Hitting the Target: Mathematical Attainment in Children Is Related to Interceptive-Timing Ability.

ABSTRACT: Interceptive timing is a fundamental ability underpinning numerous actions (e.g., ball catching), but its development and relationship with other cognitive functions remain poorly understood. Piaget suggested that children need to learn the physical rules that govern their environment before they can represent abstract concepts such as number and time. Thus, learning how objects move in space and time may underpin the development of related abstract representations (i.e., mathematics). To test this hypothesis, we captured objective measures of interceptive timing in 309 primary school children (5-11 years old), alongside scores for general motor skill and national standardized academic attainment. Bayesian estimation showed that interceptive timing (but not general motor capability) unique

SUBMITTER: Giles OT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6088501 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature