Other Kinesiology Commons^™

Effect Of Activity Trackers And Text Messaging On Exercise, Fitness, And Physical Activity Self-Efficacy Of Middle School Students, Alison F. Pittman

Nursing Theses and Dissertations

A decrease in physical activity as children age is a contributing factor to the U.S. obesity epidemic. Middle school children are particularly vulnerable to sedentary activities. Activity trackers show promise as a means to motivate children and adults to increase physical activity (PA). This study examined the effect of a text messaging intervention and use of activity trackers with a companion social website on the body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, physical fitness, and PA self-efficacy of middle school children. Children aged 11-14 (n=102) were randomly assigned to one of three groups for a 10-week intervention: activity tracker group; …

The Effect Of A Pettlep Imagery Intervention-Based Pre-Performance Routine On Golfer's Short-Game Performance, Logan Baughman

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Studies have suggested that imagery has a positive effect on performance in a variety of sports. The PETTLEP model (Holmes and Collins, 2001) includes the seven minimum elements sport psychologists incorporate into their imagery scripts. The PETTLEP model is the most comprehensive imagery model, thus providing the most functional equivalence. Golf is the interest of this study, with research stating that imagery has an overall positive impact on golf performance (Nicholls & Polman, 2005). However, studies involving the PETTLEP model have not been investigated thoroughly. There are several shots that have not been studied with the PETTLEP model, therefore this …

Sedentary Behaviour, Physical Activity, And Mobile Apps Among University Students, Emily E. Dunn

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Prolonged sedentary behaviour (SB) poses health risks independent of physical activity (PA) levels (Owen et al., 2010). University students in particular are at risk of engaging in prolonged SB due to the demands of school. Due to the pervasiveness of smartphones, and ability of mobile applications (apps) to target SB (Bond et al., 2014), apps may be used to encourage less SB in this population. Apps for PA have been coded for behaviour change techniques (BCTs) (Conroy et al., 2014; Middelweerd et al., 2014; Yang et al., 2015), however, apps for SB have yet to be assessed for BCTs.

The …

Examining College Student Athlete Attitudes Towards Concussion Testing And Reporting Concussions, Kaitlyn Fry

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Examining College Student Athlete Attitudes and Behaviors Toward Baseline Neurocognitive Concussion Testing

FryK, Anderson, M, Anderson, M, Schatz, P, Elbin, RJ: University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas

Context: Examining athletes’ attitudes toward concussion diagnosis, management, and treatment can lead to improved multi-faceted management of a concussion injury. Although attitudes towards concussion injuries have been studied, the examination of athletes’ attitudes towards baseline computerized neurocognitive testing is understudied and is warranted. Objective: To examine the relationship between sex, concussion history, and previous exposure to baseline testing on athletes’ perceptions of effort provided during baseline testing and the utility of neurocognitive testing. Methods: …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Cheerleaders' Lived Experiences Of Mental Blocks, Erin M. Lawrence

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

A mental block is a phenomenon in which an athlete’s mind no longer allows them to perform a physical skill that was previously well-learned and automatic. This phenomenon has received attention in gymnastics and trampoline but the literature is lacking an investigation of this phenomenon in all-star cheerleading. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of mental blocks by obtaining it from the first-person perspective of cheerleaders themselves. A purposeful sample of 8 all-star cheerleader participants was interviewed and transcriptions were analyzed utilizing qualitative analysis. Four main themes were found: 1) specific to backwards moving skills, 2) …

An Investigation Of Preferred Versus Imposed Exercise, Personality Traits, And Motivation On An Exercise Dependent College Aged Sample 2013, Chelsea M. Norton

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to: (a) investigate personality traits and motivation among an exercise dependent sample by using and examining theoretically based assessment tools and (b) measure feeling states under different types of physical activity among those who were considered to be exercise dependent. Four hundred twenty-three college students (54.4% male, 45.6% female) who met the inclusion criteria completed the Exercise Dependence Scale-Revised (EDS-R; Symons Downs, Hausenblas, & Nigg, 2004), Exercise Addiction Inventory (EAI; Terry, Szabó, & Griffiths, 2004), Exercise Identity Scale (EIS; Anderson & Cychosz, 1994), Behavioral Regulations in Exercise Questionnaire-2 (BREQ-2; Markland & Tobin, 2004), and …

Mental Imagery And Basketball: A Comparison Of Cognitive-Specific And Flow Imagery, Evan Welo

Psychology Honors Projects

Flow is a psychological state that is associated with optimal performance. Sports such as basketball are conducive to an individual experiencing flow because they have rules that structure and focus attention. Past research indicates that sports related mental imagery practice improves athletic performance; however few studies to date have systematically included the characteristics of flow in their sports mental imagery interventions. The present study compared the efficacy of a ―flow‖ and a standard basketball mental imagery intervention at improving performance on a basketball-shooting task. No significant differences were found between groups, but both reported increases in flow experiences.

Effects Of Age On Motor Preparation And Restructuring, Paul Amrhein, Noreen Goggin, George Stelmach

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Age-related decrements in motor plan restructuring were investigated. In this experiment, older and younger adults performed a discrete aiming task that involved responses that were precued and responses that were modified at the time of an imperative signal. On 75% of the trials, the precue specified the response-stimulus (valid trials) with respect to the movement parameters of the arm (left or right) and direction (toward or away). On the remaining 25% of the trials, the response-stimulus was different from the precue (invalid trials) in that the subject was required to modify a planned movement by changing the arm to be …