Influence of an audience on conscious motor processing and performance during a go-only and stop-signal soccer penalty shooting task

The Theory of Reinvestment predicts that perceived pressure to perform well can negatively impact the perceptual-motor skills of experts, by promoting conscious reinvestment of explicit knowledge about how the skills should be performed (i.e., “conscious motor processing”). This study sought to investigate the influence of pressure on conscious motor processing and performance in a soccer (football) penalty shooting task. Performance was compared in an “execution-only” and “dynamic” task context, in which fifteen experienced soccer players were required to accurately shoot on target (execution-only) or, if the goalkeeper moved to intercept, inhibit their shot (dynamic). Pressure was manipulated by means of a small audience. Manipulation checks of conscious motor processing were taken, and performance measures included movement time, reaction time, inhibition success, and penalty shooting accuracy. Analyses indicated that penalty shooting accuracy was lower in the dynamic than in the execution-only task context (p = .01). Presence of an audience did not increase perceived anxiety, nor did it result in significant effects on conscious motor processing or penalty shooting performance. Covariate analyses identified trait reinvestment as a significant covariate. Whilst in general, presence of an audience had no significant effects on conscious motor processing or penalty shooting performance, high (trait) reinvestors were found to engage more in conscious motor processing, initiated their responses earlier (allowing more time for execution), and showed improved response inhibition in the presence of an audience. Future studies are required to further evaluate the influence of trait reinvestment on conscious motor processing and performance under pressure

Training with anxiety: short- and long-term effects on police officers’ shooting behavior under pressure

We investigated short- and long-term effects of training with anxiety on police officers’ shooting behavior under pressure. Using a pretest, posttest, and retention test design, 27 police officers executed a shooting exercise against an opponent that did (high anxiety) or did not (low anxiety) shoot back using colored soap cartridges. During the training sessions, the experimental group practiced with anxiety and the control group practiced without anxiety. At the pretest, anxiety had a negative effect on shot accuracy for both groups. At the posttest, shot accuracy of the experimental group no longer deteriorated under anxiety, while shot accuracy of the control group was still equally affected. At the retention test, 4 months after training, positive results for the experimental group remained present, indicating that training with anxiety may have positive short- and long-term effects on police officers’ shot accuracy under pressure. Additional analyses showed that these effects are potentially related to changes in visual attention on task-relevant information

Dim light, sleep tight, and wake up bright:Sleep optimization in athletes by means of light regulation

Despite an elevated recovery need, research indicates that athletes often exhibit relatively poor sleep. Timing and consolidation of sleep is driven by the circadian system, which requires periodic light–dark exposure for stable entrainment to the 24-hour day, but is often disturbed due to underexposure to light in the morning (e.g. low-level indoor lighting) and overexposure to light in the evening (e.g. environmental and screen-light). This study examined whether combining fixed sleep schedules with light regulation leads to more consolidated sleep. Morning light exposure was increased using light-emitting goggles, whereas evening light exposure was reduced using amber-lens glasses. Using a within-subject crossover design, twenty-six athletes (14 female, 12 male) were randomly assigned to start the intervention with the light-regulation-week or the no light-regulation-week. Sleep was monitored by means of sleep diaries and actigraphy. Due to low protocol adherence regarding the fixed sleep-wake schedules, two datasets were constructed; one including athletes who kept a strict sleep-wake schedule (N = 8), and one that also included athletes with a more lenient sleep-wake schedule (N = 25). In case of a lenient sleep-wake schedule, light regulation improved self-reported sleep onset latency (Δ SOL = 8 min). This effect was stronger (Δ SOL = 17 min) and complemented by enhanced subjective sleep quality in case of a strict sleep-wake schedule. None of the actigraphy-based estimates differed significantly between conditions. To conclude, light regulation may be considered a potentially effective strategy to improve subjective sleep, but less obtrusive methods should be explored to increase protocol compliance.</p

Anxiety and performance: perceptual-motor behavior in high-pressure contexts

When the pressure is on and anxiety levels increase it is not easy to perform well. In search of mechanisms explaining the anxiety–performance relationship, we revisit the integrated model of anxiety and perceptual-motor performance (Nieuwenhuys and Oudejans, 2012) and provide a critical review of contemporary literature. While there is increasing evidence that changes in attentional control affect the execution of goal-directed action, based on our model and emerging evidence from different scientific disciplines, we argue for a more integrated, process-based approach. That is, anxiety can affect performance on different levels of operational control (i.e., attentional, interpretational, physical) and – moving beyond the execution of action – have implications for different aspects of perceptual-motor behavior, including situational awareness and decision making

Anxiety and performance:perceptual-motor behavior in high-pressure contexts

Item does not contain fulltextWhen the pressure is on and anxiety levels increase it is not easy to perform well. In search of mechanisms explaining the anxiety-performance relationship, we revisit the integrated model of anxiety and perceptual-motor performance [1] and provide a critical review of contemporary literature. While there is increasing evidence that changes in attentional control affect the execution of goal-directed action, based on our model and emerging evidence from different scientific disciplines, we argue for a more integrated, process-based approach. That is, anxiety can affect performance on different levels of operational control (i.e., attentional, interpretational, physical) and - moving beyond the execution of action - have implications for different aspects of perceptual-motor behavior, including situational awareness and decision making.6 p

A database for analysis of speech under physical stress: detection of exercise intensity while running and talking

One of the ways to gauge your own exercise intensity while running, is to assess your capability of talking while running: if you can still speak comfortably, you are running within the recommended intensity guidelines. This subjective way of estimating one's exercise intensity by talking (i.e. the Talk Test) motivated us to investigate how speech characteristics are affected during running and whether it is possible to develop a more objective way of estimating exercise intensity levels while running through voice analysis. To this end, we developed the Talk & Run Speech database that contains speech recorded from people before, during, and after running. We present our database and show that it is possible to detect exercise intensity below or above the anaerobic threshold in speech during running with a performance of 73.5% and 60.0% (unweighted average recall) for female and male speakers respectively

The expression of ego-depletion: Thin slices of nonverbal behavior as cues to momentary self control capacity

Is depleted self-control capacity detectable from thin slices of behavior? In four video-conditions (early-depleted; early-non-depleted; late-depleted; late-non-depleted) untrained observers rated target persons’ available self-control capacity in Experiments 1 and 2 (without sound) and in terms of fatigue and negative affect (Experiment 3). Videos were analyzed with Noldus FaceReader software (Experiment 4). Ego depletion could reliably be detected from thin slices of behavior. Nonverbal expressions coinciding with ego depletion are associated with cues signaling momentary levels of self-control capacity, fatigue, and some negative affective states. FaceReader analyses indicated that facial expressions coinciding with ego depletion are subtle and are extractable from facial dynamics rather than expression intensities. Results indicate that self-control depletion might not only have intrapersonal effects, but also interpersonal effects