University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

The Relationship Between Work Capacity And Motor Learning

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The Relationship Between Work Capacity And Motor Learning

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Content THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK CAPACITY AND MOTOR LEARNING by Joann Marlene Johnson A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Physical Education) January 1970 71-12,395 JOHNSON, Joann Marlene, 1932- THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WORK CAPACITY AND MOTOR LEARNING. University of Southern California, Fh.D., 1970 Education, physical University Microfilms. A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor. Michigan THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED UNIVERSITY O F SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PARK LOS ANGELES. CALIFORNIA S 0 0 0 7 This dissertation, written by under the direction of hax.~. Dissertation Com mittee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by The Gradu ate School, in partial fulfillment of require ments for the degree of Joann M arlene Johnson D O C T O R OF P H IL O S O P H Y Date.. Ja.aua.ry.,... 1.270 DISSERTATION COMMITTEE ACKNOWLEDGMENT i | A special acknowledgment is made by this writer to i Dr. Aileene Lockhart whose patience, encouragement, advice, i guidance, and friendship throughout the preparation of this manuscript made its completion possible. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Tables.......................................... v List of Illustrations................................. vi Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ...................................... 1 The Problem . ............................... 3 Statement of the problem .................... 3 Limitations of the study .................... 3 Delimitations of the study .................. 3 Importance of the s t u d y .................... 4 Definitions of Terms Used .................. 4 Organization of the Remainder of This Study . 5 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE .................... 6 Mental Ability of College Men ................ 9 Perception of Retardates ...................... 11 Perceptual Ability of the Aged................ 14 Neurological Considerations .................. 14 Summary........................................ 1? III. METHODS OF PROCEDURE............................. 1^ The Experimental Situation .................... 20 The learning t a s k ........................... 20 The test of physical work capacity......... 20 Equipment and facilities used for the ■ practice of the motor task................ 23 The physical conditioning program ......... 2? The Control Situation ........................ 31 The Subjects............... 32 Conduct of the Investigation.................. 33 Summary........................................ 33 IV. ANALYSIS OF THE DATA............................. 36 iii Chapter Page Statistical Treatment ........................ 37! Physical Work Capacity ........................ 40 The Motor Task................................. 43 Intercorrelations of Adjacent Trials on the Motor Learning Task.................. 49 Summary........................................ 53 V. DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS...................... 56 Differences in Physical Work Capacity .... 57 Differences in Scores on the Motor Learning T a s k ........................ 61! Summary........................................ 64 VI. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION........................... 66 Summary........................................ 66 Findings...................................... 68 Conclusion...................................... 69 Suggestions for Further Study ............... 70 REFERENCES............................................... 72 APPENDICES APPENDIX A ............................................ 78 APPENDIX B ............................................ 79 APPENDIX ............................................ 80 APPENDIX ............................................ 81 APPENDIX E ............................................ 83 APPENDIX F ............................................ 84 APPENDIX ............................................ 87 APPENDIX .......................................... 88 iv LIST OF TABLES jTable Page 1. The Physical Conditioning Program ......... 29 2. Analysis of the Variance and Trend Analysis of Physical Work Capacity Values.............. 41 3. Analysis of the Variance and Trend Analysis of Scores Made on the Motor Task............. 45j 4. Intercorrelations of Adjacent Motor Learning J Task T r i a l s ................................... 52; v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS i jFigure 1. The Ball Tossing Task .......................... 2. Changes in Predicted Maximal Oxygen Consumption I in Liters Per Minute........................... 3. Daily Ball Tossing Scores for All Subjects . . . : 4. Daily Mean Scores Made by Each Group on the | Ball Tossing Task ............................. 5. Intercorrelations of Adjacent Trials on the Motor Learning Task .......................... CHAPTER I | INTRODUCTION The learning process has long been of interest and (concern. Pedagogues, past and present, have studied it, : i written volumes about it, argued endlessly concerning it, : and conducted innumerable experiments designed to better define and elucidate it. Many theories have been proposed I as possible explanations but none holds completely. Though (much is known about the conditions which affect learning, the process itself remains a mystery. Since man is considered to be an integrated organism! and overt behavior is a result of many internal processes, the study of the learning process is necessarily complex. Because the pfocess itself has as yet eluded investigators, learning must be inferred from performance. Evaluation of performance involves consideration of the rate, quality, ease, effectiveness, and permanence of man's behavior. Such comportment can be classified as being in one of two catego ries, though they are not mutually exclusive: cognitive or motor. Motor learning refers to the specific study of how man learns to perform motor tasks. Some study has been 1 idirected toward identifying factors or abilities that appear to be commonly shared by those whose rate of motor learning seems faster than others. It has been suggested that a "general motor ability" factor may be present which allows ! some to learn more and learn faster. No such factor has j i i been identified, however (19, 32). Yet some students do J learn skills of many kinds more quickly than do others. Probably many complex factors account for this. - The literature suggests that some benefits accrue when the learning of cognitive materials is accompanied by I physical activity. If this be so, perhaps motor learning tasks themselves, which by definition involve physical |activity, may be learned better by those who have improved their physiological conditions. That this may be the case is suggested in part by the high level of motor performance of highly trained athletes who have very high physical work capacities. Since many physiological parameters improve in efficiency as a result of training, might there also be some1 improvement in the integrity of that highly diversified process called learning, and specifically motor learning, when accompanied by such activity? If the physical work capacity of the organism could be shown to be associated with its ability to learn motor tasks, a vital link in the chain of knowledge supporting the widely accepted holistic concept of the nature of man would be found. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the possibility that man's ability to learn motor tasks is associated with his Work capacity. On that basis, the following major hypothe- ! sis was tested: there is a relationship between physical i work capacity and motor learning. The Problem [ Statement of the Problem. The problem under inves tigation in this study was to determine the relationship between improvement in work capacity and the learning of a selected motor task. Specifically it was thought that a training program designed to improve maximal oxygen consump tion might facilitate such learning. Limitations of the Study. The study was limited to forty women subjects of college age who were observed over a1 six-week period of time. The physical work capacity of these subjects was predicted from a submaximal test. Although this was a limitation of the study, such measures have been shown to yield data with an error of prediction of only ±9.3 per cent (2, 11). Delimitations of the Study. The study was delimited to the learning of only one specific motor task and to only one means of improving physical work capacity. No purely cognitive tasks were presented to the subjects. Although it was realized that instruction is normally a part of the atmosphere of a formal learning situation, none was given in this case in order to preserve the validity of the hypothe sized relationship between the learning of the motor task and improvement of work capacity. For the same reason com- j ; ments regarding subjects' conceptualization of the tasks or regarding the learning of them were not solicited and sub jects were requested not to discuss the learning task with j others. j | Importance of the Study. Research designed to add j 1 j to that which is known about motor learning is important to j I those who are concerned with developing efficient and effec-j j tive movement. Performance in art, music, industry, and medicine, as well as in physical education depends heavily upon such knowledge. Should an increase in physical work capacity be found to be related to motor learning ability j the rate and amount of learning of all types of motor tasks | might be improved. Definitions of Terms Used Terms as used in the context of this study follow: Physical work capacity. This term refers to "the maximum level of metabolism (work) of which an individual isj capable" (11:204). Predicted maximal oxygen consumption. The total amount of oxygen which can be consumed by an individual during an all-out physical effort is referred to as maximal j oxygen consumption. This can be predicted from a submaximal physical bout, the Rhyming Step Test (31), a measure which is considered to be the best single indication of maximal ■ : i oxygen consumption under conditions of submaximal effort j (11). | Organization of the Remainder of This Study Chapter II contains a review of literature deemed j i related by the investigator to concepts dealing with a ! possible relationship between motor learning and work : capacity. Procedural methods utilized in the present inves-' tigation are discussed in Chapter III. Analysis of the data is dealt with in Chapter IV, and in Chapter V a discussion of the findings is presented. A summary of the study and the conclusion drawn from it appear in Chapter VI. Raw data and other information pertinent to the study are contained in the Appendices which follow the Bibliography. CHAPTER II ! i REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE j . i There has been intense interest in the phenomenon of| [learning for centuries. As in any case where unsolved J secrets motivate experimentation from many different disci- ; plines, learning has been and presently is undergoing the close scrutiny of many investigators. That a possible rela tionship may exist between different types of learning and participation in physical activity is a relatively new con cept. Though it is well accepted that participation in various modes of physical conditioning or training activi ties have predictable and measurable physiological outcomes (11), that exercise may also possibly be related to learn ing, both cognitive and motor, has only recently been suggested. The possible relationship between academic perfor mance and physical activity was summarized by Shaw and Cordts (36) and Mohr (29) in 1960 after they reviewed the literature concerning this topic. Somewhat conflicting and inconclusive results were found but the former authors state Although almost no research has been concerned with the possible relationship of physical fitness and academic performance, what has been done suggests that a positive relationship may exist. Many of the studies on this subject are inadequately j controlled or incomplete in their coverage and often thej conclusions reached are based on personal opinion, or | mere observation of limited situations. Prior to 1930, i few studies were treated statistically, and even if j statistical techniques were used, too little information was included to interpret the findings. Since relatively few studies involving girls have been reported, more studies with such a sample would be worthwhile. As very little research on the effect of exercise and/or sport participation on academic achieve ment has been attempted in the past ten years, a few j well-conducted researches ought to be undertaken to keep, us up-to-date in this area. (36:620-621) I Various investigations in which animals have served i as experimental subjects have shown that muscular activity affects certain perceptual capacities. Held and Hein found that when young animals are prevented from moving about freely in their environments, they do not develop normal depth perceptual abilities, and movements that are sight- guided only are developed more slowly than they are by normally reared animals (18:876). Humans also seem to require a combination of visual and motor experiences in order to perceive size and some specific visual forms cor rectly (17:723j 7:115). Hammerton and Tickner showed that men who are in excellent physical condition and have very high physical work capacities are relatively unaffected by extensive exercise when they then perform fine tracking tasks. Moderately trained men, however, perform signifi cantly poorer on these tasks after exhausting exercise (16: 43). Brouha concluded that training improves the "transmis- ~ ..... ~ ' nr sion of the nerve impulses to the motor units ..." and also improves "the precision and the economy of any motion or sequence of motions involved in muscular activity." He further stated that "by training, neuromuscular coordination is improved" (5:405, 408). j It appears, therefore, that there is some evidence j ! which suggests a relationship between learning and physical activity. Most of the research that has been conducted con- cerning this topic so far, however, has been directed toward! determining the relationship between cognitive learning and physical activity. Little or no data are available concern-! ing the possibility that the ability to learn motor tasks may be related to the amount of training or conditioning a subject may have undergone. That increase in physical work capacity (the best evidence that the physical condition of a I subject has increased) may possibly be accompanied by con current changes in ability to learn motor tasks remains largely a topic for conjecture but there are enough threads of evidence to indicate that this may, indeed, be the case. ; Williams, writing of learning in general, has said that there is a definite need for research which can answer, in certain terms, the ques tion of whether or not physical activity can and does effect desirable changes in the perceptual capacities of the individual. Since cognitive and perceptual func tions appear to be so closely linked in the human organ-: ism, this may be the point at which we should begin to unravel the puzzle of the relationship between percep tion, cognition, and motor activity. (38:30) Williams has also suggested that "there may be a very subtle but important relationship between certain veridical percep tions and the movement experience of the individual" (30). The review of the literature which follows concerns the possible relationship between learning and physical activity. In an effort to clarify this presentation, the review of studies is divided into four areas as follows: (1) mental ability of college men, (2) the perception of jretardates, (3) perceptual ability of the aged, and (4) neu rological considerations. I I i I Mental Ability of College Men Since the human organism functions in an integrated jfashion, Gutin (15) hypothesized that there must be a par- jtial physical basis for intellectual activity; an increase J in the physiological efficiency of the body, therefore, might be accompanied by improvement in performance of com- i plex intellectual activity. To investigate this possibil ity, Gutin administered four tests designed to measure j verbal comprehension, visual pursuit, verbal reasoning, and i symbolic reasoning to fifty-five college men after they had j been exercised on the Indiana Motor Fitness Index II, per formed bench-stepping, and had been subjected to long addi tion and substraction problems. The men were then assigned to experimental and control groups. Members of the experi mental group underwent a twelve-week training program designed to improve their physical fitness. Following this, all subjects repeated the exercise protocol and then the j tests of mental ability. On the basis of the data thus j j I I obtained, it was found that when the groups were compared i "an increase in physical fitness had no positive effect on j ! i , i jthe ability of the subjects to perform complex mental tasks j jfollowing a period of physical and mental stress" (15:218). ; Further interpretation of the data, however, indicated that j I Within group comparisons showed "a moderate, but signifi cant, relationship between the degree of improvement in ! iphysical fitness and the degree of improvement in the abil- i iity to perform complex tasks" (15:218). McAdam and Wang (28) administered a simple mental itask test to 108 college men and then divided them into four igroups. Members of one group then exercised, members of a second watched a film, and members of the third rested while; those in a fourth group repeated the mental test. Immedi ately following the assigned activity, the simple mental task was repeated by the first three groups. Though not statistically significant, the rest group and the exercised group in this case had better scores than the other two groups on posttest performances of the mental task. Although there is not clear-cut evidence these studies indicate that there may be a relationship between mental and physical activity but any relationship with motor ability must be extrapolated from these findings. It is thought by some that "learning is learning"; that is, that the human organism "is capable of mastering many different 11 kinds of tasks, albeit some more cognitive or motorly ori ented than others; however the process of learning different i things must be at least similar, regardless of the specific nature of the task to be learned" (27). If this is so, then relationships should exist between learning mental and phys ical skills. Perception of Retardates Much attention is currently focused on the impor tance of the perceptual aspects of physical activity and I their relationships to the learning of the mentally retarded. Williams says: . . . With the current upsurge in interest in the child with special learning disabilities, physical education and physical education activities have assumed an increasingly important role in programs designed to enhance the cognitive or intellectual development of the retarded or slow learner. The assumption behind the involvement of physical activity in such programs is that it is principally through appropriate motor experiences that a "veridical organization of the perceptual world is possible" (22) and that only when such perceptual organization is achieved can the individual realize his full intellec tual potential. Consequently, physical activity has come to be regarded by some as "an essential tool, indeed a primary tool, in inductive optimal mental development" (4). (38:29) Oliver (30) compared the IQ scores of two groups of I mentally retarded boys before and after one of the groups underwent a ten-week physical conditioning program. The groups were matched as nearly as possible for age, intelli gence, height, weight, and physical condition. Members of the control group continued with their regular school physi- / — ■” 12 cal education program while the members of the experimental group participated in a physical conditioning program. A significant difference was found in the intelligence test scores as well as in improvement in motor proficiency in the i members of the experimental group when they were compared With members of the control group. In an attempt to control the "Hawthorne” or "special 1 attention" effect in a study similar to Oliver's on the effect of physical activity on the intellectual, physical, jand social development of retarded boys, Corder singled out i boys who were used as the experimental group, a similar jsample of boys who were given special attention but no phys-l j j iical activity, and a control group who received usual class- ! room instruction. Results showed that the special attention (group did not differ significantly in IQ from either the control or the exercised groups but had scores in between j these groups. The results of Corder's study raised the obvious question of how much the IQ gain observed in the experimental group was attributable to the exercise and how much was due to other factors. This was not answered by the i results of the study. Doman and Delacato have suggested that, as part of the treatment, brain-damaged children should be trained in a , series of manipulated, patterned movements including creep ing and crawling; these movements are reportedly designed to produce activity in the underdeveloped portions of the brain. Rationale for such treatment is that every individ- i ual must experience a definite sequence of steps in his or her sensori-motor- cognitive development. If any one of these stages of | development is skipped over or passed through improp- j erly, the "neurological organization" of that individual; may be faulty and the individual may experience certain | perceptual and/or cognitive difficulties which are j reminiscent of brain-damage. (38:29) I Although proponents of this system report highly successful Iresults from its use, including gains in cognitive func tions, the results of some recent studies raise questions about its worth. Kershner (23) and Robbins (33), using the findings from Doman and Delacato studies, have shown that Ithere was no difference between abilities of the retarded j children who experienced a program of patterned movement and control subjects who experienced a conventional program. I j Their criticism of Doman and Delacato was not as concerned j with the techniques used by these men as with the claims j i made by them which were founded, according to Kershner and Robbins, on improper statistical methodology. The most com- ;mon censure is related to the fact that although Doman and Delacato have often made claims on the basis of results obtained on children who underwent their prescribed treat ment, these results were never compared with those of a control group and therefore cannot be accepted as evidence of statistically significant differences (36:620). Whether or not patterned movement is useful in improving intelli- ; gence and cognitive abilities remains an unsettled question.; IT There are, however, some possible relationships in the men- i tally retarded between cognitive gains and the kind and | i extent of physical activity. | Perceptual Ability of the Aged Barry, et al., conducted a physical training program! for three months with eight subjects whose average age was seventy years. Motor performance and perceptive functions were assessed before and after the training period. Comparison with a control group (two men and three j women, average age seventy-two years) showed that the training was accompanied by improvements in agility, muscular endurance, ballisticlike hand speed movements where termination of the movement involves minimal mus- ! cular action, imaging, and a simple visual discrimina- , | tion task. Results of tests of balance, flexibility, cognition, personality, and motivation remained un changed. Analysis of the pattern of training effects and the characteristics of the test items suggests that physical condition is associated with the adaptation of a neural regulatory mechanism to a higher level of func tioning. (3:198) | These results, though somewhat equivocal, interest- j ingly show the possibility of a relationship between improvement in physical condition and in scores made by the j aged on some perceptual tests. { Neurological Considerations A number of neurological explanations for learning have been suggested but none is supported completely by results of experimental research. In an attempt to provide such data, Rosensweig, et al. (35), noted significant increases in brain weight of rats following a program of increased environmental complexity and physical training. : i Control subjects who had sedentary rearing did not show such, pains. Zolman and Morimoto (39) , endeavoring to replicate jRosensweig's study, made an effort to determine if the j ;changes in brain weight were due to the increased environ- j mental complexity of the rats in the experimental group. The experimental group was exposed to complex environments i 'consisting of "social living, daily 'free play' experience s i 'and maze testing" (39:383). A control group, populated by ) Slittermates of the experimental group, lived in smaller j |cages under reduced illumination, without contact or sight i ) ;of other animals. The control group also experienced mini- j bum handling by the investigators. Even though the control group at three, seven, and j [fourteen days' exposure had significantly higher total body j 1 I weight gains (p = .01), the experimental animals were found I to have significantly greater brain weights (p = .01 for the; sensory cortex and .05 for the total cortex). No signifi cant changes in weight of subcortical brain matter were observed. In an attempt to isolate the locomotor aspect of the complex environment as a main hypothesized cause of brain weight change, thirty-two additional littermate rats were divided into groups of sixteen each. During a fourteen-day period members of both groups were individually caged in a compartment containing