Towards a better understanding of the association between motor skills and executive functions in 5- to 6-year-olds: The impact of motor task difficulty

Different lines of evidence suggest an association between motor skills and executive functions
(EFs) in kindergarten children. Comparatively little is known about the specific nature of this
relationship. In the present study, using a within-subjects design, a sample of 124 five- to sixyear-
old children completed 12 fine and gross motor tasks of varying nominal difficulty and three
EFs tasks. We assumed that difficult motor tasks are less automated than easy motor tasks.
Therefore, EFs should be involved more strongly in difficult compared to easy motor tasks.
Firstly, results replicated the association between motor skills and EFs. Secondly, results provided
a new and differentiated perspective on the evidence of this link. Performance on both easy and
difficult fine motor tasks was significantly related to EFs. However, only performance on the
difficult, but not on the easy gross motor tasks was significantly correlated with EFs. The findings
demonstrate that the challenges and demands inherent in any motor task influence the magnitude
of the motor–EFs link. That is, difficult (i.e., less automated) motor tasks require EFs more
substantially than easy (i.e., more automated) motor tasks. Results will be discussed with regard
to further candidate processes underlying the motor–EFs link.