepping Serial Reaction Time Task
Published on: May 3, 2018
Sequential motor skill in preadolescent children: the development of automaticity
Marit F L Ruitenberg1, Elger L Abrahamse, Willem B Verwey
1Department of Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands. m.f.l.ruitenberg@utwente.nl
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
|May 28, 2013
Summary
Preadolescent children learn sequential motor skills slower than young adults, showing less automaticity in complex movement sequences. This suggests age impacts how motor sequencing skills develop.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Motor Control
Background:
- Automaticity in sequential motor skills is crucial for efficient task performance.
- Understanding age-related differences in motor learning and automaticity is essential for educational and therapeutic interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the extent to which preadolescent children acquire automaticity in sequential movements compared to young adults.
- To explore age-dependent mechanisms underlying sequential motor skill acquisition.
Main Methods:
- A discrete sequence production task was used, involving practice of 3-key and 6-key sequences.
- Performance of 24 preadolescent children (mean age 11.3 years) was compared with 24 young adults (mean age 22.0 years).
- Explicit knowledge and sequence execution were analyzed for both groups.
Main Results:
- Both children and adults improved with practice, but children were generally slower.
- Children exhibited less explicit knowledge but relied more on it for familiar sequences.
- Children showed delayed transitions between sequence segments and less reliance on initial stimuli.
Conclusions:
- Preadolescent children develop automaticity in longer movement sequences to a lesser extent or slower than young adults.
- Age appears to influence the mechanisms used for sequential motor skill acquisition.
- Findings highlight developmental differences in the automatization of sequential motor processes.
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