Encouraging Long-Term Physical Activity through Psych-based Changes in Physical Education
Vazou, S.,Mischo, A., Ladwig, M. A., Ekkekakis, P., & Welk, G. (2019). Psychologically informed physical fitness practice in schools: A field experiment. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 40,143-151.
Comic by Tanja Vujnovic
Research has been consistently finding that youth no longer meet min. recommendations for daily physical activity, and is progressively worse with age.
But a recent study suggests that if we make changes to the way we teach P.E. in schools using psychology theory, it may encourage youth to continue with physical activity as they grow.
Perhaps if students are positively activated, they will inversely have a positive association with physical activity that can carry into the long-term!
While schools are a source of scheduled physical activity for youth, traditional P.E. lessons may leave students who do not have a natural affinity for athletics feeling embarrassed or incompetent. Thus, creating an aversion to physical activity that can continue throughout life.
Prioritizing physical activity over performance. 'Cooperation > Competition'
Using prior theories on motivation and personality, such as Self-Determination Theory and Achievement Goal Theory, alongside other previous research, these researchers outlined a few key aspects for engaging students in physical activity:
Creating intrinsic motivation through a sense of autonomy, competency and relatedness
Using music and visual stimuli to create interest
Using variety to keep activities novel and interesting
Researchers then collected data from 5 P.E. classes who were subjected to both a novel lesson (given choices, audiovisual stimuli, etc.) and a traditional lesson (beep test, push-ups, etc.)
Results indicated:
There was no difference in the level of physical activity performed between the two lessons.Students enjoyed the novel lesson significantly more than the traditional lesson.The novel lesson maintained its rank in terms of affective valence ('How do you feel right now?'), which usually drops post-traditional lessons.Though, competence and autonomy rankings only differed slightly.
At the very least, we can conclude that students are getting the same level of activity, just having more fun!
These results open the door for longitudinal studies & more findings on how adopting a psychology-based P.E. curriculum can impact long-term physical activity.
Its application within schools requires no additional funding, simply a change in approach.
IN CONCLUSION...
THE END...
Page 2: Colley, R. C.,Carson, V., Garriguet, D., Janssen, I., Roberts, K. C., & Tremblay, M. S. (2017). Physical activity of Canadian children and youth, 2007 to 2015. Statistics Canada. Pearson, N.,Haycraft, E., Johnston, J. P., & Atkin, A. J. (2017). Sedentary behaviour across the primary-secondary school transition: A systematic review. Preventive medicine, 94,40- 47. Vincent, S. D.,& Pangrazi, R. P. (2002). An examination of the activity patterns of elementary school children. Paediatric Exercise Science, 14(4),432-441. Page 3: Brand, R.,& Ekkekakis, P. (2018). Affective–reflective theory of physical inactivity and exercise. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research, 48(1), 48-58. Fairclough, S.J., & Stratton, G. (2006). A review of physical activity levels during elementary school physical education. Journal of teaching in physical education, 25(2), 240-258. Waters, A. M.,Theresiana, C., Neumann, D. L., & Craske, M. G. (2017). Developmental differences in aversive conditioning, extinction, and reinstatement: A study with children, adolescents, and adults. Journal of experimental child psychology, 159, 263-278. Page 4: Ames, C.(1992). Achievement goals and the classroom motivational climate. Student perceptions in the classroom, 1,327-348. De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Crombez, G., Deforche, B., Vinaimont, F., Debode, P., &Bouckaert, J. (2002). Effects of distraction on treadmill running time in severely obese children and adolescents. International journal of obesity, 26(8), 1023-1029. Deci, E. L.,& Ryan, R. M. (Eds.). (2004). Handbook of self-determination research. University RochesterPress. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Publications. Dimmock, J.,Jackson, B., Podlog, L., & Magaraggia, C. (2013). The effect of variety expectations on interest, enjoyment,and locus of causality in exercise. Motivation and Emotion, 37(1),146-153. Jones, L.,Karageorghis, C. I., & Ekkekakis, P. (2014). Can high-intensity exercise be more pleasant? Attentional dissociation using music and video. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 36(5), 528-541. Nicholls, J. G.(1989). The competitive ethos and democratic education. HarvardUniversity Press.