PSY371e PERFORMANCE PSYCHOLOGY

THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF PERFORMANCE

Perception = a complex phenomenon that provides the input for higher-order processes
- Forms part of our info-processing system, where sensory info is organised, interpreted, &
experienced, to provide the input for higher-order processes, like that of making creative choices
for complex situations
- Multiple sensory channels allow humans to use info from the world & combine it with info
available from the body or memory systems

Phenomena Example
Error monitoring A car driver controlling his attention of navigation system & traffic
Response selection Middle-aged assembly-line workers improve cognitive performance during
& error detection multitask training
Acoustic reafference Track & field athletes use their own acoustic reafferences of the running
sound to regulate their movements
Optic flow Basketball players use long fixations at the basket to control their actions

Action = intentional movements that serve a specific goal

- Actions can be structured by the intentions & situations in which they occur
- !!! actions here are intentional (rather than movements like reflexes)
- Action taxonomies include: discrete—continuous, whether the action happens in an
unpredictable & changing environment, whether objects need to be manipulated, whether the
actor’s body needs to move in the environment
- The quantification & specification of the effects of action on cognition may have meaningful
practical consequences, e.g., with respect to improving problem solving/boosting creativity
o 1 impt step forward would be to differentiate the types of movements that have an effect on
cognition
o Identify the specific movement directions/functions that alter the effect of actions, such as in
numerical cognition

Cognition = all higher order functions of the brain that involve thinking, attention, memory,
problem-solving, & creativity
- E.g. heuristics  simple decision-making strategies that utilise probabilistic info & context-
specific reasoning to inform our decisions

Attention  made up of 4 main dimensions:

- Concentration: exerting deliberate mental effort on what is most impt
- Selective perception: the ability to zoom in on task-relevant info while ignoring other
distractions
- Mental time-sharing ability: the ability to do 2/more concurrent actions just as well
(multitasking)
- Vigilance: the ability to fix attention to relevant stimuli that may occur randomly & respond to
them

Memory  long-term procedural memories required for performance

- Performers have been found to improve their performance on memory recall tasks with practice
& acquisition of techniques to encode & retrieve info from LTM
Problem solving  involves 4 main elements:
- Cognitive: from the problem-solver’s perspective & inferred indirectly from their behaviours
- Process: mental computations where sometimes, new mental representations are derived
- Directed: aimed at achieving a particular goal
- Personal: reliant on the problem solver’s existing knowledge (highly dependent on individual
differences)

Creativity  ability to think of new solutions

- Techniques to be more creative:
o Increase opportunities to practise creative thinking
o Encourage creative thinking when it occurs during performance
o Reward performers for being creative

Emotion
- Omnipresent & often have beneficial & diametrical effects on performance
- For some domains, feeling these emotions helps us to cope better & maximise performance, but
in other domains (e.g., surgery), emotions can hinder performance
- Anxiety  1 of the top emotions implicated in performance
- Emotions form a crucial part of performance as the mental, physiological, & behavioural aspects
of emotion shape our subjective state of being with respect to specific situations/stimuli

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF PERFORMANCE PSYCH: AN ACTION THEORY PERSPECTIVE

Scope of performance psych

- The general task of performance psychology is related to the description, explanation,
prediction, & optimisation of performance-oriented activities in accordance with general &
domain-specific ethical standards
- The psychological perspective on performance comprises 3 issues:
o The psychological fundamentals of performance-oriented activities in various action domains
such as labour, politics, arts, music, sports
o Psychological transfer effects of performance-oriented activities in particular with regard to
personality development, self-esteem, time management, stress control, communication
skills, etc
o Optimisation of the capability to achieve demanding mental tasks

Structure of performance orientation  key features of any performance orientation:

- These 4 aspects provide essential performance markers & the target points for the analysis &
the compensation of performance deficits as well
- “Performance” is a relational concept that depends on the applied reference standard &
aspiration level in relation to the individual’s proficiency & the personal & sociocultural value
systems

Reference standards: feeling challenged to set/raise & meet/exceed demanding reference standards
- Considered as binding for the evaluation of the course & outcome of an action
- Specified by the habitual &/actual aspiration level
- Typical references e.g., individual’s prior performance, performance of relevant others, demands
of a given task, specific standard value that must be met
Performance intention: specifications of both the functional & temporal components of an action
- The reasons & motivation for doing an activity
- Performance orientation may differ with regard to the range & precision of the components
concerned

Agent causality: attributing the cause & outcome of an action to the proficiency & responsibility of
the agent
- Accordingly, the focus of performance attribution can be on ability &/ effort &/ resilience
&/outcome

Value orientation: pursuit of excellence swayed by personal/social values

- Striving for excellence means intending/providing a valuable contribution related to the
sociocultural &/ personal value system
- The course & outcome of an action is evaluated from the perspective of
meeting/adding/creating relevant values

Characteristics of peak performance

- Performing on top implies acting at one’s limits  results in a very vulnerable balance of high-
performance goals, increased risk-taking, & low tolerance for errors. Even minimal fluctuations
in concentration can result in errors followed by fatal consequences with regard to a broad
range of potential personal, social, & economic disadvantages or damages
- Performing on top requires more/less neglecting other orientations & domains of human life &
activity  includes allocation of all temporal, personal, social, & economic resources needed for
the achievement of 1 superior goal: enhancing & maintaining performance. Thus, striving for
excellence means focusing attention on performing a given task & focusing life on improving
performance
- Peak performance is principally public performance  an event that attracts the attention of
spectators, media, public figures, organisations, institutions. Thus, success is publicly known
success, & failure is publicly known failure
An action theory perspective

Characterised by 3 fundamental assumptions:

- The basic nature of humans is substantiated by the necessity & capability of organising life by
actions
o Action is understood as intentionally organised behaviour within a meaningfully structured
situational context  this includes both doing & omitting smth deliberately
o Any action implies 4 functions:
 Exploration  gathering new info & experiences
 Construction  actively solving present problems & tasks
 Protection  guarding against threats & disturbances
 Presentation  demonstrating personal characteristics as a means of impression
management
- Action is a system process  the integrated response of an agent to their present situation in
the world
- Psychological processes, states, & traits are considered as fundamentally related to action

Intention – the organising principle of action

- Actions are actively organised with regard to their anticipated & intended consequences &
based on internal representations
- Intention is to be considered more adequately as a set of operational definitions with respect to
satisfying personal needs within a framework of individual values
- 4 intention components that may be differently accentuated & elaborated on a case-by-case
basis:
o Value intention  intention formation happens within a framework of superior values
 E.g. sportsmanship defines the limits for acceptable action options
o Outcome intention  the needs to be satisfied & the anticipated, desired consequences of
action
 E.g. performance enhancement, self-affirmation, social recognition, health improvement
o Goal intention  an intended & operationally defined action result that should be
instrumental & thus required for fulfilling the purpose of an action by attaining the desired
action consequences
 E.g. performance score in sports
o Implementation intention  to actually achieve the goal, appropriate means as well as
situational cues for the initiation of an action are to be defined
 E.g. goal setting: next tues, start with xx task
 Cues are impt for the automatic activation of intended behaviour

The multidimensional action space

- The action space is defined by the principal options & limitations of an agents’ activity; the
present constellation specifies the action situation
- As actions are multifaceted & operate within a multidimensional action space, this means
multiple variables influence actions based on the situations we are in &  need to be considered
when studying behaviour from an action perspective:
o There is a need to appreciate the interrelation between the person, environment, & task as
an objective/subjective change of 1 component triggers a change of the others
 E.g. the perception of one’s capabilities will change depending on the given task
o We act as physical, biological, mental, & social beings in a physically, biologically, mentally, &
socially structured world while performing more/less equally structured tasks
 Changes of 1 of these aspects will potentially change the precondition of an action directly
&/ indirectly by modifying the function of others
 o The subjective definition of one’s own situation (perceived attributes & configuration of the
situation components) establishes the psychological basis of intentional behaviour
 The entire situation is appraised in terms of 2 aspects:
 Action competence  perceived degree of controllability of the situation
 Action valence  perceived urgency & importance of optimising a situation by one’s
own action

