Effects of Age, Sex, and Placement of a Model on Children's Performance on a Ball-Striking Task

Abstract

The present investigation examined the effects of age, sex, and temporal placement of a model on performance of a ball-striking task. 90 boys and 90 girls, aged 7 and 9 yr., were randomly assigned to one of three conditions. The model was presented before any trials were attempted, midway, or not at all during 16 trials. A 2 (age) X 2 (sex) X 3 (model condition) X 16 (trials) repeated-measures design was utilized. Analysis of variance indicated significant effects of age and sex and interactions of age and sex, and of age and trials for number of ball hits in 20 sec. Findings support previous research which indicated that age, sex, and model are important influences on motor performance.