Vicki Ebbeck

Fair Play for Kids: Effects on the Moral Development of Children in Physical Education

Commitment to the principles of sportspersonship is an acknowledged goal for school physical education. However, few programs have been implemented to investigate moral development changes in physical activity settings. A field experiment was designed to examine the effect of participation in educational activities selected from Fair Play for Kids (1990) on the moral judgment, reason, intention, and prosocial behavior of children (N = 452) in the 4th through 6th grades. Six intact classrooms at each grade level (N = 18) were randomly assigned to the following groups: (a) control, (b) Fair Play for Kids curriculum during physical education only, or (c) Fair Play for Kids curriculum during all school subjects. Experimental protocol extended for 7 months of an academic year, and moral development indicators were assessed prior to and following the intervention. Using class as the unit of analysis, 3 x 2 (Group x Time) repeated measures analyses of variance revealed that both treatment groups were significantly higher than the control group at posttest for moral judgment, reason, and intention scores. For students within classes, repeated measures analyses showed that treatment group participants had significantly higher posttest scores on all 4 measures as compared to students in the control group. Results provide initial validation of the Fair Play For Kids curriculum for effecting change in the moral development of elementary school students.

Psychosocial Predictors of Goal Orientations in Youth Soccer

Little is known about the nature of task and ego orientations that are key motivation constructs. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the extent to which perceived social, contextual, and personal factors predicted the goal orientations of youth sport participants. The sample consisted of 166 male and female adolescent soccer players, who completed self-report measures at the end of a 7-week competitive season. A canonical correlation analysis revealed that the set of predictor variables accounted for 24% of the variance in player goal orientations. Higher scores on perceived soccer competence, perceived parent task orientation, and particularly perceived parent ego orientation were primarily associated with higher scores on player ego orientation. In addition, higher scores on perceived soccer competence, perceived parent task orientation, and perceived mastery climate, as well as lower scores on perceived performance climate, were associated with a higher level of player task orientation. These findings are interpreted and discussed in terms of future research directions.

Show and tell in the gymnasium revisited: developmental differences in modeling and verbal rehearsal effects on motor skill learning and performance.

Little research has investigated the observational learning process from a developmental perspective. The purpose of this study was to extend previous research by considering two factors: performance versus learning and sequencing versus form scores. Children (N = 60) comprising two age groups (5-0 to 6-11 and 8-0 to 9-11 years) were randomly assigned to verbal rehearsal only, model only, or model plus verbal rehearsal conditions. The task was a 6-part motor skill sequence in which proper sequencing and quality of form were assessed. A 2 x 3 x 4 (age group by model type by trial blocks) repeated measures MANOVA revealed a significant three-way interaction. Older children performed equally well under any of the model type conditions during both performance and learning. For younger children, a model plus rehearsal was superior to rehearsal only on sequence and form at performance and learning and superior to model only on sequence scores during the first two performance trial blocks. Model only and model plus rehearsal conditions were equally effective on form scores. These results suggest that age differences exist in the modeling of motor skills under conditions varying in model type, sequence and form scores, and performance and learning phases.

Body Composition and Physical Self-Concept in Older Women

ABSTRACT We sought to determine the performance and anthropometric correlates of physical self-concept and self-esteem and to observe whether long-term resistance training would alter these variables in postmenopausal women. Forty-four nonsmoking, community-dwelling, Caucasian women aged 50–75 years participated in the study. Half of the subjects participated in a 9-month regimen of weight-bearing exercises performed 3 times per week which emphasized lower body muscle strength and power development. At baseline, total body fat was negatively associated with physical self-concept and perception of physical appearance but not with self-esteem. Perception of physical appearance improved in both exercisers and controls after the 9-month trial but was most noticeable in exercisers who had low self-esteem at baseline. The only predictor of improvement in perception of physical appearance was a decrease in lower body fat mass. Minimal or nonsignificant change in psychological measures associated with the training may be due to high initial values.

Muscle Dysmorphia Symptoms and Their Relationships to Self-concept and Negative Affect Among College Recreational Exercisers

This study explored the nature of the relationship between muscle dysmorphia symptoms and self-concept as well as negative affect variables. Female (n = 183) and male (n = 103) college students completed a packet of questionnaires. Data were analyzed using canonical correlation analyses and revealed significant relationships between the sets of variables. Specifically, the variance explained by muscle dysmorphia symptoms in self-concept and negative affect variables was greater than the variance explained in muscle dysmorphia symptoms by self-concept and negative affect. Perceived body attractiveness and social physique anxiety were the individual variables that predominantly contributed to the multivariate relationships.

