Cognitive Contributions to Adolescent Motor Learning
A Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.4166Keywords:
Working Memory, Processing Speed, Motor Sequence Acquisition, AdolescentsAbstract
Motor skill acquisition underlies both everyday and specialized human activities, yet individuals differ substantially in the rate at which they learn new movements. Although Fitts and Posner's (1967) three-stage model describes a universal trajectory from conscious to automatic performance, it does not explain why some learners progress through these stages faster than others. Cognitive ability has been proposed as one source of this variability, with working memory (WM) and processing speed implicated as the components most relevant to motor learning. However, most existing research has sampled children or adults, with adolescents underrepresented, and few studies directly compare higher and average-intelligence groups on learning rate rather than final performance. This review outlines currently known contributions of working memory and processing speed to motor learning rate, which appear to vary across learning stages, task types, and practice conditions. Implications for how cognitive ability should be considered in research and practice with adolescent populations are discussed.
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