The Influence of Fidgeting on Test Results

The influence of fidgeting on test results

By Ali Al Kaabi, Enzo Keuning and Luc van Noort 09-02-2018

R.S.G. Slingerbos Levant, 6V

Abstract

In schools, fidgeting might be popular behaviour. In order to decide where certain students should be located inside a classroom when doing a test and how to deal with these “fidgeters”, it can be important to look at how fidgeting influences the test results of students. From studying literature, the hypothesis was that fidgeting would improve test results, however having somebody that fidgets audibly in your area was expected to be negative for the test results. A hypothesis was also formed about students with an attention disorder, people with an attention disorder were expected to have a bigger positive effect from fidgeting. To check these hypotheses, an experiment was set up, using a total of 76 students who were asked to fill in a test, under different conditions. Half of these students were asked to perform a regular experiment, where everybody was allowed to fidget if they wanted. The other half of the class was put in a different classroom and was not allowed to fidget at all. After studying the results gathered during these tests, the results showed the best results in the group of people that were not fidgeting in the room where fidgeting was allowed, the next best results were from the group of people that were fidgeting in this room and the worst results were from the group that took part in the control experiment and were not allowed to fidget at all. People with an attention disorder were not proven to have a benefit from fidgeting.

Table of contents

Abstract 2

1. Introduction 5 1.1 Research questions 7

2. Hypothesis 8 2.1 What is the effect of fidgeting on the test results of students? 8

3. Literature 9 3.1 How does fidgeting contribute to staying focussed and concentrated? 9 3.2 What is the effect of fidgeting while carrying out a test on the result of the test of the person performing fidgeting? 11 3.3 What is the effect of fidgeting on the test result of another person who is located in the same room and who is not fidgeting? 13 3.4 What is the difference in the influence of fidgeting during the test between people with an attention disorder and people without an attention disorder? 14

4. Method 16 4.1 Requirements 16 4.2 General 16 4.3 Experiment 16 4.4 Control experiment 17 4.5 Processing results 19

5. Results 20 5.1 Results of group 1 20 5.2 Results of group 2 22 5.3 Results of group 3 23 5.4 Results from the group with a concentration disorder (from all classes) 24 5.5 Result analysis 25

6. Conclusion 26 6.1 How does fidgeting contribute to staying focussed and concentrated? 26 6.2 What is the effect of fidgeting while carrying out a test on the result of the test of the person performing fidgeting? 26 6.3 What is the effect of fidgeting on the test result of another person who is located in the same room and who is not fidgeting? 26 6.4 What is the difference in the influence of fidgeting during the test between people with an attention disorder and people without an attention disorder? 27 6.5 General conclusion 27

7. Discussion 28 7.1 Experiment discussion 28 7.2 Further Research 29 3

8. References 30

Appendix 33 Appendix 1 - Test 1 33 Appendix 2 - Answer Sheet Test 1 34

1. Introduction

Everyone tries to fully concentrate while doing a test. While you are doing a test you often play with your pen, tap on your table or you are biting your fingernails. All this is considered fidgeting. In this research paper it will be explored how fidgeting may influence your test results. Does it contribute to staying concentrated or focussed? Does the sound of fidgeting of other people distract you? Why do we fidget? And does fidgeting contribute to staying concentrated or focussed if you’ve got an attention disorder? All these questions will be answered in this research paper.

With all these questions the research question: What is the effect of fidgeting on the test results of students? Will be answered.

Fidgeting is explained as: “Making small movements, especially of the hands and feet, through nervousness or impatience.” Besides fidgeting is mostly done unconsciously. Because fidgeting shouldn’t distract you from your primary task: “Fidgeting must be deliberate to be effective. Intentional fidgets allow you and your child to self-regulate A DHD symptoms in a controlled, constructive fashion. An effective fidget doesn’t distract you from your primary task because it is something you don’t have to think about”.1 Researchers started to dig into this phenomenon “fidgeting” while fidget spinners gained popularity the last few years. Teachers and parents started to prohibit these toys, because they associated 1, 6, 7 the toys with “distraction”. But actually researchers think these toys achieve the exact opposite: it could help with focussing and concentrating (as earlier mentioned).

This research could be important for society. Because people that are attending school all do different things to get concentrated while making a test. For example some people can easily concentrate with many background noises and other people prefer a completely silent classroom while making a test. Or some people fidget while making a test, and other people do not fidget while making tests. People that are attending school may get better test results when schools take into account that different people need different circumstances while doing a test. Therefore if the research shows fidgeting can contribute to having good test results, schools may find solutions for children that want to fidget or not fidget while making a test. In addition, classes could be rearranged based on the research, if it’s found whether or not people sitting next to people that are fidgeting would score lower or higher on their test. The calculating test (Rekentoets), is a test all students of high schools in the Netherlands have to do. This makes the research more relevant for society. Figure 1 shows that the recall performance of inattentive children, or children with a concentration disorder, a positive relation has to the amount of white noise, which is noise with the same amplitude/intensity throughout the frequency. And in contrast the recall performance of attentive children, or children without a concentration disorder, and the amount of white noise have a negative relationship. As a conclusion this study states: “In

1 Rotz, R., & Wright, S. D. (2017, August 01). The Body-Brain Connection: How Fidgeting Sharpens Focus. Retrieved from https://www.additudemag.com/focus-factors/

particular awareness should be raised regarding the possibility that the environment has be individually adjusted to the need of the children, where inattentive children in a normal 2 population show noise benefit when performing cognitive tasks.” I n the graph you see that inattentive children work better in cognitive tasks with the white noise. This research also states that the environment in which these children work should be fine-tuned to the needs of the children.

