Audience Size and Trait Anxiety Effects Upon State Anxiety and Motor Performance

This study was designed to investigate how a personal disposition factor (trait anxiety) and a situational factor (number of observers) affect state anxiety and motor performance. Thirty high and 30 low trait-anxious (Spielberger's STAI) female subjects were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: alone, two evaluative observers, five or six evaluative observers. Subjects performed 30 massed 10-sec trials on the pursuit rotor task under their assigned treatment conditions and then completed the STAI state anxiety scale. Trait anxiety significantly affected both state anxiety and pursuit rotor performance but no audience main effects or interaction effects were statistically significant. The results were interpreted as supporting some predictions from Spielberger's trait-state anxiety theory while contradicting others.     

Consolidation of Pursuit Rotor Learning under Conditions of Induced Arousal

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to test the basic tenets of consolidation theory by studying the relationship between arousal and the performance and learning of a pursuit rotor task. Ninety-six subjects (48 men and 48 women) were randomly assigned to one of three induced arousal conditions (control, failure-feedback, and electrical shock). Subjects were given twenty-one 20-second acquisition trials under induced arousal conditions, followed 24 or 48 hours later by nine trials in the absence of induced arousal (trials 22–30). The Spielberger A-trait test was administered before the 21 acquisition trials and the A-state test was given afterward. The results of the A-trait test revealed that arousal conditions were equal in terms of normal anxiety levels, while results of the A-state test demonstrated that subjects under induced arousal conditions were indeed stressed (had higher levels of state anxiety). The 21 acquisition trials (seven three-trial blocks) were analyzed using time on target (TOT) scores to determine the effects of arousal on performance. The results of this analysis revealed reliable differences for sex and trial blocks, but not for arousal. A significant triple interaction among the three main effects was primarily caused by a decrement in performance by the female subjects who received failure-feedback. TOT recall scores failed to reveal a facilitative effect due to arousal as predicted by perseverative consolidation theory. In summary, the results of the investigation provided partial support for the action decrement notion but none for the action increment notion of consolidation theory.     

“Best” versus “Average” Individual Scores

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to determine if the presence of spectators when learning a complex motor task affected the performance of high- and low-anxious subjects. Forty-eight high- and 48 low-anxious subjects learned a coincident timing task alone or in the presence of an audience. Once the task was learned to a criterion, subjects performed 10 trials alone or in the presence of an audience. Palmar sweat gland activity was measured by counting the number of active sweat glands from a plastic mold. Absolute error found the mode of learning had no effect on performance. Absolute error intravariance, however, indicated that subjects who learned the task in the presence of an audience performed less consistently alone than subjects who performed in the presence of an audience. The anxiety level of the subject did not interact with the performance. Palmar sweat gland results showed increased arousal when in the presence of an audience.     

Inter- and Intra-Individual Variations during the Progress of Motor Learning

Abstract

The effects of practice and the passage of time on individual differences (true-score variance) and intra-individual variation were investigated. One hundred and twenty male university students were tested on a Koerth type pursuit rotor. One group was tested on six days spaced over a three-week period. Another group performed the same motor task two days only—test and retest being separated by an interval of three weeks. Each day of practice was the same for both groups—sixty 15-second trials separated by a 10-second intertrial rest. It was concluded that true-score variance as well as intra-individual variance tend to parallel the initial increases in performance and then stabilize in later practice. Since the true-score variance increased greatly as compared with intra-individual variance in early performance, the correlation between adjacent trials increased. The effect of the lay-off was to increase both individual differences and intra-individual variance to a substantial and statistically significant degree.     

A New Motor Learning Task: The Foot-Twist Tracking Task

Abstract

Sixty college men were tested on a new motor learning task: the foot-twist tracking task. They were given 35 one-min. trials; each consisted of 30 sec. of work followed by 30 sec. of rest. A 5-min. rest period was interpolated between trials 25 and 26 to allow for the dissipation of reactive inhibition accrued during prerest performance. The results supported the expectation that practice on the new task would result in significant amounts of learning. However, the improvement in performance, while fairly large (21%), is substantially less than that found on the pursuit rotor and other large muscle motor coordination tasks. The expectation of reliable learning scores is also supported by the present results (r = .77). This learning reliability is relatively high when compared with those obtained on other large muscle motor learning tasks.     

