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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall

TheEffectsofHeadingtheBallontheFunctionofLogicandReasoningSkills

AliciaD.Oliver
HollyM.Koperski
HannahA.Fitch
AlpenaHighSchool
5/17/13

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall

Abstract

Thisresearchfocusesontherelationshipbetweenheadingtheballandlogicandreasoningskills.
It was hypothesized that subjects who participated in exercise involving heading a ball would
score lower on a logic and reasoning quiz than those who participated in exercise without
headingaball.33highschoolstudentswerethevoluntarysubjects.Subjectshadfiveminutesto
complete a twenty question logic and reasoning quiz, then performed exercise with or without
headingforthirtyminutes.Afterthirtyminutes,subjectswereretestedwithaquizwithsimilar
questions. The control groups before mean was 15. The standard deviation was 3.39. The
controlgroupsaftermeanwas15.8.Thestandarddeviationwas2.61.Theexperimentalgroups
beforemeanwas16.2.Thestandarddeviationwas2.4.Theexperimentalgroupsaftermeanwas
16.8.Thestandarddeviationwas1.79.Theexperimentalgroupsbeforeandafterscoreshadat
valueof0.85,withastandarddeviationof2.30.d.f.was12,andpwas>0.1.Theexperimental
andcontrolsafterscoreshadatvalueof1.31,withastandarddeviationof.77.d.f.was22,and
pwas>0.1.Basedonthisdata,therewasnosignificantdifferencebeyondchanceinanyofthe
means.Thesefindingssuggestthatheadingdoesnothaveanimmediateeffectontheabilityof
logicandreasoningfunctions.

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall

TheEffectsofHeadingtheBallontheFunctionofLogicandReasoningSkills
IntheUnitedStates,itisestimatedthatbetween12and19millionpeoplepartakeinthesport
ofsoccer.About3millionofthesesparticipantsplaythroughayouthorhighschoolorganization
(AmericanAcademyofPediatrics,2000).Ithasbeenshownthatattimes,thesoccerballcan
moveatavelocityofmorethan7080km/h(Kirkendall,2001).Heading,orthedeliberateuse
oftheheadtodirectthesoccerball,isacommonpracticeinhighschool,collegiateand
professionalsports.Somestudieshaverevealedneuropsychologicaldifferencesbetweensoccer
playersandnonathletes(Asken,1998),leadingtothequestion:doesthecommonpracticeof
headingtheballinsoccercontributetothesedifferencesinthebrain?Astudybyresearchersat
theUniversityofTexasshowedthatheadingtheballcancausecognitivefunctionchangesthat
areusuallyshownincasesofmildtraumaticinjuriestothefrontallobe(Zhang,Red,Others,
2013).However,contradictoryresultshaveemergedaswell,suchasinonestudydetermined
thattherewasnodifferencebetweenposttestscoresofheadingandnonheadinggroups
(Putukian,Echemendia,Mackin,2000).Finally,ithasalsobeensuggestedthatfemalesaremore
likelytosufferconcussions,abrasions,lacerationsandcontusionsonthehead(Delaney,Al
Kashmir,Drummond&Correa,2008).
Thesecontradictoryresults,aswellasageneraldisagreementamongprofessionalsastoif
headinghasnegativeresults,openedthedoorformoreresearchtobeconducted.Thepurposeof
thisexperimentwastodeterminewhetherheadingtheballhadanimmediateadverseeffectupon
logicandreasoningskills.Theindependentvariablebeingmanipulatedwasthepresenceof
headingwithinanexerciseroutine.Thedependentvariablebeingmeasuredwasthenumberof

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
logicandreasoningquestionsansweredcorrectlyinfiveminutes.Thehypothesisdevelopedwas
Participantswhoheadtheballduringexercisewillanswerlesslogicandreasoningquestions
correctlythanthosewhodonotheadtheballduringexercise.