Figure 1: Recall performance as a function of noise and attention; inattentive vs. attentive children (teachers judgments: attentive N = 41; inattentive: N = 10).2

figure 2: schematic overview of brain parts and their functions3

2 Söderlund, G. B., Sikström, S., Loftesnes, J. M., & Sonuga-Barke, E. J. (2010, September 29). The effects of background white noise on memory performance in inattentive school children. Retrieved from https://behavioralandbrainfunctions.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1744-9081-6-55

3 [Diagram of the brain, including the basal ganglia and thalamus]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.brain-and-mind.com/2017/08/most-of-time-i-spend-thinking-about.html

It may be from a substantial need to include brain research in this research paper. Because if we want to fully understand what fidgeting does to our concentration and the test results it is necessary to talk about the brain: “The thalamus is found at the center of the brain and controls our attention span and our interpretation of pain. It also monitors ‘input’ and helps us to keep track and pay attention to the right sensations in the brain. It likely plays an important role in learning by helping us to direct our attention and to place importance on the right stimulus, thereby being more likely to retain that information.”4 In this citation from K. Hillman, who has a degree in psychology, 1,6,7 it is stated that the thalamus controls our attention span. Other researchers have stated and have proved that fidgeting contributes to staying focussed, concentrated and it also should contribute to your attention span. Keeping these two statements when someone fidgets the thalamus in the brain could be active.

1.1 Research questions

To answer the research question: what is the effect of fidgeting on the test results of students? There will be elaborated on four sub questions. These four sub questions will be answered by both literature study and an experiment.

In order to answer the main- and sub questions , both sources in the form of literature and an experiment will be used. To answer the question: “How does fidgeting contribute to staying focussed and concentrated?”, only literature will be used. This literature will be found using the internet, searching for scientific sources that have the same or a similar subject to this research. The sources will be checked for reliability by looking at the method used in the sources. In a similar way the other sub questions will be partially answered, however an experiment will be performed to get additional results, which will then be analysed in order to draw a conclusion from them. Sub questions: 1. How does fidgeting contribute to staying focussed and concentrated? 2. What is the effect of fidgeting while carrying out a test on the result of the test of the person performing fidgeting? 3. What is the effect of fidgeting on the test result of another person who is located in the same room and who is not fidgeting? 4. What is the difference in the influence of fidgeting during the test between people with an attention disorder and people without an attention disorder?

4 Hillman, K. (2014, November 17). A list of brain areas and what they do. Retrieved from http://www.psychology24.org/a-list-of-brain-areas-and-what-they-do/

2. Hypothesis

2.1 What is the effect of fidgeting on the test results of students?

Keeping several sources in mind the effect of fidgeting on the test results is expected to be as follows. First of all, fidgeting is expected to increase the working memory in people performing the fidgeting. According to the literature studied, it is performed to stimulate the physical part of the brain. Second, it is expected that students between 12 and 16 years old will perform better on tests whilst fidgeting. The effect on students that are in a room that has audible fidgeting but aren’t fidgeting themselves is expected to be negative, meaning that the students who are not fidgeting themselves but are in a room with audible fidget are expected to have lower test results. The difference between students with and without ADHD is expected to show in such a way that people with ADHD will benefit more from fidgeting than students without ADHD.

3. Literature

3.1 How does fidgeting contribute to staying focussed and concentrated?

According to a study5 by D. Slater & J. French from the Georgia Southern University, 84% of the people they researched said they “normally fidget in class”. This is a major part of the people, but why do they perform this fidgeting? And how does the fidgeting contribute to staying focussed and concentrated? As mentioned earlier in the introduction many researchers believe and have proven that fidgeting contributes to staying focussed. But why does fidgeting have this effect? Are there certain profound theories for these statements? These questions will all be answered.

“Mark Rapport, a professor at the University of Central Florida (UCF) in Orlando, proves with his study that squirming helps to stimulate networks in the brain that control working memory.”6 And even though Mark Rapport’s study only focussed on 23 children, the study took 4 years. According to a study by David E.J. Linden7, the visual, auditory, and somatosensory cortex are involved in the working memory. This could imply that squirming or fidgeting stimulates these brain parts and therefore stimulate your working memory.

Another study8, that focussed on the relationship between fidgeting and the retention of lectures in students, stated: “Taken together, the collective weight of the data suggests that while fidgeting changes as a function of time on task, and variations in fidgeting are related to memory for lecture material, these two patterns are independent of any strong relation between attention and fidgeting.’’ This study analysed the levels of fidgeting that students performed during a lecture, and how well they were able to retain the information. The study says, that even though there is a correlation between fidgeting and the memory for lecture material, it could not be concluded that there was a strong relationship between fidgeting and attention.

5 Slater, D., & French, J. (2010). Fidget Toys in the Classroom: Refocusing Attention [CGI]. Georgia Southern University. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1343&context=sotlc ommons 6 Cloud, J. (2009, April 13). Better Learning Through Fidgeting. [PDF]. TIME. https://lakeviewmontessorischool.com/files/documents/Resources/Better%20Learning%20Th rough%20Fidgeting.pdf 7 The Working Memory Networks of the Human Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2017, from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1073858406298480 8 Farley, J., Risko, E. F., & Kingstone, A. (2013). Everyday attention and lecture retention: the effects of time, fidgeting, and mind wandering. Retrieved December 01, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3776418/ 9