a running wheel. The wheels for the control group were fixed so rotation was impossible. The J I experimental group rats averaged 6,090 revolutions per day. i ! No significant difference in brain weight, however, was | j found between the experimental and control animals; the j authors therefore concluded that muscular activity plays no | role in the observed environmental control training effect. ! Since no study was conducted where all of the environmental complexities were employed as treatments, the conclusion should be viewed cautiously. Where Rosensweig, et al., felt: i that their results showed a relationship between increase in physical activity and an increase in brain weight, Zolman and Morimoto's studies seem to refute this. It appears that further research is necessary before the question is settled. In further discussion concerning the possible neu rological relationship between learning and physical activ ity, Clarke has asked: . . . Does training develop better nervous control of muscle function and thus better coordination? Perhaps this can best be answered theoretically, for certainly the increase in strength would permit difficult tasks to; be done more easily, and therefore one would assume that better muscular action would reduce errors of movement. If this could be translated into coordination, then it may be true. It should be kept in mind that the ability to exert strength is itself a matter of motor coordina tion, controlled by cortical activities. One of the effects of repetitive muscular efforts is to reinforce the motor pathways, although it is difficult, if not impossible, to separate the mechanical component of mus cle hypertrophy from the neurological component of learning. (6:35) In the past twenty-five years, since Simonson, et ! ' 17 al., demonstrated that the performance of thirty genuflec tions increased the subsequent ability to perform a simple i 'perceptual task (3 7), interest in possible relationships between physical activity and mental or physical task per formance has continued to grow. Though the research as j reported in the literature related to this topic is somewhat ambiguous, there nevertheless seems to be a persistent thread of evidence which is in agreement with Williams (38) who indicated that study of such a possible relationship should be continued. Summary It appears, as suggested by Shaw and Cordts (36), j i i that though the present findings of experimental investiga tion are fctr from conclusive, a relationship may exist between learning, whether it be motoric or cognitive, and participation in physical activity. Animal studies add | further credence to this possibility (18). It has been suggested (4, 5, 9, 38) that further research be undertaken i i to further substantiate the widely assumed holistic explana-; tion of learning. If "learning is learning," as suggested by at least one authority (27), then data concerning the relationship between physical activity and cognitive learn- ing may be extrapolated to also be similarly linked to the i learning of motor tasks. Work with retardates has shown (though the "Hawthorne Effect” has not always been well controlled) jthat there may be a jsositive relationship _j between the amount and type of physical activity and such I ! measures as IQ scores and performance of cognitive tasks. (Studies with the aged have also indicated that these sub jects appear to perform better on certain perceptual tests jwhen they have participated in programs of physical activity! than do similarly aged persons who lead more sedentary lives. I J Though not carefully investigated as yet, there iseems to be some evidence to support the possibility that a i I (relationship may exist between ability to learn motor tasks I and the physical work capacity of the learner. j CHAPTER III j METHODS OF PROCEDURE | ; This study was designed to investigate the possible jrelationship between physical work capacity and ability to jlearn, specifically the ability to learn a motor skill. The 1 t steps taken to investigate the hypothesis were: (1) to i evolve an experimental situation and procedure, which re quired: (a) the selection of a learning task, (b) the I ; I selection and administration of a test to determine physical work capacity, (c) the choice of equipment and facilities ;for the practice of the motor task, and (d) the selection of a physical conditioning program designed to improve physical work capacity; (2) to devise the control situation; (3) to select subjects; and (4) to conduct the investigation. In the present chapter a description of the motor task is given and the reasons for its choice are explained. The test chosen for use in predicting maximal oxygen consumption is described. A rationale regarding the choice of the physical conditioning program is also presented and the program it self is described. The selection of subjects, both experi mental and control, is also discussed. 19 : 20 I I I The Experimental Situation ! The Learning Task. The first step in the evolution of the experimental situation was to choose an appropriate motor task to be learned by the subjects. A double ball j tossing task, described by Johnson (20), after Robichaux J (34), follows: The subject stood directly under a thin rope which was i strung from wall to wall one foot higher than the height ! of her reach. She held one handball in each hand. The I object of the task was to toss the balls simultaneously over the rope so that each ball could be caught by the j opposite hand. Balls that did not pass over the rope ! were not scored. If the subject caught both balls, three points were scored; if she caught one ball, one point was scored and if neither ball was caught, no points were scored. Thus scoring was based on a ratio scale of equal units and absolute zero. (20:43-44) Three thirty-second trials (preceded by one fifteen-second "warm-up" trial) constituted one practice period and the task was practiced three periods per week for six weeks. : i Since this task was used successfully by the two aforemen- | tioned investigators (20, 34) and since it met the following! criteria deemed necessary for the present study, this doublej ball toss was chosen for the investigation described herein: 1. Novel but representative of motor skills commonly included in physical education programs. 2. Challenging but not too difficult. 3. Capable of being objectively scored on a ratio scale with equal units and absolute zero.. 4. Easily administered under constant conditions that allow a controlled experimental atmosphere. 5. Of suitable reliability. (20:44-46) The Test of Physical Work Capacity. Before and after participation in the conditioning program (which is described later in this chapter) subjects were given a test designed to predict their maximal oxygen uptake values. j Physical work capacity was then determined in terms of these obtained values. ; i Although considered the best single indication of jphysical work capacity (11) the usual laboratory procedure jfor ascertaining maximal oxygen consumption is very time jconsuming, is extremely exhausting for the subject, and 'requires elaborate laboratory equipment and facilities (11: j I I j205-206). As a substitute, a six-minute bench stepping test| j iwas devised by Rhyming (31); she suggested that maximal oxy-j gen consumption can be predicted from this submaximal work bout which requires subjects to step up onto a bench thirty-! ! | three centimeters in height at a rate of 22.5 times per j minute. When heart rate is taken immediately after this ■ test and the weight of the subject is known, a nomogram, j devised by Astrand and Rhyming (2), may be consulted and I i predicted maximal oxygen uptake values then can be ascer- j tained. This submaximal test was shown to correlate .74 j . I when compared with actual laboratory procedures for measur ing maximal oxygen consumptkon. The error of prediction of this measure was shown to be ±9.3 per cent (2, 12). Since this test has been shown to be a reliable and valid measure of determining actual oxygen consumption yet can be done without elaborate laboratory equipment and requires only submaximal work loads, Rhyming's step test was selected for 22 use in the present study. Before subjects participated in the step test their body weight in kilograms was obtained and recorded. They were then given the step test previously described. To facilitate proper pacing of this task, a tape recording was made upon which the command, "Up, two, three, four," was repeated at the correct rate for six minutes. Instructions which were given to subjects preceding the step test may be found in Appendix A. Since it was necessary to determine heart rate, it was deemed necessary to evaluate the investi gator's ability to use a stethoscope. Prior to the investi gation, therefore, eight ten-to-twenty-second electrocardio graphic records were obtained upon a volunteer during which time the investigator simultaneously counted heart sounds. The correlation between these two methods of obtaining heart rate was .95. It was thus determined that the investiga tor's heart rate measures were sufficiently reliable. At the end of each six-minute bench stepping test, each subject immediately sat down. No more than five sec onds elapsed before thirty heart sounds were counted and timed in tenths of a second. With these values known the post-bench stepping heart rate per minute of each subject could then be calculated. Knowing post-bench stepping heart rate per minute and body weight values, it was possible, by use of the Astrand-Rhyming nomogram (8:391), to obtain a predicted maximal oxygen intake for each subject in terms of jliters per minute. j I Equipment and Facilities Used for the Practice of the Motor Task. A small room was used for practice of the ball toss. At each end of this room a pegboard four feet long and six inches wide was hung. At one-inch intervals on |the board, open eye bolts were fastened and marked in terms of their distance, in inches, from the floor. Tightly strung between these boards was a rope that was attached to i I the eye bolts by means of snap hooks. This rope was placed twelve inches above the reach of each subject. See Figure j jl. To determine her total reach, each subject was asked to istand with her feet together, toes against the wall, with i [forefingers of each hand together. From this position each subject reached, with the palms of her hands on the peg- j i board, as high as possible. Maximum reaching height for each subject was then recorded. Previous studies showed j | ithat when twelve inches was added to each subject's reaching height and the rope was then placed at this height for each | _ i subsequent practice, this task was interesting, challenging,| capable of being objectively scored, and of suitable j reliability (20, 34). The room that was used for practicing the ball tossing task was well lighted and the visual background was plain and not distracting. A box containing twelve prac- ! tice-type handballs was placed on the floor in front of each subject. These balls were black rubber, hollow, 2 1/2 j Fig. 1.— The Ball Tossing Task 25 inches in diameter. They were new at the beginning of the jstudy and were cleaned daily to prevent any collection of i dust or dirt. An interval timer was used to control the length of j ipractice periods. The timer was equipped with a toggle ! i switch which was used to start the timer and a loud buzzer which was used to indicate the end of each trial. During i each trial each subject stood with a ball in each hand and attempted to toss the balls simultaneously over the rope i which was stretched twelve inches above her reach. If both j jballs were caught, three points were scored; if one was j ! i caught, one point was scored; if neither was caught, no [points were scored. All scores of the subjects were tallied by means of a hand counter and then recorded on a score sheet. Practice on the learning task was conducted by the investigator or the research assistant. Since the written directions for administering this task were carefully fol- j lowed (Appendix D), a high degree of consistency was ! attained. Several practice sessions were conducted prior tol the actual experimental situation to assure that both the investigator and the research assistant were operating the interval timer and hand counter accurately. All procedures i regarding this task were carried out by either the investi gator or the research assistant. To stabilize motivational conditions as much as j possible only two persons were present in the room during I ;all practice sessions: the subject and either the investi gator or research assistant. Each day the highest total score made by any subject during the previous days of prac- ! jtice was posted and this score was pointed out to each jSubject. After each thirty-second trial the subject was told the score she had attained and at the end of the third ( trial the scores for all three trials were totalled and recorded, and the subject was informed of that total. At ithis time each subject was shown an individual line graph i 'chart (Appendix F) which had been constructed for her; this i f graph showed each day's total score and clearly indicated jboth weekly and daily changes in her