Perception-action coupling in complex game play: Exploring the quiet eye in contested basketball jump shots

The duration of the final fixation before movement initiation – a gaze strategy labelled quiet eye – has been found to explain differences in motor expertise and performance in precision tasks. To date, research only addressed this phenomenon in situations without adversarial constraints. In the present study, we compared the quiet-eye behaviour of intermediately-skilled and highly-skilled basketball players in defended vs. undefended game situations. We predicted differences in quiet-eye duration as a function of skill and performance particularly resulting from late quiet-eye offsets. Results indicated performance-enhancing effects of long quiet-eye durations in the defended but not in the undefended game situation. Furthermore, in line with our prediction, later quiet-eye offsets were associated with superior performance elucidating the phenomenon’s relevance in online-demanding motor tasks. Further, earlier quiet-eye onsets were linked to successful performance supporting earlier suggestions that it is not only the duration but also the timing that matters. These findings not only extend the positive effects of the quiet eye in motor performance to dynamic game-play situations but also support the role of the quiet eye in response to programming and information processing respectively.     

Personality in sport: a comprehensive review

This review addresses personality in organised sport. We describe the extant literature that has explored personality effects on athletic success and population-based differences before hypothesising how sport participation may contribute to personality development. We then outline the role of personality in athletic interactions and group processes before considering the practical applications of personality research and avenues for future study. Our review shows that personality is an important determinant of long-term success in sport and identifies clear personality differences between individuals that participate in organised sport and individuals that do not participate in organised sport. We also observe important personality differences between sub-samples of athletes and outline the contribution of personality to intragroup relationships and team effectiveness in team sport. The interaction of genetic and environmental influences is presented as a promising avenue of inquiry that can strengthen our understanding of personality effects on sport and exercise participation and athletic success. We conclude by outlining implications for applied sport psychology.     

20 years later: deliberate practice and the development of expertise in sport

Twenty-one years ago, Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Romer published their seminal work expounding the notion of deliberate practice in explaining the development of expertise. This concept has since become extremely influential in the fields of sport psychology and motor learning. This review evaluates current understanding of deliberate practice in sport skill acquisition with an emphasis on the role of deliberate practice in distinguishing expert athletes from non-experts. In particular, we re-examine the original tenets of Ericsson et al.'s framework to (a) evaluate the sport-related research supporting their claims and (b) identify remaining research questions in this area. The review highlights the overall importance of deliberate practice in the development of expert sport performers; however, our understanding is far from complete. Several directions for future research are highlighted, including the need for more rigorous research designs and statistical models that can evaluate changes in developmental and contextual factors across development. Finally, we advocate for a more thorough understanding of the implications of a ‘deliberate practice approach’ for coaching science.     

A motivational model of performance in the sport domain

Abstract

Using a visual Go/Nogo paradigm and subtraction methods, we examined detailed developmental changes in the cognitive reaction times of 153 healthy children aged 6–12 years. Three conditions were studied: simple reaction, even rate reaction (50% Go), and high rate reaction (80% Go). The subtraction of simple reaction time from even rate reaction time was considered to reflect discrimination time, while the subtraction of simple reaction time from high rate reaction time was considered to reflect the time required for inhibition. We found that simple reaction time, even rate reaction time, and high rate reaction time all declined significantly with months of age (P < 0.01). Furthermore, the times for both discrimination and inhibition also showed significant declines (P < 0.01), which could be considered developmental changes in neural mechanisms involved in discrimination and inhibition processes. The time for inhibition showed a weaker correlation (P < 0.01), which could indicate that the degree of developmental change is larger for the discriminative processes than for the inhibititory processes required for our task in the age range studied.     