Methods
Theindependentvariableinthisexperimentwasthepresenceofheadingtheball
duringexercise,whichisdefinedoperationallyasthepurposefulstrikingofasoccerballinthe
airbythesubject'sheadtodirectit.Subjectswhoheadedtheballweretheexperimentalgroup,
andthosewhodidnotwerethecontrolgroups.Thedependentvariablewastheamountoflogic
andreasoningquestionsthattheparticipantsansweredcorrectly.Logicandreasoningquestions
aredefinedasbasicmentalmathandfindingthewordthatdoesntbelong.
Participants
Atotalofthirtythreesubjectsparticipatedintheexperiment.Subjectswerestudentsat
AlpenaHighSchool,betweentheagesofthirteenandeighteen,andingradesninethrough
twelve.Twentyparticipantsfromafirsthourgymclasswereselectedrandomlybytheteacherto
bethecontrolgroup.ThirteengirlswereselectedfromthegirlsJuniorVarsitySoccerteamto
betheexperimentalgroup.Signedconsentwasreceivedfromthepresidingadultsupervisor
duringtesting,aswellasfromallparticipants.Participantswereinformedthattheywould
remainanonymous,andthattherewerenoperceivedrisksoutsideoftheirnormalactivities.
Theywerealsoremindedthatiftheywishedtocanceltheirscoresanytimeduringthe
experiment,theywouldbedestroyed.Therewerenodropouts.
Apparatus

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
Themainmaterialsusedinthisexperimentweretwoversionsofaquizcomprisedof
logicandreasoningquestions(AppendixA&B).Thesequizzeswerecomprisedoftenquestions
whichrequiredparticipantstofindthewordthatwasunliketheothers,andtenquestions
involvingmentalmath.Thesequizzeswerecreatedwithsimilarquestionstothoseaskedto
identifyifapersonhassustainedaconcussion.Thehighestscorepossiblewastwenty.
Standardizedinstructionsweregiventobothgroupsofparticipants(AppendixC).Additionally,
consentformsweregiventoparticipants(AppendixD)andthesupervisingadults(AppendixE).
Adebriefingwasgiventothesupervisingadultsofbothgroupsafterthedatahadbeenanalyzed
(AppendixF).Astandardsoccerballwasalsoused.

Procedures
Similarprocedureswereusedforthecontrolandexperimentalgroups,butadjustments
weremadeduetoavailabilityofsubjects
Forthecontrol,theparticipantswhohadbeenrandomlyselectedfromtheirfirsthour
gymclasswererandomlygivenFormAorFormBofthelogicandreasoningquiz.Afterfive
minutes,thequizzeswerecollectedandtheparticipantsperformedthirtyminutesofphysical
activitywithoutbeinghitonthehead.Afterthirtyminutes,theyweregiventheoppositeform
thattheyhadnothadbefore,andwereagaingivenfiveminutes.
Fortheexperimentalgroup,theparticipantsweretestedintheafternoonbeforetheir
soccerpractice.TheywererandomlygivenFormAorFormBofthelogicandreasoningquiz.
Afterfiveminutes,thequizzeswerecollected.Theparticipantsthenperformedaspecialheading
routinecreatedforsafetybytheircoach,lastingthirtyminutes.Participantswerethentested
usingtheoppositeform.

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
Toavoidbias,participantsforthecontrolgroupwerechosenfromthegeneralpopulation
(AlpenaHighSchoolstudentswhoperformphysicalactivity)andwererandomlychosenfrom
withinaclass.Theinstructionsforbothgroupswerethesame,andtimingofbothactivityand
testingweremonitoredclosely.
Results

Atotalofsixtysixscoreswerecollected,thirtythreebeforeandthirtythreeafter.Therewere
thirteenscoresfortheexperimentalgroupandtwentyscoresforthecontrolgroup.
Theaveragesofthebeforeandafter,respectively,forboththecontrolandexperimental
groupsweretaken.Thestandarddifferenceswerealsocalculatedforalldata(Figure).
Figure1.
AveragesandStandardDeviationsforExperimentalandControlGroupsTestScores

