Motor Development

A method of study that attempts to explain change over developmental time and involves charting various aspects of an individual’s behavior for several years

A method of study that looks at age-related differences in behavior by permitting the researcher to collect data on different groups of people at varying age levels at the same point in time, yielding average differences across real time, but not individual changes across developmental time

A method in which individuals are selected and studied cross-sectionally and followed longitudinally for several years, thus permitting comparison of results and providing a means for validating age-related change with true developmental change

A variable age that corresponds roughly to chronological age, determined by measures of morphological, skeletal, dental, or sexual age.

An increase in the size of the body or its parts

In an individual’s level of functioning over time

A process of developmental change characterized by a fixed order of progression in which the pace may vary but the sequence of appearance of characteristics generally dos not

Environmental factors that may alter the appearance of various developmental characteristics through the process of learning

Underlying biological and mechanical factors that influence movement

An internal process that results in consistent observable changes in behavior

A change in motor behavior resulting from practice or past experience

Common underlying process of control in movement

Changes in motor learning and development that embody learning factors and maturational processes associated with movement performance

Study of the underlying mechanisms responsible for movement, with particular emphasis given to what is being controlled and how the processes governing control are organized

Continuous change in motor behavior throughout the life cycle