Positive emotion in sport performance: current status and future directions

Emotions have firmly established their place in sport psychology research over the past 40 years. For many decades following World War II, mainstream psychology researchers placed negative emotions (e.g., anxiety) ahead of positive emotions (e.g., happiness) but positive emotions are now a genuine, promising field of research because of their influence on specific components of performance (e.g., attention) and psychological well-being. The benefits of these emotions have hitherto not been wholly realized in a sport context, especially in their capacity to generate greater self-efficacy, motivation, attention, problem-solving, and coping with adversity. Although the sport emotion literature is sprinkled with studies that specifically examined positive emotion in sport settings, the breadth and depth of this research is too thin to make bold claims about the value of positive emotions in the emotion-performance relation. There are, however, at least three theoretical models available to sport psychologists to better understand the influence of positive emotions on sport performance and two of these models are specifically designed for sport contexts. Not only can these models deepen and widen this knowledge base, but they can also support interventions in applied settings to improve performance and psychological well-being.     

Tracing the origins of athlete development models in sport: a citation path analysis

Reviews of the sport psychology literature have identified a number of models of athlete development in sport (Alfermann & Stambulova, 2007; Durand-Bush & Salmela, 2001). However, minimal research has investigated the origins of knowledge from which each model was developed. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the influential texts responsible for providing the basis of athlete development models in sport. A citation path analysis of the sport psychology literature was used to generate a knowledge development path of seven athlete development models in sport. The analysis identified influential texts and authors in the conceptualization of athlete development. The population of 229 texts (articles, books, book chapters) was selected in two phases. Phase 1 texts were articles citing seven articles depicting models of athlete development (n=75). Phase 2 included texts cited three or more times by Phase 1 articles (n=154). The analysis revealed how the scholarship of Benjamin Bloom (1985) has been integrated into the field of sport psychology, and how two articles appearing in 1993 and 2003 helped shape present conceptualizations of athlete development.     

Spatial-temporal constraints on decision-making during shooting performance in the team sport of futsal

Abstract

In this paper we examined the influence of opposing players constraining the decision-making of an attacker during shooting performance in futsal. Performance during 10 competitive matches was recorded and examined from the moment a shot was taken until the ball was intercepted or entered the goal in sequences of play: ending in a goal, a goalkeeper's save, or an interception by the nearest defender. The variables under scrutiny in this study were (i) the distance of each player to the ball's trajectory, (ii) the time for the ball to arrive at that same point (i.e. the interception point), and (iii), the required movement velocity of the nearest defender and the goalkeeper to intercept the ball. Results showed that values of distance from a defender and goalkeeper to the interception points were significantly lower when they intercepted the ball. The time of ball arrival at the interception point of the defender was also lower when the ball was intercepted. The required velocities of the nearest outfield defender and the goalkeeper to intercept the ball were significantly lower during plays in which they intercepted the ball, than in plays in which the ball was not intercepted. Our results suggest that researchers and practitioners should consider simultaneously both space and time in analysis of interceptive actions in team sports. The required movement velocities of the opponents to intercept the ball are reliable spatial-temporal variables constraining decision-making during shooting performance in team sports like futsal.     

Emotion regulation and motor performance: an integrated review and proposal of the Temporal Influence Model of Emotion Regulation (TIMER)

ABSTRACT

Adaptive regulation of emotions is imperative for successful sport performance. However, the lion’s share of mainstream emotion regulation (ER) literature is founded on perspectives prioritising mental health, not performance. Consequently, ER strategies are predominantly classified as adaptive or maladaptive based on effectiveness in achieving targeted mental health outcomes. These conventional mental health classifications can catalyse misapplication of ER strategies within sport and other motor performance contexts when (1) ER motives are instrumentally directed towards performance enhancement and (2) Minimal consideration is given to the consequences of ER on the coordination and execution of motor actions. Herein, we review the current state of relevant ER research within and outside of sport contexts. We also present a novel conceptual framework, the Temporal Influence Model of Emotion Regulation (TIMER). TIMER proposes that ER strategies exert distinct, temporally dependent demands upon perceptual-cognitive and motoric resources. These unique regulatory profiles influence subsequent motor performance outcomes. Critically, the degree to which regulatory strategies are appropriate or ideal varies given environmental constraints along with performers’ affective and performance goals. The model includes testable hypotheses to guide theoretical and applied research in the domain of ER within sport and other motor performance contexts.     

