The Age Grading of Physical Activity among Children

Abstract

To test the hypothesis that children view participation in physical activity as less appropriate among adults of increasing chronological age, pre-school children (N = 51 males; N = 51 females) were shown six facial pictures of two adults who had been aged fictitiously through make-up, and were asked to rate the competence of these adults on six physical activities. The most significant finding of the study was that these children's assessments of the competence of adult participation in physical activity was, to a large extent, dictated by their perceptions of the age of the adult. Adults perceived as more advanced in chronological age were viewed as less proficient at each physical activity. The children's chronological age, gender, or motor skill level did not interact with their responses to the pictures.