The relationships among perceptual style, perceptual motor ability, and the acquisition of a complex biplanar motor skill

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationships among field dependency levels, performance on a non-locomotor balancing task both sighted and blindforded, and the acquisition of a complex biplanar motor skill. The participants for this investigation were young (ages 9-17) female gymnasts (n = 17) who had all received at least one year of gymnastics training, and could perform the prerequisite skills required for this experiment. All subjects were given the embedded figures test (EFT) (Witkin, Oltman, Raskin, & Karp, 1971) and a sighted and a blindfolded task on a stabilometer. The subjects, having been taught with a non-visual teaching method, were then given 50 trials of the full twisting back flip (FULL) on the trampoline. The gymnasts were attached to an overhead spotting rig to insure their safety. A single factor model (field dependence-independence) with three levels (high, middle, and low) was used to examine the relationships among variables. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to adjust posttest FULL scores to pretest scores and to assess the effects of field dependency levels on the FULL learning which:it:ook place. Multiple correlations were used to examine the relationships among EFT scores, stabilometer time in balance (TIB) and time in balance blindfolded (TIBB) scores, and pretest and posttest FULL scores. From the data analysis it was found that subjects' field dependency levels did not correlate significantly with their pretest or posttest FULL scores, or with the stabilometer measures. A significant relationship was found between pretest and posttest FULL scores (r = .837) and TIB and TIBB scores (r = .541). The following conclusions were drawn from the findings: (1) because of the lack of significant correlations between the FULL and either the EFT or the stabilometer task, the use of either of these measures as a predictor of the rate of learning of the FULL is not warranted; (2) of all the variables used in this investigation, subjects' pretest FULL scores are the best indicators of how rapidly they will learn the FULL, having been taught by the non-visual method.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Physical Education

Department dc:contributor.department

Physical Education

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Year dc:date.issued

1983

Author dc:creator

• Beckwith, Paul A.

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/101417

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/101417