The role of effort in moderating the anxiety – performance relationship: Testing the prediction of processing efficiency theory in simulated rally driving

Abstract

We tested some of the key predictions of processing efficiency theory using a simulated rally driving task. Two groups of participants were classified as either dispositionally high or low anxious based on trait anxiety scores and trained on a simulated driving task. Participants then raced individually on two similar courses under counterbalanced experimental conditions designed to manipulate the level of anxiety experienced. The effort exerted on the driving tasks was assessed though self-report (RSME), psychophysiological measures (pupil dilation) and visual gaze data. Efficiency was measured in terms of efficiency of visual processing (search rate) and driving control (variability of wheel and accelerator pedal) indices. Driving performance was measured as the time taken to complete the course. As predicted, increased anxiety had a negative effect on processing efficiency as indexed by the self-report, pupillary response and variability of gaze data. Predicted differences due to dispositional levels of anxiety were also found in the driving control and effort data. Although both groups of drivers performed worse under the threatening condition, the performance of the high trait anxious individuals was affected to a greater extent by the anxiety manipulation than the performance of the low trait anxious drivers. The findings suggest that processing efficiency theory holds promise as a theoretical framework for examining the relationship between anxiety and performance in sport.     

The fourth dimension: A motoric perspective on the anxiety–performance relationship

This article focuses on raising concern that anxiety–performance relationship theory has insufficiently catered for motoric issues during, primarily, closed and self-paced skill execution (e.g., long jump and javelin throw). Following a review of current theory, we address the under-consideration of motoric issues by extending the three-dimensional model put forward by Cheng, Hardy, and Markland (2009) (‘Toward a three-dimensional conceptualization of performance anxiety: Rationale and initial measurement development, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 10, 271–278). This fourth dimension, termed skill establishment, comprises the level and consistency of movement automaticity together with a performer's confidence in this specific process, as providing a degree of robustness against negative anxiety effects. To exemplify this motoric influence, we then offer insight regarding current theories’ misrepresentation that a self-focus of attention toward an already well-learned skill always leads to a negative performance effect. In doing so, we draw upon applied literature to distinguish between positive and negative self-foci and suggest that on what and how a performer directs their attention is crucial to the interaction with skill establishment and, therefore, performance. Finally, implications for skill acquisition research are provided. Accordingly, we suggest a positive potential flow from applied/translational to fundamental/theory-generating research in sport which can serve to freshen and usefully redirect investigation into this long-considered but still insufficiently understood concept.     

From a pub game to a sporting spectacle: the professionalisation of British Darts, 1970–1997

ABSTRACT

Various sport scholars have noted the transition of sports from amateur leisure pastimes to professionalised and globalised media sporting spectacles. Recent developments in darts offer an excellent example of these changes, yet the sport is rarely discussed in contemporary sports studies. The only sustained theoretical research on darts focuses primarily on the origins of the sport in its nostalgic form as a working-class, pub taproom pastime in England. This article critically examines the transformation of darts from a leisurely game to a professional sport between the 1970s and the 1990s. The change was enabled by the creation of the British Darts Organisation (BDO) and the introduction of television broadcasting, which together fed a continual process of professionalisation. Initially, this article discusses both the concept of professionalisation and similar developmental changes in a selection of English sports. Following this, via selected interviews, documentary analysis and archival information, the reasons behind the split in darts are explicated, shedding light on how the BDO did not successfully manage the transformation and the sport split into two governing bodies, from which the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC), the sport’s most successful organisation in the present day, has emerged to dominate the world of televised darts.     

Comparison of different regression models to fit the force–velocity relationship of a knee extension exercise

The aims of this study were to compare the goodness of fit and the concurrent validity of three regression models of the force–velocity relationship in a unilateral knee extension exercise. The force–velocity relationship and the one-repetition-maximum load in the dominant and non-dominant leg were obtained in 24 male sports sciences students by a progressive protocol. Additionally, the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) of the knee extensor muscles was recorded. Individual force–velocity relationships were obtained by the linear, quadratic polynomial and exponential regression models. Although the adjusted coefficients of determination of all three models were high, the polynomial model’s coefficient was slightly but significantly higher than the rest of the models (p < 0.05), while the standard error of estimate was slightly higher for the linear than for polynomial model (p = 0.001). MVC was underestimated by F ₀ calculated from the linear and polynomial models, while the maximum power was accurately estimated by the linear model. In summary, while the polynomial model revealed somewhat better fit, the linear model more accurately estimates the maximum power and provides the parameters of apparent physiological meaning. Therefore, we recommend using the linear model in research and routine testing of mechanical capacities of knee extensors.     

