A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Acute Aerobic Exercise, Mindfulness Practices, Combined Mindfulness, and Exercise Training on Executive Functions in Fourth-Grade Female Students

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Educational and Curriculum Methods and Programs, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Department of Curriculum Development & Instruction Methods, Faculty of psychology and Educational Science, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran.

3 Department of Educational Science, Faculty of Humanities, Malayer University, Malayer, Iran.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of aerobic exercise training, mindfulness and a combination of mindfulness and exercise training on the executive functions of fourth-grade female students. The method was semi-experimental, utilizing a pretest–posttest design with a control group. Subsequently, 18 30-minute training sessions were developed and implemented on intervals of every two days. The data were obtained through the Free Research Executive Function Evaluation (FREE) test. SPSS22 was employed to conduct multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) on the data. The results indicated that the inhibition of students in all three programs—aerobic exercise training (Eta=0.18), mindfulness (Eta=0.26), and combined mindfulness and exercise training (Eta=0.76)—is significantly different from that of the control group (p<0.05). Additionally, the shifting of students in the combined mindfulness and exercise training program is significantly different (Eta=0.56). However, the students who engaged in the combined mindfulness and exercise instruction outperformed the other groups. The findings suggest that the combination of aerobic exercise and mindfulness can be an effective strategy for enhancing the executive functions of fourth-grade female students.

Keywords

References

References
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Journal of Applied Psychological Research
Volume 15, Issue 3
November 2024
Pages 249-271

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History

  • Receive Date: 11 January 2024
  • Revise Date: 09 July 2024
  • Accept Date: 21 July 2024
  • First Publish Date: 22 October 2024
  • Publish Date: 22 October 2024

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