The effects of anxiety upon psychomotor performance

This paper describes an experiment which examined the effects of anxiety on choice reaction time and movement time. A balanced repeated measures design was adopted in which eight female subjects performed a six-choice visual reaction task in 'no anxiety' and 'anxiety' conditions. The anxiety condition required subjects to jump from a balcony 15 feet (4.57 m) into a foam-filled pit below. Subjects in the anxiety condition demonstrated significantly higher levels of cognitive anxiety and longer reaction times than those in the no anxiety condition. The analysis of the reaction time data also revealed a significant interaction between anxiety and block. No significant effects emerged in the case of movement time.     

Effects of stress inoculation training on self‐report,behavioural and psychophysiological reactions to abseiling

The study examined the effect of stress inoculation training on the level of self‐reported stress and anxiety, overt signs of distress and the physiological impact of the stress of abseiling. Twenty volunteer subjects were randomly assigned to either a ‘no training’ control group or a stress inoculation training group, following which both groups of subjects had to complete a test abseil from the roof of a 21.2 m building. Prior to descent, two self‐report measures were taken: an intensity score derived from the word or phrase chosen by subjects from the Perceived Stress Index to best describe their feelings and a state anxiety score from Spielberger's State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Overt distress was also evaluated by a ‘blind’ observer also using the Perceived Stress Index. In addition, heart rate was monitored just prior to and throughout the abseil using a telemetry system. The stress inoculation group showed significantly less self‐reported anxiety and stress and less behavioural signs of distress as judged by the observer. However, there were no significant differences between the groups in terms of heart rate. In addition, while self‐report and the assessment of the observer were highly inter‐correlated, these measures were poorly correlated with heart rate.     

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.     

Movement Duration,Fractionated Reaction Time,and Response Programming

The purpose of this study was to determine how the manipulation of movement duration affects components of fractionated reaction time and presumably motor programming. Twelve subjects, in a simple reaction time paradigm, responded to an auditory signal by executing an elbow flexion movement in the sagittal plane through a range of motion of 100° in 150, 300, 600 and 1200 ms. Results indicated no changes in motor time but small increments in premotor and reaction time through the 600 ms condition. At 1200 ms, reaction time increased faster than premotor time, and this appeared to be predominantly a consequence of an increment in motor time. These data were interpreted to be supportive of the notion that movement duration is related to response complexity and the time required for motor programming.     

不同运动干预方法对青少年反应能力的影响研究

目的:研究青少年学生反应能力的影响因素,为运动选材提供可靠的参考依据,探寻青少年提高反应能力的体质健康运动方法和模式。方法:通过对西南地区(重庆市)10所学校的青少年进行为期10周的干预实验。结果表明:青少年反应时特点与其生长发育的生理规律相一致,年龄越小的简单反应时越快,选择反应时越慢;不同性别的反应时在9岁以下差异不显著,到9岁以后女生简单反应时比男生快很多且差异非常显著,而选择反应时则相反。结论:参与运动锻炼对反应能力的提高有显著作用;有三种不同的运动干预实验模式在不同年龄段中对反应时缩短有积极影响。     

Independence of reaction time and response force control during isometric leg extension

In this study, we examined the relative control of reaction time and force in responses of the lower limb. Fourteen female participants (age 21.2±1.0 years, height 1.62±0.05?m, body mass 54.1±6.1?kg; mean±s) were instructed to exert their maximal isometric one-leg extension force as quickly as possible in response to an auditory stimulus presented after one of 13 foreperiod durations, ranging from 0.5 to 10.0?s. In the ‘irregular condition’ each foreperiod was presented in random order, while in the ‘regular condition’ each foreperiod was repeated consecutively. A significant interactive effect of foreperiod duration and regularity on reaction time was observed (P?<?0.001 in two-way ANOVA with repeated measures). In the irregular condition the shorter foreperiod induced a longer reaction time, while in the regular condition the shorter foreperiod induced a shorter reaction time. Peak amplitude of isometric force was affected only by the regularity of foreperiod and there was a significant variation of changes in peak force across participants; nine participants were shown to significantly increase peak force for the regular condition (P?<?0.001), three to decrease it (P?<?0.05) and two showed no difference. These results indicate the independence of reaction time and response force control in the lower limb motor system. Variation of changes in peak force across participants may be due to the different attention to the bipolar nature of the task requirements such as maximal force and maximal speed.     

