Motor development and emotion recognition among young rural children: The mediating role of working memory

Abstract

This study explored the relationship between motor development and emotion recognition among young rural children and the mediating role of working memory. A total of 187 children (girls= 41.71%) aged 3-6 years from rural kindergartens in the Henan Province in China participated in the study Their motor development, working memory, and emotion recognition were assessed using the Big Muscle Motor Development Test-Second Edition (fGMD-2), Beads Memory Task, and Emotion Recognition Test. Following a mediating model, results showed that motor development positively predicted working memory, while working memory predicted emotion recognition. The direct and positive predictive effect of motor development on emotion recognition was also significant. The findings suggest that rural children's motor development is a resource for children's emotional recognition, with the mediating role of working memory as a developmental mechanism. We should pay attention to the importance of rural children's motor development in their growth process.