The Origins of Football in Spain: From the First Press Appearance to the Constitution of the First Clubs (1868–1903)

This research focuses on the origins of football in Spain and seeks to show how and where it was introduced in the country, to comprehend the historical context, and to understand why it took roots so rapidly despite the rivalry with the well-established tradition of bullfighting. The period of study spans from 1868 (first news piece on football in Spain) to 1903 (celebration of the first football championship in the country). The methodology focused primarily on identifying the primary sources and selecting the secondary sources, followed by the interpretative analysis and the mapping of football associations created in Spain in the sport’s early days. The large urban cities led the process of creating football clubs from 1889: Barcelona (61), Madrid (15), and Bilbao (9) steered the process of legitimization and institutionalization of football in the country. In the last 11 years of the nineteenth century (1889–1899), 29 clubs were created in 12 different cities. In the first four years of the twentieth century (1900–1903), a further 103 clubs mushroomed all over the country. Thus a total of 132 clubs were founded between 1889 and 1903 in Spain, which laid the necessary foundations for the implantation and legitimization of football.     

An examination of the cohesion‐performance relationship in university hockey teams

The objective of this study was to assess, using the Group Environment Questionnaire, whether team cohesion in university‐level field hockey was a cause for, or an effect of, successful performance. A quasi‐experimental longitudinal design with cross‐lagged correlational analysis was adopted and measures of cohesion and performance were taken midway and later in the season. The results of the synchronous correlations showed a positive relationship (with good stationarity) between team cohesion and performance outcome. Although nonsignificant cross‐lagged differentials indicated a circular relationship, the magnitudes of both the cross‐lagged correlations and the partial correlations, together with multiple‐regression analyses, revealed that the stronger flow was from cohesion to performance. The socially oriented aspects of cohesion, in particular, had significant associations with performance. The results imply that cohesion‐performance relationships should be examined within a circular model, in which cohesion and performance are interdependent.     

The coach–athlete relationship: a motivational model

The aim of this paper is to present a motivational model of the coach–athlete relationship that describes how coaches may influence athletes' motivation. In line with cognitive evaluation theory (Deci and Ryan, 1980 Deci EL Ryan RM 1980 The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes In Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 13 (edited by L. Berkowitz) pp. 39–80 New York: Academic Press  [Google Scholar], 1985 Deci EL Ryan RM 1985 Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Determination in Human Behavior New York: Plenum Press [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar]) and the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Vallerand, 1997 Vallerand RJ 1997 Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 29 271 360  [Google Scholar], 2000 Vallerand RJ 2000 Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory: a view from the hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Psychological Inquiry 11 312 318  [Google Scholar]), a motivational sequence is proposed where coaches' personal orientation towards coaching, the context within which they operate, and their perceptions of their athletes' behaviour and motivation influence coaches' behaviours. Also, coaches' behaviours in the form of autonomy-supportive behaviours, provision of structure and involvement have a beneficial impact on athletes' needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, which, in turn, nurture athletes' intrinsic motivation and self-determined types of extrinsic motivation. Here, we first review coaches' autonomy-supportive behaviours. We then describe the psychological processes through which coaching behaviours have a positive influence on athletes' intrinsic and self-determined extrinsic motivation. Finally, we identify social and personality processes that determine coaching behaviours.     

