Di Maria Emanuele, Dicataldo Raffaele, Roch Maja, Tomaselli Valentina, Leo Irene
Department of Developmental Psychology and Socialization, University of Padua, 35131 Padua, Italy.
Children (Basel). 2025 Jul 29;12(8):999. doi: 10.3390/children12080999.
According to Embodied Cognition theories, motor skills in early childhood are closely interconnected with various cognitive abilities, including working memory, cognitive flexibility, and theory of mind. These processes are integral components of the multicomponent model of narrative comprehension, which posits that higher-order cognitive functions support the construction of coherent mental representations of narrative meaning. This study aimed to examine whether motor skills directly contribute to narrative comprehension in preschool children or whether this relationship is mediated by cognitive skills. Seventy-four typically developing children aged 3 to 6 years (47.2% female) participated in this study. Motor skills were assessed using standardized measures, and cognitive abilities were evaluated through tasks targeting working memory, cognitive flexibility, and theory of mind. Narrative comprehension was measured with age-appropriate tasks requiring the understanding and retelling of stories. A structural equation model (SEM) was conducted to test the direct and indirect effects of motor skills on narrative comprehension via cognitive skills. The SEM results indicated a significant direct effect of motor skills on cognitive skills and an indirect effect on narrative comprehension mediated by cognitive abilities. No evidence was found for a direct pathway from motor skills to narrative comprehension independent of cognitive processes. These findings underscore the complex interplay between motor, cognitive, and language development in early childhood. The results suggest that motor skills contribute to narrative comprehension indirectly by enhancing core cognitive abilities, offering novel insights into the developmental mechanisms that support language acquisition and understanding.
根据具身认知理论，幼儿期的运动技能与各种认知能力密切相关，包括工作记忆、认知灵活性和心理理论。这些过程是叙事理解多成分模型的组成部分，该模型认为高阶认知功能支持叙事意义连贯心理表征的构建。本研究旨在探讨运动技能是否直接促进学龄前儿童的叙事理解，或者这种关系是否由认知技能介导。74名3至6岁的发育正常儿童（47.2%为女性）参与了本研究。使用标准化测量评估运动技能，并通过针对工作记忆、认知灵活性和心理理论的任务评估认知能力。通过要求理解和复述故事的适龄任务来测量叙事理解。进行了结构方程模型（SEM）以测试运动技能通过认知技能对叙事理解的直接和间接影响。SEM结果表明运动技能对认知技能有显著直接影响，对由认知能力介导的叙事理解有间接影响。未发现运动技能独立于认知过程对叙事理解有直接路径的证据。这些发现强调了幼儿期运动、认知和语言发展之间复杂的相互作用。结果表明，运动技能通过增强核心认知能力间接促进叙事理解，为支持语言习得和理解的发展机制提供了新的见解。