An expert in psychology has dug into the subject of fidgeting. Adam Sinicki who has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and besides that is a writer explains “How Fidgeting Helps Us to Concentrate”9. First of all Sinicki states: “When you are concentrating, you might 18 be surprised to find that it’s quite common to fidget, even in adulthood.” This fidgeting includes for instance tapping a pen on the table. To explain the act of fidgeting he says: “Far from being a distraction though, new theories suggest that this may actually be a way for us to ‘distract’ the physical part of our brains. By doing something with our hands, we feel less antsy and frustrated and thus are better able to focus on our thoughts without feeling the 18 need to ‘get up and do something’.” This is a really clear explanation where the writer tries to explain that when you fidget the physical parts of your brain will not be triggered as much as before, because you are already physically active while fidgeting. However this still is a theory and hasn’t been proved by any research yet. There are still very contradicting explanations and proves about what the effect of fidgeting is on your brain. For example studies from Mark Rapport have already ‘proved’ fidgeting stimulates certain brain parts that control working memory and therefore the working memory improves.

“Research has shown that even small repetitive activities can increase the levels of neurotransmitters in the brain in a way that increases our ability to focus and pay attention. Even if the fidgeting you are carrying out involves minimal concentration — fidgeting with a pen, chewing gum, or doodling on a piece of paper — this type of multitasking can positively impact the outcome of a particular task.”10

Another reference, a book from a clinical professor at Harvard talks about the neurological effect from fidgeting (or activity). Dr. M.D. John Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard, wrote a book about the influence of physical activity on the brain. In this book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain11, he shows that physical activity, even something as simple as fidgeting with the hands, can increase the levels of several neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine. Norepinephrine is also made when a person is suddenly shocked or afraid. Norepinephrine and Dopamine have multiple effects on a human being. Noradrenaline for example stimulates the sympathetic nervous system. This happens because when Noradrenaline is released it binds to the adrenergic receptors on peripheral tissues. When Noradrenaline binds to adrenergic receptors it causes the sympathetic nervous system to be activated which causes the effects of it, as for example pupil dilation, increased heart rate. A research done on monkeys12

9 Sinicki, A. (n.d.). How Fidgeting Helps Us to Concentrate. Retrieved December 01, 2017, from http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/17808/1/How-Fidgeting-Helps-Us-to-Concentrate.html 10 Dormehl, L. (2017, March 08). Are fidget toys legitimately good for your brain, or pseudoscientific snake oil? Retrieved December 01, 2017, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/fidget-helps-concentration/#/2 11 Ratey, J. J. (2013). Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. New York: Little, Brown. 12 Uchiyama, H., OHTANI, N., & Ohta, M. (2006, November 9). The Evaluation of Autonomic Nervous System Activation during Learning in Rheses Macaques with the Analysis of the Heart Rate Variability. Retrieved February 9, 2018, from https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jvms/69/5/69_5_521/_pdf/-char/en 10

indicated that “increased sympathetic activity accompanied learning”, and that their results show that “the parasympathetic nervous system plays a key role during learning, particularly when difficult tasks are being learned.” This research is relevant for this experiment, because the brain of a monkey and a human brain are very similar in many ways, and especially in the way they learn things.

The increase of dopamine could be a solution for children with ADHD. One of the theories about the causes of ADHD is the Low Arousal Theory. This psychological theory explains that people with ADHD have a lower arousal than people without ADHD. This low arousal makes it more difficult to maintain their attention on for example a task or test. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that helps human beings to “focus and work towards goals”19

Considering these sources, fidgeting contributes to staying focussed in such a way that it stimulates the working memory in the brain, which is based mainly in the visual, auditory, and somatosensory cortex. As to why fidgeting is performed; according to sources, it helps trigger the physical part of the brain. On the other hand a source explains that fidgeting affects the brain in a way that parts of the brain will not be triggered as much as before. The source states: “...By doing something with our hands, we feel less antsy and frustrated and thus are better able to focus on our thoughts without feeling the need to ‘get up and do 18 something’.” However this can’t be considered as reliable as the other sources, because this still is a new theory which has not yet been proven.

3.2 What is the effect of fidgeting while carrying out a test on the result of the test of the person performing fidgeting?

According to a study carried out by the University of California13, different levels of fidgeting do not have an influence on the results of tests executed by students without an attention disorder. The research studied 26 students with validated ADHD diagnosis, and 18 students without a form of mental disorder. The study however stated that students with ADHD, performed better during the test when they were fidgeting. The experiments performed by the University of California used an ankle sensor, and thus measured feet movement as fidgeting. In addition, they used a so called “flanker test” whilst testing the students. In this sources it is states that this test “requires good attention and the ability to inhibit paying attention to distractions”.13 So even though these results have shown no clear correlation between the amount of fidgeting of students without an attention deficit and their test results, these are the results of one study, using a different method to this study, there is a real possibility to have a different outcome. They use a different study method, because in their study only the ankle movement has been measured. And in this research hand movement (fidgeting) will be measured.