From father to son: A review and demographic analysis of the Australian Football League's Father–Son rule

The Australian Football League's (AFL's) Father–Son rule is a unique player drafting rule that allows sons of former players to be selected by their father's club. The rules that determine eligibility have undergone numerous changes since its introduction in 1949, including rules for new teams from outside of the traditional Victorian-based clubs that had no history of fathers from which Father–Son selections could be derived. The observed number of Father–Son selections to each club is markedly different between the Victorian-based clubs, and between the Victorian and non-Victorian-based clubs. In this paper, a demographic model and player data from the AFL and the state leagues are used to estimate the annual number of available sons to each of the AFL clubs. Results show that the observed number of selections can largely be explained by the number of available sons. The model can also be used to predict the number of available sons into the future, and so can be used to guide management decisions regarding competitive balance if further modifications to the AFL's Father–Son rule are required.     

Coach–athlete attachment and the quality of the coach–athlete relationship: implications for athlete’s well-being

Abstract

This study examined whether athletes’ attachment styles with the coach were linked to aspects of the coach–athlete relationship quality and, in turn, whether relationship quality was linked to athletes’ well-being. One hundred and ninety-two athletes completed a questionnaire measuring their attachment styles and relationship quality with the coach as well as their feelings of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis found athletes’ avoidant and secure attachment styles to be associated with aspects of coach–athlete relationship quality such as social support, relationship depth, and interpersonal conflict. Interpersonal conflict appeared to play a key role in athletes’ PA and NA. From a practical perspective, an understanding of conflict management could provide a resource that allows athletes (and coaches) to enhance the quality of their sporting relationships. Specifically, an awareness of proactive strategies (e.g., steps to clarify expectations) and reactive strategies (e.g., cooperation during the discussion of disagreements) could potentially lead both coaches and athletes to “broaden” their viewpoints and in turn “build” connections that are capable of generating positive emotions including interest, excitement, happiness, and zeal.     

From the Institutionalisation of ‘All Disabilities’ to Comprehensive Sports Integration: France Joining the Paralympic Movement (1954–2012)

This article presents the institutional implications and ideologies in the organisation of a Sports Movement for the disabled, whether a physical or sensory handicap, and focusing particular attention on its development in France, linked with international structures. The emergence and development in France of sports organisations for the disabled is based on a different model from that introduced in England by Guttmann through the Stoke Mandeville Games. From the 1960s, both trends, one supported by physicians and the other by individuals concerned with disabilities, structured the International Movement as a contest of negotiations and competition. The objective of rehabilitating paraplegics put in place at Stoke Mandeville gradually gave way to a sport rational and the integration of all types of disability within the Movement. The desire to unite in a single organisation was the driving force of the Movement in its search for dual recognition, on the one hand, as the representative of all physical and sensory deficiencies and, on the other, by the able-bodied sports councils and, in particular, the International Olympic Committee. However, this raised a number of issues inherent to any deficiency when taking into account its specific peculiarities.     

Different durations within the method of best practice affect the parameters of the speed–duration relationship

The aim of the study was to determine whether estimates of the speed–duration relationship are affected using different time-trial (TT) field-based testing protocols, where exhaustive times were located within the generally recommended durations of 2–15?min. Ten triathletes (mean?±?SD age: 31.0?±?5.7?years; height: 1.81?±?0.05?m; body mass: 76.5?±?6.8?kg) performed two randomly assigned field tests to determine critical speed (CS) and the total distance covered above CS (D?). CS and D? were obtained using two different protocols comprising three TT that were interspersed by 60?min passive rest. The TTs were 12, 7, and 3?min in Protocol I and 10, 5, and 2?min in Protocol II. A linear relationship of speed vs. the inverse of time (s?=?D??×?1/t?+?CS) was used to determine parameter estimates. Significant differences were found for CS (p?=?0.026), but not for D? (p?=?0.123). The effect size for CS (d?=?0.305) was considered small, while that for D? was considered moderate (d?=?0.742). CS was significantly correlated between protocols (r?=?0.934; p?D? (r?=?0.053; p?=?0.884). The 95% limits of agreement were ±0.28m?s^?1 and ±73.9?m for CS and D?, respectively. These findings demonstrate that the choice of exhaustive times within commonly accepted durations results in different estimates of CS and D?, and thus protocols cannot be used interchangeably. The use of a consistent protocol is therefore recommended, when investigating or monitoring the speed–duration relationship estimates in well-trained athletes.     

