Mood states when playing alone or in cooperation: two unequal motor and affective experiences

This study analyzed the effect of the variables: game type (individual or cooperative), competition, gender, students' association type and beginning-end of the session on the university students' moods. 201 Physical Education college students participated. After having received an initial instruction concerning moods, participants executed 2 sessions involving cooperative games and 2 individual games. The POMS scale was filled in both at the beginning and at the end of each session. The data were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Among the main findings, we can point out that positive emotional states increase significantly when cooperative games are applied, with competition. Negative moods are more present in individual games, with no competition, when practiced by men and when they are organized in separate groups. All these factors contribute towards knowing the influence of play on the training of the future teachers of a modern physical education, in which there is the intention of promoting such important aspects as socioemotional well-being and co-education.This study has received funding from Spain’s Ministry of Science and Innovation through R + D + i projects DEP2010-21626-C03-01, DEP2010-21626-C03-02, and DEP2010- 21626-C03-03. It has also received funding from Catalonian National Institute of Physical Education [INEFC-Lleida] project PARINEFC2016_005)