In “Glorious Disarray”: The Literature of American Sport History

Abstract

This study examined the impact of high and low proficiency level, transfer distality, and gender on the contextual interference effect with an open skill. Subjects were separated into two levels of proficiency based on performance on a pretest similar to the experimental task. Analysis of error scores during acquisition indicated that the partitioning of subjects according to ability level had been successful. Transfer distality was varied by presenting subjects with two tasks varying in similarity to the acquisition task. Analysis of absolute constant, constant, variable, and total error scores in transfer strongly suggested that subjects' consistency rather than response bias was affected by the experimental variables. The findings suggested that, for the task used in this study, proficiency level does not account for gender differences in the contextual interference effect, as the effect was only reliably found for females. For coincident timing skills, it appears that there may be two distinct conclusions drawn from the results of this study: contextual interference only benefits female subjects' consistency and the effect of contextual interference increases with the distality of transfer, regardless of the subjects' proficiency level.     

Accuracy and Prediction in Throwing: A Taxonomic Analysis of Children's Performance

Abstract

The throwing and prediction performances of first, third and fifth grade boys and girls were analyzed within the framework of a four-part taxonomy originally conceived by Fitts (1965). Throwing performance was assessed under task conditions which varied the motion states of the thrower's body and the target (stationary or moving) by use of a dual pendulum apparatus. Accuracy scores were highest in a condition where both body and target were stationary, and lowest where both body and target were moving. Task conditions requiring motion of only target or of body were of intermediate difficulty, and scores for these tasks were not significantly different from each other. There was evidence of learning across trial blocks for all tasks, but no indication that rates of acquisition differed for the task types. Likewise, significant main effects were observed for age levels but no age X task type interactions were disclosed. Boys were more accurate than girls across task conditions, most noticeably on the two most difficult tasks. Comparison of subjects' ability to predict, from a stationary body position, the coincidence of the moving target with a standard reference point, and their ability to predict the coincidence of their moving body with the same reference point revealed lower error scores on the former prediction task.     

Effects of Competition,Success/Failure,and Sex on Intrinsic Motivation

The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the effect of different types of competition and success/failure on intrinsic motivation of males and females performing on a motor task. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following competition conditions: (a) face-to-face competition, (b) competition against a standard of excellence, or (c) a noncompetitive condition (control). In addition, subjects received either success or failure feedback while performing on the pursuit rotor. Results indicated that subjects receiving success exhibited more intrinsic motivation than subjects receiving failure. Subjects also displayed more intrinsic motivation during competition than when not in competition. In addition, the Sex × Competition interaction indicated that males exhibited more intrinsic motivation when competing than when not competing, whereas females displayed no differences between these conditions. Results are discussed in light of previous research by Deci (1975) and Deaux (1977) and future direction is offered.     

Physical Fatigue and Motor Learning

Abstract

In an attempt to investigate the effects of physical fatigue upon the learning of a motor skill, 75 college women were assigned in systematic rotation to either a control group or to one of two experimental groups (N = 25 in each group). All subjects were given a total of 50 trials on the pursuit rotor: 25 trials on Day 1, the practice session; and 25 trials on Day 2, the test session. One of the experimental groups was fatigued early in the practice session while the other was fatigued late in the practice session. Fatigue interpolated early and late was detrimental to subsequent performance improvements but had no effect upon the amount learned.     

Reminiscence Effects on Inter- and Intra-Individual Differences in Pursuit Rotor Performance

Abstract

Sixty male college students were given sixty 15-sec. trials on the pursuit rotor learning task. Practice was interrupted halfway through learning by a 10-min. rest period in order to investigate whether or not a reminiscence effect would influence inter-individual differences and intra-individual variation in performance. Results were consistent with previous experimentation in that inter-individual differences increased as a result of both practice and the interpolated rest period. A corresponding effect on intra-individual variation was barely noticeable.     

Effect of Age,Sex, and Type of Feedback on Motor Performance and Locus of Control

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of consistent positive and negative feedback on motor performance and a shift in locus of control. Comparisons of the data were made on the basis of age, sex, type of feedback, and internal–external (I–E) disposition. Extreme internal and external participants were offered positive or negative feedback on a rotary pursuit motor task over 20 trials, twice per week, for 6 weeks (a total of 240 trials). The results were as follows: (a) all eighth-grade (13-year-old) subjects displayed superior motor skill performance as compared to fifth-grade (10-year-old) students; (b) subjects across age groups who received positive feedback performed better than subjects given negative feedback; (c) a significant locus of control by feedback interaction indicated that high internals were superior to high externals under positive feedback conditions but that negative feedback produced inferior performance by internals compared to heightened performance by externals; (d) older subjects were more internal than younger subjects based on locus of control questionnaire data both prior to and immediately following the 6-week experiment; and (e) neither age group demonstrated a significant shift in locus of control in response to both the positive and negative feedback conditions.     