Attentional focus effects on sprint start performance as a function of skill level

Abstract

Several researchers have demonstrated that an external focus of attention (about movement’s effects) during movement execution allowed better performances and learning of various motor tasks than an internal focus of attention (about movement itself). However, attentional focus effects have not been studied in tasks requiring explosive actions preceded by fast reaction time to a signal, such as a sprint start. We hypothesised that the beneficial effect of external focus of attention would be observed in the different stages of the sprint start (i.e. reaction time, block clearance and running) for both expert and novice sprinters. Novice and expert sprinters performed sprint starts followed by a 10 m sprint under three conditions: external focus instructions; internal focus instructions; and neutral instructions. The reaction time and the running time were significantly shorter in the external focus condition than in the internal focus condition, for both expert and novice participants. These results confirm the beneficial effect of an external focus of attention on the speed of movement execution. Moreover, they revealed that attentional focus influences movement preparation. Several hypotheses are proposed to account for these results, with reference to the processes that could be responsible for the observed effects.     

The effect of stress inoculation training on self‐reported stress,observer's rating of stress,heart rate and gymnastics performance

Eighteen volunteer female subjects received preliminary instruction in a simple gymnastics bench sequence. They were then given a pre‐intervention test on a bench at ground level. Self‐reported distress, an independent observer's ratings of distress and heart rates were monitored immediately prior to performance of the sequence. Performances were also videotaped and formally scored by a qualified gymnastics judge. Subjects were then randomly assigned to a stress inoculation training group or a ‘no stress management’ training control group. Stress inoculation group subjects then received seven sessions of training in relaxation, imagery and making self‐statements in order to develop a set of coping skills. Control group subjects also received seven training sessions during which they practised a series of coordination exercises, but no psychological stress management training was given to this group.

All subjects were then re‐tested on the bench sequence but this time at a height of 1.52 m. Self‐reported stress, observer's ratings of distress and heart rate were recorded as before. Performance was again videotaped for scoring. The stress inoculation group reported significantly less stress prior to the test on the elevated beam than the control group. However, the groups did not differ in terms of heart rate. Further, the stress inoculation group performed reliably better than the control group on the elevated bench.     

The physiological load imposed on basketball players during competition

In this study, the intensities of activity and movement patterns during men's basketball were investigated by videoing the movements and monitoring the heart rate and blood lactate responses of eight elite players during competition. The results are expressed according to ‘live time’, which is actual playing time, and ‘total time’, which includes live time as well as all stoppages in play. The mean (± s.d.) frequency of all activities was 997 ± 183, with a change in movement category every 2.0 s. A mean total of 105 ± 52 high‐intensity runs (mean duration 1.7 s) was recorded for each game, resulting in one high‐intensity run every 21 s during live time. Sixty percent of live time was spent engaged in low‐intensity activity, while 15% was spent in high‐intensity activity. The mean heart rate (HR) during live time was 169 ± 9 beats min^‐l (89 ± 2% peak HR attained during laboratory testing); 75% of live time was spent with a HR response of greater than 85% peak HR. The mean blood lactate concentration was 6.8 ± 2.8 mM, indicating the involvement of glycolysis in the energy demands of basketball. It is concluded that the physiological requirements of men's basketball are high, placing considerable demands on the cardiovascular and metabolic capacities of players.     

