Papers by Spiridoula Vazou
Integrating physical activity (PA) in the classroom is a promising avenue for youth to increase t... more Integrating physical activity (PA) in the classroom is a promising avenue for youth to increase their PA levels and academic achievement. However, research on its role in children's academic motivation is limited. Intrinsic motivation is important because it predicts both academic achievement and physical activity participation. The purpose was to examine the effect of PA integrated with academic lessons compared to traditional lessons on children's academic motivation. A total of 147 4th to 6th grade students (64 male, 83 female) from 15 classes participated. The intervention included six consecutive lessons over a two-week period on an academic subject (Language Arts, Math, Social Studies), alternating between traditional (1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th; control) and integrated with PA (10 min) lessons in the classroom (3rd and 5th). The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory was used to assess students' Interest/Enjoyment, Perceived Competence, Effort, Value, and Pressure. After checking for non-significant interactions with gender, age, and academic subject, repeated-measure ANOVAs were conducted. Interest/Enjoyment significantly decreased after the traditional lessons (4th and 6th, F = 3.80, F = 4.18, respectively, p < 0.05) and increased significantly after the second integrated lesson (5th, F = 7.26, p < 0.01). Perceived Competence and Effort significantly increased after the integrated lesson (F = 4.87, F = 5.03, respectively, p < 0.05), whereas neither the Perceived Value of the lesson declined nor did children report feelings of Pressure from this alternative teaching method. This research showed that PA integrated with the academic subjects can positively impact children's academic motivation.
27th Stress and Anxiety …, 2006
Research quarterly for exercise and sport, 2010
Obesity, 2009
Expert panels and government agencies recommend 45-60 min of moderate-intensity physical activity... more Expert panels and government agencies recommend 45-60 min of moderate-intensity physical activity (PA) daily for the prevention of weight gain and 60-90 min for weight management in individuals who were previously OB (1-4). However, these recommendations have been criticized as "too daunting" (5, p. 769) and "too ambitious" (6, p.2264). In actuality, no more than 4.1% of overweight (OW) women, 3.0% of OB women, 6.9% of OW men, and 6.4% of OB men trying to lose weight report reaching 420 min of PA weekly .
Journal of health psychology, 2008
We examined the affective consequences of an exercise intensity that slightly exceeded the prefer... more We examined the affective consequences of an exercise intensity that slightly exceeded the preferred level. Twenty-five middle-age sedentary women participated in two 20-min treadmill exercise bouts, one during which they could select the speed and one during which the speed was 10 per cent higher than the selfselected. During the bout at selfselected intensity, ratings of pleasure remained stable, whereas during the imposed-intensity bout pleasure decreased. Therefore, even a minor increase in exercise intensity beyond the level that a new exerciser would have self-selected can bring about a decrease in pleasure. Over time, such experiences could lower adherence.
Hellenic Journal of …, 2009
Journal of Sport and Exercise …, 2005
The influence of the peer group on young people's achievement motivation has been highlighted in ... more The influence of the peer group on young people's achievement motivation has been highlighted in the literature as an area that needs examination (e.g., . To this effect, a new measure of youngsters' perceptions of the peer motivational climate (Peer Motivational Climate in Youth Sport Questionnaire; PeerMCYSQ) was developed and tested across three studies. In Study 1, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) with 431 athletes between the ages of 11 to 16 years suggested that the PeerMCYSQ had 6 factors that could also be subsumed into 2 higher order factors (Task-Involving climate: improvement, relatedness support, effort; Ego-Involving climate: intra-team competition, normative ability, intra-team conflict). In Studies 2 and 3 the 6-factor solution and the corresponding hierarchical one were tested using CFA with two independent samples (N = 606 and 495, respectively) of similar age. The results showed that the 6-factor model was problematic and that a 5-factor solution should be preferred instead. Further support to the 5-factor model was provided with hierarchical and multilevel CFAs. Suggestions for further research on peer motivational climate are discussed.
Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2005
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Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2006
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Papers by Spiridoula Vazou