Frontiers in Psychology (Jan 2024)

Effect of dynamic balance on human mental rotation task in female badminton vs. volleyball players

  • Samiha Amara,
  • Samiha Amara,
  • Badria Al-Hadabi,
  • Heba El-Ashkar,
  • Heba El-Ashkar,
  • Nabil Gmada,
  • Nabil Gmada,
  • Hamdi Habacha,
  • Hamdi Habacha,
  • Bessem Mkaouer

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1338265
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14

Abstract

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BackgroundThe present study aims to compare the mental rotation performance between two non-contact sports (i.e., badminton and volleyball) in different upright conditions (i.e., with and without dynamic balance).MethodsThirty-five female sports and physical education students voluntarily participated in the experiment, including fourteen specialists in badminton and twenty-one specialists in volleyball. The experiment involved a mental body rotation task with or without balance exercises on a wobble board.ResultsBadminton players outperformed volleyball players in the mental rotation tasks regardless of balance. More interestingly, the results revealed an overall decrease in reaction times when participants performed balance exercises simultaneously with mental rotation.DiscussionOur findings suggest that introducing dynamic balance on a wobble board has immediate beneficial effects on the mental rotation performance of female badminton and volleyball players. These findings are discussed in the context of sport specificities and cognitive processing framework.

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