ABSTRACT

Background: Studies have reported positive effects of physical activity on cognitive executive functions, such as inhibitory control and creativity. These studies predominantly compared scenarios of sports participation vs. no sports participation or reduced sports to simple aerobic exercises. However, whether the type or intensity of physical activity matters has not been clarified.

Purpose: This study investigates creativity development in sports study programs, which fully capture the real-world physical and mental involvement of students, by comparing two study programs representing different approaches on how to accumulate knowledge and expertise in sports. In the divergence-oriented study program (DOSP), students participate in variety of noncompetitive sports throughout their studies. In the convergence-oriented study program (COSP), students focus on optimizing performance in a well-defined area of competitive sports. The hypothesis that divergent learning experiences in sports have a more positive influence on creativity than convergent learning experiences was tested.

Method: Cognitive inhibitory strategies (Ruff Figural Fluency Test) and creativity (Figural Torrance Test of Creative Thinking) were compared in sport students from DOSP (n=33) and COSP (n=35). To examine the study period’s influence, students were tested at the beginning and end of their studies.

Findings: Creativity scores of DOSP students significantly increased in four out of five creativity measures (fluency, originality, elaboration, and resistance to premature closure) within two years, while those of COSP students declined significantly. However, both student groups incorporated significantly more cognitive strategies to fulfill the tasks. DOSP students used these strategies to produce more responses (fluency), leading to original and elaborated responses, while COSP students produced significantly fewer errors.

Conclusions: The claim that physical activity has a generally positive influence on fluency does not correspond to our findings. We, therefore, conclude that not physical activities per se, rather the divergent learning experiences in sports positively influence creativity. Since fluency only improved in DOSP, we predict that fluid thinking benefits vastly from divergent learning experiences. Furthermore, we found evidence that the mechanism of high fluency in the divergent study group is partly related to cognitive inhibitory strategies. Therefore, study program coordinators should redesign sport curricula based on process-oriented learning opportunities in sports. This includes a shift away from early specialization and toward broad-based education and versatility training to prepare students to better adapt to the ever-changing societal needs. To enable teachers to promote students’ creative potential, study program coordinators alongside universities must support teachers in receiving adequate training to shift from being controllers to facilitators in favor of promoting process-orientation and active, self-regulated knowledge construction in students.

摘要

背景：研究报告了身体活动对认知执行功能的积极影响，例如抑制控制和创造力。这些研究主要比较了参加体育运动与不参加体育运动或将运动减少到简单的有氧运动的情景。然而，体育活动的类型或强度是否重要尚未阐明。

目的：本研究通过比较代表如何积累体育知识和专业知识的不同方法的两个学习项目，调查体育学习项目的创造力发展，充分捕捉学生在现实世界中的身心参与。在以发散为导向的学习计划 (DOSP) 中，学生在整个学习过程中都会参加各种非竞争性运动。在面向融合的学习计划 (COSP) 中，学生专注于在明确定义的竞技体育领域优化表现。检验了运动中不同的学习经历比融合的学习经历对创造力有更积极影响的假设。

方法：比较来自 DOSP（n=33）和 COSP（n=35）的体育学生的认知抑制策略（Ruff 图形流畅性测试）和创造力（创造性思维的图形 Torrance 测试）。为了检查学习期间的影响，学生在学习开始和结束时接受了测试。

调查结果：两年内，DOSP 学生的创造力得分在五分之四的创造力指标（流畅性、原创性、精心设计和对过早关闭的抵抗力）中显着提高，而 COSP 学生的创造力得分显着下降。然而，两个学生群体都采用了更多的认知策略来完成任务。DOSP 学生使用这些策略来产生更多的反应（流畅性），导致原始和详细的反应，而 COSP 学生产生的错误明显更少。

结论：身体活动对流利度有普遍积极影响的说法与我们的发现不符。因此，我们得出结论，不是体育活动本身，而是运动中不同的学习经历对创造力产生积极影响。由于流畅性只在 DOSP 中得到提高，我们预测流体思维从不同的学习经历中受益匪浅。此外，我们发现有证据表明分歧研究组的高流畅度机制部分与认知抑制策略有关。因此，学习计划协调员应根据体育中面向过程的学习机会重新设计体育课程。这包括从早期的专业化转向基础广泛的教育和多功能培训，以使学生做好准备以更好地适应不断变化的社会需求。