13 University of California (2015, June 11). Movement in ADHD may help children think, perform better in school. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150611082116.htm 11

Another study14, researching 29 6th grade students, published in 2006, said that the usage of a stress ball by students had a positive effect on their “attitude, attention, writing abilities, and peer interaction”. A stress ball is a fidgeting tool, which is used by the hands. During the study students were observed for three weeks. Partially based on this study it’s expected that fidgeting (hand movement) will have a positive influence on the attention and the test results of students. 15 Another publication, from Lindsey Biel , who is a pediatric occupational therapist in Manhattan, where she evaluates and treats children, adolescents, and young adults with sensory processing issues, developmental delays, autism, and other developmental challenges”, also comments on fidgeting. The title says: Fidget Toys or Focus Tools? This publication talks about fidget toys being helpful for focussing (particularly for children). Some experts state that fidget tools don’t have anything to do with focussing or having a longer attention span. But Biel wants to show that for many people this isn’t true. For example she mentions a study from Allen & Smith: “chewing gum increases alertness, reduces chronic but not acute stress, and enhances cognitive skills” 15. This study wasn’t about hand movement, like fidgeting. However, it still is a kind of unconscious movement, and therefore somehow similar to fidgeting. Keeping all these scientific sources in mind. Children/teenagers (from 12-16 years old) will get better test results when they are allowed to fidget. Two out of the three sources state that children without an attention disorder will benefit from fidgeting or “focus tools”. On top of this, a research carried out by academics at the University of Hertfordshire showed that children between the age of six and eight “were more likely to find the correct answer” when fidgeting. The researchers, Dr Karen Pine, Hannah Bird and Liz Kirk “believe that hand movements and gestures can help children to think, speak and learn.”

The test that will be used during this research, will be a calculating test. A research that used an fMRI states that “both cortex and the subcortical structures including basal ganglia and thalamus were activated during simple and complex mental calculations.”16 Different studies concluded that these brain parts were also activated during the act of fidgeting. Keeping in mind these brain parts are activated during calculating, fidgeting should be beneficial for making complex mental calculations.

14 Stalvey, S., & Brasell, H. (2006). Using Stress Balls to Focus the Attention of Sixth-Grade Learners. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ853381.pdf 15 Biel, L. (2017, June & july). Fidget Toys or Focus Tools? (Publication). Retrieved https://www.sensorysmarts.com/AADJun17.pdf

16Zhang, Z. (2008, August 25). Activated brain areas during simple and complex mental calculation--a functional MRI study. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18690393 12

3.3 What is the effect of fidgeting on the test result of another person who is located in the same room and who is not fidgeting?

A study: “The effects of background white noise on memory performance in inattentive 2 school children” writes about some relevant things that relate to the background noise. This publication is written by professors and researchers from Universities from the countries Great Britain, Sweden and Belgium. For example in this publication is stated: “Under certain circumstances children with attentional problems (including those with ADHD) benefit from, rather than being distracted by, background task-irrelevant noise presented concurrently with 17 a target task” . This implies that people with attention problems benefit from some background white noise. However white noise is a signal where the average amplitude is the same for every frequency. This can the compared to the noise that an old television makes when it doesn’t receive a signal. This kind of noise certainly isn’t the same noise as fidgeting. Therefore white noise has a different effect on focus, attention, memory etc. than the noise of fidgeting. The noise of fidgeting on average does not have the same amplitude for every frequency. The amplitude differs with every frequency. Whether or not an opposite effect is present with the noise from fidgeting is not sure. In an article from a research that is made by two researchers from the Medical University of Vienna, Institute of Environmental Health it claims: “It can be concluded that even low intensity background noise is associated with energy consumption and with impaired performance in spatial attention”.17 This implies that even from a little background noise someone’s attention span gets worse.

Keeping these two researches in mind, the attention and focus of a person that is located in the same room as fidgeters will decline and therefore your test results will be less good. This is the case with the children with and without an attention disorder.

17 Trimmel, M., & Poelzl, G. (2007, February 20). Impact of background noise on reaction time and brain DC potential changes of VDT-based spatial attention. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00140130500434986?scroll=top&needAccess= true

3.4 What is the difference in the influence of fidgeting during the test between people with an attention disorder and people without an attention disorder?

Figure 3 shows that typically developing children and children with ADHD show more participation and activity in school tasks when their level of gross motor activity increases. Gross motor activity includes foot movement, chair movement and out of chair movement. This isn’t fidgeting, however it is physical movement. Besides, fidgeting also is a kind of physical movement. A study carried out by many experts on psychology, for example researchers from the psychological department of two different universities, states: “Analysis of the relations among intra-individual changes in observed activity level, attention, and performance revealed that higher rates of activity level predicted significantly better, but not normalized 15 WM (Working Memory) performance for children with ADHD.” This means that a higher activity level has a positive influence on the working memory (WM) of children with ADHD. This would among other things be the result of: “recent models that conceptualize excess motor activity as a compensatory mechanism that facilitates neurocognitive functioning in 15 children with ADHD.” These findings say that (excess) motor activity facilitates neurocognitive functioning in children with ADHD. Another article that talks about this research states this: “The researchers found that those who participated in gross motor activity — meaning the movement of limbs or large parts of the body — performed better than those who sat still during tasks involving working memory, which is a type of memory used for processing incoming information. Exercise has also been proven to be helpful for 17 kids with ADHD.” However this gross motor activity is different from fidgeting. This statement is supported by one of the researchers; M. Rapport: “But without studies that specifically look at fidget spinners, it's impossible to say for sure whether the devices could help kids with ADHD, Rapport told Live Science. He conjectured that the little handheld toys are not likely to help much. They don't require gross body movement, he said, which is what appears to be responsible for increasing activity in the frontal and prefrontal brain areas that are responsible for sustaining attention.”18

Figure 3: Gross motor activity during the four activity level conditions. Triangles represent typically developing children. Squares represent children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Black lines reflect line of best fit. Error bars represent standard error. ADHD attention-

18 Pappas, S. (2017, 14 augustus). Fidget Spinners: What They Are, How They Work and Why the Controversy. Retrieved on 1 december 2017, from https://www.livescience.com/58916-fidget-spinner-faq.html 15

deficit/hyperactivity disorder19 In addition, the University of California20 has conducted a research in which the results have shown that students with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) performed better during a test while fidgeting than while not fidgeting. Therefore it is expected that children/teenagers (12-16 years old) with ADHD or other kinds of attention disorders will also get better results when allowed to fidget, than when they’re not allowed to fidget.