Exploring PERMA in spectator sport: Applying positive psychology to examine the individual-level benefits of sport consumption

Sport spectating provides numerous benefits for sport organisations and individuals. In this paper we use a positive psychology approach to examine the individual-level benefits of sport consumption in order to investigate the activation of five domains of well-being: positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment (PERMA). Using a two-study panel research design, we collected qualitative data from a sample of Australian Rules Football consumers. In the first study, we explored how the PERMA domains were activated during the season. Study two included a follow-up interview with eight initial respondents in the off-season. We found evidence of four PERMA domains that were activated in the sport spectator context by a variety of consumer experiences. The emergence of these domains in both studies suggests sport marketers would benefit from actions including: creating more social spaces within their stadiums, hosting regular off-season events, and creating social-media based competitions which promote fan engagement and interactions throughout the calendar year.     

When faultlines are created: Exploring the conflict triggering process in sport

The purpose of this article is to advance theoretical understanding of the relationship between task conflict and relationship conflict (i.e., triggering process) by discussing the role of social identity as a mediating factor. Specifically, the authors’ proposed theoretical model emphasizes the consequences of intense, long-lasting task conflict by mapping the connection to workgroup identity formation and relationship conflict. The authors apply social identity theory to provide a new lens through which to view the impact of intense, long-lasting task conflict that goes unmanaged in sport organizations. Further, the authors provide several testable propositions regarding identity and subgroup formation that point to major factors influencing the development of relationship conflict within groups. The authors’ propositions bolster current sport management theory by emphasizing how intergroup and intragroup processes are interwoven.     

Active relaxation counteracts the effects of ego depletion on performance under evaluative pressure in a state of ego depletion

We tested the assumption that active relaxation following an ego-depletion task counteracts the negative effects of ego depletion on subsequent performance under evaluative pressure. N?=?39 experienced basketball players were randomly assigned to a relaxation condition or to a control condition, and then performed a series of free-throws at two points of measurement (T1: baseline vs. T2: after working on a depleting task and either receiving active relaxation or a simple break). The results demonstrated that performance remained constant in the relaxation condition, whereas it significantly decreased in the control condition. The findings are in line with the notion that active relaxation leads to a quicker recovery from ego depletion.     

Genetic research and testing in sport and exercise science: A review of the issues

Abstract

This review is based on the BASES position stand on “Genetic Research and Testing in Sport and Exercise Science”. Our aims are first to introduce the reader to research in sport and exercise genetics and then to highlight ethical problems arising from such research and its applications. Sport and exercise genetics research in the form of transgenic animal and human association studies has contributed significantly to our understanding of exercise physiology and there is potential for major new discoveries. Researchers starting out in this field will have to ensure an appropriate study design to avoid, for example, statistically underpowered studies. Ethical concerns arise more from the applications of genetic research than from the research itself, which is assessed by ethical committees. Possible applications of genetic research are genetic performance tests or genetic tests to screen, for example, for increased risk of sudden death during sport. The concerns are that genetic performance testing could be performed on embryos and could be used to select embryos for transplantation or abortion. Screening for risk of sudden death may reduce deaths during sporting events but those that receive a positive diagnosis may suffer severe psychological consequences. Equally, it will be almost impossible to keep a positive diagnosis confidential if the individual tested is an elite athlete.     