The functional architecture of actions

System levels of action organisation

The organisation of action involves the interplay of 4 personal system levels: physical, biological,
mental, & social organisation, which are characterised as follows:
- Each level of action organisation is governed by specific rules of functioning & establishes
specific sets of objective constraints & subjective options of actions
o I.e., physical  body height, weight, leg length, cinematic & dynamic preconditions;
biological  neurological, neuromuscular, endocrine, motor skills; mental  intentions,
cognitions, feelings, mental skils; social  internalised social role expectations, social skills
o We do/omit smth @ the same time under the influence of physical laws, biological
preconditions, mental processes & representations, & social values, norms, attitudes, rules
- The organisation levels are considered to be functionally interrelated & can trigger the
functioning of the others
o Anthropometric properties (physical) have potential impact on energy expenditure during
action (biological)/may even prime/shape mental processes (e.g., the embodiment issue);
internalised social values & expectations (social) potentially constrain the individual’s
decision making & intention formation (mental level)
- Diff personal disposition levels specify diff relations to a given task & the environmental context

The phase structure of actions

The course of an actions goes through a sequence of 3 phases:
- Anticipation phase  an action is psychologically conceptualised
o The functional focus is on situation analysis & subjective situation definition, action planning,
& intention formation associated, for instance, with processes of decision-making
- Realisation Phase  in confrontation with the reality & depending on the actual circumstances
is the execution of the intended behaviour initiated/cancelled
o The functional focus is on the automatic, emotional, & cognitive processing of an action
- Interpretation Phase  finally, the course & outcome of an action is retrospectively analysed &
evaluated with regard to the predeterminations made in the Anticipation Phase
o The functional focus is on outcome assessment, attribution of causes to success/failure, & re-
evaluation of the situation as a starting point for subsequent actions
In each of these phases, special deficits/disturbances that impair the entire course of an action &
threaten its intended outcome may occur
- E.g., in the case of reducing the available time for anticipation processes under time pressure,
distracting spectator reactions in the Realisation Phase, or time-consuming overattention to
action evaluation in the Interpretation Phase

!!! the specific adjustment of the agent’s basic state is a necessary precondition of the optimal
processing of the action phases
- Accordingly, psychological performance enhancement includes both the optimisation of the
phase-specific functions (e.g. goal setting, mental training) & the optimisation of the agent’s
state (e.g. relaxation training, self-motivation)

Functional systems of action control

Human intentional action organisation is considered to include 3 interrelated & specifically operating
functional control systems. Each of them contributes specifically to the overall organisation of an
action with respect to orientation, activation & regulation functions, & may become dominant in the
case of habitual, emotional, or voluntary action:
- Automatic Action Control System  provides immediate & quick adaptation to relatively simple
& stereotypic conditions of the present situation
o Basic principle is the automatic reaction to specific stimuli/cues by preestablished modes of
behaviour
o Underlying learning processes include respondent & operant conditioning + the
automatisation of behavioural or mental processes
- Emotional Action Control System  emotion is understood as a basic function in the orientation,
activation, & regulation of actions
o The functional focus (& advantage) is on the holistic orientation & quick synchronisation of
complex cognitive & psychomotor processes
o Reactions are not triggered directly by specific stimuli but indirectly triggered & shaped by
the individual’s emotional labelling of the present situation (e.g. threatening, joyful)
- Cognitive Action Control System  functional focus is the long-term adaptation to complex,
variable, novel, & future conditions
o With this system, the relation of situational conditions & action is differently established by
cognitive processes
o  new types of action organisation come into play: conscious situation analysis, anticipation,
& evaluation of action situations + learning, goal setting, planning, & action monitoring based
on symbolic, verbally encoded mental representations, & the insight in structural &
functional relations
LIFESTYLE & INTERVENTIONS FOR IMPROVING COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE IN OLDER ADULTS

Epidemiologic & clinical studies suggest that biological, behavioural, social, environmental, &
lifestyle factors influence cognition in older age & may even reduce cognitive decline

Chronic stress impairs various cognitive functions, particularly in older age

- Increased vulnerability may be due to the fact that during aging, neurons within the PFC become
less resilient to stress

Occupation & occupational environment have a pronounced influence on cognitive performance

- The more complex the demand characteristics of the work-setting, the greater the potential for
maintenance/enhancement of cognitive functioning that may compensate age-related declines
- Tedious physical job demands tend to impair cognition
- Gajewski et al. (2010) showed specific performance deficits in older workers with long-lasting
repetitive work, compared to older workers with flexible work demands
o Deficits were seen only for a task with high working memory demand, but not for easier tasks

Physical activity:
- Improves motor behaviour & cardiovascular fitness
- Enhance brain function & cognitive performance
o High physical fitness was associated with greater processing speed & better executive
functions BUT memory performance was hardly improved
- Protects against neurodegenerative diseases
o Higher physical fitness is associated with greater gray matter volume in the prefrontal cortex
& hippocampus, which are known to deteriorate with increasing age

Cognitive leisure activity:

- Challenging leisure activities such as reading & playing board games/musical instruments may
lead to slower cognitive decline in healthy elderly persons & reduce the risk of dementia
- It seems that the degree of cognitive load, & hence of cognitive training (CT), is the crucial factor
in lifestyle activities

Cognitive training interventions

- Goal: for older adults to improve performance on cognitive skills that usually deteriorate with
age & which are crucial for everyday life performance
- CT can be effective in improving various aspects of objective cognitive functioning  memory
performance, executive functioning, processing speed, attention, fluid intelligence, & subjective
cognitive performance
o BUT efficacy varies across cognitive domains & is largely determined by design choices
- Literature shows good evidence for transfer effects of CCT to psychometric tests
o ACTIVE study  reasoning training resulted in less functional decline in self-reported
instrumental activities of daily life
o Divided spatial attention training (UFOV)  delayed driving cessation among older drivers
o Perceptual-cognitive skills training  improved match performance of senior tennis players
o Simple PC-based tasks  improve driving performance in older adults in a driving simulator
- Cognitive training has been shown to lead to changes in neuronal structure & function
o Volume changes in relevant structures, increases in cerebral blood flow & white matter
integrity, increased frontal & parietal activity in fMRI, & enhanced amplitude of event-related
brain potentials
- PC & video game–based interventions usually lack social interaction & are not well accepted by
older people
 o A more familiar training approach for seniors  highly variable card & board games, which
train certain cognitive functions (“overlapping variability” framework)

Guiding rules for effective CT:

- Care for high motivation & optimum arousal  training should induce fun to motivate seniors to
continue training
- Slow increase of difficulty  shallow/self-administered increase
- Immediate/delayed feedback  i.e. feedback should be given by a programme/teacher
- High variability
o Because transfer can be scarce, each targeted domain should be trained
o Multifaceted & variable training causes slower learning but better retention
o Stimuli & tasks in diff contexts lead to the extraction of more specific features & rules than
static contexts
- Sufficient length of 10-15 sessions

Physical training interventions

- Aerobic exercise/stretching  improvement in executive control
- Smaller improvements in spatial & speed tasks
- Exercise exerts its effects on cognition by affecting molecular events related to the management
of energy metabolism & synaptic plasticity
- Increased cerebral blood flow & a related increase of memory performance in older adults after
12 weeks physical training
- Although the effects of physical activity on the brain are often widespread, prefrontal &
hippocampal areas appear to be more influenced than other areas of the brain
o Erickson et al. (2011)  aerobic training vs active control increases the size of the
hippocampus, which was correlated with improvements in spatial memory
o An increased hippocampal volume was associated with greater serum levels of BDNF, a
mediator of neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus
- A combination of CCT & exercise yields larger effects on cognition in older adults than either
training alone
- Motivation has to be maximised to yield high compliance of older trainees

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN PERCEPTION & ACTION

How does perception affect action?

