Multivariate Relationships Among Visual-Perceptual Attributes and Gross-Motor Tasks with Different Environmental Demands

Abstract

This study investigated the multivariate inter-relationships of five visual perceptual variables (coincidence anticipation, field dependence/independence, perceptual speed, peripheral range, and spatial relations) and two performance stages of two gross motor tasks. The motor tasks, a ball task and a nonball task, had different temporal environmental demands. Eighty randomly selected women enrolled in general college physical education classes performed six trials of both motor tasks on two days. Promax factor analysis produced five factors accounting for 81% of the total variability and three low but significant (p ≤.05) interfactor correlations. Factor I (ability to perform the ball task) was related both to Factor IV (ability to anticipate coincidence) and to Factor II (ability to extract and inter-relate pertinent environmental information). Factor III (ability to relate to the total environment and perform the nonball task) was related to Factor V (ability to detect motion peripherally).