Effect of fluid bodily movement in tai chi on creativity and cognition in healthy undergraduates

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of fluid bodily movements in Tai Chi (TC) and Walking Aerobics (WA) on cognitive functioning and creativity in healthy university students. As previous studies showed that tracing fluid movement patterns with one’s hand improves c...

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Main Author: Ang, Joey Yi Jia
Other Authors: National Institute of Education
Format: Final Year Project (FYP)
Language:English
Published: 2014
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59162
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author Ang, Joey Yi Jia
author2 National Institute of Education
author_facet National Institute of Education
Ang, Joey Yi Jia
author_sort Ang, Joey Yi Jia
collection NTU
description The objective of this study was to examine the effects of fluid bodily movements in Tai Chi (TC) and Walking Aerobics (WA) on cognitive functioning and creativity in healthy university students. As previous studies showed that tracing fluid movement patterns with one’s hand improves creativity, it is hypothesized that creativity would increase after TC due to fluid bodily movements in the activity. A total of 20 participants were tested individually and randomly assigned to follow an exercise comprising of fluid bodily movements (20 min of TC) and an exercise of non-fluid nature (20 min of WA) on YouTube. Cognitive function and creativity tests were implemented at baseline, after TC, and after WA. Additional self-report scales were used to measure levels of exercise intensity, perceived mood, and arousal. Findings suggest that creativity scores decreased significantly from baseline to TC and from baseline to WA (p < 0.05). Stroop Test scores improved significantly from baseline to TC and from baseline to WA (p < 0.05), and there were no significant differences across Digit Span test scores (p > 0.05). In conclusion, fluid bodily movement improves cognition but decreases creativity.The findings are in contrast of the expected improvement in creativity, which may be attributed to the differing exercise intensities and continuous repetitive movements of TC and WA. Future studies that address these limitations can apply the findings to other physical activities involving fluid bodily movements, such as swimming and Pilates, as an additional incentive to encourage people to participate in such exercises.
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spelling ntu-10356/591622020-09-27T20:19:50Z Effect of fluid bodily movement in tai chi on creativity and cognition in healthy undergraduates Ang, Joey Yi Jia National Institute of Education Masato Kawabata DRNTU::Humanities The objective of this study was to examine the effects of fluid bodily movements in Tai Chi (TC) and Walking Aerobics (WA) on cognitive functioning and creativity in healthy university students. As previous studies showed that tracing fluid movement patterns with one’s hand improves creativity, it is hypothesized that creativity would increase after TC due to fluid bodily movements in the activity. A total of 20 participants were tested individually and randomly assigned to follow an exercise comprising of fluid bodily movements (20 min of TC) and an exercise of non-fluid nature (20 min of WA) on YouTube. Cognitive function and creativity tests were implemented at baseline, after TC, and after WA. Additional self-report scales were used to measure levels of exercise intensity, perceived mood, and arousal. Findings suggest that creativity scores decreased significantly from baseline to TC and from baseline to WA (p < 0.05). Stroop Test scores improved significantly from baseline to TC and from baseline to WA (p < 0.05), and there were no significant differences across Digit Span test scores (p > 0.05). In conclusion, fluid bodily movement improves cognition but decreases creativity.The findings are in contrast of the expected improvement in creativity, which may be attributed to the differing exercise intensities and continuous repetitive movements of TC and WA. Future studies that address these limitations can apply the findings to other physical activities involving fluid bodily movements, such as swimming and Pilates, as an additional incentive to encourage people to participate in such exercises. Bachelor of Science (Sport Science and Management) 2014-04-24T08:30:59Z 2014-04-24T08:30:59Z 2014 2014 Final Year Project (FYP) http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59162 en 65 p. application/pdf
spellingShingle DRNTU::Humanities
Ang, Joey Yi Jia
Effect of fluid bodily movement in tai chi on creativity and cognition in healthy undergraduates
title Effect of fluid bodily movement in tai chi on creativity and cognition in healthy undergraduates
title_full Effect of fluid bodily movement in tai chi on creativity and cognition in healthy undergraduates
title_fullStr Effect of fluid bodily movement in tai chi on creativity and cognition in healthy undergraduates
title_full_unstemmed Effect of fluid bodily movement in tai chi on creativity and cognition in healthy undergraduates
title_short Effect of fluid bodily movement in tai chi on creativity and cognition in healthy undergraduates
title_sort effect of fluid bodily movement in tai chi on creativity and cognition in healthy undergraduates
topic DRNTU::Humanities
url http://hdl.handle.net/10356/59162
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