Understanding the effect of finger–ball friction on the handling performance of rugby balls

Handling errors are often seen in professional rugby games and even more so in amateur rugby. This paper analyses the problem of ball mishandling using high-speed video footage of passes and a bespoke finger friction rig. The high-speed video analysis showed that when the ball is caught, often there is a fluctuating movement of the fingers over the surface of the ball. It also showed that the fingers move over the surface of the ball when the ball is thrown, confirming that the dynamic friction is a good measure of how easily a ball can be handled. Rugby ball surface samples were used, on a finger friction rig, to assess the coefficient of friction between the finger and the balls. The currently manufactured balls displaying the highest coefficients of friction in clean, dry conditions were the design with square, ‘sharp’ pimples and also the design with a mixture of small and large pimples. The most consistent ball across wet and dry conditions was the ball with round, large, densely populated pimples. It was also shown that when water is added to the surface of the ball or finger, there was little variation in performance between the ball varieties.     

To be a Jew and Champion in Vichy's France: Alfred Nakache – From the Swimming Pool to the Nazi Camps (1940–44)

Set against the background of France's cultural history during the Second World War, this biographical study concerns Alfred Nakache, a swimming champion of Jewish origin. Through his conditions of existence, the study amply demonstrates the exclusion, followed by the extermination, of Jews in France. At a time when the ‘Révolution Nationale’ (National Revolution) had been established as political dogma, it also demonstrates the bipolarity of the swimmer's identity, as both an emblem standing for the ‘New Man’ in the eyes of the ‘Commissariat Général à l'Education Générale et aux Sports (CGEGS)’ (commission for general education and sport) and a member of an inferior race for the Nazi occupiers and the ‘Commissariat Général aux Questions Juives (CGQJ)’ (administrative body concerned with French policy towards Jews). Although temporarily protected by his rank as an athlete and his network of contacts, the hardening of German policies, together with widespread collaboration during 1943, led the leading actors of the sport world to curtail his sport achievements, thus marking the beginning of progressive anonymization which, in turn, finally ended in his deportation in January 1944.     

From the cradle to the grave: how fast can we run?

I model average running speed on distances from 5000 m to the marathon as a function of age, distance and sex. Using data on US age-dependent road-racing records, I simulate optimal performance forages ranging from 3 to 95 years. The results of the correlation between running speed and age are in line with medical results on the relation between age and maximal oxygen uptake. The results show that official track and field age-grading overestimates human performance at older ages.     

Assimilating to a boy’s body shape for the sake of performance: three female athletes’ body experiences in a sporting culture

This paper explores three female swimmers’ relationships with their male coaches and the body practices they were exposed to within Australian swimming. Particular attention is given to how the relationships and practices might relate to gender. Additionally, the article examines how (if at all) the conduct contributed to the social construction of an accepted female swimmer body. Through narrative accounts, the three adolescent female athletes articulate hierarchical male coach–female athlete relationships and specific body encounters they were exposed to and/or engaged with. Their experiences reveal how a sexually maturing body (growing breasts, female body shape and menstruating) was deemed unsuitable for performance and the swimmers were thus encouraged to transform their bodies and behaviours towards that of the boys. Using a feminist Foucauldian perspective, these accounts points to how the three swimmers came to regulate their diet, training and appearance in order to fulfil expectations. This self-regulation is problematic in two ways: first, no scientific evidence shows that a boy like physique is essential for best performance. Second, the stress from being pressured to achieve a particular body, as well as the shame that resulted from being unable to achieve the idealised physique, eventually caused the swimmers to develop an unhealthy relationship with their developing bodies. We highlight how those immersed in sporting contexts should recognise the serious implications of gender practices and power relations underpinning the male coach–female athlete dynamic in competitive sport.     

