Hitting the Target: Mathematical Attainment in Children Is Related to Interceptive-Timing Ability
研究对309名5-11岁小学生进行测试，发现拦截时机能力（如接球）能独立预测数学成绩，且不受年龄、读写能力和一般运动技能影响。
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) uniquely predicted mathematical ability even after we controlled for age, reading, and writing attainment. This finding demonstrates that interceptive timing is distinct from other motor skills with specificity in predicting childhood mathematical ability independently of other forms of attainment and motor capability.