title: Continuous and discontinuous drawing: high temporal variability exists only in discontinuous circling in young children.
abstract: The authors studied whether the drawing variability in young children is best explicable by (a) demands on the explicit timing system, (b) an underdeveloped ability to control limb dynamics, or (c) both. The explicit timing demands were lower in continuous drawing in comparison with the discontinuous task. The authors manipulated limb dynamics by changing the number of joints involved, with line drawing requiring fewer joints than circle drawing. Results showed that young children had high temporal variability in discontinuous circling but not in other conditions. The authors argue that both explicit timing and dynamic complexity of limb control may be determinants of temporal consistency and may thus play an important role in the development of drawing and writing skills in children.
authors.affiliation: Division of Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. jinbo@umich.edu
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bo
authors.forename: Amy J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Bastian
authors.forename: José L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Contreras-Vidal
authors.forename: Florian A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Kagerer
authors.forename: Jane E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006236:Handwriting; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013028:Space Perception / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D013998:Time Perception / Q000502:physiology
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