performance. The study was conducted over a six-week period, ibetween 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. As j far as possible, subjects practiced at approximately the j i same time on each of three specified days per week through- j i out the six-week period. A total of fifty-four trials was j thus conducted during eighteen practice sessions. To j i eliminate the effects of the immediate fatigue that may havq i resulted from the rather strenuous conditioning sessions, ! which are described in the following paragraphs, for sub jects who participated in both the learning task and the conditioning program, practice on the learning task always preceded participation in the conditioning program or followed it by no less than four hours. i 27 The Physical Conditioning Program. It was shown in |a study by Karvonen (21) that to raise the level of physical conditioning the intensity of an exercise program must jincrease the heart rate of subjects by sixty per cent of j i j jtheir resting values. From this knowledge and other cri teria which follow, the investigator devised a conditioning program intended to improve physical conditioning. Criteria ifor selection of the regimen included: 1. It should be fun. j 2. It should be preceded by a suitable "warm-up" activity. j ; i 3. It should be easily administered to the entire j j | experimental group. I | 4. It should include activities that can be progres sively increased in rate or duration in order to , ! provide the increased physiological stress necessaryj to bring about improvement in physical work capac ity. 5. It should not in any way resemble the learning task. I The program devised by the investigator included "jumping jacks," rope jumping to music, and interval run- j ning. This regimen appeared to meet the above criteria and also seemed to be capable of raising the heart rate suffi ciently to meet the requirement suggested by Karvonen (21). This conditioning program was shown in a pilot study that was conducted by the investigator to significantly improve ; ' 28 Ithe physical work capacity of a group of seven college women j(p = .05). In the present study, the conditioning program toas conducted three times per week over a six-week period, jconcurrently with the learning of the motor task. The j 'intensity and length of the program was increased after eachi jtwo-week period, thus creating an increase in work done eachj |time this intensity and length were increased. As can be j jseen in Table 1, for the first two weeks the program con sisted of: thirty "jumping jacks," one per second; two min utes of rope jumping to music (4/4 time), with one swing of ;the rope and one jump to every two beats; and two two-minutej j440-yard runs divided by one two-minute 176-yard walk. For Ithe third and fourth weeks, the program was increased and j ! included: forty-five "jumping jacks," one per second; two iminutes of rope jumping to music with one swing of the rope every two beats and one jump on every beat; and three two- j : j minute 440-yard runs each interposed with one two-minute i |176-yard walks. The program for the last two weeks was further extended and was comprised of: sixty "jumping jacks," one per second; two minutes of rope jumping to music i with a swing of the rope and a jump on every beat; and four j i two-minute 440-yard runs interposed with three two-minute i 176-yard walks. The "jumping jacks" and rope jumping were performed on the gymnasium floor directly below the running track. A thirty-second rest period was allowed between the "jumping TABLE 1 THE PHYSICAL CONDITIONING PROGRAM Weeks Jumping Jacks (One per second) Rope Jumping* Interval Running (Two minutes each) One and Two 30 One swing of the rope and one jump every two beats. 440 yard run; 176 yard walk; 440 yard run. Three and Four 45 One swing of the rope with every two beats, one jump every beat. 440 yard run; 176 yard walk; 440 yard run; 176 yard walk; 440 yard run. Five and Six 60 One swing of the rope and one jump every beat. 440 yard run; 176 yard walk; 440 yard run; 176 yard walk; 440 yard run; 176 yard walk; 440 yard run. *Rope jumping performed to: "Wheels" by Billy Vaughn's Orchestra, Capitol Records. jjacks" and the rope jumping, and a two-minute interval was ! jallowed between the rope jumping and the running during eachi i conditioning period. An indoor track was used for the interval running portion of the training program. Five laps of this track ! jtotal 440 yards. The subjects were spaced along with other I students at arbitrary starting points a minimum of fifteen feet apart on the track. Approximately twenty-five girls I jran at one time. At the signal "Ready? Go!" they ran at i !the pace set by the investigator. Using a stopwatch, the | ;investigator was able to pace the subjects so that within an ierror of one or two seconds each 440-yard run was accom- i jplished within the time allotment of two minutes. Each lap I was run in approximately twenty-four seconds. As each lap was run the investigator called out the number of the lap I just completed. Each subject was instructed to note if she were passing her own individual starting point at this time. :If so, she was maintaining the correct pace of two minutes I |for each 440-yard run. If she were past her starting point i she then knew she needed to run more slowly, and, converse- i ly, if she were short of her starting position, she needed to run faster. All subjects were able to complete each 440- yard interval at the set pace. After each 440-yard run, the! subjects participated in a two-minute walk twice around the track, covering approximately 176 yards. If this distance were covered in less than two minutes, the subject stopped T i l iat her starting point and rested until the remainder of the |two minutes elapsed. All subjects were able to complete the ! walk in two minutes or less. The interval running continued at the pace described throughout the six-week physical conditioning program. To increase the workload, an addi- ! tional 440-yard run and 176-yard walk was added after every j two-week period. Total running distance was one-half mile ifor the first two-week period, three-quarters mile for the | second two-week period, and one mile for each of the last , j Itwo weeks. ; i ; The Control Situation j i ! Twenty subjects, members of the control group, did j i not participate in the physical conditioning program. They j j were not, throughout the course of the study, concurrently engaged in any special exercise program which might con- i i ceivably significantly raise the level of their physical j 1 j work capacities. They did participate in the learning task, however, and practiced this task three trials per day, thre^ i days per week for six weeks, in exactly the same manner as did the members of the experimental group. Although no change in predicted maximal oxygen consumption was expected in the control group since its level of physical activity remained unchanged throughout the study, it was necessary, for purposes of comparison with the experimental group to measure this parameter in order to determine if any changes had occurred. The benchstepping test suggested by Rhyming : '.'.... " " ' 32 : ! (31, previously described, was administered to the control group before and after its members had practiced the motor i task. The control group was treated in an identical manner except that its members received the experimental variable, I that of physical conditioning for maximal oxygen uptake. ! The Subjects Seventy undergraduate women students at Smith Col- I lege, Northampton, Massachusetts, between the ages of i eighteen and twenty-one volunteered as subjects for this i [ jinvestigation. Forty of these were able to participate in jthe experiment to its completion. Scheduling difficulties i land previous experience with the learning task prevented jeighteen of these volunteers from being subjects and excessive absence or illness required dropping twelve of the volunteers during the course of the investigation. | Twenty of the forty subjects were members of a con- j ditioning class taught by the investigator. They were assigned to the experimental situation. The other twenty, i I members of duck-pin bowling classes, were assigned to the j i control situation. All subjects were in good health as ! determined by an examination of their college medical records. Through administration and analysis of a question-) naire, it was determined that no individual who was retained as a subject had had previous experience with the learning task, had any uncorrected visual problems, or had experience in tasks whose execution was closely related to the learning task. (Appendix C.) ; | Conduct of the Investigation All subjects were individually administered the bench stepping test by the investigator and predicted maxi- j |mal oxygen consumption values were then obtained. From ; this, physical work capacity was determined. The members of i I the experimental group then participated simultaneously in j both the six-week ball toss task practice and the six-week physical conditioning program. Members of the control group did not participate in the physical conditioning regimen but |did practice the motor learning task. At the end of the motor task practice and the physical conditioning program, a |period of six weeks' time, all subjects were given a bench stepping retest. In this manner, data were obtained con- i cerning two parameters: (1) Pretest and posttest values of physical work capacity of all subjects in terms of predicted] i maximal oxygen consumption, (2) Scores made by all subjects on three daily trials three times per week for six weeks (a total of fifty-four scores) on the motor task. It was then possible to compare the data of the control group with those] of the experimental group. The analysis of these data may I be found in Chapters IV and V which follow. Summary Williams has said, "Since cognitive and perceptual i functions appear to be so closely linked in the human 34 organism, this may be the point at which we should begin to unravel the puzzle of the relationship between perception, cognition, and motor activity" (38:29). In an effort to Investigate one aspect of Williams' suggestion, the present 3tudy was conducted to investigate the possibility of a relationship between physical work capacity and motor learn ing. The learning task selected for study was a double ball toss (20, 34) wherein the subject stood under a rope that vas stretched twelve inches above her reach, and with a practice hand ball in each hand attempted to simultaneously toss both balls over the rope and catch them in the opposite hand. Three thirty-second trials were given, three times per week for six weeks. The criterion measure selected to determine physical work capacity was the Rhyming bench stepping test (31). Following participation in this test, the heart rate of each subject was attained and, knowing this value and also knowing each subject's body weight, predicted maximal oxygen uptake could be determined through use of the Astrand-Rhyming nomogram (2). Physical work capacity was defined in terms of this attained maximal oxy gen uptake value in liters per minute. A physical condi tioning program consisting of "jumping jacks," rope jumping, and interval running was established in accordance with certain criteria accepted by the investigator for such a program. Members of both experimental and control groups were selected as subjects from the undergraduate population " ' ” 35 i i of women students at Smith College, Northampton, Massachu- | setts. The physical work capacity of all subjects was j determined as described above and then members of the j experimental group participated in the physical condition- j ing program while concurrently practicing on the motor task.] The members of the control group practiced the motor task but made no effort to change their usual daily pattern of physical activity. Following the six weeks' practice on the motor task by members of both the experimental and control groups and participation by the experimental group in the jphysical conditioning program, the measure of physical work | i ! ! capacity was again administered to all subjects. The data i I j lobtained for both groups as a result of this investigation | included the learning curves which resulted from practice on the motor task, and pretest and posttest values of physical I work capacity as determined by predicted maximal oxygen j I consumption tests. CHAPTER IV j j I | ANALYSIS OF THE DATA ! ! I i Forty college women participated as subjects each i practicing a double ball tossing task three times per week for six weeks. Twenty of these subjects, the members of the jexperimental group, concurrently participated in a physical jconditioning program which consisted of calisthenics, rope j jjumping, and interval running. This program was designed toi [increase the physical work capacity of the members of the jexperimental group. The twenty members of the control group I had no special program of physical conditioning but they I ; continued in their usual pattern of activity. The data obtained from this study included the i scores for all forty subjects on the motor task (ball toss- j jing) and pretest and