From anti-doping to a ‘performance policy’ sport technology,being human,and doing ethics

Abstract

This paper discusses three questions concerning the ethics of performance enhancement in sport. The first has to do with the improvement to policy and argues that there is a need for policy about doping to be re-constituted and to question the conceptual priority of ‘anti’ doping. It is argued that policy discussions about science in sport must recognise the broader context of sport technology and seek to develop a policy about ‘performance’, rather than ‘doping’. The second argues that a quantitative enhancement to a sporting performance has no value and is, thus, unethical, unless the motivation behind using it implies something meaningful about being human. Thus, unless the use of the technology is constitutive of our humanness, then it is not a justifiable method of altering (rather than enhancing) performance. This rules out the legitimacy of using performance enhancement to gain an advantage over other competitors, who do not have access to similar means. Finally, the third argument claims that sport ethics has had only a limited discourse and has failed to recognise broader theoretical ideas in relation to performance modification, which might be found in the philosophy of technology and bioethics. Collectively, these positions articulate important concerns about the role of science in sport and the ethical discussions arising from them.     

An Evolution of the Migration of Taiwanese Female Basketball Players: From the ‘American Dream’ to the ‘Chinese Dream’

Abstract

This paper explores the migration of female basketball players from Taiwan to China. Governance theory is adopted as the framework in this study to analyze the phenomenon of players’ migration and to understand how it was shaped over the years. The empirical work draws on a qualitative approach, which is based on a review of documentary materials and semi-structured interviews; coding and analysis were undertaken with a content analysis approach in order to investigate the decision-making processes and their consequences for the players’ migration. The feature of systematic governance for the development of women’s basketball has been revealed in this study. Stakeholders with personal interests caused the downturn of women’s basketball development in Taiwan, and it eventually led to the players’ migration abroad. Through the lens of governance theory, it has been revealed that a number of factors – namely, political, financial, personal, socio-economic, and cultural – all intertwine with one another dynamically to influence the female players’ decision to move abroad. This finding broadens the scope for the research of Taiwanese athletes’ migration to China, extending the focus from only business or industry to other aspects, thereby highlighting the fact that the subject is more complex than previously understood.     

The distance – time relationship over a century of running Olympic performances: A limit on the critical speed concept

Abstract

We analyse the evolution of the slope (critical speed) and the y-intercept (anaerobic distance capacity) of the linear distance–time relationship over a century of Olympic running performances. The distance–time relationship of each Olympic Games (1920–2004) was plotted using the performances in the 800-, 1500- and 5000-m track events. Values for critical speed and anaerobic distance capacity were determined by linear modelling. Mean performances for the 800, 1500 and 5000 m were 104.9 ± 1.5 s (1.4%), 217.2 ± 2.8 s (1.3%) and 808.9 ± 18.4 s (2.3%), respectively. Critical speed improved during the first three-quarters of the twentieth century to reach a plateau in 1984. This is in accordance with the literature (Peronnet & Thibault, 1989 Peronnet, F. and Thibault, G. 1989. Mathematical analysis of running performance and world running records. Journal of Applied Physiology, 67: 453–465. [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and suggests that “human aerobic endurance” has improved within the century (+13.4%) and tends to stabilize. Anaerobic distance capacity was highly variable over the century (coefficient of variation = 9.4%) and did not show a linear improvement over the years as has previously been suggested (Peronnet & Thibault, 1989 Peronnet, F. and Thibault, G. 1989. Mathematical analysis of running performance and world running records. Journal of Applied Physiology, 67: 453–465. [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). This could be due to an artefact in the application of the two-parameter model to only three Olympic performances. A limitation to the use of this linear mathematical model to fit physiological data may have been demonstrated.     

Barney Kieran,the Legendary ‘Sobraon Boy’: From the Mean Streets to ‘Champion of the World’

This article explores the remarkable career of Bernard Bede (Barney) Kieran, known in the Australian sporting press of the time as ‘the Sobraon Boy’. He was born in Sydney in 1886, grew up in the mean streets, was imprisoned aboard the industrial training ship Sobraon and, at the zenith of his sensational world record-breaking swimming career, died suddenly on 22 December 1905. He was only nineteen and was mourned by the public as one of Australia's first sporting icons to be cut down tragically in his prime. Incorporated in this study is the forgotten tragic sporting saga of the first great Australian twentieth-century swimming hero and its connotations of muscularly-based youth reclamation. Consideration is given to the social context, the growing popularity of swimming in the early twentieth century, Sydney and the widespread newspaper coverage of his career and death which helped to create the formation of the tragic sporting hero of Australian myth.