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
Themeanforthecontrolgroupsbeforescoreswas15..Thestandarddifferencewas
3.39.Themeanforthecontrolgroupsafterscoreswas15.8,andthestandarddifferencewas
2.61.
Themeanfortheexperimentalgroupsbeforescoreswas16.2.Thestandarddifference
was2.42Themeanfortheexperimentalgroupsafterscoreswas16.8.Thestandarddeviation
was1.79.
Attestwasperformedusingthemeansoftheexperimentalandtheexperimentalafter
data.twasfoundtobe0.85,p>.1,withadegreeoffreedom(df)of12.Basedonthisdata,
thereisa99.9%thattherewasnosignificantdifferenceinthemeansbeyondchance.The
standarddeviationwas2.30(SeeTable1).
Additionally,attestwasperformedonthecontrolafterandexperimentalafterdata.t
wasfoundtobe1.31,p>.1withadfof22.Basedonthisdata,thereisa99.9%thattherewas
nosignificantdifferenceinthemeansbeyondchance.Thestandarddeviationwas.765.(See
Table1).
Thefindingsofthisdatadidnotsupporttheproposedhypothesisthatparticipantswould
scoresignificantlyloweronlogicandreasoningquestionsiftheyheadedasoccerballthanthose
whodidnot,sincetherewasnostatisticaldifferencebetweenthemeans.

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
Table1.
ResultsofttestsPerformedonMeansofTestScores

Standard
Deviation

SignificantDifferenceBeyond
Chance?

GroupsCompared

d.f. t

ExperimentalBefore&
After

12

0.848

>.1 2.3

NO

ControlAfter&ExperimentalAfter

22

1.31

>.1 .765

NO

Discussion
HollyM.Koperski
Thepurposeofthisexperimentwastodeterminewhetherheadingtheballhadanimmediate
adverseeffectuponlogicandreasoningskills.TheoriginalhypothesisofParticipantswhohead
theballduringexercisewillanswerlesslogicandreasoningquestionscorrectlythanthosewho
donotheadtheballduringexercisewasrejected.Thatdatacollectedinthisexperimenthas
shownthatalthoughtherewasaslightobservabledifferenceinthemeans,therewasno
statisticaldifferencebetweenthem.Infact,thecontrolgroupsscoreswerelowerthanthe
experimentalgroupsbyaboutapoint.Thisoutcomewasunexpected,butcouldbecreditedto
thesmallsamplesize.ThisresearchsupportsthestudybyPutukian,whichalsoshowedthat
therewaslittletonodifferenceintheafterscoresofgroupswhoheadedandthosewhodidnot.
However,itdoesnotmatchtheotherstudieswhichhaveshownthatthepracticeofheadingthe
balldoescausecognitivefunctionchanges.
Althoughthisexperimentshowednodifferencebetweenthosewhoheadedtheballandthose
whodidnt,thereisstillmuchconflictingdataabouthowdangerousheadingtheballcanbe.The

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
participantswhoheadedtheballinthisexperimentreportedthatansweringthequestionswere
harderaftertheexercise,andthattheyfeltfuzzy.Thissuggeststhatotherpartsofthebrain
maybeaffected,orthattheexperimentcouldnotaccuratelyrecordthedifferenceinlogicand
reasoning.Moreexperimentsshouldbedonetodeterminewhetherornotthereisastrong
enoughlinkbetweenheadingtheballandimpairedlogicandreasoningfunctioningtosuggest
thatthepracticebecomelessusedbyathletesandrecreationalplayersalike.

Discussion
HannahA.Fitch

Thepurposeofthisexperimentwastofigureoutifheadingtheballinsoccerwould
affectlogicandreasoningskills.ThehypothesiswasParticipantswhoheadtheballduring
exercisewillgetlesslogicandreasoningquestionscorrectthanthosewhodonotheadtheball
duringexercise,thishypothesiswasrejected.Thedatacollectedinthisexperimentshowedthat
therewasnosignificantdifferencebeyondchancebetweentheexperimentalgroupandthe
controlgroupsbeforeandaftertestscores,eventhoughtherewasobservabledifferenceinthe
means.Theexperimentalgrouphadhighertestscoresthanthecontrolgroup.Thiswaspossible
duetothesmallsamplesize.Theresultsofthisexperimentsupportedanexperimentconducted
byPutukian.Putukiansexperimentshowedthatheadingaballhadnosignificantdifferencein
thescoresoftheexperimentalgroupandthecontrolgroup.ButPutukiansexperimentdoesnot
correspondwithotherstudiesdoneonthesubjectofheading.
Eventhoughtherewasnotanysignificantdifferencebetweenthecontrolgroupandthe
experimentalgroup.Thereisstillalotofdebateonwhetherheadingtheballinsoccerwillaffect

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
thebrain.Researchersanddoctorsurgesoccerplayerstousetheirbestjudgmentwhenheadinga
ball,becauseofthepossiblecognitiveimpairment.

