Psychology of Movement Commons^™

Examining Pain Catastrophizing, Mental Toughness, Self-Efficacy, And Perceived Pain In The Performance Of Female Athletes During Their Menstrual Cycle, Carissa R. Martinez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pain is a universal unpleasant or negative experience influenced by physiological, psychological, and environmental factors. Disruption in the neural pathways of pain can affect athletic performance and lead to injury risks. Both negative attributes, such as stress, anxiety, and depression, and positive attributes, such as mental toughness and self-efficacy, contribute to pain perception and catastrophic thinking. The menstrual cycle also plays a critical role in pain catastrophizing, as hormonal fluctuations across different phases may hinder pain perception and performance in female athletes. However, research lacks the inclusion of how these factors impact female athletes. Using a non-experimental quantitative analysis, this …

Walk A Mile: Exploring Cause-Based Charity Event Participation As A Catalyst For Increasing Physical Activity Behavior, Kimberly S. Fasczewski, Andrey A. Sanko Posada, Meg Hopkins

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Despite the known benefits of physical activity (PA), more than half of U.S. adults do not meet the American College of Sports Medicine’s PA recommendations for health, often resulting in negative health outcomes. Developing programming that increases motivation for PA participation is critical for healthcare professionals to combat physical inactivity. Previous research has demonstrated that framing disease-based PA charity fundraising events as “helping a cause” improved motivation for PA due to the individual’s emotional connection to the cause. There is currently no congruent research on motivation for participation in cause-based charity events. Behavioral economics theory posits that cognitive, emotional, and …

Psychological Impacts In Exercise Riders And Professional Jockeys Following Injury, Kelley M. Renner

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

One of the most well-known equestrian sports, horse racing, is not only a cornerstone of Kentucky’s economy, but also a vital part of its culture, with professional jockeys playing an essential role in the local communities and traditions that define the state. Despite its popularity and financial impact, mental health challenges within the sport have continually been shrouded in silence and ignored in research (Ball et al., 2007). Equally concerning is the high injury prevalence, and psychological impact of these injuries (e.g., psychological distress, depression, anxiety, loss of identity, and self-esteem (King et al., 2022; Losty et al., 2019; McConn-Palfreyman …

An Investigation Of Resistance Training Behavior, Non-Specific Psychological Distress, And Perceived Barriers To Resistance Training In Self-Identifying Female Undergraduate Students, Jody Sobel

Master's Theses

The prevalence and severity of depression symptoms amongst college students, specifically female identifying undergraduate students, is worrisome. There is a great deal of research that suggests a relationship between exercise, specifically resistance training (RT), and mental health. That said, current literature suggests that many female identifying students are not engaging due to perceived barriers. This, perhaps because of the plethora of barriers one can perceive. The purpose of this study was multifold 1) to examine the prevalence and severity of non-specific psychological distress; 2) to determine if there were differences between Kessler 6 Non-Specific Psychological Distress Scale (K6) categories (i.e., …

The Effect Of Physical Activity Courses On The Motivation For Physical Activity In College Students: A Scoping Review, Erica Fauste Waizenhofer Hill

Theses and Dissertations--Kinesiology and Health Promotion

The lack of physical activity and exercise participation has been an ongoing
problem for young adults aged 18-24. Universities and colleges worldwide offer a variety of required and elective physical activity courses for college credit to increase active participation in lifelong healthy lifestyles. This scoping review collected studies on college students’ motivation to participate in physical activity. The courses were taught using methods based on motivational theories. The authors of the studies collected information from the students before and after the classes to gather data on the theoretical framework’s effect on the students, if any. This review compiles this information, …

Mindfulness And Physical Activity As Moderators Of Behavioral Inhibition Sensitivity And Psychological Distress, Edward Silber

LSU Master's Theses

Framed in Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, the current study examined the moderating effects of mindfulness and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) on the relationship between behavioral inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity and psychological distress. Participants (N=183) were college students at a large public university in the Southeastern United States. Data were collected using an online survey with self-report questionnaires that demonstrated acceptable reliability. Data analysis utilized multiple linear regression models to test study hypotheses. Findings revealed a significant positive relationship between BIS sensitivity and psychological distress, with mindfulness and MVPA significantly moderating this association. Specifically, increased reports of mindfulness and MVPA …

