Isabella Champenois

Author: Isabella Chamenois | Major: Kinesiology

My name is Isabella Champenois, and I am a Kinesiology major in the College of Education and Health Professions. Over the course of the spring semester of 2022, I have been working alongside my mentor, Dr. Abigail Schmitt, who is in the Department of Human Performance and Recreation, and Ashlyn Jendro on my research thesis “Navigating Negative Consequences in Obstacle Crossing.” Our goal was to collect data in hopes of determining if negative psychological/emotional consequences in obstacle crossing effected the way participants went about crossing the obstacles.

My research includes four obstacles that mimic real world obstacles common in slipping, tripping, and/or falling. These real-world obstacles include a puddle/slippery surface, a parking block, a tree branch, and a queue barrier. The fifth obstacle is a dowel rod that participants stepped over and is included for baseline obstacle crossing data. Participants were randomly placed into either the control group or the experimental group. The control group and the experimental group were each given the same obstacles to cross, but only participants in the experimental group were presented with negative psychological consequences. Obstacle order was randomized for every participant and a minimum of ten trials was taken for each obstacle. Psychological consequences that come from fear and anxiety of negatively crossing an obstacle were mimicked by two highly prevalent motivators in the age range of college students. At the end of each experimental group session, the participant was given a survey including a few questions on demographics and how influential the motivators were in the participant’s crossing technique.

During the fall semester of 2021, I worked on researching common obstacle crossing strategies and learning all research that is available on the mechanics of obstacle crossing. Additionally, my team worked together to order all obstacles parts and build the obstacles while also constructing our mobility tests, instructions, disclaimers, and cognitive assessments that were needed during the data collections. Proceeding to the spring semester of 2022, my team worked on recruiting participants for both the control and consequence groups, performing data collections, processing those data collections, choosing variables to use for the comparison of both groups, and running statistics for the variables. Additionally, I wrote and revised my honors thesis with the help of Dr. Abigail Schmitt and Ashlyn Jendro.

For my thesis, I choose to compare only the dowel rod and the branch for time purposes.

The variables I chose to use for the comparison of both groups were obstacle approach trial distance, obstacle landing lead distance, lead toe clearance, trail toe clearance, lead heel clearance, and trail heel clearance. For the dowel rod, obstacle approach distance and obstacle landing distance did not have statistically significant differences between the control group and the consequence group. However, we found statistically significant differences between both leading and trailing limb toe clearance, as well as, both leading and trailing limb heel clearance. For the branch, we did not find any statistical difference in the obstacle landing distance between the control group and the consequence group.  However, we found statistically significant differences between the two groups in the obstacle approach trail distance, both leading and trailing limb toe clearance, and both leading and trailing limb heel clearance. In conclusion we discovered that when highly motivated consequences in young adults, time and money, were implemented, the way the participants crossed over the obstacles changed by choosing a more cautious strategy.

The major challenges I faced while collecting data during the spring semester of 2022 was recruiting students to participate in my research and finding times that aligned with my schedule, the participants’ schedules, and the schedules of my team. Due to the high number of participants that this project required, we had to recruit many participants while also ensuring that details of the study were not exposed to other potential participants. This was especially important for the experimental participants because we wanted to ensure our motivational factors would be influential to other potential participants. When recruiting participants that knew each other or were within the same friend group, I had to be extremely cautious about my approach in asking students to participate. To combat this issue, I only told potential participants a brief summary of the study until they got into the lab and then when we were finished with the data collection, I asked all participants to avoid disclosing any details about the study to any other potential participants that they knew of. To combat conflicting schedules, I tried to keep my schedule as open as possible and my team and I tried to work around the participants’ schedules.

The Honors Research Grant I have received has given me the opportunity to execute research that has led us to conclusions that can further our understanding in obstacle crossing and injury prevention. The experience that I have gained this semester has not only given me the ability to grow further as an individual, but has also shown me my potential as a researcher. This grant has allowed me to experience the rewarding benefits that come with hard work, dedication, and research outcomes. I plan to continue collecting data and work towards publishing a peer-reviewed journal that includes a comparison of all five obstacles.