Another researcher, Katherine Isbister, who is a professor in Computational Media on the University of California has written an article about a new hype: Fidget Spinners. And states in the title of her article: “Fidget toys aren’t just hype” 21. Than in the article she explains this statement by referring to a number of researchers and studies. She has also carried out tests herself: “Our results align with anecdotal accounts about fidget toys helping children 5 with attention or anxiety issues to stay focused and calm in the classroom” . This certainly isn’t as accurate (or reliable) as a fully carried out research, her results were partially based on the personal experience in staying focused by fidgeting. This can actually also be very useful for this research, because your personal experience with fidgeting and the noise of fidgeting is very important for how you make a test. From anecdotal accounts your personal experience can be explained and by these stories the circumstances in which you make a test can be enhanced.

Keeping all these researches in mind the hypothesis to this research question is that people with an attention disorder will benefit more from fidgeting in tests than people without an attention disorder.

19Sarver, D. E., Rapport, M. D., Kofler, M. J., Raiker, J. S., & Friedman, L. M. (2015). Hyperactivity in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD): Impairing Deficit or Compensatory Behavior? [PDF]. https://link.springer.com 20 University of California (2015, June 11). Movement in ADHD may help children think, perform better in school. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150611082116.htm 21 Isbister Professor of Computational Media, University of California, Santa Cruz, K. (2017, September 25). Fidget toys aren't just hype. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/fidget-toys-arent-just-hype-77456

4. Method

4.1 Requirements

● one regular calculating test per student→ found in appendix 1 ● one control calculating test per student→ found in appendix 2 ● 3 cameras ● pens and/or pencils rd ● 76 3 year students ● a location (classroom)

4.2 General

The experiment will be built up out of an experiment and a control experiment. In order to eliminate as many irrelevant factors during the experiment, a control experiment will be performed. Both experiments will be set up similarly. Below the execution of both experiments is described elaborately. There will be asked a total of approximately one hundred students to participate in the experiment. To motivate the students a treat, some candy, will be promised for the class that performs best during both tests. One half of the investigated group will be used for the experiment, the other half will be used for the control experiment.

4.3 Experiment

rd Three 3 year groups will take part in the experiment. Group 1 will have level “tVWO”, group 2 will have level “VWO” and group 3 will be a group of both “VWO and HAVO”. Group 1 will contain 25 students, 13 of these students will be used for the regular experiment and 12 will be used for the control experiment. Of the 24 students in group 2, half will be used for the regular experiment and half for the control experiment. Group 3 will contain 27 students, of which 12 will be used for the regular experiment and 15 for the control experiment. These people will all be asked to perform a test. This test will be a calculating test. The test being used is test 1 and can be found in appendix 1, the answers to the tests can be found in appendix 3. The calculating test22 has been approved by a calculating expert23 on the high school RSG Slingerbos in Harderwijk. She has helped with assembling the questions for the tests and agreed that this was the correct level of calculating for people from the 3rd year

22 Voorbeeldrekentoets VO 2F. Cito (2014). Retrieved Rekentoets 3F. Cito (2016). Retrieved https://www.examenblad.nl/document/rekentoets-3f-januari-2016/2017/f=/Rekentoets_3F_vo _jan_2016.pdf 23 J. Plesman (calculating coach at RSG Slingerbos, Harderwijk) 17

(usually 14-15 year old children), she also confirmed that the length of the test would match with the time available for the students to take the test.

Whilst doing this test the students will be filmed by three cameras to capture the experiment. This is done in order to analyse which students did or did not fidget during the test. Also it will be analysed who was sitting next or close to a person fidgeting. Calculators will not be allowed during the test. There will be a set time limit of 5 minutes, but the test has been made in a good length so that there will not be a serious time pressure. The test will be performed in a silent room and talking will not be allowed during the test. On the test, the students will be asked to anonymously fill in their test, and mention whether they have an attention disorder or not. Tests will be marked with a number, so that it’s clear which student from the video made which test. The tested group of people will all be third year students.

Two persons will be spaced out throughout the classroom, audibly fidgeting whilst pretending to do the test, the test of these three people will not count for the results, however these people will be inserted in order to secure the fact that there will be audible fidgeting during the test. The test setup is schematically shown in figure 2, the number of tables may vary from the picture, also the position of the fidgeters will vary throughout the experiment.

4.4 Control experiment

The other part of the group, which will be also be an adequate amount of around 50 people will take part in the control experiment. The setup of this experiment will be the same as during the first experiment, however during this control experiment none of the students will be allowed to fidget and there will also be no people . Also during this experiment a different test will be used, in this case the test used is test 1. Test 1 can be found in appendix 1, and the answers to the test can be found in appendix 2. The test is the same as the one used in the original experiment. The three fidgeting people used in the original experiment will also not take part in this experiment, as nobody will be allowed to fidget.

