The effect of distance and location cues on linear arm positioning by children

Forty-five boys in each of three age groups learned a 40 cm linear arm movement, without the aid of vision. Fifteen in each age group attempted to reproduce the movement using either distance, location, or distance plus location cues. Analysis of absolute error scores showed a significant effect of movement cue with inferiority in recall using distance cues compared with the other cue conditions. The interaction effect was also significant. The results are discussed in terms of the development of coding systems for movements in short-term memory.