Observational learning/imitation learning/modelling

- Using observation to improve self-assessment, increase performance of technical execution,
increase use of imagery & visual perceptions
- For the transfer of observation (perception) to actual execution of the movement (action) to
work, some form of communication between perceptual & motor processes is required
o It is assumed that internal cognitive/purely visual mechanisms are activated during the
perception of the action that can also be used during action generation
- Model similarity seems to be an impt contributor to the effectiveness of modelling
o  observation of a model similar/identical to oneself leads to even larger overlaps of these
processes
- BUT to maximise learning & enhance performance, observation of both a novice (even if the
model is very similar to the observer/the performance is very similar to the observer’s
performance @ the beginning of the learning phase) & an expert model resulted in better
learning than the observation of 1 of the models alone
Research from a developmental perspective:
- Developmental effects that influence observational learning as a result of diffs in individuals’
intrinsic dynamics & hence, the ability to replicate an observed skill
o Adults focus more on movement dynamics (e.g. form), children show a greater tendency to
achieve movement outcome goals
- The link between perception & action also seems to be diff depending on the characteristics of
the model, that is, on who is perceived
o Children showed better performance after viewing themselves perform an adaptive
behaviour (self-modelling) as opposed to viewing themselves at their current skill level (self-
observation)/not using observational learning
- The crucial info taken up during observation seems to be the relative motion  if this relative
motion is the impt source of info for perception, then PLDs should be just as effective for
acquiring a coordination pattern, since all non-relevant info is removed
o Adults confirmed this assumption in that their performance did not differ when viewing PLDs
compared to video sequences
o BUT children’s performance was poorer after viewing PLDs as opposed to video sequences
o  effectiveness of demonstrations & the qn of what is perceived & used for movement
reproduction need to be judged with respect to the age

Imagery
- Uses models that extract relevant info & form cognitive representations for later action
execution
- The only diff between neural involvement for observation & imagery is that observations use
external stimuli such as live demonstrations/video (a bottom-up & percept-driven process),
whereas imagery requires individuals to create an internal image based on their own past
experience & memory
o BUT groups that received modelling showed a more appropriate movement form & outcome
in acquisition & retention than imagery condition groups
o Presenting an external stimulus through observation is more effective in enhancing skill
acquisition

Neurocognitive research:
- Neuroimaging studies  common activation sites supporting the idea of a functional
equivalence between action execution, simulation, & observation
- Mirror neurons discharged both when the monkey observed meaningful hand movements made
by the experimenter & when executing the movement himself
o The activity of these MNs “represented” the observed action, suggesting that this motor
“representation” might be the basis for understanding motor events
o MNs relate to the observation-execution matching system in humans
o BUT activation of brain areas associated with the planning & generation of actions occurred
only if the intention of the observation was to imitate the perceived action
- Neurophysiological studies  a common neural network for action observation & action
production that includes the premotor cortex, inferior parietal lobule, superior temporal sulcus,
supplementary motor area (SMA), cingulated gyrus, & cerebellum
o This network is activated both when performing & observing others perform that same motor
task

How does action affect perception?

Similar to the transfer from perception to action, transfer from action to perception also assumes a
strong relation between perceptual & motor processes
Theoretical framework of common coding
- Final stages of perception (perceptual processing of stimuli) & initial stages of action control
(action planning/initiation) share a domain of coding, such that planned actions & perceived
events are represented in the same format
- Following this framework, changes in these codes due to motor learning should also be reflected
in corresponding changes in perceptual skills
o E.g. a change in the gymnast’s skill level in performing the handstand (“motor code”) might
also lead to a change in the gymnast perceiving that skill (“perceptual code”)

Theory of event coding (TEC)

- Cognitive representations of events, such as perception/planning of actions, subserve not only
representational functions but also action-related functions
- Stimulus representations underlying perception and action representations underlying action
planning are coded and stored together in a common representational medium, not separately
- Core concept of TEC: event code  consists of the codes that represent the distal features of an
event (feature codes), which have 2 functions:
o Register sensory input from various sensory systems
o Modulate the activities of various motor systems
- The integration of info of multiple sources is realised by the distal feature codes, which enable a
much more complex & complete use of info than proximal codes, which are restricted to 1
sensory channel
o Distal refers to distal attributes of the perceived &/ produced event, as opposed to proximal
effects on the sensory surface/muscular innervations/patterns of muscular innervations

Simulation theory
- Proposes that the motor system is part of a simulation network that is activated under various
conditions related to action, either self-intended/during action perception
- Predicts that there is a neural network that is similarly activated during the state when an action
is simulated &/ executed
- Simulation states (S-states)  mental states that involve action content & brain activity
simulating the action during the same, executed action
o Includes intended action, imagined action, prospective action judgments, perceptually based
judgments, perceptually based decisions, observation of graspable objects, observation of
actions performed by others, & action in dreams
o During an S-state, an individual may simulate an action while perceptually judging it,
planning/intending an action/observing another individual performing an action
 Prerequisite is the activation of the motor system during these diff types of S-states, giving
them their action content

Perceptual response
- Suggests that action production primes perception in a way that causes observers to be
selectively sensitive to actions that share features with their own actions
-  humans might be able to perceive & understand only those actions of others that they can do
themselves

Humans can perceive their environment by using diff senses

- E.g., gymnasts might use exteroceptive info such as hearing their own footsteps/seeing their
own legs during skill execution
- + they might use interoceptive senses such as kinesthetic info (e.g. feeling if the knees are bent)
to control their movements
Online & offline effects of the perception—action link

Online
- The gymnast may perceive another gymnast performing a skill while executing a skill herself
- Short-term effects of perception on action can be termed visuo-motor priming
o Describes situations in which execution affects visual processing
o E.g. the gymnast might execute a skill & concurrently perceive (see/hear) cues related to her
own body that she can use for controlling the skill
- For both priming directions, action execution can hinder/facilitate perceptual processes & vice
versa

Offline
- A gymnast might train the handstand for several weeks, months, years  influence how this
gymnast perceives the execution of this skill (temporally separated, hence, not concurrent with
action execution) by another gymnast
- Especially impt for sports judges that includes perceptually based judgements & decisions
o The judge might perceive the quality of this handstand differently depending on whether the
judge has been able to perform the handstand themselves
- With regard to facilitative/hindering effects of this action–perception transfer, such previous
motor experiences could lead to better/worse perceptual judgments
o Judges who could perform the skill themselves were more accurate in their judgments than
judges who could not perform the skill

AN EMBODIED COGNITION PERSPECTIVE ON SPORTS & THE PERFORMING ARTS

Ultimately, the goal of engagement with sports & the performing arts is to achieve an optimal
outcome that meets certain standards compatible with one’s level of training
- This goal is achieved through long-term embodied practices: these practices require complex
corporeal activities that combine high motor & cognitive demands

Features of the body (embodiment) & of the environment (embedding) play an active role in
cognitive processing
- According to this view, cognition is based on interactions between the mind, body, &
environment

Overview of theoretical approaches

Embodied cognition: bodily functions shape cognitive processes

- A fundamental premise of the mechanism of embodied cognition is that individuals rely on their
own sensorimotor experience when perceiving & learning actions
o Action simulation  mapping of observed movements onto one’s own sensory-motor system
o E.g. while observing someone performing an action, observers can recruit some of their own
sensorimotor resources as if they were performing the action themselves
-  alterations in sensorimotor experience that occur incidentally (e.g. by everyday
experience)/deliberately (e.g. through training) have the potential to influence the processing
that accompanies the observation of actions
o This is done by (re-) establishing & updating (internal models of) the relations of the body &
the environment in which the actions take place
Ideomotor theory
- Ideomotor learning occurs when people become aware that certain action consequences are
caused by their movements
- Focusing on action outcomes & exerting control over them may  enhance motor learning
- Human interactions are largely based on inner co-sensations
o Perceiving someone else moving may resonate with one’s own kinaesthetic representation of
these movements, eventually leading to empathic responses between the observer &
performer
- The environment specifies affordances to the organism, as possibilities for action, which the
organism then perceives & acts upon
o The task of the organism is to pick up info from the environment by detecting features that
are relevant for dealing with a specific situation
o Detecting features of other individuals can shape an organism’s interactions with them
o The presence of others & the interaction with them can also shape an individual’s action
possibilities

Research in the performing arts

Advanced perceptual skills are crucial for successful interactions & interpersonal synchronisation
- A fundamental aspect of acting upon an environment is to be in control of one’s actions,
understand their properties, & be aware of their consequences to others in interactive situations

Perceiving the actions of oneself & others & their expressive qualities relies on the dynamic
properties of actions
- Especially spatial & temporal characteristics
- More complex movements provide richer info on agency & expression intensity
o  easier to distinguish when observed as PLDs

