Effects of Training on Gender Differences in Overhand Throwing: A Brief Quantitative Literature Analysis

Thomas, Jerry R.; Michael, Darryl; Gallagher, Jere D.

doi:10.1080/02701367.1994.10762209

Cited by 26 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Wild (1938) spoke of the "genetic history" of the throw. others (Thomas & French 1985;Thomas et al 1994;Nelson et al 1986;Butterfield & Loovis 1998;Butterfield et al 2003) have suggested that childhood gender differences in throwing may have a biological or hereditary component. Thomas and Marzke (1992), Thomas (2000) and K. Thomas et al (2001) raised the possibility that these effects may be rooted in an evolutionary process.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The instructed group improved in the form of the throw, but not the velocity . Similarly, when young children were trained in throwing for 6 weeks, girls learned to mimic some aspects of a more advanced motion but without increasing the distance they could throw ( Thomas et al 1994). children who completed a teaching program in kindergarten showed no evidence of learning from instruction when re-examined at the close of first and second grade .…”

Section: What Causes Childhood Gender Differences In Throwing?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The notion that societal factors are important has often been proposed. gender differences might be due to the different treatment society has for boys and girls, induced by parents, peers, teachers and coaches, rearing factors, cultural expectations, experiential differences, motivation, effort, encouragement and opportunities for training and skill development (Butterfield & Loovis 1998;Espenschade 1960;Nelson et al 1991;Sakurai & Miyashita 1983;Thomas et al 1994;Thomas et al 2001;Thomas & French 1985;Thomas & Thomas 1988;Ulrich & Ulrich 1985). Practice is considered essential to learning complex motor skills.…”

Section: What Causes Childhood Gender Differences In Throwing?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The ontogeny of throwing and striking

Young

2009

Human Ontogenetics

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The ontogeny of throwing and striking R i c h a R d W . Y o u n g r E V i E W abstract humans are the most adept throwers in the animal kingdom. although throwing has been recorded in other primates, it is rare, weak, inaccurate and entails only arm movement. in contrast, human throwing is an explosive act employed from a bipedal stance that involves a complex, exceedingly rapid, full-body movement. This motion generates a pulse of kinetic energy in the legs that is progressively augmented by the pelvis, trunk, arm and hand, where it is transferred to a missile that is launched toward the target with high velocity and accuracy. Linking the study of throwing development in young children with analysis of the adult throwing motion makes it possible to address the question of whether human throwing is an acquired behavior or is based primarily on an inherited motor program. current evidence supports the conclusion that the role of instruction and learning is minimal. human throwing is predominantly the result of an innate motor program which emerges at a very early age in all children without teaching, yields a throwing motion that is the forerunner of the one used by adult athletes, is characterized by a prominent gender difference, and proceeds in some adults to a high level of proficiency. The same conclusions apparently apply also to striking (club-swinging), which employs a similar full-body motion. an explanation for these observations is presented, based upon the concept that throwing and club-swinging prowess provided reproductive advantages during early human evolution.introduction Darwin (1871) was the first to call attention to the remarkable ability of our species to throw with speed and accuracy. "To throw a stone with as true an aim as can a Fuegian in defending himself, or in killing birds," he wrote, "requires the most consummate perfection in the correlated action of the muscles of the hand, arm, and shoulder, not to mention a fine sense of touch" (1871, p. 138). Such behavior is rarely recorded in other primates, and when observed it is ineffective. darwin associated human throwing prowess with a distinctive body structure. The hands and arms could hardly have become perfect enough to have hurled stones and spears with a true aim, he believed, as long as they were habitually used for locomotion, body support, or climbing trees; furthermore, the successful thrower must stand firmly on his feet in an upright, bipedal stance. Today, darwin's conclusions are thoroughly documented. Modern human adults are indeed the most effective throwers by a wide margin, a generalization that can be expanded to include the related behavior of swinging clubs. in their highest development, both motor skills employ a rapid, coordinated sequence of muscle contractions that begins in the legs and traverses the body, progressively accumulating kinetic energy that ultimately is transmitted to the hand, which then projects the missile or club towards a target.is this behavior inherited or learned? is it based upon an innat...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Causes Childhood Gender Differences In Throwing?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: What Causes Childhood Gender Differences In Throwing?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The ontogeny of throwing and striking

Young

2009

Human Ontogenetics

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“…The effect sizes of sex differences were estimated by Cohen's d (Olejnik & Algina, 2000) and corresponded to 10.06, 6.68, and 5.23 for the club, regional/national, and international levels, respectively. These large effect sizes (5-10 standard deviations) for sex differences in skilled dart players exceed even the largest sex differences in throwing for children and amateurs (Thomas et al, 1994). Although the effect sizes might appear to decrease with higher levels of skill and accumulated practice (Duffy, Baluch, & Ericsson, 2004) an analysis reveals the absolute difference between the sexes increases as a function of skill level (see Figure 1).…”

Section: Results Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…More recent studies have analyzed these differences by careful longitudinal analysis of the development and structure of acquired throwing skills (Roberton & Konczak, 2001). Moreover, the effect of designed training interventions (see Thomas et al, 1994) have identified important nongenetic factors that appear to mediate the differential development of sex differences in overhand throwing. Analysis of individual differences among boys-between 7 and 10 years of age-show that differences in movement patterns are established at surprisingly young ages (Barton, 2000).…”

Section: Discussion Discussion Discussion Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Search of the Loci for Sex Differences in Throwing

Duffy

Ericsson²,

Baluch³

2007

Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport

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Contemporary accounts of sex differences in perceptual-motor performance differ in their emphasis on nature and nurture. Study 1 examined the effect of extensive training on one of the largest sex differences, namely accuracy in dart throwing, and found that physical differences in height and reach could not explain sex differences in regional/national level dart players. Study 2 rejected accounts of sex differences based on participation rates by showing that male players recruited from a relatively small pool of club players were superior to the best female players selected from a much larger pool at the international level. Alternative accounts of the source of sex differences in darts, based on male and female players' differential development and practice histories, are discussed.

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Relationships of physical activity and somatic characteristics with physical fitness and motor skill in prepubertal girls

Raudsepp

Jürimäe

1997

Am. J. Hum. Biol.

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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between physical activity and somatic growth with motor skill and physical fitness in prepubertal girls. The subjects were 215, 7–10‐year‐old girls. Somatic characteristics included 15 dimensions. Physical fitness was assessed by the EUROFIT battery of 9 tests. Motor skill development was based on quantitative and qualitative assessment of the overhand throw. Physical activity was assessed by parental seven‐day physical activity recall for the child. Sum of five skinfolds was significantly negatively related with motor fitness after controlling for the effects of physical activity (r = −0.27 to −0.39). Somatic characteristics were not significantly related with fitness items and throwing stage after controlling for physical activity. Age‐specific partial correlations between physical activity, fitness items, quantitative, and qualitative characteristics of the overhand throw, were not significant. After controlling for body size and subcutaneous fatness, aerobic fitness was significantly related with physical activity of moderate to high intensity. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 9:513–521, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

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Effects of Training on Gender Differences in Overhand Throwing: A Brief Quantitative Literature Analysis

Cited by 26 publications

References 12 publications

The ontogeny of throwing and striking

The ontogeny of throwing and striking

In Search of the Loci for Sex Differences in Throwing

Relationships of physical activity and somatic characteristics with physical fitness and motor skill in prepubertal girls

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