Practice and performance management strategies of emerging professional musicians in preparation for orchestra auditions

Orchestra auditions form a critical career challenge for many aspiring classical musicians. Hence, emerging professional musicians—defined as promising musicians entering the professional circuit without having yet established full-time employment—require effective practice and performance strategies to manage the demands of auditions. The purpose of this collective case study was to gain an in-depth and contextualized understanding of such practice and performance management strategies in relation to mock orchestra auditions. Data were collected using an intensive qualitative approach, combining semi-structured interviews with regular structured monitoring interviews, with eight musicians. Content analysis revealed that participants, on average, engaged in 33 hr of music-related activities per week, during which they adopted self-regulating strategies (i.e., strategic goal setting, structuring practice, monitoring practice, and reflecting on progress) to a varying degree. Furthermore, participants used different performance management strategies to cope with the pressure of auditions (i.e., practicing under pressure, imagery, relaxation, cognitive reframing, routines, attentional control, and substance use). Overall, the data suggest that the emerging musicians possessed several different practice and performance strategies but showed great variation in the use of such strategies and had a preference for long practice hours. Potential implications for music education organizations aiming to prepare students for auditions are discussed

A Mixed Methods Evaluation of a Pressure Training Intervention to Develop Resilience in Female Basketball Players

he present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a resilience development intervention, set up around regular exposure to increased pressure. This intervention adopted a quasi-experimental design, delivered within an elite female basketball academy. The mixed methods evaluation combined individual and team resilience measures with semi-structured interviews with athletes and coaches. Quantitative results demonstrated that the intervention was effective in reducing team level vulnerabilities. Qualitative evaluations indicated that the intervention led to increased awareness, emerging leadership, stronger communication channels, and the development and execution of collective plans. Furthermore, potential avenues for intervention improvement were also addressed Lay Summary: This study aimed to test a resilience training intervention based on pressure exposure during practice. Results within a female elite basketball academy indicated that both athletes and coaches believed the team became more resilient to in-game stressors and less susceptible to team-level vulnerabilities

In situ examination of decision-making skills and gaze behaviour of basketball players

In this study we examined in situ decision-making skills and gaze behaviour of skilled female basketball players. Players participated as ball carriers in a specific 3 vs 3 pick-and-roll basketball play. Playing both on the right and left side of the court and facing three types of defensive play, they chose and performed one of four options: shoot, drive to the basket, pass to the screener or pass to the corner player. We concurrently measured gaze behaviour to examine the direct relationship between gaze and decision making. As one of the first studies examining decision making and gaze behaviour in situ, this study found support for the embodied choice framework as the results showed that handling the ball with the dominant or non-dominant hand influenced the decisions that were made. Gaze measures suggested that peripheral vision may serve a significant role in decision making in situ, whereas players mainly relied on central vision to execute an action. Furthermore, this study underlined the need for developing and using newer and more informative methods to analyse gaze

Self-controlled video feedback on tactical skills for soccer teams results in more active involvement of players

Many studies have shown that self-controlled feedback is beneficial for learning motor tasks, andthat learners prefer to receive feedback after supposedly good trials. However, to date all studiesconducted on self-controlled learning have used individual tasks and mainly relatively simpleskills. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine self-controlled feedback on tactical skills insmall-sided soccer games. Highly talented youth soccer players were assigned to a self-control oryoked group and received video feedback on their o ffensive performance in 3 vs. 2 small-sidedgames. The results showed that the self-control group requested feedback mostly after good trials,that is, after they scored a goal. In addition, the perceived performance of the self-control groupwas higher on feedback than on no-feedback trials. Analyses of the conversations around thevideo feedback revealed that the players and coach discussed good and poor elements of per-formance and how to improve it. Although the coach had a major role in these conversations, theplayers of the self-control group spoke more and showed more initiative compared to the yokedgroup. The results revealed no significant beneficial effect of self-controlled feedback on per-formance as judged by the coach. Overall, the findings suggest that in such a complex situation assmall-sided soccer games, self-controlled feedback is used both to confirm correct performanceelements and to determine and correct errors, and that self-controlled learning stimulates theinvolvement of the learner in the learning process

Observational Behavior Assessment for Psychological Competencies in Police Officers:A Proposed Methodology for Instrument Development

This paper proposes and showcases a methodology to develop an observational behavior assessment instrument to assess psychological competencies of police officers. We outline a step-by-step methodology for police organizations to measure and evaluate behavior in a meaningful way to assess these competencies. We illustrate the proposed methodology with a practical example. We posit that direct behavioral observation can be key in measuring the expression of psychological competence in practice, and that psychological competence in practice is what police organizations should care about. We hope this paper offers police organizations a methodology to perform scientifically informed observational behavior assessment of their police officers’ psychological competencies and inspires additional research efforts into this important area