Discussion
AliciaD.Oliver

Thepurposeofthisexperimentwastofindwhetherheadingtheballaffectedlogic.Theoriginal
hypothesisoftheresearcherswasParticipantswhoheadtheballduringexercisewillgetless
logicandreasoningquestionscorrectthanthosewhodonotheadtheballduringexercise,was
rejected.Thedatacollectedintheexperimentshowsthatthereisnosignificantdifference
beyondchancebeforeandaftertestscoresbetweenthecontrolgroupandtheexperimental.The
experimentaldidhaveaslightlyhigherscorethanthecontrol,buttheresearchersfoundthisto
bebecauseofthesmallsamplesizetaken.ThesefindingssupportPutukian.Whofoundthatnon
headersandpeoplewhodidheadtheballhadnosignificantdifference.Putukiansstudyisonly
oneofthefewthatrejectthehypothesisthatParticipantswhoheadtheballduringexercisewill
answerlesslogicandreasoningquestionscorrectlythanthosewhodonotheadtheballduring
exercise.
Thoughthisexperimentshowedthattherewasnodifference,therearemanymorestudiesthat
showthatthereisalargeamountthatareaffectednegativelybyheadingtheball.Doctors
recommendtobesmartabouthowmuchpeopleheadtheball.

References

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
AmericanAcademyofPediatrics.(2000).Injuriesinyouthsoccer:asubjectreview.
PEDIATRICS,105(3),659661.Retrievedfrom
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/105/3/659.full.html(May14,2013)
Asken,MJ(1998).Headingtheballinsoccer:what'stheriskofbraininjury?.The
PhysicianandSportsmedicine,26(11),Retrievedfrom
http://www.oysan.org/assets/oysa_assets/doc/coachingarticles/concussionfindings.pdf(May14,
2013)
Delaney,J.,AlKashmir,A.,Drummond,R.,&Correa,J.(2008).Theeffectofprotective
headgearonheadinjuriesandconcussionsinadolescentfootball(soccer)players.BrJSports
Med,42,110115.Retrievedfromhttp://bjsm.bmj.com/content/42/2/110.abstract
KirkendallDT,JordanSE,GarrettWE.Headingandheadinjuriesinsoccer..Sports
Med.200131:36986.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11347686(May14,2013)
Putukian,M.,Echemendia,R.,&Mackin,S.(2000).Theacuteneuropsychological
effectsofheadinginsoccer:apilotstudy.ClinJSportMed,10(2),104109.Retrievedfrom
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10798791(May14,2013)
Zhang,MRRed,SDLin,AHPatel,SSSereno,AB.(2013)Evidenceofcognitive
dysfunctionaftersoccerplayingwithballheadingusinganoveltabletbasedapproach.PLoS
ONE8(2):e57364.Retrievedfrom
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0057364(May14,
2013)

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
AppendixA
FormA
PleasewriteyourstudentIDnumberheresowecanmatchupbothofyourforms.
Itwillnotbeusedtoidentifyyou._________
Circlethewordthatdoesnotbelongwiththeothers.
1.Slippers/Gloves/Boots/Sandals
2.Mother/Brother/Friend/Daughter
3.Pork/Chicken/Salmon/Beef
4.He/It/We/They
5.North/East/South/Down
6.Nostril/Teeth/Lips/Tongue
7.Humble/Brave/Greed/Honest
8.Beijing/Tokyo/London/Peru
9.Whale/Shark/Snail/Eel
10.Kelly/Rita/Matthew/Fiona
Solvethefollowingproblemsinyourhead.
11.Whatis5hoursbefore7pm?_______
12.376+5=______
13.Whattimes10equals200?______
14.Round6.82tothenearestwholenumber.____
15.Howmanydimesarein$5?______
16.457+9=_____
17.Whatisthedecimalfor1/4?_____
18.Whatisthirtymorethanforty?_____
19.4+5+7=_____
20.Whatnumberishalfwaybetween2000and3000?____

