Subjective Assessment of Effort in Dynamic Work

Abstract

18 male Ss were instructed to walk as long as possible at 75% of their maximum walking speed on a motor driven treadmill. Each S walked for 8 sessions. During the sessions Ss were instructed to report on a 5-point scale the increase in the amount of effort required by the walking task. The obtained effort scales were linear as had been reported for shorter duration isometric muscle contractions. Correlations between the endurance scores and various physical and psychological measures suggested that while maximum walking speed was primarily related to physique, endurance appeared to be related more to other variables.