posttest values of predicted maximal oxygen uptake. There were eighteen ball tossing scores, i each the result of the total of three daily trials which were conducted three times per week for six weeks. The max imal oxygen uptake values were obtained at the beginning andj end of the same six-week period during which time the ball tossing practice was conducted. These data may be found in j | 36 Appendix H. In an effort to clarify the presentation of the Analysis of these data, this chapter contains four parts. i First, the choice of statistical treatment is discussed. . Second, the treatment of physical work capacity data, as determined by the predicted maximal oxygen values, is pre sented. This is followed by a discussion of the analysis of! the motor task data. The fourth part of the chapter con- j tains an analysis of the intercorrelations among adjacent imotor task trials. Statistical Treatment j 1 J A "mixed" design as suggested by Lindquist (26:267- j273) was used since it appeared to be the best means by | jwhich a clear and concise treatment of the data could be j I j obtained. Such a design has been defined as "one in which j some of the treatment comparisons are inter-subject and some are intra-subject comparisons" (26:267). Lindquist labelled! these "mixed" designs with Roman numerals to avoid the use I of cumbersome terms. Appropriateness of the Type I "mixed" ; design for use in the present study is suggested by the ! i following: I Among the most important applications of the Type I design are those in which each of a number of groups or subjects is given a different "training series," or is trained in a certain function under a different set of conditions. Observations of the function under training (criterion measures) are taken at regular or stated intervals during learning or training series, these intervals being the same for all series. In the Type I ; design, these intervals correspond to the A categories and the different training series correspond to the B categories. The object of the experiment may be to j determine whether or not there are any characteristic differences in the "learning curve" or in the trend of the A means for the various levels of B. Other purposes may be to determine whether any given training series has any effect on the function involved, or whether the different series differ in their final effect. (20:273) Grant (14:141-154) has extended the Type I analysis I . j of variance design so that it provides more specific and more pertinent assessment of both trends and trend differ- jences in learning curves. This statistical treatment was ! called "Trend Analysis" by Grant. It provides information about the nature of the curves that result from plotting the scores of any parameter. If, for example, only two scores jare obtained (such as was the case in the pretest and post test predicted maximal oxygen consumption values in this j study) then the curve, or plotted line between them is straight. When such data are subjected to trend analysis, the results indicate that any change would be accounted for in the linear, straight line, trend. If, however, many i scores are obtained (as in the ball tossing task in this j i study where eighteen daily scores were secured) then the resulting plotted curve can assume one less than as many J I shapes or trends as there are scores. The first change in the lahape of the plotted line from that which would be linear is called the quadratic trend and the second the cubic trend. Further nomenclature (i.e., quartic, quintic, sextic) is used to describe other trends or changes from the| linear, but these were not identified in the data of the present study. The advantage of such a procedure is that _j : -- ' -- 39 such analysis not only points out any significant differ- j iences between the learning curves of two groups, as is done i I in any Type I simple analysis of variance design but, in j I addition, indicates where and when in the learning these j differences, if any, occurred. Grant has shown that the nature of trends and trend differences can be described and jtested for statistical significance by deriving orthogonal jtrend components, orthogonal trend interaction components, i land partitioned error terms by use of orthogonal polyno mials. Thus, rather than simply showing that a trend is I ipresent and statistically significant, as the Type I design | i j does, the Grant procedure describes the nature of this trendj ! | jin terms of orthogonal trend components starting from linear i i and continuing on up to N minus one trend components, where j N equals the number of points in the learning curve. In addition, rather than simply indicating that two or more j experimental or control groups demonstrate a significant groups by treatments interaction, the Grant procedure makes possible the assessment of the cause of this significant | difference in learning curve patterns by isolating the trendj i component which is responsible for the significant interac tion. Because of this, Gaito and Turner (13:464-474) have I shown that Grant's procedures for use of these partitioned error terms are appropriate and have recommended it in lieu of other research strategies for purposes of trend analysis. Hence the Type I design with Grant's modification was used jin the present study. The data were treated by the TAV0123R1 [program at the Computer Science Center at the University of j Massachusetts, Amherst, for which appreciation is gratefully given. I I I ! Physical Work Capacity Prior to and after the six weeks' physical condi tioning program, all subjects were given a step test [designed by Rhyming (31) for the purpose of predicting maxi- jmal oxygen consumption and thereby assessing physical work [capacity. Table 2 shows the results of the analysis of j i I j [variance and trend analysis of the data concerning the [ physical work capacity of the subjects. When pretest and posttest changes in maximal oxygen consumption values of the two groups were compared, the obtained F term of 2.28 fell short of significance at the .05 level of confidence for one! and thirty-eight degrees of freedom. This indicated that noj I statistically significant difference existed between the experimental and control groups on physical work capacity i criterion measures. This F value, of course, refers to the j changes in measures of predicted maximal oxygen uptake be fore and after the experimental treatment. The experimental group received this treatment but the control group did not. Such F values are derived by "pooling" (or collapsing) the pretest and posttest measures of each subject in each of thei two groups. This results in one representative criterion i measure for physical work capacity. The F ratio was used to 41 TABLE 2 ANALYSIS OF THE VARIANCE AND TREND ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL WORK CAPACITY VALUES Source Mean Square Degrees of Freedom F Ratio Total .35 79 Between group means .56 39 Within subject effect 1.22 1 2.28 Error between .54 38 Within individual means .16 40 Treatment effect 2.14 1 22.31* Linear 2.14 1 22.31* Group by treatment effect .47 1 4.93** Linear .47 1 4.93** Error within .10 38 Linear .10 38 ♦Significant at the .01 level of confidence. **Significant at the .05 level of confidence. : ----------- -.* 42 test, employing a simple analysis of variance design, jwhether the pooled criterion measures of physical work I J icapacity for the experimental group were significantly dif ferent from the physical work capacity criterion measures of ! the control group. ! ■ In Table 2 it can be seen that the mean square of the within subject effect was 1.22 with one degree of free dom and the error term was .54 with thirty-eight degrees of freedom, a ratio resulting in an F of 2.28. Further refer- j ; S ence to Table 2 shows F = 22.31 at one and thirty-eight | 1 degrees of freedom for the treatment effect, a value indi cating that all forty subjects significantly improved maxi- I imal oxygen levels from pretest to posttest scores at the .01 level of confidence. Subsequent appropriate t tests (26: 272) revealed t = 2.51 (.05 level of confidence) for the : i control group and t = 6.95 for the experimental group (.01 level of confidence) when their mean gains were separately i analyzed. Since only two values were present, the pretest land posttest scores, all variance was accounted for in the linear trend. j As may also be seen in Table 2 the groups by treat ment interaction resulted in an F of 4.93. This was found to be significant at the .05 level of confidence showing that, when analyzed in this manner, there was a significant difference between the increase in maximal oxygen consump- ! tion levels achieved by the members of the experimental Igroup and members of the control group. The fact that the I , i ilinear trend component accompanying the groups by treatment i interaction term was significant, (F = 4.93) suggested that jthe trend differences were due to the linear slope from pre- Itest to posttest between experimental and control groups. I i I As can be seen from inspection of Figure 2, members of the J experimental group improved their physical work capacity at ja faster linear rate than did the control group. I The Motor Task j Members of both the experimental and control groups ; i practiced a motor task. This task was a ball toss, where ieach subject stood beneath a rope that was strung twelve i I linches above the height of her reach. With a ball in each j j hand each subject attempted to simultaneously toss both j ! balls over the rope and then catch them in the opposite i I i hand. The twenty members of the experimental group concur rently participated in a physical conditioning program that was designed by the investigator to improve the physical work capacity of these subjects. The members of the control group did not participate in this training program. As is shown in Table 3, the F ratio resulting from the within subject effect mean square of 21571.50 and error between mean square of 12420.82 resulted in an F value of 1.74. With one and thirty-eight degrees of freedom this figure failed to reach significance at the .05 level of i confidence, thereby indicating that no statistically j Liters Per Minute Ai) 2.85 2.80 2.75 2.70 2.65 2.60 2.55 2.50 2.45 -o 2.40 2.35 2.30 - 2.25 - O' Experimental Group -O Control Group j 2.20 Pretest Posttest Fig. 2.— Changes in Predicted Maximal Oxygen Consumption in Liters Per Minute. TABLE 3 ANALYSIS OF THE VARIANCE AND TREND ANALYSIS OF SCORES MADE ON THE MOTOR TASK Source Mean Square Degrees of Freedom F Ratio Total 1187.46 719 Between group means 12655.45 39 Within subject effect 21571.50 1 1.74 Error between 12420.82 38 Within individual means 529.74 680 Treatment effect 11915.87 17 51.02* Linear 193354.75 1 121.43* Quadratic 5191.43 1 11.18* Cubic 754.97 1 4.03 Groups by treatment effect 398.08 17 1.70** Linear 4757.90 1 2.99 Quadratic 125.97 1 .27 Cubic 105.30 1 .56 Error within 233.56 646 Linear 1592.25 38 Quadratic 464.40 38 Cubic 187.37 38 *Significant at .01 level of confidence. **Significant at .05 level of confidence. significant difference existed between the experimental group and the control group on scores made on the motor j learning task. Differences between control and experimental! groups on the motor learning task were derived by pooling all eighteen daily scores made on the motor task for each subject in each group and applying a simple analysis of variance in order to assess these pooled scores. The F i value of 1.74 indicated that the scores thus obtained for ! the experimental and control groups on the motor learning task were not significantly different from each other after the six weeks' practice on this task. [ | j As may be seen in Table 3 the mean square of i 11,915.87 for the treatment's main effect and the error Vithin mean square of 233.56 yielded an F value of 51.02. j jsignificant gains therefore were made on the ball tossing task during the eighteen experimental sessions by all forty ! | subjects. F values of 121.43 for the linear component and 11.18 for the quadratic component indicate that these trends were significant at the .01 level of confidence. To ascer- | i tain the per cent of interaction accounted for by a trend, ! the mean square of that component was divided by the product of the degrees of freedom and the mean square of the groups ; jby treatment effect. The linear and quadratic trends j ‘ accounted for 95.4 and 2.6 per cent of the variance of the j j # i Itrends of the treatment effect, respectively. Since these trend components are orthogonal, they accounted for 98.01 I per cent of the observed variance due to treatment effects. This is illustrated in Figure 3 where the linear trend is well exhibited and the levelling off tendency of the quad- I j ratic trend is beginning to be noticeable. ! The groups by treatment interaction F value of 1.70 j was defined by the ratio of the mean square of 398.08 for the groups by treatments component when divided by the 233.56 error within mean square. With 17 and 646 degrees of freedom, the F value of 1.70 was found to be significant at [the .05 level of confidence. Thus, the pattern of the jlearning curves of the two groups differed. The groups by j i | treatments trend analysis, however, failed to identify a | statistically significant trend component which would fur ther describe the nature of the learning pattern. Since the trend analysis did not reveal statistically significant dif-j | ferences no conclusion could be drawn concerning the shape iof the learning curves. Interesting observations were made, however, relating to the data obtained. The most likely source of the significant groups by treatment interaction was probably the linear trend component. Although the F i value for the linear component of the groups by treatments interaction analysis failed to reach the level required for significance, it did account for slightly over seventy per cent of the interaction variance, as was seen when the mean square of the linear component was divided by the product of Mean Daily Scores T8 85 80 75 - 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 15 16 17 18 4 5 6 7 8 12 13 2 Days Fig. 3.