Occupational Embeddedness, Perceived Risk, and the Quality of Reach Motion in Females Aged 7 to 9 Years

The perceived meaning ascribed to objects can influence the motor control efficiency in adults when reaching. However, little is known whether the same phenomenon occurs in pediatric females. Twenty-seven girls aged 7 to 9 years recruited from Girl Scout Brownie troupes and afterschool programs were asked to reach for plastic and porcelain teacups in the context of a "tea party" scenario. No differences were found in most of the motion capture variables (p > .05), and effect sizes were small. It is likely that the perceived meaning of the tea party was so robust that it overwhelmed any perceived differences inherent between the two conditions. Future research is needed to clarify the age at which children can qualitatively discern meaningful differences between objects.