Because action competencies in a specific domain aid in perception, deliberately trained movements
should resonate in the observers’ motor system to a higher degree compared to everyday-life
movements
- Conductors were more successful in identifying their own movements when they were
presented with PLDs of skilled conducting gestures as compared to PLDs of walking
- + perceived the quality of their own gestures to be higher than those of others, independently of
individual awareness of agency
- Results indicate that perceptual response mechanisms resonate more with one’s own skilled
actions, even if performers are not fully aware of their agency
- Individual perception of high-quality actions, thus, matches internal models of movements
better in one’s domain of expertise

Characteristics of motor expertise, especially domain-specific action competencies, are mirrored in

perceptual accuracy & behavioural tasks when reacting to other’s movements in social interactions
- String musicians were able to synchronise more accurately & consistently with the entry
movements of a 1st violinist shown in several video clips
- They benefited from their motor expertise in playing string instruments themselves
- Perceptual consistency was  related to motor consistency

Motor training may even affect the perception of person-related cues in observers
- In common movements such as gait, cues of the walking person’s gender are perceivable in PLDs
Research in sports

Info about an action & previous related training can affect perceptual performance
- Identifying types of basketball dribbles  experts performed better than novices in terms of
identification accuracy & reaction times
- Actor recognition was better for complex actions, such as dribbling, in comparison to a control
condition displaying more stereotypical walking movements
- Identification of one’s own actions was slightly better than identification of teammates

Expertise in performing an action enhance detection of deceptive intentions when observing

movements
- Importance of the impact of motor expertise in judging action outcomes
- While experts’ & novices’ perceptual performance was similar when postural cues were
displayed (i.e. static movie frames), experts outperformed novices when only kinematic info (i.e.
PLDs) was observed

Action outcomes can be identified in simpler situations

- Prediction accuracy of badminton stroke direction & depth  experts were better than non-
experts in perceptual accuracy, especially when kinematic info was only depicted as PLDs
- Experts could give accurate predictions by being more sensitive to early kinematic info (before
racquet-shuttle contact) & from kinematics that were functionally unrelated to the stroke (e.g.,
lower body movements)

The deliberate use of critical kinematic info can be of assistance in learning situations
- Especially during the acquisition phase of a skill, when someone is learning by observation of
prototype movements executed by a model
- In early stages of skill acquisition, participants are more perceptually sensitive to the movements
of action-specific body parts

PERFORMANCE ANXIETY

4 main forms of anxiety:

- State anxiety brief experiences of anxiety mostly because of environmental factors
- Trait anxiety  the tendency to experience stressful situations; mostly due to genetic
effects/individual stress reactivity levels that are not an exaggerated response to stress
- Cognitive anxiety  the mental aspects of anxiety such as worry
- Somatic anxiety  how 1 perceives their physiological response to anxiety

Why does performance anxiety occur?

When performers hope to perform well & place greater importance for them to do so, this can result
in higher levels of anxiety
- BUT how we think about our physiological reactions/the cognitive appraisal to the physiological
arousal is the critical component that determines the occurrence of performance anxiety
Model of anxiety & performance (Maloney et al., 2014)

- The performer engages in

rumination & -ve thinking
when the physiological
response to anxiety is believed
to be detrimental to
performance
- This -ve thinking needs
additional mental resources
that are required to complete
the task @ hand,  resulting
in poor performance

Attentional control theory

- States that anxiety results in poor performance because it disrupts attentional processes
- When highly anxious, attention is believed to be placed on the source of the anxiety, resulting in
less attention on the task @ hand, hence resulting in poor performance
- Specifically, it is believed that anxiety debilitates performance because bottom-up processing is
enhanced instead of the more efficient top-down processing

Physiology of performance anxiety

The ANS
- Comprises of the parasympathetic & sympathetic nervous system
- SNS increases metabolic output to help deal with stressors
o When activated, increases in BP, heart rate, breathing rate, perspiration, & blood sugar occur
to prepare the body for action

The HPA axis

- Triggered with the stress response to decrease the -ve effects of SNS activation
- During high stress situations, the performer’s SNS activation increases while PNS activation is
withdrawn, resulting in sympathetic dominance
- Since the SNS & PNS work together to maintain equilibrium, when SNS is activated under a
stressful performance environment, the PNS tries to balance that with activation of the
relaxation response to subdue the dominance of the SNS & maintain homeostasis
- Inability to effectively manage this physiological stress response can result in dramatic
performance declines such as choking

Choking
- Choking = a critical deterioration in skill execution leading to substandard performance that is
caused by an elevation in anxiety levels under perceived pressure @ a time when successful
outcome is normally attainable
- As performers strive for peak performance in high pressure situations, increased anxiety levels
can occur as performers focus attention inwards towards their own physiological response to
stress, leading to poor skill execution & poor performance
- Believed to occur because the increased performance anxiety results in conscious monitoring &
control when executing the task @ hand
- Performers under pressure may unknowingly shift their attention from task-relevant to task-
irrelevant cues

Coping with performance anxiety

- Coping = how well the performer manages this physiological response through emotion &
problem-focused coping strategies
- Emotion-focused coping strategies are commonly used across most performance domains,
where performers regulate their emotions to reduce the distress experienced
o The ability to regulate emotions is a critical factor in helping performers to manage
performance anxiety, so that they can attain peak performance
- Sporting domain  athletes use emotion-focused strategies like emotional control – relaxation,
visualisation, social support
- Problem-focused strategies are also impt coping strategies to ensure peak performance
o Some examples of problem-focused strategies used by athletes include focusing on relevant
cues, preparation, training and strategising, & mental skills training
o For successful sporting performance, using an array of diff approaches & styles helps to
overcome performance anxiety
- Academic domain  emotion-focused strategies like seeking emotional support from
peers/others, humour, & venting emotion were the top 3 strategies used by students in coping
with test anxiety
o Students also used problem-focused strategies to cope with test anxiety better, such as
seeking social support for studying, planning, & sacrificing other activities
- Musicians  problem-focused strategies
o E.g. realistically appraise their performance environment > see their stage as not a scary place
but a platform to showcase their well-learnt performance

FLOW

- Flow = a +ve & optimal psychological state attained by concentrating fully on the task @ hand
o Happens when people are so absorbed in their performance that nothing else matters
- 9 flow dimensions:
Challenge-skill balance Feedback A loss of consciousness of the self
Action-awareness emerging Concentration on the task @ Time transformation
hand
Specific goals A sense of control Autotelic experience
- Occurs when performers are in a challenging situation, yet they are able to meet this challenge
o Performer feels as 1 with the movement that does not require extra effort, while knowing
exactly what goals are to be achieved & receives continuous feedback that goal attainment is
in progress
- As concentration & belief deepen, there are no worries/-ve thoughts, with the performer freeing
themselves from all forms of self-consciousness
- Intrinsically rewarding & is done for its own sake

Peak performance models

Cotterill’s determinants of performance model

- Encompasses the performer, quality of performance, environmental factors, state factors,
cognition, confidence, & use of coping strategies in explaining performance under pressure

Model of the optimal psychological state for peak performance

- Identifies the optimal performance state into the experience, psychological process, & the
performance state
Framework of factors that influence peak performance in sport
- States that the ideal performance state requires a combination of cognition, arousal, & emotion
that is unique for each performer
- The performer is the foundation with the performer’s attributes & traits
- The performer’s ability to cope with adversity, use of psychological skills, & environmental
factors influences the attainment of the ideal performance state

BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN EMOTION & COGNITION

When there is something at stake, the pressure to perform comes immediately into play
- Pressure represents “any factor/combination of factors that increases the importance of
performing well on a particular occasion”
- Pressure usually triggers stress & emotions, in particular anxiety,  has the potential to
influence cognitive processes

Cognition & emotion are embedded

- Effective cognition can only happen with a working functional connection to emotions

Emotions & other affective phenomena

- Stress  considered as a unidimensional concept representing the degrees of external

pressure/disturbed reactions & can be indexed in terms or arousal/activation
- Affects  represents the whole diversity of the phenomena experienced by the individual
o Associated with a hedonic tone & include preferences, attitudes, feelings, moods, & emotions
- Emotions  shorter in duration & triggered by a specific event
- Mood  can last longer & are not related to 1 event/situation