— Daily Ball Tossing Scores for All Subjects. the degrees of freedom and the mean square of the groups by i jtreatment effect. The tendency for the trend to be linear I i jean be seen in Figure 4 where the experimental group appears: | | ito demonstrate a faster linear increase than the control ! i group on the ball tossing task. This linear trend was not, j jhowever, found to be statistically significant. ! Intercorrelations of Adjacent Trials on the Motor Learning Task In order to determine reliability matrices of the ! correlations between all trials were obtained for the exper-j imental group, the control group, and for these groups com- ! I I I i bined. When correlation coefficients for all adjacent ! 'trials (trials one and two, two and three, three and four, j j ! four and five, and so on) for the combined groups were con- i f 1 isidered (see Figure 5) a range of correlation coefficients ; | from .78 between trials one and two and .91 on trials eight i and nine and ten and eleven were noted. In order to find | I • ! the mean value of these coefficients they were converted to j i z values, averaged, and then reconverted to coefficients. : i (1) The mean of all of the intercorrelation coefficients thus derived was .86. Similar values were found when the experimental and control groups were considered separately. (See Table 4.) These high correlations were interpreted to indicate adequate intertrial reliability and the presence of increasingly stable performances by all subjects during the course of learning the motor task (25). Such conditions Group Means 50 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 fb<f 50 45 40 35 30 25 A— G Experimental Group O— — - K5 Control Group 20 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 j Days Fig. 4.— Daily Mean Scores Made by Each Group on the; Ball Tossing Task. j Intercorrelations 1.00 .95 .90 .85 .80 .75 .70 .65 .60 .55 .50 .45 .40 .35 .30 .25 .20 .15 .10 .05 0.00 N = 40 Range = .78 to .91 Mean = .86 J I I L X X J 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Trials Fig. 5.— Intercorrelations of Adjacent Trials on the Motor Learning Task U1 j TABLE 4 i i INTERCORRELATIONS OF ADJACENT MOTOR LEARNING TASK TRIALS 'rials Control Group Experimental Group Combined Groups r z r z r z 1 and 2 .78 .6527 .80 .6640 .78 .6527 2 and 3 .83 .6805 .81 .6696 .82 .6751 3 and 4 .78 .6527 .88 .7064 .83 .6805 4 and 5 .87 .7014 .90 .7163 .87 .7014 5 and 6 .92 .7259 .85 .6911 .86 .6963 | 6 and 7 .86 .6963 .85 .6911 .85 .6911 7 and 8 .77 .6467 .93 .7306 .86 .6963 : 8 and 9 .86 .6963 .96 .7443 .91 .7211 i 9 and 10 .77 .6467 .85 .6911 .82 .6751 ilO and 11 .88 .7064 .94 .7352 .91 .7211 11 and 12 .92 .7259 .86 .6963 .90 .7163 12 and 13 .91 .7211 .87 .7014 .89 .7114 Il3 and 14 .87 .7014 .87 .7014 .88 .7064 14 and 15 .91 .7211 .85 .6911 .89 .7114 15 and 16 .90 .7163 .87 .7014 .89 .7114 16 and 17 .85 .6911 .88 .7064 .87 .7014 117 and 18 1 1 .81 .6696 .91 .7211 .85 .6911 1 Mean .85 .691 .88 .703 .86 .697 Range r = .78 - .92 r = .80 - .96 r = .78 - .91 were deemed necessary in order to test the hypothesis under [consideration. i Summary i i The purpose of this study was to investigate the j ipossibility that a relationship exists between the level of j an individual's physical work capacity and his ability to learn a motor task. All subjects practiced a double ball tossing task for six weeks and all subjects were given the Rhyming (31) bench stepping test before and after this six- I | Iweek period in order to determine predicted maximal oxygen 1 jconsumption values from which physical work capacity was then ascertained. The experimental group underwent a pro- jgram of physical conditioning during this time which was i designed to improve the physical work capacity of its mem- j ' ! bers. The control group did not participate in this i i program. j When appropriate t-tests were applied to pre- and j posttest bench stepping scores made by the experimental j group they showed that this group improved significantly in | physical work capacity beyond the .01 level of confidence. The control group, however, also improved significantly on this measure, at the .05 level of confidence. The P value obtained for the treatment effect for these groups combined was significant at the .01 level of confidence. Simple analysis of variance, using the pooled pretest and posttest criterion measures for these groups resulted in a between j group F value that was not significant. This indicated that jthe pooled criterion measures of physical work capacity for Ithe experimental group were not significantly different from those of the control group. The groups by treatment inter- I (action values did result in a significant F ratio and indi- I cated that there was a significant difference between the increase in maximal oxygen consumption levels when the experimental group was compared with the control group. When the pooled daily scores made by members of the experimental group on the motor learning task were compared j | with those scores made by the control group, no significant i jdifference was found. Both groups improved, as shown by the ! f ratio obtained for the treatment effect (51.02) which was ifound to be significant at the .01 level of confidence. i Trend analysis of the treatments effect showed that the j i ! linear trend accounted for 95.4 per cent of the gains, and the quadratic trend for 2.6 per cent. The F ratio obtained (for the groups by treatment effect was found to be signifi cant at the .05 level of confidence thus showing that the 1 pattern of the learning of the motor task was different in the two groups. The trend analysis failed to elicit any significant orthogonal trends. The linear trend seemed the most likely source as it accounted for slightly over seventy | per cent of the variance but no significant trend was found.j The mean of the intercorrelation matrices obtained ( ifor adjacent trials on the motor learning task was .86; this! i ! : - 55 was interpreted to indicate stable and increasingly reliable performances by the subjects on this parameter. CHAPTER V DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS Since the human organism functions in an integrated fashion, some investigators (4, 5, 9, 38) have contended |that there should be some relationship between the physical j work capacity of an individual and his ability to learn. |The physiological benefits of participation in a physical jconditioning program are well-known, thus from a holistic ; ! viewpoint it might be contended that improvement in one J iparameter should be reflected in another, perhaps in psycho logical or neurological benefits related to the ability to learn. Brouha (5:408) has suggested that in addition to i increased physical work capacity muscular coordination is also improved by participation in a program of physical training. Williams (38:30) has written that she thinks research should be conducted to clarify the entire picture i of the probable relationship between perception, cognition, j i I and physical activity. j The purpose of the present study was to determine ifj ! a relationship exists between increased physical work capac^ ity and improved performance on a selected motor learning task. The results of the study and a discussion of the : _____________. . . . 56.... | ■statistical treatment of the data were presented in the pre ceding chapter. In this chapter a discussion of these i results is presented as follows: the differences found in the physical work capacity of the subjects, the changes in jthe motor task scores, and relationships between these two jparameters. | Differences in Physical Work Capacity i j The experimental group participated in a six-week I jtraining program designed to improve the physical work ca pacity of its twenty members. During a pilot study con- j i I ;ducted previously to the present investigation this condi- j jtioning program was shown to be effective in improving the j physical work capacity of seven college women (.05 level of confidence). The program was conducted three times per week i : over a six-week period and consisted of calisthenics, rope i i jumping, and interval running and this program was used as I the physical conditioning program for the experimental grouj* in the present study. The control group did not participate in the physical conditioning program but was enrolled in a duck pin bowling class, an activity deemed by the investiga-j I tor to be a relatively sedentary type of activity that wouldi not be exprected to improve physical work capacity. The physical conditioning program was considered very effective in improving the physical work capacity of the members of the experimental group in the present study since its f l iembers significantly increased on this measure j jbeyond the .01 level of confidence. The significant changes |in predicted maximal oxygen consumption levels which were achieved as a result of participation in the physical condi tioning program lends statistical credence to the value of I I jthe conditioning program. Another way that the value of the! jtraining was assessed was by examining the group means of the predicted maximal oxygen consumption values prior to and after training. (See Appendix H for raw data.) Before par ticipation in the conditioning program, the experimental group had a mean predicted maximal oxygen consumption value of 2.35 liters per minute. This is considered "average" I (11:211) . The post-training predicted maximal oxygen con sumption value was 2.83 liters per minute, an increase in jthe group mean of almost a half-liter per minute. A maximal I joxygen uptake of 2.83 is considered "very high" for women I age 20-29 (11:211). Subjects who were used as members of the control 'group were members of a relatively inactive duck pin bowling i jclass. Consequently, no large gains in predicted maximal oxygen uptake were expected for this group though the com- j monly observed increases due to habituation were antici- j pated. Significant gains were observed, however, at the . 05j level of confidence; mean values changed from 2.26 liters ! per minute at the beginning of the study to 2.43 liters per : minute after six weeks time. Gains of such magnitude were ; unexpected, but may be partly explained by a recent study r ~.... ' ” ..... ~ ~ 59 (reported by deVries (10:7) where a similar six-weeks' train- i jing program was used with elderly men. In this study j ^desirable significant mean changes occurred in such measures as blood pressure, per cent lean body weight, oxygen pulse, jmuscle tonus and strength as measured by electromyography, I jrelaxation, vital capacity, cardiac output, stroke volume, and predicted maximal oxygen consumption. When the controls in the deVries study were given retests on these measures, the only significant change was in predicted maximal oxygen consumption. That author hypothesized that this significant I ; change in predicted maximal oxygen uptake of the control I jgroup was due to habituation. Typical effects of habitua- ition on a task or measure result in improvement in perfor- i mance on that measure without any intermediate treatment .being applied that could account for such improvement. It | i appears that, in some cases, just one exposure to a task so { familiarizes the subjects to that task that upon repeated measures scores may improve appreciably, i Whether or not the changes found in the control group in the present study were due to habituation was not possible to ascertain. In the opinion of this investigator, all subjects used in this study, both control and experiment tal, were members of a relatively active student body and ; changes in the predicted maximal oxygen consumption of the control group may have been due to differences caused by th^ normal, everyday activity of the students, or to habituation) ' " 60 lor to a combination of these two things. The mean differ- ! i jence, a change from 2.26 liters of oxygen per minute to 2.43 liters per minute, though significant (.05 level of confi dence) , was too small to change the evaluation of these figures for both are considered "average" for women ages 20—| 29 (11:211). Although the simple analysis of variance showed no 'Statistically significant differences between the experimen tal and control groups, further inspection of both the igroups