Figure 4: Setup of the experiment in a classroom

4.5 Processing results

The results will come in the form of filled in tests of students, plus the video footage showing which students did or did not fidget during the experiment. To start, all scores will be put into a spreadsheet, giving an overview of the scores and allowing for average scores to be calculated out of this. The average score will be calculated per group that took part in the experiment, this will show possible differences in the results of the group that did the experiment and the group that did the control experiment. The averages will be processed in the form of a table, and a graph. Next, the video footage recorded during the experiments will be reviewed to decide which students performed fidgeting during the result. Whilst reviewing the footage, the description of fidgeting given earlier will be deciding for whether or not a student is marked as “fidgeter”. This description is: “Making small movements, especially of the hands and feet, through nervousness or impatience.” When the tests have been sorted on fidgeting and non fidgeting, new averages will be calculated for both the group fidgeting and the group of non fidgeters. These averages will also be put into the same tables and graphs. Finally, the tests of the test subjects that have indicated they have an attention disorder will be seperated and again an average score will be calculated. To draw conclusions, differences in both averages and deviations between different groups will be analysed and discussed. The differences in average scores can lead to conclusions, as they show which groups performed better on average. This is done to see which group did better and what could be a reason for the differences in the test outcome. The deviation is used to give an idea of the range that the results are in, and to show whether or not that range is large.

5. Results

Below, the data collected during the experiments are given in tables and graphs. For every group the same data will be provided, and in 5.4 the data for the average of all groups will be given.

5.1 Results of group 1

The data collected during the first experiment have been put into the table below. Here the frequency, average score and deviation is given for every group, the groups have been determined using the method described in paragraphs 4.3 and 4.4.

Group Amount of Average Average Deviation tested people percentage amount of = frequency correct questions correct out of 6

Total 25 78,33% 4,7 25,0%-100%

Experiment: 4 83,33% 5,0 66,7%-100% fidgeters

Experiment: 9 85,00% 5,1 50,0%-100% non-fidgeters

Control 12 71,53% 4,3 25,0%-100% experiment Figure 5 Table 1: Results of group 1 (tVWO)

From table 1 it becomes clear that the children that were in the classroom where fidgeting was present had better test results than the people in the other classroom from the control experiment. Where no noise and no fidgeting was allowed. The fidgeters during the experiment also scored a fraction lower than the non-fidgeters during the experiment, however it can be argued whether a small difference (1,67%) can lead to a reliable conclusion as the frequency was rather small.

Figure 6 graph 1: Results of group 1 (tVWO)

5.2 Results of group 2

Group Amount of Average Average Deviation tested people= percentage amount of frequency correct questions correct out of 6

Total 24 59,72% 3,6 33,3%-100%

Experiment: 8 58,33% 3,5 33,3%-100% fidgeters

Experiment: 4 70,84% 4,3 66,7%-100% non-fidgeters

Control 12 56,67% 3,4 33,3%-67,7% experiment Figure 7 Table 2: Results of group 2 (G, HAVO VWO)

In table 2 it can be seen that people in the class where fidgeting was present also scored higher than students in the seperate classroom. Just like in group 1, the fidgeters in the experiment scored lower than the non-fidgeters in the experiment, this time the difference is somewhat more significant (12,51%).

Figure 8 graph 2: Results of group 2 (G, HAVO VWO)

5.3 Results of group 3

Group Amount of Average Average Deviation tested people= percentage amount of frequency correct questions correct out of 6

Total 27 66,05% 3,963 50,0%-100%

Experiment: 8 79,17% 4,75 66,67%-100% fidgeters

Experiment: 4 95,83% 5,75 83,33%-100% non-fidgeters

Control 15 54% 4,87 50%-100% experiment Figure 9 table 3: Results of group 3 (VWO)

The results of group 3 again show that the students in the room where fidgeting was allowed performed better on the test than the students that took part in the control experiment. Also the non-fidgeters during the regular experiment scored higher than the fidgeters during the regular experiment.

Figure 10 graph 3: Results of group 3 (VWO)

5.4 Results from the group with a concentration disorder (from all classes)

Group Amount of Average Average Deviation tested people= percentage amount of frequency correct questions correct out of 6

Total 7 66,67% 4 33,33%-83,33%

Experiment: 4 66,67% 4 33,33%-83,33% fidgeters

Experiment: 0 - - - non-fidgeters

Control 3 66,67% 4 50%-83,33% experiment Figure 11 table 4: Results of students with a concentration disorder

In table 4 the results from the people with a concentration disorder are presented. The people from the control experiment have 4 out of 6 correct (66,67%) and also the people that are fidgeters got 4 out of 6 correct (66,67%)

Figure 12 graph 4: Results of students with a concentration disorder

5.5 Result analysis

The results of our experiment generally say that people that are not fidgeting, but are in a room with fidgeters get the best results. In all the three different groups without a concentration disorder this was the result that mostly stood out. After this the fidgeters had the best results in the calculating test. And the people that weren’t allowed to fidget generally made the calculating test the worst. This is a fixed pattern that occured in the results from the experiment. The people that had a concentration disorder were all fidgeting in the room where fidgeting was allowed. This implies that people with an attention/concentration disorder most of the times are fidgeters. They scored 66,67% on average. This was the same average score as the people with a concentration disorder that were in a completely silent room where no fidgeting was allowed. This shows that fidgeting doesn’t necessarily have a positive effect on the test results of people with a concentration disorder.

6. Conclusion

With the help of previously found sources and the results of both the regular and control experiment the subquestions will now be answered.

6.1 How does fidgeting contribute to staying focussed and concentrated?

According to the hypothesis, the working memory would be enhanced. This is explained in paragraph 3.1 where different studies are used to show how working memory was improved. Also in paragraph 3.1, a study is mentioned that has found a positive effect of fidgeting on the retention of lecture material. In addition, according to a study small physical movement can increase the levels of certain neurotransmitters in the brain, which could cause an increase in attention. As the literature in paragraph 3.1 suggests, the hypothesis in paragraph 2.1 should be correct. The results of the experiment are not directly related to the answer to this is question and therefore will not be looked into for this answer.

6.2 What is the effect of fidgeting while carrying out a test on the result of the test of the person performing fidgeting?

