Eye Color and Motor Performance in Physical Education Activities in Elementary School Children

Abstract

251 elementary school children in Grades 1 to 6 performed a variety of motor tasks in physical education classes to investigate whether eye color was associated with performance on the expectation that dark-eyed individuals generally perform better at reactive type tasks (boxing, hitting a baseball, defensive football) while light-eyed individuals perform better at self-paced tasks (bowling, golf, pitching baseballs). Eye color was not associated with standing-long jump, soft-ball throw, or 50-, 75-, 100-yd. dashes. Boys generally performed better than girls and older children in upper grades generally performed better than younger children in lower grades. As measured, all motor performances cannot be classified as either self-paced or reactive.