聋人篮球运动员竞赛状态焦虑研究

以参加2005年全国聋人篮球锦标赛的运动员为研究对象，采用美国运动心理学家Martens（1990）编制、祝蓓里教授修订（1994）的“运动竞赛状态焦虑量表”（简称CSAI-2问卷）为测试工具。结果表明：聋入篮球运动员的躯体状态焦虑在性别、文化程度上的主效应差异显著，性别与文化程度的交互作用差异也显著；在状态自信心上，性别主效应差异显著；不同运动成绩的运动员认知状态焦虑、躯体状态焦虑、状态自信心之问差异具有显著性。     

Reaction Time Analysis of Programed Control of Short,Rapid Aiming Movements

Reaction time, fractionated reaction time (premotor and motor time), and movement time were recorded during performance of a rapid aiming movement (11 mm in amplitude) to a circular target. Independent variables were target diameter (2 or 64 mm) and reaction time condition (simple or choice). Fifty-two subjects performed 16 practice and 24 performance trials under one of four possible experimental combinations (13 subjects per combination) in a 2 × 2 design. Reaction time correlated highly with premotor time (r = .99) but not with motor time (r = .31). Choice reaction time and its premotor time component were dependent upon target diameter, but simple reaction time and its premotor time component were not. However, choice and simple motor time were not differentially affected by target diameter. As expected, movement time was longer for the small target than for the large target. Taken together, the reaction time results were interpreted as support for Klapp's (1975) hypothesis that increases in choice reaction time for rapid movements to a small target are due to increases in the time needed for programing the response.     

青少年网球运动员反应时水平研究

以70名参加2010年国际网联青少年（U18）比赛的运动员为研究对象,分析其反应时水平状况。结果表明：青少年网球运动员选择反应时和平均反应时随年龄增长,表现出一定相关性;及时反应时男运动员随着年龄增长,表现出一定相关性,而女运动员并无明显相关性。     

不同水平散打运动员动作的视觉选择反应时研究

文章采用文献资料法、专家访谈法、实验法、数理统计法,以前直拳、后直拳、后鞭腿三个动作为研究题材,对不同水平12名散打运动员的视觉选择反应时进行了测定和对比研究,一方面为散打运动员反应时进一步研究提供相关数据;另一方面为散打运动员科学训练的针对性、训练手段的有效性的动作视觉判断反应能力提供参考。研究结论得出：视觉选择反应时可用做比较不同水平散打运动员的一个参考指标。运动员预知一个动作与预知有两个动作中选择一个动作时,其反应时延长。而当运动员预知二个动作中选择一个动作与预知有三个动作中选择一个动作时,其反应时延长。     

第26届奥运会中国女子足球队运动员赛前状态焦虑之研究

本研究采用经过琼斯和斯万修订的 CSAI- 2量表对参加第 2 6届奥运会的中国女子足球运动员共 1 9人进行问卷调查。研究结果表明 :随着比赛时间的临近 ,赛前认知焦虑的强度增大、频率升高、认知焦虑方向有显著变化 ;赛前躯体焦虑的强度增大 ;但躯体焦虑的频率、自信心强度、频率以及对躯体焦虑的方向性解释均无显著性变化 ;将该队分为高、低两种运动水平 ,随着比赛时间的临近 ,运动员的焦虑强度和焦虑频率均未见显著性差异。焦虑的方向性解释也未见显著性差异 ,但在自信心频率上存在着时间和运动水平的交互作用     

青少年足球运动员竞赛状态焦虑、运动动机及应对方式的差异研究

运用访问调查、问卷调查研究方法对我国青少年足球运动员竞赛状态焦虑、运动动机和应对方式的关系进行了研究。结果表明:进入梯队年限短的青少年足球运动员在认知状态焦虑和躯体状态焦虑平均分低于年长的运动员,在状态自信心上相反;运动动机的认同调节和内投调节维度上存在非常显著性差异和显著性差异;在应对方式的集中解决问题的应对维度上存在显著性差异。3个年龄段竞赛状态焦虑上没有显著性差异;在运动动机的认同调节和内投调节两个维度上存在显著性差异;在应对方式上无显著性差异。不同运动等级青少年足球运动员的竞赛状态焦虑、运动动机、应对方式均无显著性差异。     

我国成年人选择反应时状况分析

采用实验及数理统计法，对2000年国家国民体质监测的成年组（20～69岁）约173600人的选择反应时进行统计分析。结果表明：我国成年人的选择反应时先是随年龄的增长而减少，男子在22岁、女子在21岁之后随年龄的增长而延长。男子的选择反应时要短于女子，差异具有高度显著性（P〈0．01）；体质水平与选择反应时呈中度负相关归（r=-0．546），体质好的人群选择反应时要短；参与锻炼人群的选择反应时要短于不锻炼的人群，差异具有非常显著性（P〈0．001）。     

