Perceptions of effort sensations in children at varying stages of cognitive development

Most research on perceived effort in children has emanated from a physiological perspective. The purpose of this study was to delineate how children at two different levels of cognitive development perceive three effort sensations (e.g. breathing, exertion, and determination) during a physically incremental task. Participants (n = 50) for this study were recruited from two general age cohorts: 9 years of age (representing the concrete operational stage of cognitive development) and 13 years of age (representing the formal operational stage of cognitive development). Participants performed a stepping task under two physical load levels (0% and +20% of body weight). Dimensions of perceived effort sensations were measured at 30s intervals throughout the exercise. Both, concrete and formal operation cohorts, distinguished the effort sensations similarly across the duration of the exertive task and the two physical loads. Perceived exertion and breathing sensations increased linearly with effort intensity in both cohorts. Determination ratings did not remain stable over time for children in either stage of cognitive development, indicating that children may perceive this dimension differently than adults. The findings indicate that concrete and formal cognitive developmental stages do not pose any evaluative constrains on perceived exertion in young children and the motivational dimension of effort should be further studied in these cohorts.