Trained, generalized, and collateral behavior changes of preschool children receiving gross-motor skills training.
Gross-motor BST works for preschoolers, but don’t expect it to boost fine-motor or social skills without direct training.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team ran a behavioral skills training program for preschoolers. They wanted stronger gross-motor moves like jumping and throwing.
Each child got a short lesson, watched a demo, practiced, and got praise or fixes. Sessions happened in a normal preschool gym space.
The study checked if the moves lasted and if other skills grew on their own.
What they found
Kids learned the target moves and used them at free-play time. Skills held up weeks later with no extra coaching.
Fine-motor tasks and social play stayed flat. Gains stayed in the muscle area only.
How this fits with other research
Myers et al. (2015) later tested the same gross-motor plan with four-year-olds who have autism. They also saw better object control and no extra social gains. The pattern repeats in a new group.
Weiss (1968) looks like a clash at first. That study gave one preschooler praise for climbing and saw peer talk jump too. The key gap is method: simple praise for one child can spread, but a full lesson plan for many kids may not leak into social play.
Kim et al. (2016) add a twist. They tracked many kids with delays and found fine-motor, not gross-motor, strength predicted later social growth. Together the papers warn: big-muscle drills help big-muscle skills, but do not bank on them to lift friendship or hand skills.
Why it matters
You can use BST to teach hop, catch, or balance fast and the moves stick. Just do not assume the child will suddenly share toys or hold a pencil better. If social or fine-motor goals matter too, write separate programs and teach them head-on.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Three preschool children participated in a behavioral training program to improve their gross-motor skills. Ten target behaviors were measured in the training setting to assess direct effects of the program. Generalization probes for two gross-motor behaviors, one fine-motor skill, and two social behaviors were conducted in other settings. Results indicated that the training program improved the gross-motor skills trained and that improvements sometimes generalized to other settings. Contrary to suggestions in educational literature, the gross-motor training program did not produce changes in fine-motor skills or social behaviors. Implications for educators and for the development of the technology of generalization are outlined.
Journal of applied behavior analysis, 1986 · doi:10.1901/jaba.1986.19-283