Cognitive-Motor Relationships in the Growing Years

Jerry R. Thomas describes the changes in information processing during childhood and adolescence and how these changes affect motor performance. Thomas reviews several of the processes in memory that change with development to produce increased performance, in particular, processing speed and control processes such as rehearsal. Children and adults are compared, and examples of practical applications in the area of motor development are presented. The second contribution to this section, by G. Lawrence Rarick, elaborates upon the impact of movement experiences on cognitive functions and academic achievement of the child, in particular the learning-disabled. Rarick discusses the cognitive processes involved in the acquisition of motor skills as well as intellectual abilities, and suggests that the nature of the processes may differ depending upon whether the task is primarily motor or intellectual.