IMPACT OF CHANGES IN PHYSICAL FITNESS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF DECISION MAKING
Abstract
The theoretical bases for the study are derived from: (1) documented relationship between increased physical fitness and stabilization of personality; (2) documented impairment of cognitive processing due to high anxiousness/instable personality; and (3) correlation of anxiety and biochemically mediated base level arousal. The above conceptual relationships lead to the hypothesis that increased physical fitness results in improved decision making capabilities. In order to test this hypothesis, 27 (20 females; 7 males) control and 13 (10 females; 3 males) experimental subjects participated in the study. The experimental subjects participated in a six month physical fitness program while the control subjects did not participate in the program but remained at the same level of fitness throughout the study. Physical fitness and decision making capabilities for all 40 subjects were assessed before and after the program. Data were analyzed separately for female and male subjects. The tendency of effects of physical fitness on decision making were the same for both sexes. However, due to the small male sample sizes only the female subjects' data were subjected to rigorous statistical analysis. These results provide some evidence in support of the hypothesis and indicate the following: (1) Experimental subjects had 60% fewer errors than the control group in formulating strategies in complex decision making tasks. (2) In comparison to the control group, the stability of personality of the experimental subjects increased by one-fifth. (3) The experimental treatment had no effect either on psychomotor task performances or on the performance of equipment based strategy formation tasks.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Industrial engineering
Off-Campus Purdue Users:
To access this dissertation, please log in to our
proxy server.