Elevator Or Stairs? A Dive Into Patron Decision Making, Lucas D. Elliott, Oliver W.A. Wilson, Melissa Bopp

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

• When put in a situation to get to higher/lower floors of a building, there are many factors that go into play for whether an individual chooses to take the stairs (active) or ride the elevator (sedentary).
• Students were approached at waiting area for the four elevators in a University Library and were asked series of questions regarding their reasoning for taking the stair or elevator to ascend, as well as their thoughts on the stairwell appearance.
• Point of application #1: Stairwell appearance and aesthetics should be considered during the design process in order to increase use and physical activity amongst …

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 Effects Of Whole Body High-Intensity Interval Training On Collegiate Female Soccer Players 2016, Whitney Frary

Master's Theses

Soccer is considered a high intensity sport that requires a high level of both aerobic and anaerobic fitness. A whole body high-intensity interval training adaptation has been shown to benefit both of these systems over a short period of time. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a five week whole-body high intensity interval training program on female collegiate soccer players performance in speed, acceleration, agility, vertical jump, aerobic capacity, physical self perception, and physical enjoyment. Participants were from the SUNY Cortland women’s soccer team who participated in a five- week training protocol three days a …

The Effect Of Descriptive Norms On Resistance Exercise Self-Efficacy In College-Aged Females 2016, Justin Kompf

Master's Theses

Resistance training is a form of physical activity that provides substantial health benefits. Despite these widespread benefits, participation in resistance training is considerably low, particularly among females. To engage in a skill-related activity such as resistance training, individuals need to have confidence in their abilities. Self-efficacy is a cognitive construct that is used to describe situation-specific self-confidence. Descriptive norms are a type of social norm that describes the behavior of others. Descriptive norms have been useful in positively changing health related behaviors. The exact mechanism of how descriptive norms alter behavior is unknown. However, it has been show in research …

An Investigation Of Aerobic Fitness, Perceived Quality Of Life And The Direct Effects Of Self-Determination Theory In College Students 2015, Alanna Darling

Master's Theses

There have been numerous studies examining the association between physical activity, motivation and quality of life. In contrast, studies focusing on aerobic fitness and its relationship with levels of motivation and perceived quality of life are lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between a direct measure of aerobic fitness, behavioral regulations, and perceptions of quality of life in college-aged sample. Participants included both males (n=129; 21.1±1.8 years) and females (n=89; 20.8±1.4 years) who completed the Behavioral Regulations of Exercise Questionnaire-2 sub-scores and Perceived Quality of Life (PQoL) instruments. Participants then performed the Queen’s College Step …

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 …

Lateralized Difference In Tympanic Membrane Temperature: Emotion And Hemispheric Activity, Ruth E. Propper, Tad T. Brunyé

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

We review literature examining relationships between tympanic membrane temperature (TMT), affective/motivational orientation, and hemispheric activity. Lateralized differences in TMT might enable real-time monitoring of hemispheric activity in real-world conditions, and could serve as a corroborating marker of mental illnesses associated with specific affective dysregulation. We support the proposal that TMT holds potential for broadly indexing lateralized brain physiology during tasks demanding the processing and representation of emotional and/or motivational states, and for predicting trait-related affective/motivational orientations. The precise nature of the relationship between TMT and brain physiology, however, remains elusive. Indeed the limited extant research has sampled different participant populations …

Locus Of Control And The Age Difference In Free Recall From Episodic Memory, Paul Amrhein, Judith K. Bond, Derek Hamilton

Department of Psychology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The authors investigated the relation of locus of control (LOC) to age differences in free-recall memory performance. Older and younger participants completed P. C. Duttweiler's (1984) Internal Control Index (ICI) and subsequently performed free-recall memory tasks. Compared with the younger participants, the older participants exhibited poorer recall with more intrusions and uncorrected repetition errors as well as reduced categorical clustering. For the older participants with less internal LOC, recall proportion and item-pair associative recall clustering were lower than for the older participants with more internal LOC. By contrast, the younger participants did not exhibit any LOC effects in their recall …

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 …