An analysis of teachers’ instructions and feedback at a contemporary dance university

Background: Given the demands posed by excessive practice quantities in modern dance, physical and mental health can be compromised. Therefore, there is a need to consider how quality of practice may be improved and possibly even reduce training times. Sports literature has shown that instructions and feedback given by coaches can have an effect on the quality of training and influence self-regulation and the performance of athletes. However, currently little is known about the use of instructions and feedback by dance teachers. The aim of the current study was, therefore, to examine the type of instructions and feedback given by dance teachers during various dance classes. Methods: A total of six dance teachers participated in this study. Video and audio recordings were made of six dance classes and two rehearsals at a contemporary dance university. The dance teacher’s coaching behavior was analyzed using the modified Coach Analysis and Intervention System (CAIS). Additionally, feedback and instructions were also examined in terms of their corresponding focus of attention. Absolute numbers, as well as times per minute (TPM) rates were calculated for each behavior before, during, and after an exercise. Absolute numbers were also used to calculate ratios of positive-negative feedback and open-closed questions. Results: Most feedback comments were given after an exercise (472 out of 986 total observed behaviors). Improvisation had the highest positive-negative feedback ratio (29) and open-closed questions ratio (1.56). Out of the focus of attention comments, internal focus of attention comments were used most frequently (572 out of 900). Discussion/conclusion: The results make clear that there is a large variability in instructions and feedback over teachers and classes. Overall, there is room for improvement toward a higher positive-negative feedback ratio, a higher open-closed question ratio and producing more comments eliciting an external focus of attention.</p

Adverse effects of anxiety on attentional control differ as a function of experience: A simulated driving study

This study tested whether adverse effects of state anxiety on attention and performance may be modulated by experience. Sixteen experienced and eleven inexperienced drivers drove in a simulator under low- and high-stress conditions. Anxiety was manipulated by competition, the presence of an evaluator, external video camera, and traffic noise. Most drivers showed greater anxiety scores and higher mean heart rates following manipulation. In both groups increased state anxiety decreased car speed control and caused more collisions, accompanied by fewer fixations of longer duration towards the driving lane across a horizontally narrower region. Inexperienced drivers increased the number of short fixations towards cars, while experienced drivers increased the number of short fixations on the speedometer. Although anxiety impairs processing efficiency and performance effectiveness for both groups, attentional changes differ as a function of experience. Inexperienced drivers tended to shift attention to threatening stimuli, while experienced drives were more likely to consciously monitor task goal

Leren en presteren in sport

Sport heeft een belangrijke rol in onze samenleving; onderzoek in en naar sport draagt bij aan het versterken van deze rol. In het Amsterdam Institute of Sport Science (AISS) werken Amsterdamse kennisinstellingen met elkaar en diverse sportorganisaties samen om sport en bewegen in al haar facetten te onderzoeken

A Process Evaluation of a Performance Psychology Intervention for Transitioning Elite and Elite Musicians

The present study presents a process evaluation of a performance psychology intervention for transitioning elite and elite musicians. The goal of the intervention was to provide participants with an amalgamation of evidence-informed principles, aimed to improve their quality of practice and performance preparation. The intervention consisted of an educational session followed by four workshops. In total, eight transitioning elite and seven elite musicians participated. Process measures included quantitative and qualitative workshop evaluations, monitoring logs, and semi-structured interviews. Overall, the intervention was evaluated positively by the participants. However, differences were present between the groups, with the elite musicians typically evaluating the intervention more favorably compared to the transitioning elites. Specific positive outcomes included an increased awareness and re-examining of current practice strategies, more structured and goal-directed practice, increased practice efficiency and focus, a more proactive approach to performances, and increased attention for the physical aspects of playing. Moreover, a number of contextual considerations and implementation challenges became evident. Important implications for performance psychology interventions and practitioners in music are discussed

Is choking under pressure a consequence of skill-focus or increased distractibility? Results from a tennis serve task

It has been repeatedly demonstrated that athletes often choke in high pressure situations because anxiety can affect attention regulation and in turn performance. There are two competing theoretical approaches to explain the negative anxiety-performance relationship. According to skillfocus theories, anxious athletes’ attention is directed at how to execute the sport-specific movements which interrupts execution of already automatized movements in expert performers. According to distraction theories, anxious athletes are distractible and focus less on the relevant stimuli. We tested these competing assumptions in a between-subject design, as semi-professional tennis players were either assigned to an anxiety group (n = 25) or a neutral group (n = 28), and performed a series of second tennis serves into predefined target areas. As expected, anxiety was negatively related to serve accuracy. However, mediation analyses with the bootstrapping method revealed that this relationship was fully mediated by self-reported distraction and not by skill-focus