Exploring the covariates of sport participation for health: an analysis of males and females in England

Increasing sport participation has been identified as a key vehicle for achieving World Health Organisation guidelines for health-enhancing physical activity (HEPA). A policy challenge is to promote this changed behaviour. Making use of the Active People Survey, a zero-inflated ordered probit model is used to identify the covariates of sport participation for males and females with respect to the related decisions to either participate in sport or not, and to participate at either lower or higher than desired intensity. To inform current policy emphases, the Active Places Survey is also used to examine the causal impact of facility provision on these behaviours. Results indicate that females are more likely to adopt less intensive activity even with time available. Families could place most constraints on females, but also reduce the intensity of male participation. Education has a greater association with higher intensity female activity. The largest effects are identified for sport club membership and facility satisfaction. Both of these affect male intensity of activity most. The main policy challenges facing sport in contributing to HEPA are shown to involve retaining male intensity of participation when ageing and encouraging greater female intensity of participation, with more appropriate matching of facilities.     

The use of the Vienna Test System in sport psychology research: A review

ABSTRACT

This article seeks to provide a comprehensive review of existing literature relating to the use of the Vienna Test System (VTS) in sport psychology research. A comprehensive search of major databases such as SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, and Google Scholar yielded 22 studies related to the topic of interest. The results showed that VTS was used to compare athletes and non-athletes, as well as athletes from different sports and levels. It was also used to investigate the effect of certain factors on athlete cognitive performance, to induce ego depletion in athletes, and was shown to be a reliable and valid measure of coordinated motor abilities. The review demonstrates that VTS is a useful objective measure of various psychological constructs, and can be used to complement existing subjective measures in the field. There is great potential in using VTS to provide both researchers and applied sport psychologists with valuable information to aid them in their work with athletes, and future research should aim to identify VTS tests that are relevant to each particular sport.     

Youth sport volunteers in England: A paradox between reducing the state and promoting a Big Society

This paper uses the example of volunteers in clubs promoting youth sport to consider the role of the UK Government in promoting a general civic activism as part of a ‘Big Society’. The UK government advocates the replacement of public sector provision by a greater role for volunteers. Exemplary of the ‘grassroots’ organisations which epitomise ‘Big Society’ ideals are the 64,000 volunteer-run sports clubs in which almost 1.5 million volunteers support over 5.3 million junior participants in England. These clubs face problems which state intervention could alleviate; and this state support may in fact be critical to maintain the structures which provide the opportunity for so much volunteering to take place. The government's desire to increase volunteer activity can be seen to be at odds with other policy intentions such as cost-cutting, and with wider trends affecting volunteerism such as professionalisation. Thus the paper illustrates the complex, even paradoxical relationship between promoting civic activism and the role of the state. The example of youth sport volunteers also suggests that policies to promote a Big Society will need to deal with more fundamental questions about the role of volunteering.     

Selling out (in) sport management: practically evaluating the state of the American (Sporting) Union

When teaching in Sport Management programs professors are often forced to respond to the actions and teachings of professionals in the field. According to the study by Kincheloe & Steinberg many of these normalized and, indeed celebrated, behaviors are actions that are part and parcel of the ‘recovery movement’ which (re)inscribe new forms of colonization, sexism, racism, classism and so on. Given that these performances are often considered ‘good business practice’, it is now more important than ever to challenge these conventions in what has been termed the post-neoliberal moment.

This paper, therefore, analyzes and explains how the mundane recycling of borrowed thought has seeped into America's collegiate educational system—particularly in sport management programs. It does so through a critical examination of Amber's educational and pre-professional experience as an intern for various sporting constituencies. Further, we examine the disguised precedence and obligatory requisites of the sporting industry, which use exploitative and manipulative marketing tactics to fabricate a hyperreal milieu of sporting production and consumption. Given this context, the project at present seeks to (re)evaluate just what we, as teachers, owe our students as they venture into an economy facing ‘hard times’.     

