Can what you believe about a drink change how fast you run? Thirty runners complete a timed race. They are split into three equal groups based on their first-race times.
Before a second race, each group drinks the same sweetened water. One group is told it boosts stamina. Another is told it has no effect. The third is told it will slow them down.
You compare the second-race times across all three groups. Runners who believed the drink helped them ran faster. Those told it would hurt their performance ran slower.
Hypothesis
The hypothesis is that participants who were pre-conditioned mentally, that they would be able to run faster, will actually be able to finish the race in a shorter time.
The Placebo Effect occurs when people perform better simply because they believe a treatment will help them. In a running experiment, thirty runners all drink the same sweetened water before a timed race. One group is told the drink boosts stamina, another is told it has no effect, and the third is told it will slow them down. Runners who believed the drink helped them ran faster, while those told it would hurt their performance ran slower. The drink itself did nothing; only the belief changed the outcome.
Expectation bias can alter physical performance, not just perception. Three groups of runners drink the same sweetened water but hear different claims about it. Runners told the drink boosts stamina run faster, and those told it will slow them down run slower.
Method & Materials
You will have 30 long distance runners between ages 15 to 18 years run 3 laps around a track. You will divide them into 3 groups and give each group different pre-conditioning information. You will measure the time taken by the athletes to complete the 3 laps with a stopwatch.
You will need a running track, a stopwatch, and 30 bottles of water sweetened with syrup.
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The results showed that the participants that were told that the water will improve their performance actually took a shorter time to run the laps and the participants who were informed that the water will worsen their performance took longer to finish the 3 laps.
Why do this project?
This science project is interesting because it shows how powerful the mind can be in affecting physical performance.
Also Consider
Experiment variations could include informing the participants that music will alter their running performance and then a similar test can be conducted. The experiment can also be repeated to compare cycling instead of running speeds.
Full project details
Additional information and source material for this project are available below.