Explaining the Self-Conception of Perceived Conduct Using Indicators of Moral Functioning in Physical Education

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine whether four indicators of moral functioning in physical education (moral judgment, moral reason, moral intention, and prosocial behavior) predicted the self-conception of perceived conduct. Participants were 204 male (n = 87) and female (n = 117) physical education students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. For the male students, the four indicators of moral functioning were found to be highly related, and, so, no subsequent analyses were conducted. For the female students, a standard multiple regression analysis revealed that the indicators of moral functioning accounted for 21% of the variance in perceived conduct. Discussion of the results highlights the value of considering in combination the moral functioning and self-concept literatures.

Team Building through Physical Challenges in Gender-Segregated Classes and Student Self-Conceptions

It was of interest to determine if earlier research findings, where female students were particularly advantaged by the Team Building Through Physical Challenges (TBPC; Glover & Midura, 1992) program in a coeducational setting, would still be observed in gender-segregated physical education classes. A total of 260 female (n = 127) and male (n = 133) middle school students were assigned to either treatment (participate in one TBPC activity every second week) or control (no exposure to TBPC activities) conditions. Assessments of six self-conceptions were collected before and after a five-month intervention period. Data were analyzed using a 2 (control/treatment) × 2 (pre-intervention/post-intervention) × 2 (female/male) repeated measures multivariate analysis of covariance. Examination of the results suggested that the TBPC program continues to somewhat advantage female students in gender-segregated classes, although the overriding finding was that the program is associated with beneficial outcomes for both female and male students.

Self-perception and motivational characteristics of tennis participants: The influence of age and skill

Abstract An integrated approach to the study of psychosocial factors related to participation behavior was adopted by incorporating developmental, skill acquisition, and psychosocial variables. Specifically, the relationship of age and skill with self-perceptions and motivational characteristics of tennis participants was examined. Males and females (N = 240) ranged in age from 10 to 67 years. Professional tennis coaches verified the skill rating of each player using the National Tennis Rating Program introduced by the United States Tennis Association. Individuals completed self-report scales measuring perceived tennis competence, tennis salience, global self-worth, challenge motivational orientation, task and ego orientations, and competitive trait anxiety. Canonical correlation analyses revealed that age and skill were significantly related to psychosocial variables for both males and females. These findings suggest that an integrated research approach can extend our understanding of social-psychologica...

Overcoming weight bias: promoting physical activity and psychosocial health

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate Feel WonderFull Fitness (FWF), a program adhering to the Health At Every SizeTM (HAES) paradigm, on larger womens physical activity and psychosocial health. FWF was tailored to overcome barriers based on weight bias. Design/methodology/approach – The study compared “overweight” and “obese” women in FWF to those not currently enrolled in formal exercise programs. Controls were divided into low physical activity (LPA) and moderate physical activity (MPA) conditions based on pretest exercise level. Outcome measures were collected at pretest and three months later at posttest. Findings – FWF participants had the greatest gains in physical activity and demonstrated significantly greater improvements in depression than the LPA group. FWF and the MPA group showed more improved scores on perceived body attractiveness than the LPA group. Scores on an eating disorders measure improved for all groups, but somewhat more so for the FWF group. Improvements occurred in...

The relationship of mindfulness and self-compassion to desired wildland fire leadership

A quantitative approach was adopted to explore facets of mindfulness and self-compassion in relation to their ability to predict crewmembers’ perceptions of their supervisors’ leadership capabilities. The sample comprised 43 wildland fire crews consisting of their primary supervisors (n = 43) and crewmembers (n = 246). A partial least-squares path modelling approach was employed to test hypotheses regarding the relationships among mindfulness, self-compassion and leadership. Findings revealed that supervisor scores on mindfulness were significant predictors of crewmember-rated scores of supervisor leadership. Although not as strong, aspects of self-compassion were also significant predictors of perceived supervisor leadership. Unlike mindfulness, the aspects of self-compassion that predicted supervisor leadership were more varied between desirable self-compassion scores and undesirable self-compassion scores. Overall, the results indicate that mindfulness and self-compassion were predictors of desired wildland fire leadership by crewmembers; these results suggest potential functions that mindfulness and self-compassion could serve in the development of leaders in wildland firefighting.