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Experimenter Effects on Children's Motor Performance.

J R Thomas¹, M Pat Fortson

¹a Motor Development Laboratory , Florida State University.

Journal of Motor Behavior

|August 22, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

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Previous experimenter contact did not affect children's motor skills. Study results suggest experimenter effects are less likely in motor tasks compared to cognitive tasks.

Area of Science:

Child Development
Motor Skill Acquisition
Experimental Psychology

Background:

Experimenter effects, where researcher interactions influence participant behavior, are well-documented in cognitive tasks.
The impact of prior experimenter-subject contact on motor task performance in young children remains less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if the amount of previous experimenter-subject contact influences motor task performance in preschoolers.
To determine if experimenter sex or the number of contact periods affects motor skill outcomes.
To compare potential experimenter effects in motor tasks versus cognitive tasks.

Main Methods:

Seventy-five male and female subjects (aged 3-5 years) were assigned to one of five conditions: zero, one, three, or five contact periods with an experimenter, or tested by their teacher.

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A counterbalanced design was employed to assess the influence of experimenter sex.

Two distinct motor tasks were utilized for performance evaluation.

Main Results:

No significant experimenter effects were observed on the motor task performances.
The amount of previous experimenter-subject contact did not yield significant differences in motor performance.
Subject's sex also did not produce any significant differences in motor performance outcomes.

Conclusions:

The findings suggest that experimenter effects may be minimal or absent in motor tasks for young children.
This contrasts with findings in cognitive tasks, where experimenter effects are more commonly reported.
The nature of the motor tasks employed might account for the lack of observed experimenter influence.