A probabilistic model for analysing the effect of performance levels on visual behaviour patterns of young sailors in simulated navigation

Abstract

The visual behaviour is a determining factor in sailing due to the influence of the environmental conditions. The aim of this research was to determine the visual behaviour pattern in sailors with different practice time in one star race, applying a probabilistic model based on Markov chains. The sample of this study consisted of 20 sailors, distributed in two groups, top ranking (n = 10) and bottom ranking (n = 10), all of them competed in the Optimist Class. An automated system of measurement, which integrates the VSail-Trainer® sail simulator and the Eye Tracking System^TM was used. The variables under consideration were the sequence of fixations and the fixation recurrence time performed on each location by the sailors. The event consisted of one of simulated regatta start, with stable conditions of wind, competitor and sea. Results show that top ranking sailors perform a low recurrence time on relevant locations and higher on irrelevant locations while bottom ranking sailors make a low recurrence time in most of the locations. The visual pattern performed by bottom ranking sailors is focused around two visual pivots, which does not happen in the top ranking sailor's pattern. In conclusion, the Markov chains analysis has allowed knowing the visual behaviour pattern of the top and bottom ranking sailors and its comparison.     

Collective effectiveness in the XV de France: selections and time matter

The aim of this study was to quantify the impact of selections and shared selections in the rugby union. Players’ names, positions, and number of selections were collected for all XV de France’s games (1906–2014). Every team’s percentage of renewal of workforce was calculated for backs and forwards. During the 1987–2014 period, all second row forwards (locks), halfbacks, and centres’ shared selections (number of times when two players have competed together) were recreated. The Best vs. Rest method was applied to these remodelled dyads. They were analysed and compared with surrounding teammates as well as opponents. Head coaches similarly change their workforce for upcoming matches after winning or losing (around 30%), but losing teams renew significantly more positions in their line-ups. The recreated halfbacks, locks, and centres reveal a common pattern. Whether victorious or not, the ‘renewed couples’ victory percentage will congregate towards the XV de France’s victory percentage. For all the best recreated couples, the cumulated number of selections for forwards’ is always higher than the ones part of less efficient teams: 231.3?±?80 vs. 212.9?±?91 selections for locks’ teammates (Effect sizes (ES) small, possibly positive, 54.8%). In best recreated couples, number 8’s are significantly more experienced than their counterparts in less efficient pairs (ES small, likely positive, 76.3%). The XV de France’s collective effectiveness relies on a balance between stability and workforce renewal, which allows the building of specific position interactions and builds on experimented forwards packs. Selections and shared selections are serious collective performance parameters associated with performance.     

Cognitive to physical performance: a conceptual model for the role of motor simulation in performance

ABSTRACT

Motor simulation (MS) interventions incorporating motor imagery (MI), and more recently action observation (AO), are readily accepted as effective interventions to enhance motor skill performance. Existing models in the MS literature fail to consider the entire spectrum of MS interventions, focusing on MI or AO alone. This paper examines the theoretical basis and current understanding of MS efficacy, and introduces a novel, conceptual, Motor Simulation and Performance Model (MSPM) representing the performance improvements predicted to be associated with engaging with MS across expertise levels. The MSPM also outlines the multiple factors which regulate the efficacy of MS interventions. Based on the available evidence, the model suggests that MI will have a greater relative effect on performance as expertise increases, AO will have a greater effect in low skilled compared to high skilled performers, and that combined AO and MI (AO?+?MI) will be more effective than either MI or AO in isolation. The MSPM also depicts the additive effect of physical practice in conjunction with MS interventions. The MSPM represents for the first time the relative effects of various methods of motor learning based on evidence provided by the existing literature. It also highlights areas of research requiring further attention.     

Readying the head and steadying the heart: a review of cortical and cardiac studies of preparation for action in sport

Expert sport stars reliably execute their skills with remarkable precision and accuracy. To provide an insight into the mechanisms that underpin the superior performance of experts compared to novices, this article critically reviews experiments that have examined cortical activity (i.e., movement related cortical potentials; EEG spectral power) and cardiac activity (i.e., dynamic changes in heart rate) during preparation for action in self-paced aiming sports. It suggests that decelerations in heart rate and task-specific changes in EEG activity during preparation for action can explain superior expert performance. These psychophysiological responses are interpreted in terms of preparatory information processing and response programming, before suggestions for future research into the psychophysiology of preparation for action are outlined.