by treatment interaction and the linear trend differ-! I | ence showed that the experimental group improved in physicalj | I work capacity at a faster linear rate than did the control j i | group (.05 level of confidence). Such results are not j unlikely or unexpected since the experimental group was sub-i ! jected to a physical conditioning program that was specif- ; ically designed to improve physical work capacity, while thej control group engaged in no such activity. The fact that the between group analysis showed no statistically signifi- j ( . J cant difference and that both groups improved significantly j in physical work capacity (the experimental at the .01 level! of confidence and the control at the .05 level of confi- ! dence) requires a somewhat cautious interpretation regarding the significance of the interaction of the groups by treat ment. It probably should be assumed that the experimental group also experienced a change due to factors other than the training program, as did the control group. If the | ' 61 change of predicted maximal oxygen consumption of .18 liters per minute in the control group were subtracted from the ! gain of the experimental group (.48 liters per minute), the jresulting .30 liters per minute difference would be signifi cant at the .01 level of confidence. Such manipulation, is, i |of course, based on pure conjecture that (1) the groups were jdrawn from identical samples and ( 2) the change in the con- i Itrol group was not due to increased physical activity but I Irather to habituation effects. The investigator cautiously assumes that on the basis of the analysis the two groups were not significantly different in their physical work : i ■ 1 capacity, but the members of the experimental group did j 'improve more in this regard and achieved this improvement at a faster rate than did members of the control group. Differences in Scores on | the Motor Learning Task j The analysis of variance of scores obtained from the experimental and control groups for the motor learning task revealed no statistical difference between these groups i after members of each had experienced six weeks of practice j I on this task. A mean of 60.65 was found for the daily raw I scores of the experimental group. The mean of the control group was 49.68. This difference in raw score means appearsj i to indicate that the experimental group scored substantially higher than did the control group. However, the experimen tal group had a mean score of 21.05 on day one of the ball itossing practice while the mean score for the control group ( was 16.80 on the first day, indicating that the initial Iscores of the experimental group were 4.15 better than those 1 iof the control group. The recorded differences in the amount of learning as indicated by the mean scores made by each group may be partially accounted for, therefore, by initial differences between the two groups. The Type I sim ple analysis of variance design used in the present study takes into account initial differences such as these in the statistical treatment of the data. Further analysis of the data was viewed with this consideration in mind, however. The ball tossing task appeared to be interesting and challenging to all of the subjects and within subject analy sis showed that significant gains in scores were made by both groups. The linear and quadratic components of the | i trends of scores on this task were significant at the .01 level of confidence. The scores showed a negatively j j i 'accelerated learning curve which is typical for a task of Ithis difficulty (19:8). That learning occurred within both groups on this task is indicated by the change in perfor- I I mance scores from day one to day eighteen. Means of these | ! i scores were 18.93 on the first day and 75.58 on the eigh teenth day. All daily mean scores may be found in Appendix i G. i i Although the between subject effect was non-signifi- icant as shown by the simple analysis of variance treatment | ; 63 of the data, the groups by treatment effect was significant at the .05 level of confidence. The trend analysis showed significance at the .01 level on both the linear and quad ratic trends. The trend analysis evidenced statistical lexistence of a strong linear component that accounted for j |95.45 per cent of the observed trend variance and a rather weak but statistically significant quadratic component that accounted for 2.56 per cent of the observed trend variance. j As a result there was reason to conjecture that performance on the criterion learning task had not yet progressed to a i jmarked plateau. The quadratic trend component, accounting jfor only 2.56 per cent of the observed trend variance, can- j jnot reasonably be taken as evidence of a strong decrease in j irate of learning. Thus, continued practice on the motor j learning task would probably have resulted in further improvement before the typical plateau which occurs in the learning of motor tasks occurred. Although no standard agreement seems to be available on the magnitude of a jplateau effect before it is possible to note an important diminishing of rate of learning, a quadratic trend component accounting for only 2.56 per cent of observed trend variance seems insufficient in this case. A quadratic trend compo nent accounting for ten to twenty per cent of observed trend variance seems a more realistic basis upon which to conclude that a plateauing effect in a learning curve has occurred (25) . ! T---------- 64 ! Whether or not further practice on the motor learn- ! ing task would have resulted in a significant difference between experimental and control groups remains problemati cal. Based upon the learning curves over eighteen trials/ Showever, it appears that, by extrapolation, the experimental f groups might have continued to improve at a faster rate than I jthe control group. It is not known, however, where the quadratic trend component symptomatic of a plateauing effect iwould have manifested itself with additional practice trials i iin each of the groups. Thus, it is not wise to suggest that jwith further practice the experimental group may have even- I jtually demonstrated superiority over the control group. iGreater value could be placed in these findings, of course, I had the two groups been shown to be significantly different in the between groups analysis. Summary A discussion of the findings of this study and their implications were presented in this chapter. It was found that the experimental and control groups were not signifi cantly different either on criterion measures of increased I physical work capacity or the learning of the motor task. j Both groups improved significantly in each measure; however,; i the experimental group tended to improve faster on both parameters as shown by the within subjects trend analysis j of the groups by treatment effect. _______ Because both groups improved significantly in both j jphysical work capacity and in ball tossing ability and I jbecause there were no significant differences between the groups on these measures, the results of the within subjects analysis must be viewed with caution. The findings do sug gest an interesting but not conclusive possibility that somej i relationship exists between the rate at which the ball tossing task was learned and the concurrent rate of increase in physical work capacity. CHAPTER VI j SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION i Summary The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility that a relationship exists between physical work capacity and ability to learn. More specifically, the prob lem was to determine the relationship between improvement inj work capacity and the learning of a motor task. It was | i j thought that a training program designed to improve maximal j ioxygen consumption might facilitate motor learning. | : i : i The literature related to this investigation was ! reviewed and the areas of study concerned with the possible j relationship between learning and physical activity were j i I reported. It was noted that specific suggestions have been j : i made which indicate that studies of the nature of the pres- | J i i ent investigation should be done on women and that research [ should be conducted to establish the effect of physical I ] activity on perceptual capacities. I The motor learning task used in the present study was a double ball toss. Each subject stood under a rope that was tightly strung twelve inches above her reach. With a ball in each hand, the subject attempted to simultaneously 67 throw the balls over the rope and catch them in the opposite jhand. Balls that failed to go over the rope were not jscored. If both balls were caught after having passed over the rope, three points were scored. If one was caught, one jpoint was scored. If neither was caught, zero points were 'scored. Each subject practiced on this task three times a week for six weeks. Each daily trial consisted of one I I |f ifteen-second "warm-up" trial, which was not scored, and three thirty-second trials for which scores were recorded and totalled. Eighteen scores were thus made available for each subject. The physical conditioning program used as the exper imental treatment was originated by the investigator and 'consisted of a six-week program of calisthenics, rope jump- |ing, and interval running. After each two weeks of this ■ program, the rate and duration of its components were j i j increased. Each member of the experimental group partici- jpated in this conditioning program three times a week. The i ■ I 'physical conditioning program and the ball tossing practice were simultaneously participated in by members of the exper-j imental group but the members of the control group partici- I pated in the ball tossing task practice only. The subjects of this study were forty undergraduate women who were students at Smith College, Northampton, Mas sachusetts. They ranged in age from eighteen to twenty-one years. Twenty of these participated as members of the experimental group and twenty as members of the control jgroup. I A Type I "mixed" design as suggested by Lindquist (26) was used for analysis of the data obtained from this (study. This is a simple analysis of variance design where | I . i both intersubject and intrasubject comparisons are evalu- jated. This design was extended by trend analysis as sug gested by Grant (14). The trend analysis provides more {specific and pertinent assessment of the trends and the differences in the trends of the learning curves attained. |The advantage of this procedure is that such analysis not jonly points out any significant differences between the ilearning curves of the two groups, as is done in any Type I [design, but also indicates where and when in the learning these differences occur. The stability and reliability of performance on the motor learning task was ascertained by reference to inter- icorrelation matrices of adjacent trials. The mean reliabil ity coefficient of all trials for all subjects was found to be .86. Findings During the six weeks of practice both groups of sub-i i jects significantly increased their mean scores on the motor! I learning task. When the Type I design was applied to these data, however, the F ratio obtained failed to reach signifi-' cance. These pooled measures failed to identify any signif- I .. .. . ." " 69 licant difference between the experimental group and the con- Itrol criterion measures. When the treatment by group analy- I sis was done, however, the pattern of the learning curve was ;found to be significantly different from experimental group to control group at the .05 level of confidence. The trend j i analysis failed to demonstrate that any one trend accounted significantly for the variance although the linear trend did laccount for slightly over seventy per cent of it. | When all forty subjects were considered, a signifi cant difference between maximal oxygen uptake values was jnoted when pretest and posttest bench stepping test scores were analyzed {.01 level of confidence). When separately i Iconsidered, appropriate t-tests indicated that the control i group improved at the .05 level of confidence and the exper imental group at the .01 level of confidence. F ratios, the result of the simple analysis of variance procedure, in j | which the criterion measures are pooled, failed to reach significance at the .05 level there by indicating that no significant difference existed between improvement made in physical work capacity by the experimental and the control groups. The group by treatment effect, however, by which ! the slopes of the plotted curves were compared, showed that the experimental group improved at a faster linear rate in physical work capacity than did the control group. Conclusion i "■ in— _________On the basis of the findings of this investigation j the hypothesis tested, that is, that a relationship exists / between a person's ability to learn motor tasks and his llevel of physical work capacity, was rejected. ! Suggestions for Further Study I Since some credence was lent to the hypothesis by the significant difference found as a result of the trend analysis of the groups by treatment effect on the motor learning task as well as by visual inspection of the learn- ! ing curves of the two groups, it seems possible that the j rate of motor learning may be increased if that learning is jaccompanied by a high level of physical work capacity. This 'possibility should be investigated. i In addition, the following suggestions are made con- I cerning possible further study: 1. Since very little difference between the two groups was found in the learning of the motor task during the first two weeks of the study and since little change in physical work capacity could be expected ! in such a short period of time, further study in which the data of these two weeks is eliminated from I the final analysis is recommended. i 2. Because the typical levelling off or plateauing of learning scores did not occur during the six-weeks' i time allowed in the present study, it is suggested | ! that the learning task be extended in time in future : ________study. _J “ 71 It is recommended that the relationship between cog nitive learning and improvement in physical work capacity be investigated. The unexpected significant change in physical work capacity of the control group in the present inves tigation needs further study. The possible effect of habituation should be studied. At lower levels of initial physical work capacity the relationship between an increase in physical work capacity and ability to learn motor tasks should be explored more fully. I REFERENCES j i 72 REFERENCES Arkin, H., and Colton, R. Second Edition. New York Inc., 1963. Tables for Statisticians. Barnes and Noble, Astrand, P.