5 main components of emotion

Cognitive (appraisal) Neurophysiological (bodily Motivational (action tendencies)
symptoms)
Motor expression (facial & Subjective feeling (emotional
vocal expression) experience)

2 main perspectives to conceptualise emotions

- Discrete approach  describes each emotion as having a specific cognitive content + specific
appraisal properties
- Dimensional approach  considers that any emotion can be defined along a continuum of 2
main dimensions:
o Valence/hedonic tone  experiences ranging from -ve/unpleasant to +ve/pleasant
 Indicates whether things are going well/badly regarding the existence of the individual
 o Arousal/activation/intensity  a sense of mobilisation, ranges from low to high arousal
 Illustrates that emotions help us to respond to environmental stimulation/reach a goal

Cognition: a necessary distinction between executive & non-executive functions

- Executive functions = a collection of top-down control processes used when going on
automatic/relying on instinct/intuition would be ill-advised, insufficient/impossible
o Makes it possible to mentally play with ideas, taking time to think before acting
o 3 core executive functions  inhibition, working memory, cognitive flexibility
 Higher order cognitive functions are built on these (including reasoning, problem-solving,
decision-making, planning)
- Non-executive functions are based on processes driven automatically/reflexively by stimulation
o Passive attention toward an event

Performance-oriented theories bridging the gap between emotion & cognition

General emotion-performance theories

The Cognitive-Motivational-Relational Theory:

- Postulates that individuals continuously appraise their ongoing r/s with the environment
- There is a core relational theme for each emotion, & when the appraisal corresponds to a core
relational theme, an emotion will arise
- The core relational theme for each emotion is linked to a specific action tendency
- The function of emotion is to facilitate adaptation, & by extension, performance
- Influence of emotion on performance will depend on the match between the action tendencies
derived from the core relational theme & the task demands
o E.g. anger facilitating gross muscular peak force performance

Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning:

- Assumes that “2 constructs related to energising & organising aspects of emotion may account
for the impact of emotions upon performance process: energy mobilisation (demobilisation) &
energy utilisation (misuse)”
- As a general rule, the interaction of specific emotional content (e.g. anxiety, anger) with specific
emotional intensity (high, moderate, low) will produce specific optimal/dysfunctional effects on
athletic performance
o E.g. high intensity of anxiety + increase in worrisome thoughts + elevated physiological
arousal hindering efficient movement coordination = detrimental effects to performance
- The functionality of emotion is expected to be determined according to a resource-matching
hypothesis  an evaluation of the individual resources @ hand in association with the demands
of the task
o E.g. anxiety, a -vely toned emotion, could still be perceived as optimal by an athlete if he is
convinced that he has the resources to face the demands of the competition & that the rise
of heart rate accompanying anxiety should not be considered as a threat signal but rather as
an indicator that the organism is getting ready for the competition

The Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge & Threat:

- Concerned with the evaluation of a situation in terms of challenge & threat
- Postulates that prior to engaging in a task, individuals evaluate both the demands of the task &
the resources they possess to deal with these demands
o Evaluation occurs only in motivated performance situations & when the individual is actively
engaged in the task
- A challenge state is expected to occur when an individual thinks they have enough resources to
cope with the demands of the task
- A threat state occurs when the person thinks they do not possess the resources to meet the
demands of the task
o Demand & resource appraisals can occur consciously, unconsciously (automatically)/both
- Given the fact that appraisal occurs most of the time w/o the individual being aware of it, a
critical aspect of the biopsychosocial model is that challenge & threat states are better indexed
not with self-report measures, but rather objectively via diff patterns of neuroendocrine &
cardiovascular responses
o A challenge state is marked by a relatively higher cardiac output & lower total peripheral
resistance compared to a threat state
o This higher cardiac output associated with a lower resistance in the blood vessels allows
more efficient delivery of oxygen to the working muscles & the brain

Theory of Challenge & Threat States in Athletes:

- Assumes that challenge & threat appraisals will have diff motivational, emotional, &
physiological consequences for performance
- The challenge/threat state in response to competition is determined by self-efficacy, control
perception, & achievement goals
- A challenge state can be accompanied by either +ve (e.g. hope)/-ve emotions (e.g. anxiety) & is
expected to be helpful to performance
- A threat state is only accompanied by -ve emotions & is thought to harm performance
- Challenge & threat states are thought to influence effort, attention, decision-making, physical
functionality, & hence, athletic performance

Performance-oriented emotion-cognition theories

Boxes & Arrows Frameworks:

- Tenenbaum et al. (2013)  conceptual framework linking appraisal, emotions, & cognitions
under pressure, relying on the individual zone of optimal functioning for the emotion part
o Predicted that emotions appraised as functional & pleasant are more likely to be associated
with optimal decision-making
- BUT 2 drawbacks include:
o Causality implied by direction of arrows is often theoretically questionable
o Level of specificity is not clarified  other researchers cannot test the model

Theory of Reinvestment:
- Based on the conscious processing hypothesis & assumes that the anxiety raised by pressure will
cause a decrease in performance
o Due to the fact that athletes are consciously controlling skills when facing stressful situations
o This conscious control makes those skills more fragile & more susceptible to disruption
- OR explicit processes used when reinvesting under pressure consume working memory, & the
reduced function of WM then debilitates automatic processing, causing skill breakdown under
pressure

Attentional Control Theory:

- Cognitive anxiety, in the form of worry, reduces the processing & storage capacity of working
memory,  reducing the resources available for a given task
o Anxiety impairs efficient functioning of the goal-directed attentional system & increases the
extent to which processing is influenced by the stimulus-driven attentional system
- In addition to decreasing attentional control, anxiety increases attention to threat-related stimuli
- 2 core executive functions are then expected to be affected by the adverse consequences of
anxiety: inhibition & shifting (cognitive flexibility)
- BUT anxiety may not impair the quality of performance (i.e. performance effectiveness) when it
leads to the use of compensatory strategies, such as enhanced effort/increased use of
processing resources

Neurovisceral Integration Model:

- Heart rate variability indexes through vagal activity the activity of the prefrontal cortex &,
thereby, cognition
- Heart rate variability allows identification of the branch of the autonomic nervous system that is
mediating heart rate (i.e. sympathetic/parasympathetic)
- The heart & brain are connected bidirectionally, with efferent messages from the brain affecting
the heart & afferent messages from the heart affecting the brain
- Heart rate variability would serve as an index of the degree to which the core integration system
guided by the medial prefrontal cortex is integrated with the brainstem nuclei that directly
regulate the heart, mainly through the vagus activity
- Higher cognitive effectiveness is linked to greater activity of the parasympathetic system
- Optimal functioning of the prefrontal cortex ensures that the flow of activity along neural
pathways will establish adequate mappings between input, internal states, & outputs needed to
perform a given task
o Such flexibility is ensured by the central executive, whose role is to control & coordinate
different inhibitory, attentional, & memory functions into higher order cognitive functions
- BUT this model might not fit all performance contexts, in particular as soon as movement is
involved, as heart rate variability is influenced by movement

Emotion regulation
- The ability to regulate our emotions is critical since performances are emotional experiences
which affect our decision-making
- Involves influencing how we experience & express the emotions that we feel
- Process model of emotion regulation  5 main emotion regulation strategies

BUT in the performance setting, the situation selection strategy may not be applicable
- Situation modification  change features of the performance
- Attentional deployment  focus on specific info in the performance
- Cognitive change  change thoughts about the performance
- Response modulation  suppress/amplify emotion expression; social sharing of emotions with
others

PERFORMING UNDER PRESSURE

Personality-trait-like individual differences (PTLIDs) & the influence on performance under

pressure

Competitive trait anxiety

- A behavioural predisposition to perceive competitive situations as a threat then respond with
state anxiety levels that are disproportionate to the levels of objective threat
- Helps to predict performance as it can affect the subjective competitive situation, which is how
the individual views the environment through cognitive appraisal
- E.g. if a footballer taking a penalty high in CTA is predisposed to view the situation as
threatening, then thoughts would direct to the shot, which could lead to a greater somatic
(bodily) response, which could result in impaired performance

