Item: Are You Sharp While Ascending?
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Title: Are You Sharp While Ascending?
Proceedings: International Snow Science Workshop Proceedings 2018, Innsbruck, Austria
Authors:
- Audun Hetland [ UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Gerit Pfuhl [ UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Maia Herding Solberg [ UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Fred Inge Guttormsen [ UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- August Nordby [ UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Martin Jensen Mækelæ [ UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
- Andrea Mannberg [ UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway ]
Date: 2018-10-07
Abstract: Objective: Avalanches pose a major threat to people negotiating avalanche terrain. The majority of the accidents occur as a result of one or several sub-optimal decisions. The present paper examines 1) if specific levels of heart rate (HR) affect the ability to process information, 2) if this can help explaining why skiers show impaired judgment when evaluating risks in avalanche terrain and 3) if being in good shape will facilitate rational thinking. Method: The paper present two empirical studies (N = 61). The participants walked on a treadmill with steep incline wearing a backpack and weights on their feet. While walking the participants completed several rounds of a cognitive test at different levels of HR. The test was inspired by the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. The participants in study 2 also did a VO2max test one week prior to walking on the treadmill. In addition, they completed a deliberate reasoning test before and after walking. Results: The participants in study 1 (N=40) performed significantly worse on the DRM test when HR was high, and after being in physical activity for some time. In study 2 (N=21) the participants with high VO2 max had better rational thinking abilities. In both studies perceived physical but not mental effort correlated with cognitive performance changes Conclusions: High levels of physical arousal, particularly at long durations, may impair information processing in less physically fit individuals. In future studies we plan to increase the ecological validity of this finding.
Language of Article: English
Presenters:
Keywords: Physical activity, exercise, decision-making, deliberate reasoning
Page Number(s): 1360-1364
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Digital Abstract Not Available
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