-O. and Rhyming, Irma. "A Nomogram for Cal culation of Aerobic Capacity (Physical Fitness) from Pulse Rate during Submaximal Work," Jour nal of Applied Physiology, 7:218-221, 195TI Barry, A. J., Steinmetz, J. R., Page, H. F., and Rodahl, K. "The Effects of Physical Condition ing on Older Individuals, II: Motor Perform ance and Cognitive Function," Journal of Geron tology, 21:192-199, 1966. Benoit, J. Paul. "Extending the Mind Through the Body," Journal of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 37:28-30, 1966. Brouha, Lucien. "Training." Chapter 21 in Science in Medicine of Exercise and Sports. Warren R. Johnson, ed. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1960. Clarke, David H. "Neuromuscular Considerations," Jour nal of Health, Physical Education and Recrea- tionT 3?:’ 34-76, T3(5ff.-------------------- Comalli, P. E., Jr., Wapner, Seymour, and Werner, H. "Effect of Muscular Involvement on Size Percep tion," Perceptual-Motor Skills, 9 (2):116, 1959. Consolazio, C. F., Johnson, R. E., and Pecora, L. J. Physiological Measurements of Metabolic Func tions in Man. N. Y.: McGraw-Hill, 1963. Corder, W. Owens. "Effects of Physical Education on the Intellectual, Physical, and Social Develop-j ment of Educable Mentally Retarded Boys," ; Exceptional Children, 32:357-364, 1966. 73 74 10. deVries, Herbert A. Abstracts. Proceedings of the National Convention of the American College of Sports Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, 1969. 11. ________. Physiology of Exercise for Physical Educa tion and Athletics. Dubuque: william C. Brown and Company, 1966. 12. ________, and Klafs, Carl. "Prediction of Maximal Oxy gen Intake from Submaximal Tests," The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 6:207- 214, 1965. 13. Gaito, John, and Turner, Edward D. "Error Terms in Trend Analyses," Psychological Bulletin, 60: 464-474, 1963. 14. Grant, David A. "Analysis-of-Variance Tests in the Analysis and Comparison of Curves," Psychologi cal Bulletin, 53:141-154, 1956. 15. Gutin, Bernard. "Effect of Increase in Physical Fit ness on Mental Ability Following Physical and Mental Stress," Research Quarterly, 37:211-220, 1966. 16. Hammerton, M., and Tickner, A. H. "Physical Fitness and Skilled Work After Exercise," Ergonomics, 11:41-45, 1968. 17. Held, Richard. "Motor-sensory Feedback and the Geom etry of Visual Space," Science, 141:722-723, 1963. 18. _________, and Hein, A. "Movement-produced Stimulation in the Development of Visually-Guided Behav ior ," Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 56:872-87(5, 1963. 19. Henry, F. M. "Coordination and Motor Learning," Pro ceedings College Physical Education Associa tion , 58:68-75, 1956. 20. Johnson, Joan. "The Effect of Selected Conceptualiza tion Techniques upon Early Learning of a Gross Movement." Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1965. 21. Karvonen, M. J. "Effects of Vigorous Exercise on the Heart," in Work and the Heart, F. F. Rosenbaum, 122. 23. | 24. 25. 26. j 127. | i 28. 29. 30. I j 31. 32. 13 3. 34. _ .... .. .. . ._ _ 75 and E. L. Belknap (Eds.) New York: Paul B. Hoeber, Inc., 1959. Kephart, N. C. "Perceptual-motor Aspects of Learning i Disabilities," Exceptional Children, 31:201- 206, 1964. Kershner, John R. "Doman-Delacato's Theory of Neuro logical Organization Applied with Retarded j Children," Exceptional Children, 34:441-450, j 1968. Knapp, Barbara. Skill in Sport. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1963. Kroll, Walter. Personal Communication. [n.d.] Lindquist, E. F. Design and Analysis of Experiments in Psychology and Education. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1953. Lockhart, Aileene. Class Notes, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1968. McAdams, Robert, and Wang, Yvan Kai. "Performance of a Simple Mental Task Following Various Treat ments," Research Quarterly, 38:208-212, 1967. Mohr, Dorothy. "Contributions of Physical Activity to i Skill Training," Research Quarterly, 31 (2): 321-333, 1960. | i Oliver, J. N. "The Effect of Physical Conditioning Exercises and Activities on the Mental Charac teristics of Educationall Sub-Normal Boys," British Journal of Educational Psychology, 28: 155-165, '"19'5B.----- | Rhyming, Irma. "A Modified Harvard Step Test for the Evaluation of Physical Fitness," Arbeitsphysi- ologie, 15:235-250, 1953. Rice, Sheila. "The Rate of Learning Motor Tasks." j Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University j of Southern California, 1967. I i Robbins, M. P. "Test of the Doman-Delacato Rationale with Retarded Readers," Journal American Medi- , cal Association, 202:87-92, 1967. Robichaux, Waldean A. "Relationship Between Demon- _________strated Skill in Performing Sports Activities j 76 and Learning New Gross Motor Skills." Unpub lished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1960. 35. Rosenzweig, M. R., Krech, D., Bennett, E. L., and Diamond, M. C. "Effects of Environmental Com plexity and Training on Brain Chemistry and Anatomy: A Replication and Extension," Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55: 426-417, 1962. 36. Shaw, J. H., and Cordts, H. J. "Athletic Participation and Academic Performance," Chapter 31 in Sci ence and Medicine of Exercise and Sports. Warren R. Johnson, ed. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1960. 37. Simonson, E., Enger, N., and Benton, R. "The Influence of Muscular Work and Fatigue on the State of the Central Nervous System," Journal of Labora tory and Clinical Medicine, 28:1555, 1943. 38. Williams, Harriet. "Learning," Journal of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, 36:28-30, 1968. 39. Zolman, James F., and Morimoto, Hiromi. "Cerebral Changes Related to Duration of Environmental Complexity and Locomotor Activity," Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 60: 362-367, " If65. APPENDICES 77 APPENDIX A i Weigh yourself in the clothes you plan to wear during i the test. The scale is in the far corner of the gym- j nasium. Stand facing the step. When the direction "Ready? Gol" is given, begin stepping up on the stair. Start by stepping up with one foot, then bring the other up, then step down with the first foot, finally returning to your original position on the next count. The directions are: "Up, two, three, four; Up, two, three, four." You may start with either foot and move j them alternately. (L, R, L, R, L, R, L, R.) j You may change your "lead" foot any time you wish. | When I warn you that the test is almost over (it is six minutes long) be prepared to quickly sit on the chair available. On the last count the directions will be, "Up, two, three, stopl" As you sit down, pull up or | unbutton the bottom of your blouse so I can get the | stethoscope over the apex of your heart, just under your left breast. 78 APPENDIX B DATA: MODIFIED BENCH STEP TEST; 22.5/minute; 33 cm; 6 min.; SPRING SEMESTER 1969 J . Johnson Pre Test (X.4536) Post Test (X.4536) Results Name Time Temp Age Weight Pulse (30 beats) Time Temp Weight Pulse (30 beats) Max O2 Max O2 iast First Date Hum Lbs Kgs After Per min Date Hum Lbs Kgs After Per min Pre Post ex ex vO APPENDIX C QUESTIONNAIRE Name |Yes I i i I Yes j Yes j I Yes :________________________________________________Year:____ Last First No 1. Have you ever learned to do any kind of jug gling before? If so, please indicate: Type of object juggled_________________ One handed or two handed How many objects at a time______________ No 2. Do you find it unusually difficult to learn games that involve the use of a ball? (Throw ing, catching, etc.?) No 3. Do you have any uncorrected visual problems? Please explain. No 4. Do you wear glasses or contact lenses? Please indicate why the correction is necessary: 5. Which of the following tasks do you feel you do well? _____ Typing Musical instrument(s) List:______________: Knitting Other two handed tasks List: 80 APPENDIX D PROCEDURES FOR THE FIRST DAY OF TESTING THE BALL TOSSING TASK 1. Fill out a score sheet. To measure the height of the reach of each subject, do the following: Have the sub ject stand with her toes against the wall. With fore fingers touching one another, have her reach as high as she can, palms flat on the peg board with one hand on each side of the hook eyes. Stand back six or seven feet and read to the nearest inch the height of her reach. Add twelve inches to this number and record in proper place on the score sheet. Indicate hand prefer ence by R, L, or A. 2. Set the rope at the hook number recorded. Place ball box on floor. 3. Describe and demonstrate the skill briefly: "You will have three thirty-second trials. Start holding one ball in each hand. At the signal 'Ready? Go!' toss both balls at the same time so that each ball crosses over the rope and catch each ball with the opposite hand. If both balls are caught, three points are scored; if one 81 " ~ 82 ball is caught, only one point is scored. As soon as the balls are caught and/or recovered, toss them again. I Try to make as many successful catches as possible in j each thirty-second trial. If a ball rebounds out of | control, take one of the extra balls from the box pro vided. Balls must go over the rope and must be caught in the hands, not against the body, in order to score.” Permit a timed fifteen-second practice trial. Set the timer to thirty seconds and start trial number one. Record and announce the score at the completion of! each trial. At the end of the third trial, total and I record all three scores. Mark the line graph on the back of the subject's score sheet and show her this j graph. i Remind the subject to return on the next experimental day for her next practice session. APPENDIX E PROCEDURES FOR THE SECOND THROUGH EIGHTEENTH ! DAY OF TESTING THE BALL TOSSING TASK Indicate to the subject the highest score made so far. It is posted on the wall. From the score sheet note the hook number at which the rope should be set. Place the rope at the proper place i and the balls in the box on the floor. ! i Proceed as on day one (procedures number four through six). ; 83 APPENDIX F BALL TOSS SCORE SHEET Last Name First Name jAge: Hlth Cl: Hnd Pref: i Hook No: Year Reach: I ;Trial Number i :First Week | Day 1 Total Second Week Day 4 Third Week Day 7 9 8 5 APPENDIX F— Continued 1 hrrial Number 1 2 3 Total 11 ! 12 Fifth Week : Day 13 14 15 Sixth Week Day 16 17 18 A P P E N D IX F - - C o n tin u e d 3 6 0 - 3 4 5- 3 3 0- 315- 300 2 8 5- 2 7 0 - 2 5 5 - 2 1 0 - 1 9 5- 1 8 0- 165 1 5 0- 135 - 1 2 0 - 1 0 5- 9 0 - 7 5 - 60 - 45 ■ 30 ■ 15 • 0 ■ D ays Totals - + ~ I I 10 11 12 j 13 14 15 16 17 18 .1. i 87 APPENDIX G DAILY MEAN SCORES ON BALL TOSSING TASK Day Experimental Group Control Group 1 21.05 16.80 2 30.20 25.20 3 37.85 31.05 4 42.00 38.75 5 52.00 40.30 6 46.70 45.65 7 55.10 46.40 8 54.60 50.15 9 58.55 48.55 10 63.60 54.65 11 65.85 54.20 12 73.70 58.20 13 70.90 56.20 14 81.70 63.20 15 83.30 62.40 16 82.90 67.40 17 84.00 71.20 18 87.25 63.70 _ - M APPENDIX H PRETEST AND POSTTEST PREDICTED MAXIMAL OXYGEN CONSUMPTION VALUES IN LITERS PER MINUTE Experimental Group Control Group Combined Group Pretest 2.35 2.26 2.30 Posttest 2.83 2.43 2.63

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Creator Johnson, Joann Marlene (author)

Core Title The Relationship Between Work Capacity And Motor Learning

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Physical Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Education, Physical,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

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Advisor Lockhart, Aileene (committee chair), deVries, Herbert A. (committee member), Lersten, Kenneth C. (committee member), Morris, Royce (committee member)

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