Får elever bättre uppmärksamhetsförmåga efter fysisk aktivitet?
En experimentell studie om fysisk aktivitets påverkan på uppmärksamhet
Physical activityAttentionSelective attentionVigilanceFysisk aktivitetUppmärksamhetSelektiv uppmärksamhetVigilans.
The aim of this study is to find out whether there is any difference to be found in the attention ability before and after physical activity. The method used in this study was made of an experimental design. The participants were chosen through a cluster sampling and thereafter divided into a control group and an experimental group. A total of 64 pupils from upper secondary school participated in the study, 25 of them in the experimental group and 39 of them in the control group. Since the measure was repeated, both in respect of time and the comparison between the groups, a mixed design was used. The attention ability was measured on both occasions with a revised 7-series-test that measures vigilance and selective attention. On the first occasion the participants were supposed to subtract 7 from 1000 and on the second occasion to subtract 7 from 995. The more subtractions the participant had time for within the given five minute time range, the higher attention ability the participant were considered to have. The attention ability was for the experimental group measured before and after a gym lesson, while for the control group their attention ability was measured before and after a theoretical lesson. The results showed that there were a significant difference between the two test occasions, and there were also a significant difference in between the test groups. While both of the groups improved their results in the second test occasion, the experimental group performed better than the control group did on both test occasions. The results did not indicate any interactional effect, which means that the test score achieved by the individual test person on test 1 and 2 did not depend on whether the person was a member of the control group or the experimental group. On the second occasion, which was the test conducted after the physical activity, the experimental group improved their results slightly more than the control group did. However, the results did not improve as much for it to be considered a significant difference. In conclusion, there was no difference found in the attention ability before or after physical activity.