20th Annual Student Research Conference
Human Potential and Performance
Influence of Gender on Perceived vs. Actual Upper Body Strength
Sandra J. Leeson
Dr. Alex J. Koch and Dr. Jerry Mayhew, Faculty Mentors
We sought to determine whether gender affected a person’s perceived upper body strength. College men (N=168) and women (N=216) from a small, Midwestern university estimated how much they could bench press and answered a survey relating to how they personally felt about physical strength and the expectations of society regarding physical strength and gender. They then determined the actual weight they could bench press. Data were analyzed and compared using a Pearson’s correlations and Stepwise Regression. Men had a stronger correlation (r = .921) between predicted and actual 1RM bench press than women (r = .491). A t-test revealed a trend (p=0.071) towards a larger difference between predicted and actual bench press for women. The survey of expectations of society regarding physical strength and gender did not relate to subjects’ ability to predict their 1RM. The data indicate men tend to predict their actual upper body strength better than women.
Keywords: upper body strength, gender, bench press
Topic(s):Exercise Science
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: 2-7
Location: OP Lobby
Time: 4:15 pm