Physical Activity Performance of Focal Middle School Students |
| |
| Authors: | Stephen E Erfle Corey M Gelbaugh |
| |
| Institution: | 1. Department of International Business and Management , Dickinson College , Carlisle , Pennsylvania erfle@dickinson.edu;3. Department of International Business and Management , Dickinson College , Carlisle , Pennsylvania;4. Department of Statistics , Ohio State University , Columbus , Ohio |
| |
| Abstract: | Histograms of push-ups and curl-ups from a sample of more than 9,000 students show periodic spikes at five and 10 unit intervals. This article argues that these spikes are related to focal points, a game theoretic concept popularized by Nobel Laureate Thomas Schelling. Being focal on one test makes one more likely to be focal on the other. Focal students (whose push-up score is a multiple of 5 and whose curl-up score is a multiple of 10) behave differently from their non-focal peers. They are more likely athletic, older, and male. Focal students, on average, did 2.2 more push-ups, 1.7 more curl-ups, and ran the mile 15 seconds faster than non-focal students, even controlling for these covariates of performance. By contrast, being focal on a single activity did not produce a statistically significant mile time difference. Students who systematically stop at focal outcomes appear differentially motivated toward physical activity performance. |
| |
| Keywords: | goal-setting motivation age heaping regression analysis focal points coaching |
|
|
