THE IMPACT OF SPORTS PARTICIPATION UPON STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION AND ACADEMIC CREATIVITIES: MEDIATING ROLE OF IMAGERY ABILITY & PSYCHOLOGICAL CAPITAL

Abstract

This study explores the impact of sports participation on the students’ motivation and academic creativities via mediating roles of imagery ability and psychological capital. In an increasingly competitive academic environment, recognizing the factors that enhance intrinsic motivation and creative thinking amid students has become essential. Thus, drawing upon theories of embodied cognition and positive psychology, research investigates how engagement in physical activities subsidizes to emotional and cognitive resources that foster the academic development. The study postulates that the students who regularly participate in sports validate heightened creativity and motivation due to enhanced psychological visualization skills (imagery ability) and strengthened psychological resources like hope, self-efficacy, resilience and optimism (psychological capital) in the particular context. The sports offer unstructured and structured opportunities to develop imagination, discipline, and problem-solving skills that are transferable to academic contexts. Through physical engagement, students build stronger mental frameworks for visualizing goals, planning tasks, and generating novel ideas, all of which are essential components of academic creativity. The current study was based upon some assumptions aimed to chase through different methods and procedures towards desired leading conclusion to extract the required information and make suitable decisions about the research variables. The primary data was collected from the students hailing from higher education institutions, Punjab, Pakistan. The mediation models were applied to test the indirect effects of imagery ability and psychological capital on relationship between sports participation and academic outcomes. The findings reveal that both mediators play significant roles, sports participants tend to have higher imagery ability which enhances their capacity and skills to engage in creative academic thinking. Simultaneously, sports foster psychological capital, which drives academic motivation and perseverance. The dual mediation effects underscore a multidimensional pathway through that physical activity supports motivational and intellectual development. This study contributes to the broader understanding that how sports, traditionally viewed as a means for physical health, also influence cognitive and psychological constructs essential for the academic achievement. It suggests that the educational institutions should view sports as the integral component of student development, not only for physical well-being but also for cultivating creativity, motivation, and psychological resilience. The findings advocate for the curriculum models that incorporate sports and spiritual training to holistically support students’ innovation potential and academic success with some recommendations.