The hypothesis formulated in paragraph 2.1 states that it was expected for students to perform better on tests when they were fidgeting. Although the literature in 3.2 generally supports this claim, according to the results in chapter 5, fidgeters in all groups scored lower than non-fidgeters that were present in the same room. Therefore a positive effect of fidgeting can not be concluded. Yet, in all groups, fidgeters scored higher on average than the students that took part in the control experiment, the people that took part in the control experiment also were not allowed to fidget. From this it’s concluded that according to the results of the experiments shown in chapter 5, there is no positive effect of fidgeting on the results of the person fidgeting, however the freedom to fidget or not does bring a positive effect with it. This means that although according to the literature the hypothesis was correct, the results of the experiments have shown that the hypothesis is not correct.

6.3 What is the effect of fidgeting on the test result of another person who is located in the same room and who is not fidgeting?

The hypothesis described in paragraph 2.1 suggests that students who are not fidgeting themselves but are in a room with audible fidgeting are expected to get lower test results. The literature research done in paragraph 3.3 completely supports this claim. As even little background noise would worsen someone’s attention span according to the university of 27

Vienna. However the results from the investigative research from chapter 5 show that people that weren’t fidgeting, but are in the same room with other fidgeters have scored the best on average on this calculating test. Therefore the negative effect background noise would have on your attention can still not be concluded. This means that the literature showed that the hypothesis was correct, however the results from the experiment show that the hypothesis wasn’t correct.

6.4 What is the difference in the influence of fidgeting during the test between people with an attention disorder and people without an attention disorder?

People with a concentration disorder, especially ADHD were expected to have a larger benefit from fidgeting than people without ADHD. Looking at the tested group of students with a concentration disorder in paragraph 5.5, it can be seen than there was no improvement for students with a concentration disorder that were allowed to fidget and the group of people with a concentration disorder that took part in the control experiment. There were no tested students with a concentration disorder that took part in the regular experiment and didn’t fidget, so from this it can be concluded that all students with a concentration disorder that took part in the experiment fidgeted. Whether or not this means that they get a bigger benefit from fidgeting can not be concluded. From 6.2 it becomes clear that there is no positive effect of fidgeting on regular students, neither is there a positive effect on students with a concentration disorder, and therefore the hypothesis is incorrect.

6.5 General conclusion

From all the research done in all the four sub questions there can be concluded that the allowance to fidget in a classroom helps people to get higher test results. Because from the results from the experiment we can conclude that fidgeting doesn’t necessarily make test results better. In the introduction there was stated that different people need different circumstances to optimally make a test. From the results there may be concluded that people which are not restricted from fidgeting have better test results than people which are restricted from fidgeting and making any noise. To come back to the relevance named in chapter 1, according to the experiment it would be best to let students decide themselves whether or not they want to fidget whilst performing a calculation test.

7. Discussion

7.1 Experiment discussion

The test can be performed reasonably accurately in the manner described above. Nevertheless, the following inaccuracies can still be taken into account to obtain an as accurate result as possible:

● The amount of people that has been tested is too small. It has been tried in this study to achieve a relatively high amount of people tested, but when there are more people involved in the research the accuracy will increase. ● The same research should be done on people of different age groups as age could be an influencing factor on the results. ● The same research should be done on people of different school levels and not just on ”Havo” and “(T)VWO” students. ● Different types of tests should be made instead of merely a calculating test. The type of test could also make a difference on the result. ● The way in which is being observed who fidgets and who does not fidget is not adequate. This could be done better by for example having one observer or camera per row. ● For the control experiment all different noises should be reduced to zero. This is nearly impossible to achieve. To get as close as possible to no noise observers in this study had to instruct the students making the tests to make no noise. This could be a factor when making the test as they could get distracted or think about what the reason could be ● Fidgeting is something that is done unconsciously (bron). Telling students not to make any noise whilst doing a test could influence the test results as students have to consciously focus on being silent. ● Something that plays a large part in the results that students get during calculating tests is how good they are at calculating. ● The results are given in two digits behind the dot. This may be a too accurate number, because only 76 people are tested in this experiment. (E.g. Should we consider 56,67% and 58,33% to be the same percentage keeping the significance in mind) ● The results show that children that are not fidgeting, but still are in a room with fidgeters have the best overall test results. However this seems rather unlikely from information from the literature research. ● To make the results more reliable all people that were involved in the research were given the same calculating test. ● Also the calculating test has been checked by an authorized calculating teacher in secondary education to be on the right level for the tested age group. This is done in order to eliminate most of the factors that could influence the reliability of our results.

● To make the results of the research as valid as possible, a hypothesis was set and then tested with the experiment. To make it more valid the definition of fidgeting could be more specific which would make the measuring of fidgeting more reliable. ● A treat was promised for the group that performed best with the intention of stimulating the students. This however could motivate one student more than the other. It could for example be that one students likes candy more than another. ● The investigated group is considered a homogeneous group. However it is very hard to say this. Because for example it can happen that the people from the control experiment have less calculating skills than the group from the regular experiment.

7.2 Further Research

● In further research it is very essential to test more people to make the results more reliable. All groups, but particularly the group of people with a concentration disorder needs to be larger. ● Besides having a larger group of test subjects, the way of measuring fidgeting could be more accurate too in further research, for example by using a motion sensor on the hands. ● Something that would make results more reliable is to measure or scan the activeness of the brain. With for example a PET-scan or a fMRI scan. Then there can be concluded which parts of the brain influence your test results or your concentration. ● In further research there can also be included other kinds of tests. For example a language test, or something else.