The Role of Interference and Task Similarity on the Acquisition,Retention, and Transfer of Simple Motor Skills

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine if two levels of task similarity influenced acquisition, retention, and transfer performance of three simple motor skills. Sixty right-handed subjects were randomly assigned to one of five (n = 12) experimental conditions. Each subject performed 72 trials during acquisition. Twenty-four trials were recorded for each movement task. Following a 5-min unfilled retention interval, subjects performed 4 trials on each task before completing 12 transfer trials of a novel movement. Contextual interference effects for acquisition and retention were supported for low but not high similarity tasks. Further, the results suggest that a different memory representation exists for high and low similarity tasks.     

Levels of Aspiration of High- and Low-Skilled Boys

Abstract

The stated levels of aspirations (L/A's) of high-skilled and low-skilled boys were examined to determine if they differed under prearranged conditions of failure in a simple motor task. Subjects were selected on the basis of their performances on a modified form of the Iowa Brace test. The motor task consisted of moving small blocks from one board to another. Preceding each of three trials, the subjct stated how many blocks he reasonably thought he could move in the succeeding 30-second trial. After a universal performance level was established, failure was induced by systematically stopping the subject before he attained his L/A. A 2×3 factorial design with repeated measures on the second-factor was employed. Analysis of variance indicated that the main effects of skill level and trials were significant at the .05 level. Analysis of simple effects indicated that the L/A's of the high- and low-skilled groups differed significantly only on the third trial (p = .05) and that failure had a significant effect on both groups (p = .10). High-skilled subjects expressed higher L/A's than did low-skilled subjects. All subjects' L/A's lowered significantly over trials. The L/A's of the high-skilled group as compared to the low-skilled group over the three trials did not indicate differential responses.     

The role of interference and task similarity on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of simple motor skills

The aim of the present study was to determine if two levels of task similarity influenced acquisition, retention, and transfer performance of three simple motor skills. Sixty right-handed subjects were randomly assigned to one of five (n = 12) experimental conditions. Each subject performed 72 trials during acquisition. Twenty-four trials were recorded for each movement task. Following a 5-min unfilled retention interval, subjects performed 4 trials on each task before completing 12 transfer trials of a novel movement. Contextual interference effects for acquisition and retention were supported for low but not high similarity tasks. Further, the results suggest that a different memory representation exists for high and low similarity tasks.     

Effects of Achieving Tendency,Gender, and Outcome on Causal Attributions following Motor Performance

A test of Weiner's propositions of the effects of achieving tendency on causal attributions was conducted using a stabilometer performance as the criterion task. The Achieving Tendency Scale and the Internal-External Control Scale were administered to 930 college students. From these, 120 subjects who had extreme scores on the ATS and moderate scores on the I-E Scale were selected for the experiment. Subjects performed one 30-second trial on either a spring-assisted or a non-spring-assisted stabilometer. The importance of the causal factors of ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck as influences on performance were then rated. A 2 × 2 × 2 MANOVA was performed across the ratings of the four factors, with achieving tendency, gender, and outcome considered as independent variables. The only significant effect was a main effect for outcome (p < .001). Subsequent univariate analyses indicated that only effort attributions differed as a function of outcome (p < .001). Those who succeeded perceived effort to be more important than those who failed. Also, a significant univariate effect (p < .02) was found for gender on the luck factor; females perceived luck to be more important than did males. These results are discussed in terms of methodological and theoretical considerations.     

Precompetitive anxiety and motor performance: a psychophysiological examination

Male volunteer subjects (27) completed a 5-week habituation period during which practise was undertaken on three motor performance tests. Tests were of serial reaction time, visuomotor ability and muscular power. Following stabilization of performance subjects entered an experimental period where they performed the tests before an evaluative audience on one occasion, and against a matched opponent, also before an evaluative audience on the final occasion. Preperformance measures were obtained of neuroendocrine activity, anticipatory heart rate and state anxiety. Significant precompetition elevations in state anxiety, heart rate and adrenaline levels were observed, supporting the notion that the exposure was perceived as stressful by subjects. Significant correlations were obtained between adrenaline levels and both state and trait anxiety scores. Results showed a significant increase in performance compared to habituation levels for all three tests in the audience condition. In the competitive situation against a matched opponent, performance level for the visuomotor and power tests declined significantly compared to the previous session performed before an audience. Serial reaction time performance showed a continuing upward trend, although failing to achieve significance. Changes in performance are discussed with reference to cue-utilization explanations and broader cognitive resource limitations.     

