The accuracy of aimed movements to visual targets during development: The role of visual information

Abstract

Children aged 1.5 to 8 years were required to touch accurately an illuminated target lamp located on a vertical board. Movements were made when visual information was (1) complete (target lit for 3 s, room illuminated; (2) partial (target lit for 3 s, room dark, and (3) reduced (target lit for 0.7 s, room dark). Dependent variables were response accuracy, reaction time; and movement time. Accuracy decreased with decreasing availability of visual information and improved with age under all conditions. Reaction times were shorter in the dark (Conditions 2 and 3) than in the light; they decreased with age up to age 5 and did not continue to decrease thereafter. Movement time did not change with age under Conditions 1 and 3 but tended to increase with age under Condition 2. Slower movements were more accurate at all ages, provided visual feedback could be utilized. Increased reliance on the strategy “slower movements yield higher accuracy” was held to account for developmental changes under Condition 2, whereas in Conditions 1 and 3 improvement in the efficiency of motor preprogramming was implicated.