Influence on performance under pressure:

- Within the sporting environment, high levels of CTA are more likely to have a debilitating effect
on performance in competitive situations
- Lower levels of CTA have also been related to higher confidence on competition days, +ve post
competition affective states, & lower levels of state anxiety
- CTA has also been linked with perfectionism, & research has shown that athletes with higher
levels of maladaptive perfectionism tend to have higher levels of CTA
- As lower levels of CTA appear to be desirable for performance, researchers have used
psychological skills training to help reduce CTA

Trait emotional intelligence

- Trait EI refers to dispositions that are emotionally related, thus causing tendencies to behave in
a predetermined manner in emotional situations
- It is suggested that individuals high in trait EI are able to effectively control & modify emotions
through implementing strategies, a process known as emotion regulation
- Trait EI +vely influences emotion regulation, which promotes beneficial effects including coping
under stress

Influence on performance under pressure:

- It has been shown that higher trait EI produces superior performance under pressure in a range
of performance settings such as academic exams, experimental tasks (learning & decision-
making, & sport
- Trait EI has shown beneficial effects in both long-term performance achievements & in short-
term, pressurised performance
- Although long-term performance is impt, pressure can often manifest within a particular
situation/event such as a presentation
o E.g. students who had higher trait EI experienced less -ve affect during an unfamiliar
knowledge recall test
- Trait EI has also been linked to physiological responses during stressful situations, with
individuals higher in trait EI displaying a better physiological resistance to stress & successfully
predicted cortisol secretion in pressurised tennis serving
o Demonstrates that higher levels of trait EI have an influence over the physiological stress
response, which shows its protective role over the -ve effects of stress, which in turn can
+vely affect performance in pressurised environments
Hardiness
- A personality style that helps a person cope, withstand, & actively engage in transformational
coping when faced with stressful events
o Transformational coping allows the person to reframe the stressful situation & perceive it as
an opportunity rather than a threat
- Made up of 3 factors:
o A sense of control over external factors
o Commitment in daily life
o A challenge perspective if unexpected changes occur
- As this trait develops, it forms the pathway for resilience in stressful environments, which
ultimately results in performance enhancement through active coping

Influence on performance under pressure:

- Individuals high in hardiness have shown better performance under stress in a range of
demanding environments & occupations such as the military, academia, sport, fire-fighting, &
business
- Athletes who rated higher in hardiness had lower levels of both cognitive (worry) & somatic
(bodily symptoms) anxiety, higher levels of self-confidence, & better coping
o Suggests that when athletes high in hardiness are put in pressure situations, they respond in
a facilitative way to the -ve stressors in the environment
- Hardiness also predicts better performance longitudinally & helps to buffer stress within a
pressurised environment

Mental toughness
- A collection of experientially developed & inherent sport-specific & sport-general values,
attitudes, emotions, & cognitions that influence the way in which an individual approaches,
responds to, & appraises both -vely & +vely construed pressure, & adversities to consistently
achieve their goals
- Shares the 3 Cs of hardiness but with an addition of confidence
o Allows the individual to be confident in their ability to overcome -ve experiences
- Plays a role in +ve challenging situations (e.g. winning streaks in football)

Influence on performance under pressure:

- Suggested to facilitate thriving in challenging, adverse, & pressure situations
- Impt effects on performance, goal processes, & the ability to thrive under stress
- Shown to predict how successfully athletes will cope with the stresses of competition
- Enhancement of mental toughness at a younger age appears to be an impt factor in
development & future performance

Optimism & pessimism

- Optimists = those who expect good experiences in the future
- Pessimists = those who expect bad experiences
- Dispositional optimism = an individual’s generalised expectation of either +ve/-ve outcomes
o Individuals also develop explanatory styles  methods of interpreting both +ve & -ve events
- Regarded as a stable trait, optimism may assist individuals in regulating their own behaviour
o E.g. in challenging & threatening environments, optimists tend to assert more confidence,
goal-directed behaviour, & have belief that the adversity can be overcome
o The behaviour of pessimists in the same environment leads to having doubts, being more
hesitant, disengaging effort, & anticipating catastrophe
-  it is suggested that those higher in dispositional optimism cope better in pressure situations
because of greater psychological adjustment
- Those who have optimistic explanatory styles when facing adversity are more likely to view it as
a challenge to be overcome & develop more confidence for future adversity
- BUT -ve aspect of optimism  denial of reality that may suppress the instinctual nature of
behaviour

Influence on performance under pressure:

- Job-related stress was mediated by levels of dispositional optimism due to the use of problem-
focused coping
o When individuals use problem-focused coping, it encourages goal-directed behaviour by
changing/removing the source of stress
- Can be developed with attributional style training, to help sustain performance under pressure

Perfectionism
- A personality characteristic defined as striving for flawlessness & setting exceedingly high
standards for performance, accompanied by tendencies for overly critical evaluations
- 2 main concepts:
o Perfectionistic strivings  associated with aiming to achieve high standards of performance,
+ve emotions, & motivation that is facilitative for performance
o Perfectionistic concerns  associated with evaluation from others, performance fear,
meeting personal expectations, & fear of failure

Influence on performance under pressure:

- Both +ve & -ve effects of perfectionism on performance are present in a range of pressure
settings
- It is suggested that perfectionistic striving promotes facilitative behaviours to help improving
performance
o E.g. focusing on accuracy rather than speed & having goal-directed behaviour to increase
motivation
- Perfectionistic concerns successfully predicted better performance, although this was paired
with -ve affect, which may not be conducive to future performances
o Maladaptive perfectionism showed a r/s with trait anger under athletic competitive
situations, which results in greater dispositional tendencies for anger within sport
- Perfectionism seems to facilitate performance under pressure; however, it could also cause
performance decrements

Reinvestment
- The manipulation of conscious, explicit, rule based knowledge, by working memory, to control
the mechanics of one’s movements during motor output
- Within a pressurised environment, an individual high in reinvestment will attempt to gain
conscious control of their performance
- This occurs as the individual reverts to the early stages of learning in an effort to control
movements & decisions that are normally autonomous, which can potentially result in
performance decrements
- The nature of reinvestment has been shown to cause a breakdown in skill & decision-making,
particularly under pressure

Influence on performance under pressure:

- Differing levels of reinvestment can affect performance in both cognitive & motor tasks
- Research where either pressure manipulation/self-focus instructions have been used to provoke
conscious control of movement, the majority of performers have suffered a drop in performance
- A study examining reinvestment in medical students under pressure found that low
“reinvesters” performed better on a laparoscopic surgery task under pressure than high
reinvesters
- Current research is exploring decision-making & reinvestment & has shown that decision
reinvestment can also cause performance decrement under pressure

Resilience
- Protective factors which modify, ameliorate,/alter a person’s response to some environmental
hazard that predisposes to a maladaptive outcome
- Can stem from adverse life events & cause -ve effects on well-being
- Individuals face a variety of stressors & imptly, in some instances, individuals actively put
themselves in these stressful situations & are forced to develop this quality
- Can be developed through -ve sporting experiences, such as failure, which then fosters the
ability to bounce back from -ve experiences, such as stress
- The construct influences the stress process throughout, not only on the initial appraisal of stress,
but also on the selection of coping strategies

Influence on performance under pressure:

- Individuals that are more resilient perceived the task as a challenge rather than a threat
- Resilient individuals experienced more +ve affect in a stressful situation, which was mediated by
a challenge appraisal of the situation
- Suggested that resilience helps build coping resources after stressful experiences
- If an individual experiences performing under pressure more often, the trait of resilience
seemingly develops & assists in times of adversity

Sensation seeking (risk taking)

- The need for varied, novel, & complex sensations & experiences, & the willingness to take
physical & social risk for the sake of such experiences
- A stable personality trait, & those high in the trait actively seek out arousal & stimulation & have
a higher tolerance to -ve life events
- Sensation seekers are attracted to competitive/opportunistic behaviours with no regard for
punishment contingencies
o Coupled with the propensity to take risks (i.e. reckless driving, extreme sports) as it leads to
feelings that increase physiological reactions, which is experienced as the desired sensation
o In turn could transfer to the likelihood of performing successfully under pressure

Influence on performance under pressure:

- Individuals higher in sensation seeking performed better under pressure when compared to
those low on the trait
o However, the performance of sensation-seeking individuals was not affected by low/high-
pressure manipulation
o Suggesting that lower levels of sensation seeking may have greater effects on performance
under pressure, due to avoidance behaviours, for instance
- Risk-taking & sensation-seeking traits are linked to the demands of the situation & may act as a
motivation to engage in potentially stressful situations

PTLIDs: an interactionist approach

Current research suggests that combinations of traits can contribute to athletic success & that
particular traits complement each other to benefit/promote performance

- Interactionism suggests that traits & situations interact together to affect behaviour, & neither
dimension alone can be considered as the cause of behaviour
- Personality is not the sole contributor/predictor of pressurised performance outcomes
- If the concept of PTLIDs is combined with other variables, such as appraisal & physiological
parameters, a more rounded prediction starts to develop
o Another contributor is the influence of the situation on the individual, & it is widely agreed
that understanding behaviour is enhanced through the interactions between the individual &
situation

Current research trends linked to situational/state factors

Trait activation:
- A person has an accumulation of traits, which are distributed among particular situations
- This suggests that diff traits play individual roles in particular situations
- E.g. if an athlete is performing well during a training session, reinvestment may not play a role in
determining behaviour. However, if they were losing in the final of a competition, it may play a
huge part in coping with the pressure
- When assessing diff pressurised situations such as private, mixed, & public, a similar result was
found in that with diff situational demands, self-focussed traits were activated

Appraisals:
- The way individuals view the situation that they are exposed to depends on cognitive appraisal
o This relates to the individual’s perception of the stressors within the environment
- Individuals view performance situations, where valued goals are strived toward, as either a
challenge/threat
o Those who respond +vely to potentially stressful situations are considered to have a
challenge appraisal & those who respond -vely, a threat appraisal
- This concept is present as a moderator of the resulting behavioural responses also
o E.g. hardiness has a challenge component, which encourages individuals to see the situation
as a challenge to be overcome rather than as a threat to themselves
o This appraisal of stress promotes transformational coping

Physiological measures:
- By using an objective measure, we are able to objectify how a person is reacting under a
pressurised situation
o Increases the validity of measuring personality through self-report measures, given the fact
that personality is considered to have links to physiological responses & neural pathways
- E.g. HRV  cardiac measure of activation within the ANS
o HRV represents the efficiency & adaptability of the ANS in response to environmental &
situational demands
o By using HRV, researchers can understand the levels of stress an individual is experiencing
o This objectifies the reaction that can be directly linked with personality’s role under pressure
- 1 trait successfully linked to HRV is EI  those higher in EI had a better physiological resilience
to stress when exposed to laboratory stressors
- HRV has been assumed to be part of the neurophysiological basis of the reinvestment trait under
pressure  high reinvestors were found to have a higher decrease in parasympathetic activity +
a decreased performance in comparison to low reinvestors during a pressurised decision-making
task
DECISION-MAKING UNDER PRESSURE

Decision-making
- A process of committing to a specific course of action, with both perceptual & executional
aspects required of the performance
- System 1 thinking  intuitive decisions, normally reactive, effortless, quick, & not controlled
consciously
o E.g. in the performance setting, a performer who made a mistake in his routine needs to
make a quick decision on what to do to remedy the situation, & often times, this is rather
intuitive in nature as the decision is made quite instinctively w/o conscious choice & based on
past experiences
- System 2 thinking  deliberate thinking, strategy, reasoning, & evaluating choices
o Needs more mental resources then system 1
- Performers use both systems 1 & 2, shifting between both systems interchangeably in
performances, as both intuitive & deliberate decisions about the features of the performance
are required

Factors that influence decision-making

Environment
- The mere presence of others affects the performer’s behaviours & thoughts
- The performance results in social facilitation

Time pressure
- When decisions are needed to be made quickly, in response to changing complex environments,
the pressure of time becomes a real constraint in decision making
- W/o time pressure, better decisions can be made as there is slower task processing & greater
accuracy

Nature of task
- Some decisions need to be made individually while others need to be made in a team
- Some tasks are more ambiguous &/ have more risk involved that influences the decision-making
process

Domain-specific knowledge
- People who are experts in their fields tend to make better decisions than novices & thus perform
better
o Explained by Ericsson et al. (1993)’s theory of deliberate practice  an avg of 10,000 hours of
quality practice is needed for 1 to gain expert domain-specific knowledge

RESILIENCE

- Emotional resilience  the ability to recover from a stressful event

- For resilience to occur, there must be adversity & evidence of +ve adaptation
- Performers who can cope with stress, adversity, & failure are more likely to achieve
performance success
- Being able to cope with these factors becomes impt for performers who need to consistently
perform at a high level over a period of time
The resilient individual
- Resilience is multifaceted as it is linked to:
 o Skills  critical thinking, problem solving, planning, social skills
o Attributes  self-awareness, enthusiasm, optimism, hope, open to new experiences,
autonomy
o Attitudes  sense of purpose, learning from experiences, persisting through adversity,
understanding own limitations, look to the future optimistically, adapt to circumstances
- Generally, resilient individuals are believed to bounce back from stressful events & adapt
flexibility to the demands of the stressful situation
- Highly resilient individuals know how to proactively cultivate +ve emotions through humour,
relaxation, & thinking optimistically
- Resilience is not a constant  it fluctuates & flourishes only when there are multiple stressors
present
- When faced with stressful situations, resilient individuals feel -ve emotions too but tend to
recover quicker & more completely
- Individuals who are less resilient may not cope with adversity well & stand a greater chance of
burnout
- BUT resilience training interventions  moderate & +ve effect

A theory of resilience: Metatheory of Resilience & Resiliency (MRR)

- Using the notion of homeostasis  we are faced with daily stressors & stressful situations that
demand us to perform & these stressors disrupt homeostasis in the reintegration process with
the following possible outcomes:
o Resilient integration, with successful adaption to a higher level of homeostasis
o Return to baseline
o Recovery with loss, with a lower level of homeostasis
o Dysfunction, where maladaptive strategies are used to cope with the stressor
- Disruption in homeostasis is necessary to build resilience as homeostasis alone is not enough for
growth & improvement
- Through reintegration, new skills can be learnt from the disruptive experience
o This will increase the individual’s abilities to engage in resilient integration the next time
disruption occurs

Building resilience
- Intervention programmes should develop specific competencies such as optimism, problem-
solving, self-regulation, & goal setting
- It is then suggested that once these competencies are built, simulated adverse environments are
presented for performers to safely practise these competencies
- E.g. Bounce Back & Thrive! Programme in the academic domain  improve resiliency amongst
students with the focus on enhancing decision-making, social awareness, interpersonal skills, &
self-management
- E.g. US Army Master Resilience Training designed to enhance resilience through self-regulation,
optimism, mental toughness, +ve thinking, problem-solving, & interpersonal r/s
o Resiliency is impt in the military as soldiers have to deal with complex, fast-paced, volatile
environments while physically exerting themselves in sleep & food deprived states

Across all domains, some basic principles apply in building resilience:

  Positive personality  Optimise motivation  Strengthen confidence
 Maintain focus  Recognise available support  View setbacks as opportunity
for growth & mastery
 Be proactive in own  Understand diff types of  Build confidence from a few
development motivation sources
 Focus on what can be  Take action steps to get the
controlled support needed

CONFIDENCE

Self-efficacy = the individual’s belief to organise & execute actions to achieve performance that
changes over time based on varying conditions of the situation
- An impt predictor of learning & motivation that is directly related to performance through self-
regulation
- Many researchers believe self-efficacy is the main driver of human behaviour
- Peterson & Arne (2005)  New Human Performance Model  performance is a function of self-
efficacy, ability, & motivation, whilst also including situational factors

Sources of self-efficacy

Performance accomplishments:
- Directly impacts a performer’s evaluations of how well they are performing
- Achieving good results in a competition/performance is beneficial for performer’s self-efficacy
- With high self-efficacy because of good past accomplishments, they are likely to perform well in
future competitions