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
AppendixB
FormB
PleasewriteyourstudentIDnumberheresowecanmatchupbothofyourforms.
Itwillnotbeusedtoidentifyyou._________
Circlethewordthatdoesnotbelongwiththeothers.
1.Apple/Pear/Grape/Corn
2.Shy/Outgoing/Tall/Boring
3.Brian/Brent/Breann/Ben
4.Airplane/Bike/Astronaut/Alarm
5.Tongue/Brain/Liver/Heart
6.We/Her/Them/Our
7.Up/Out/Down/Left
8.China/India/Israel/Poland
9.CD/Record/Battery/Cassette
10.Pastor/Teacher/Priest/Rabbi
Solvethefollowingproblemsinyourhead.
11.927+8=______
12.Whatisthedecimalfor1/3?_____
13.Whatnumberishalfwaybetween5000and6000?____
14.Whatistwentymorethanninety?_____
15.Whattimes10equals780?______
16.Whatis4hoursbefore9pm?_______
17.3+9+4=_____
18.Round7.35tothenearestwholenumber.____
19.Howmanyquartersarein$3?______
20.904+9=_____

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
AppendixC
Today,we'regoingtobedoinganexperimentforourAPPsychologyclasstoseeifyourpractice
(orclass)willaffectyourbasiclogicskills.You'llremainanonymous,andwewouldreally
appreciateitifyouchoosetoparticipate.Here'saconsentform,ifwecouldjusthaveyouall
readandsignthem.Thisisgoingtobeashorttestoflogicandreasoningskills.Youwillhave5
minutestocompletethistest.Also,pleaseputyourstudentIDnumberonthelineprovidedso
thatwecanmatchupyourbeforeandaftertests.Also,rememberifyouhadformAorBsothat
wecangiveyouanalternateformafterwards.Thankyouforyourparticipation!

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
AppendixD
Bysigningmyname,IamgivingconsentforHollyKoperski,HannahFitchandAlicia
OlivertousemefortheirAPPsychologyexperiment.Iamwillinglyparticipatinginthis
experiment,andunderstandthatmyidentitywillnotberevealedwithregardstotheresults.I
agreetonotdiscusstheanswerstoanyproblemsorquestionswithotherparticipantsuntilafter
theexperimenthasbeencompleted.Iunderstandthatmyparticipationisvoluntary.
X_____________Date____2013

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
AppendixE
I_______________(signatureorname)giveHollyKoperski,AliciaOliverandHannahFitch
permissiontousemyclass(team)fortheirAPPsychologyexperiment.Theyhavemy
permissiontouseseveralminutesofmyclass(practice)timeinordertoexplaintheexperiment
andcollectinformation.Iunderstandtheexperiment,andgivethempermissiontoconductit.
_____DATE

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LogicPerformanceAfterHeadingtheBall
AppendixF
Subject:APPsychExperimentResults/Debriefing
Thankyouverymuchfordonatingafewminutesofyourclass(practice)timeforour
experimentrecently!
Ourexperimentwascreatedtotesttheeffectsofheadingtheballonthefunctionsoflogicand
reasoning.
Hereisasimplifiedversionofourresults:
x

AverageforControl(GymClass)sBeforescores:15

AverageforControl(GymClass)sAfterscores:15.8

AverageforExperimental(SoccerTeam)sBeforescores:16.2

AverageforExperimental(SoccerTeam)sAfterscores:16.8

Therewasnosignificantdifferencebetweenanyofthescores,possiblyduetotoosmall
ofasamplesize.

Studentsreportedbeingfuzzyandthetestsbeingharderafterheadingtheball.

Otherstudieshaveshownthatthereisarelationshipbetweenlossoflogicskillsand
headingtheball,sinceitcanbeconsideredamoderatebraintrauma.

Peoplewhoperformover1000headersinayeararelikelytosufferlossofbrainmass

Ifyouwouldlikeanymoreinformationonourexperiment,haveanyquestions,orlikeacopyof
ourformalresearchpaperwhichgoesintogreaterdepthaboutourstudy,pleasedonthesitateto
ask!
Wewouldappreciateifyouwouldsharethiswiththestudentswhoparticipated,andthankthem
againforhelpinguswiththistopic.
HollyKoperski,AliciaOliver&HannahFitch,APPsychology