Precompetitive anxiety and motor performance: A psychophysiological examination

Male volunteer subjects (27) completed a 5‐week habituation period during which practise was undertaken on three motor performance tests. Tests were of serial reaction time, visuomotor ability and muscular power. Following stabilization of performance subjects entered an experimental period where they performed the tests before an evaluative audience on one occasion, and against a matched opponent, also before an evaluative audience on the final occasion. Preperformance measures were obtained of neuroendocrine activity, anticipatory heart rate and state anxiety. Significant precompeti‐tion elevations in state anxiety, heart rate and adrenaline levels were observed, supporting the notion that the exposure was perceived as stressful by subjects. Significant correlations were obtained between adrenaline levels and both state and trait anxiety scores. Results showed a significant increase in performance compared to habituation levels for all three tests in the audience condition. In the competitive situation against a matched opponent, performance level for the visuomotor and power tests declined significantly compared to the previous session performed before an audience. Serial reaction time performance showed a continuing upward trend, although failing to achieve significance. Changes in performance are discussed with reference to cue‐utilization explanations and broader cognitive resource limitations.     

The Learning Advantages of an External Focus of Attention in Golf

Abstract

Two unique methodological strategies were used to investigate the influence of retroactive inhibition on recall within a contextual interference paradigm. Three independent blocked groups, blocked without retroactive inhibition (BL-without), blocked with 18 trials of retroactive inhibition (BL-18), and blocked with 36 trials of retroactive inhibition (BL-36), were created that varied in order of presentation of tasks. By testing a single task in retention and creating three independent blocked groups, varying amounts of retroactive inhibition were produced. This isolated the effects of retroactive inhibition on blocked compared to control and random subjects' retention. The Acquisition Group x Retention Trials interaction indicated that random and BL-without subjects had shorter reaction time than BL-18 and BL-36 subjects. Thus, blocked subjects with retroactive inhibition exhibited a retention deficit compared to BL-without subjects. The results support previous contextual interference findings and suggest that retroactive inhibition influences the retention deficits demonstrated by blocked compared to random subjects in typical contextual interference investigations.     

Effects of increasing and decreasing physiological arousal on anticipation timing performance during competition and practice

The aim of this study was to investigate if the effects of changes in physiological arousal on timing performance can be accurately predicted by the catastrophe model. Eighteen young adults (8 males, 10 females) volunteered to participate in the study following ethical approval. After familiarisation, coincidence anticipation was measured using the Bassin Anticipation Timer under four incremental exercise conditions: Increasing exercise intensity and low cognitive anxiety, increasing exercise intensity and high cognitive anxiety, decreasing exercise intensity and low cognitive anxiety and decreasing exercise intensity and high cognitive anxiety. Incremental exercise was performed on a treadmill at intensities of 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% heart rate reserve (HRR) respectively. Ratings of cognitive anxiety were taken at each intensity using the Mental Readiness Form 3 (MRF3) followed by performance of coincidence anticipation trials at speeds of 3 and 8 mph. Results indicated significant condition × intensity interactions for absolute error (AE; p = .0001) and MRF cognitive anxiety intensity scores (p = .05). Post hoc analysis indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in AE across exercise intensities in low–cognitive anxiety conditions. In high–cognitive anxiety conditions, timing performance AE was significantly poorer and cognitive anxiety higher at 90% HRR, compared to the other exercise intensities. There was no difference in timing responses at 90% HRR during competitive trials, irrespective of whether exercise intensity was increasing or decreasing. This study suggests that anticipation timing performance is negatively affected when physiological arousal and cognitive anxiety are high.     

Teacher versus Peer Models Revisited: Effects on Motor Performance and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

This study reinvestigated and extended the findings of Landers and Landers (1973), which examined the influence of skilled and unskilled teacher and peer models on motor performance. Sixth grade females (N = 100) were randomly assigned to groups in a 2 × 2 (Model Type × Model Skill) factorial design or to a no-model group. In the treatment groups, subjects observed one of four unfamiliar models—(a) a skilled teacher, (b) an unskilled teacher, (c) a skilled peer, or (d) an unskilled peer—perform on the Bachman ladder task. Subjects performed 30 trials of the task and also completed self-efficacy questionnaires on three occasions. Results showed that subjects who watched a skilled model performed better than subjects who watched an unskilled model. Unlike the Landers and Landers study, no model type by model skill interaction was found. In addition, the skilled model group reported higher efficacy beliefs than the control group after performing and were more efficacious than the unskilled model subjects both after watching the model and after performing. These results suggest when students view unfamiliar models, the skill rather than the status of the model may be more salient.