Effect of Physical and Imagery Training under Mental Fatigue Condition on Cognitive Effort among Basketball Novices

Document Type : Original research

Authors
Mahpari Ghasemnezhad 1
Mahin Aghdaei 2
Alireza Farsi 3
1 PhD Student of Motor Behavior, Department of Sport Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, School of Sport Science and Health, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor of Motor Behavior, Department of Sport Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, School of Sport Science and Health, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
3 Associate Professor of Motor Behavior, Department of Sport Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, School of Sport Science and Health, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
10.22089/spsyj.2021.11198.2223
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of mental, physical, and combined training under mental fatigue condition on the cognitive effort of basketball novices. In this quasi-experimental study with pre-test and post-test design with three experimental groups, 33 novice girls (mean age 20.12 years) through a research call and after preliminary evaluations, were randomly assigned into three groups of Imagery Training (n = 11), Physical Training (n = 10), and Combined Training (n = 12) and participated in eight training sessions under moderate mental fatigue (60 minutes of executing Stroop task at the beginning of each session). Cognitive effort was measured based on the continuous performance test in the pre-test, post-test, and follow-up test. The results showed that the Stroop task in all eight training sessions similarly increased the levels of mental fatigue of the groups, however, the main and interaction effects of time and group on cognitive effort were not statistically significant. Accordingly, eight sessions of training under moderate mental fatigue do not have the required cognitive load to increase the cognitive effort of novices.
Keywords
Mental Fatigue
Imagery Training
Physical Training
Cognitive Effort
Basketball Free Throw

Main Subjects