跆拳道运动员焦虑水平初探

以西安体育学院跆拳道队学生１１５名为研究对象，采用经我国修订的ＳＴＡＩ自我问卷量表，对运动员特质焦虑与状态焦虑进行测量，以了解跆拳道项目焦虑水平特征。测试结果表明，运动员特质与状态焦虑处于中等水平，状态焦虑高于特质焦虑，但两者之间无显著性差异。焦虑水平存在较大个体差异，随着运动水平的提高，状态焦虑个体差异呈继续增大趋势。前三名运动员状态焦虑水平低于一般运动员，说明适宜的焦虑水平，有利于比赛中保持理智的思维，对复杂变化的环境作出积极的应对反应。各轮次状态焦虑与特质焦虑的差值说明第一轮与进入争夺名次的场次，运动员情绪激活水平较高，比赛层次虽低但至为关键不可忽视     

苏州市射击运动员的特质焦虑和竞赛状态焦虑分析

利用状态-特质焦虑量表中的特质焦虑测试量表和竞赛状态焦虑量表-2,对参加2006年射击全国个人冠军赛的苏州市射击运动员在赛前进行测试。结果表明,被测对象为中等强度的特质焦虑水平;他们在竞赛焦虑状态的3个因子上不存在项目和性别差异,并且其之间也不存在差异;不同项目和性别上的特质焦虑和状态焦虑之间没有差异;运动员在特质焦虑和竞赛状态焦虑的3个因子之间的相关性均较高;不同特质焦虑水平组竞赛状态焦虑之间的差异不显著。     

Sex and Athletic Status as Factors in Reaction Latency and Movement Time

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of sex and athletic status on reaction latencies and movement time. One hundred subjects, categorized into five groups of 20 subjects each—male athletes (MA), female athletes (FA), male nonathletes (MNA), female nonathletes (FNA), and control group (CG)—were tested over a period of five consecutive days. Several different types of incentives were used to ensure that subjects provided the fastest times possible. Two blocks of 25 trials were administered to each subject on each day. A 2 × 2 × 2 × 5 × 2 mixed factorial analysis of variance was used to test for between-subject differences of group (experimental/control), sex, and athletic status and for within-subject differences of days and blocks. The four dependent variables were reaction time (RT) mean, RT consistency, movement time (MT) mean, and MT consistency. Results did not support the classic finding of male superiority over females in RT/MT or athletes' superiority over nonathletes. Evidence of athletic superiority emerged, but for the first day of practice only. As subjects were allowed extended practice over a 5-day test period in which knowledge of results (KR) and other incentives were provided, differences in the experimental groups disappeared. Sex was the predominant factor in consistency, with males being less variable in RT (p = .02) performance than females. There were no sex differences in MT consistency.     

Preparation and control of rapid, multisegmented responses in simple and choice environments

Research investigating the preparation and control of rapid, multisegmented responses typically has assumed complete programming of the response occurring prior to movement initiation and has made use of a simple reaction time (RT) paradigm. A notable exception is Rosenbaum's work which proposed the Hierarchical Editor (HED) model that is specifically directed toward the control of movements in the choice environment. The purposes of this study were to investigate the assumption of complete programming prior to movement initiation and to compare predictions of the HED model with other programming models. Three experiments are reported in which subjects were required to tap either one, two, or three plates as rapidly as possible in either a simple or choice RT situation. The results were very consistent in these experiments even with several modifications in apparatus and methodology. Of particular interest were effects of movement complexity on RT and movement time (MT) for the first and second segments of the movement (M1 and M2). Choice RT (CRT) results consistently showed no increases in RT as the number of movement segments increased but showed significant increases in M1. For simple RT situations, however, there were small but consistent increases in RT as well as increases in M1 with increases in the number of movement parts. For both CRT and SRT results, small but nonsignificant increases were noted for M2. These results provide evidence for incomplete programming prior to response initiation. Although the SRT data can be accommodated by Henry's theory, the HED model appears to offer the best overall fit for the results.