Term of Award

Summer 2021

Degree Name

Master of Science in Kinesiology (M.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Health and Kinesiology

Committee Chair

Nick Siekirk

Committee Member 1

Megan Byrd

Committee Member 2

Greg Ryan

Abstract

Context: Mirrors are common-place in exercise facilities, however, the effect the mirror has on cognitive strategy (i.e., where the mind’s at) and performance time has not been examined in a muscular endurance task (i.e., a wall sit). Objective: To determine, (1) the mirror’s effect on cognitive state during a wall sit to volitional exhaustion, (2) the mirror's effect on time to volitional exhaustion during a wall sit, and (3) the mirror’s effect on the participant’s rating of perceived exertion (RPE) during the wall sit. Design: Repeated measures design. Setting: Indoor exercise facility. Participants: Twenty resistance-trained Georgia Southern University Students (9 males, 11 females; age = 22.15 ± 2.25 years). Main Outcome Measures: Participants held a wall sit to volitional exhaustion under a mirrored and non-mirrored condition. The order of conditions was randomized. Time to volitional exhaustion (seconds) was collected. Heart rate (HR) and Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) were assessed in 10-second increments during each trial. After each trial, participants completed a post-trial questionnaire asking where their mind was at during the start, middle, and end of each trial. Participants were allowed adequate rest time between each trial. Results: Cognitions were significantly different at the different time points during the wall sit within the mirrored (p < .01) and non-mirrored condition (p < .01), but there were no significant differences between the conditions at the start (p = .564), middle (p = .206), or end (p = 1.00). Participants held the wall sit longer in the mirrored condition (95.27 ± 36.93 seconds) as opposed to the non-mirrored condition (86.35 ± 41.10 seconds), a statistically significant mean increase of 8.92 seconds (p = .03). RPE scores were statistically significantly different at different time points within the mirrored and non-mirrored conditions (p < .01), but not statistically significantly different from start to end between the conditions (p = .881). Conclusion: The mirrored condition resulted in a longer held wall sit, by directing the participants to maintain an associative cognitive state throughout the task.

OCLC Number

1273200867

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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