8. References

● Stalvey, S., & Brasell, H. (2006). Using Stress Balls to Focus the Attention of Sixth-Grade Learners. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ853381.pdf

● University of California (2015, June 11). Movement in ADHD may help children think, perform better in school. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150611082116.htm

● Isbister Professor of Computational Media, University of California, Santa Cruz, K. (2017, September 25). Fidget toys aren't just hype. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/fidget-toys-arent-just-hype-77456

● James, S. D. (2015, June 11). Keep Fidgeting! Movement Helps Improve Focus in Kids With ADHD. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/fidgeting-movement-helps-improve-foc us-kids-adhd-n373406

● Nierenberg, C. (2017, May 16). Fidget Spinners Renew Focus on Kids' Attention Spans. Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/59121-fidget-spinners-renew-focus-on-kids-attention.ht ml

● Isbister, K. (2017, May 18). Fidget Toys Aren't Just Hype. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fidget-toys-arent-just-hype/

● Biel, L. (2017, June & july). Fidget Toys or Focus Tools? (Publication). Retrieved https://www.sensorysmarts.com/AADJun17.pdf

● Söderlund, G. B., Sikström, S., Loftesnes, J. M., & Sonuga-Barke, E. J. (2010, September 29). The effects of background white noise on memory performance in inattentive school children. Retrieved from https://behavioralandbrainfunctions.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1744-9081-6 -55

● Trimmel, M., & Poelzl, G. (2007, February 20). Impact of background noise on reaction time and brain DC potential changes of VDT-based spatial attention. Retrieved from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00140130500434986?scroll=top&need Access=true

● Kalyn, W. (Ed.). (n.d.). The Secret Power of Fidgets. ADDitude. Retrieved from http://assets.addgz4.com/pub/free-downloads/pdf/The-Secret-Power-of-Fidgets.pdf

● Rotz, R., & Wright, S. D. (2017, August 01). The Body-Brain Connection: How Fidgeting Sharpens Focus. Retrieved from https://www.additudemag.com/focus-factors/ ● [Diagram of the brain, including the basal ganglia and thalamus]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.brain-and-mind.com/2017/08/most-of-time-i-spend-thinking-about.html ● Hillman, K. (2014, November 17). A list of brain areas and what they do. Retrieved from http://www.psychology24.org/a-list-of-brain-areas-and-what-they-do/ ● Cloud, J. (2009, April 13). Better Learning Through Fidgeting. [PDF]. TIME. https://lakeviewmontessorischool.com/files/documents/Resources/Better%20Learning %20Through%20Fidgeting.pdf ● Pine, K. J., & Lufkin, N. (2004). More gestures than answers: children learning about balance. Retrieved December 1, 2017, from http://www.herts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0017/11573/Pineetal_2004.pdf ● Sarver, D. E., Rapport, M. D., Kofler, M. J., Raiker, J. S., & Friedman, L. M. (2015). Hyperactivity in Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD): Impairing Deficit or Compensatory Behavior? [PDF]. https://link.springer.com ● Sinicki, A. (n.d.). How Fidgeting Helps Us to Concentrate. Retrieved December 01, 2017, from http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/17808/1/How-Fidgeting-Helps-Us-to-Concentra te.html ● Dormehl, L. (2017, March 08). Are fidget toys legitimately good for your brain, or pseudoscientific snake oil? Retrieved December 01, 2017, from https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/fidget-helps-concentration/#/2 ● Purdy, K. (2010, August 05). Fidgeting and Doodling Could Be Unconscious Focus Tools. Retrieved February 09, 2018, from https://lifehacker.com/5605338/fidgeting-and-doodling-might-help-maintain-focus ● The Working Memory Networks of the Human Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2017, from http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1073858406298480 ● Ratey, J. J. (2013). Spark: the revolutionary new science of exercise and the brain. New York: Little, Brown. ● Facet Rekenopgaven-etalage. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2017, from https://opgavenetalage.facet.onl/facet-itemetalage/pages/index.xhtml ● Slater, D., & French, J. (2010). Fidget Toys in the Classroom: Refocusing Attention [CGI]. Georgia Southern University.

● https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1343&conte xt=sotlcommons ● Farley, J., Risko, E. F., & Kingstone, A. (2013). Everyday attention and lecture retention: the effects of time, fidgeting, and mind wandering. Retrieved December 01, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3776418/

Appendix

Appendix 1 - Test 1

Nummer: Leeftijd:

Heb je een concentratiestoornis (zoals ADHD of ADD)?

❏ Nee ❏ Ja, namelijk: ______

Tijdens de volgende toets is praten verboden. Rekenmachines zijn NIET toegestaan. De klas met de beste resultaten krijgt een verrassing!

Vul het juiste antwoord in op de stippellijn: 1. 5,20 - 1,18 = …………………… 2. 59 : 0,2 = ……………… 3. 4,75 x 4 = …………….. 4. ¼ liter = ………………. Centiliter

3 5. Hoeveel m water is nodig om een aquarium te vullen met een breedte van 7 m een diepte van 5 m en een hoogte van 2 m? …………. M3

6. Van een verhaal van 60 pagina’s wordt een boek gedrukt. Richtlijnen bij het drukken van dit boek: ● 10 extra pagina’s zijn nodig voor bijv. Titelpagina, voorwoord, inhoudsopgave. ● Het totaal aantal pagina’s is deelbaar door 16. ● Overige worden gevuld met foto’s.

Hoeveel pagina’s zijn er minimaal voor foto’s beschikbaar? …………… pagina’s

Appendix 2 - Answer Sheet Test 1

1. 4,02 2. 295 3. 19 4. 25 5. 70 6. 10