Vicarious experiences:
- By watching other people perform, self-efficacy levels improve
- Modelling is an effective way to improve performance through self-efficacy
- Whom we model our behaviours after also makes a diff
o Modelling the behaviours of peers was found to be more influential on athletes’ self-efficacy
o BUT watching peers fail to perform lowers self-efficacy levels
- Fans of winning teams had higher testosterone levels compared to fans of losing teams
o Showing that watching significant people alone is enough to alter one’s physiological state

Verbal persuasion:
- Refers to persuading & influencing others into thinking that they can perform successfully
- 1 form of verbal persuasion commonly used in performance settings is self-talk
- Instructional self-talk was found to influence performance of accuracy sports
- In academia, undergraduate students who used more -ve self-talk were associated with poorer
academic performance

Perception of physiological states:

- Performers use info from their own physiological states to judge their own thoughts & emotions
- Performers perceive their physiological states differently for optimal & non-optimal
performances, using an interaction of psychological, sociological, & biological factors
- Performers’ perceptions of their autonomic arousal states significantly influenced their self-
efficacy ratings

Self-efficacy & academic performance

- Self-efficacy has been widely shown to be a predictor of performance in the academic field
- Believing that you are good in a subject has a direct impact on how well you perform
- Students with higher academic self-efficacy reported lower levels of test anxiety
o Academic self-efficacy was found to be an impt moderating factor of task importance & test
anxiety

Self-efficacy & work performance

- Self-efficacy & work performance are +vely correlated
- Employees high in self-efficacy tend to have higher job satisfaction & work perception
- Self-efficacy was predictive of work performance of low complexity jobs & tasks, & generally was
able to predict task performance but not job performance because of individual differences

Self-efficacy & sport performance

- Sport self-efficacy has been shown to be both a cause & effect of performance in sport
- Athletes who are high in self-efficacy are more likely to work harder, persist in the face of
difficulties & achieve greater accomplishments than those with lower self-efficacy
- When combined with other factors like the athlete’s ability & commitment to their sporting
goals, self-efficacy is believed to have a +ve influence on performance
- Self-efficacy has been found to have a +ve impact on many variables linked to performance such
as motivation, goal achievement, decision-making, state anxiety, affective state, & competitive
orientation

Building confidence in performance

- A wide range of techniques can be used from mindfulness to self-talk & imagery, but it is impt to
note that confidence & performance have a rather unique r/s as performance is influenced by
poor & successful performances, yet confidence is a main source of successful performance
- Confidence can be improved in the continuous cycle of developmental, preparatory, &
performance confidence

The idea is that confidence should be built in

diff phases, as a performer is learning,
preparing to perform, & actually performing

- At the developmental stage, the emphasis should be on personal learning, with emphasis taken
away from failing/seeking the approval of others, & seeing criticism as helpful & +ve
- In the preparation phase, the awareness of their confidence levels & thinking of ways to
enhance confidence is impt
- At the performance phase, the emphasis should be on performing in the moment, not on
whether the performer feels confident/not, so that the performer can adapt according to the
performance demands

IMPROVING PERFORMANCE BY MEANS OF ACTION-COGNITION COUPLING IN

ATHLETES & COACHES
Behavioural theories of sport leadership
- It was suggested that successful leaders demonstrate similar behaviours such as communication,
organisation, & initiation
- Key leadership factors: initiating structure, consideration, production emphasis, & employee
orientation

Situational theories of sport leadership

- Developed to accommodate contextual demands
- Leadership demands change in certain environments, so situational variables (e.g. experience,
goals, environment) must be taken into account

Multidimensional model of leadership

- Posits that group performance & member satisfaction are functions of the congruence among 3
leader behaviours: required, actual, & preferred
- Situational, leader, & member characteristics are treated as antecedents to the 3 leader
behaviours, while performance & satisfaction are consequences

- Situational characteristics (e.g. goals of the team, organisational structure, social norms, cultural
values, govt regulations) directly affect the coach’s required behaviour & teams preferred
behaviour
- The degree of congruence among the required, actual, & preferred behaviours directly affects
the levels of performance & satisfaction of the group members
- The embedded feedback loop projects how the actual coach behaviour may be a consequence of
performance & satisfaction of the group

Member characteristics & coach behaviour

- The most common approach researchers take when studying leadership via the MML is how
member characteristics affect preferred & perceived coach behaviours

Gender
- Females prefer coaches who demonstrate more democratic behaviour
- Males prefer coaches who use an autocratic behavioural style while providing social support
- While both males & females reported perceiving high levels of training & instruction, males
perceived more autocratic behaviour & females perceived more democratic behaviours
o Males & Females may hold diff perceptions of coach behaviour due to a vast array of factors
including previous sporting experiences
Age & experience
- Younger athletes preferred greater amounts of social support & democratic behaviour
- Older, more experiences athletes preferred less training & instruction, more social support,
positive, & autocratic behaviour
o It appears that older & more experienced athletes prefer less instruction from the coach

Psychological qualities
- Motivation serves as a moderator of athlete’s preferences regarding coach behaviour
o Specifically, athletes high in intrinsic motivation preferred more training & instruction &
positive feedback
o Athletes reporting high levels of extrinsic motivation preferred more social support
- Athletes high in confidence perceived greater amounts of democratic behaviour, social support,
& +ve feedback from their coaches
- Athletes reporting low levels of sport confidence perceived coaches as displaying high rates of
autocratic behaviour

Coach behaviour & satisfaction

- The greater the congruency between preferred & actual coach behaviour the greater the levels
of satisfaction
- Supportive results reveal that low levels of discrepancy between coach behaviour & athletes’
preferences are strongly associated with satisfaction in leadership
- High congruency between preferred & actual training & instruction, democratic behaviour, &
social support increases satisfaction

Coach behaviour & performance

- Performance outcomes may be influenced by factors such as weather, opponent’s great
performance, & poor officiating
o  the r/s between coach behaviour & performance posed in the MML has not been
confirmed

Athlete perceptions of successful coaching

- 6 dimensions that characterise the lived experience of great coaching  coach attributes, the
environment, r/s, the system, coaching actions, & influences
o Coaching actions & influences have the centre interaction but other dimensions continue to
impact athletes’ experiences as well

Expectancy effects in competitive sport

- Self-fulfilling prophecy  a situation whereby an expectation serves as the stimulus to
behaviour which causes the initial expectation to come true
- 4-step model to explain & explore this process in a coach-athlete r/s:

Step 1: coach develops expectations for athlete performance

- Athletes playing for more successful coaches were aware of the qualities coaches employed to
evaluate them
- Athletes playing for less successful coaches were not able to identify the criteria upon which
they were being evaluated

Step 2: expectations influence coaching behaviours

- Successful coaches utilise training & instruction more frequently than any other coaching
behaviour
- High-expectancy athletes will be afforded better & better quality instruction
- Coach status had a significant impact on feedback patterns
o Though head coaches issued differential feedback to high- & low-expectancy athletes,
assistant coaches were more equitable in their feedback

Step 3: perceptions of coach behaviour affects athletes

- Although a discrepancy exists between coaches & athletes impressions of coach treatment
- Consciously & unconsciously, players become aware of diffs in coach behaviour to high- & low-
expectancy athletes
- Coach behaviour, via feedback, provides info to the athletes regarding their level of perceived
competence & satisfaction
o Coach feedback becomes competency info informing athletes about their ability, effort, &
future expectations
o E.g. increased praise & instruction will lead to increased feelings of competence; increased
criticism leads to decreased competence
- +ve coach behaviours (e.g. training & instruction, praise, & corrective info) increase player
satisfaction
- Relevance of feedback depends on the skill being learned, effects of diff types of feedback, &
individual characteristics (such as skill level)
-  it remains impt for coaches to understand how their feedback influences athlete perceptions
&, ultimately, performance

Step 4: athlete performance conforms to coach expectations

- Few studies have explored the actual impact of coach expectations on athlete performance
- In terms of the individual athlete, coaches have emphasised the importance of confidence in
achieving performance success
- Coach evaluation of athlete confidence was the only significant predictor of actual athletic ability

STRATEGIES FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE

Nutrition
- Eating well is essential to fuel good performance

Type Why we need it

Macronutrient - Carbs are metabolised to form glucose, fuel for our brains & bodies
s - Protein builds & repairs muscles, builds enzymes & hormones, aids immune
system
- Fats provide energy, absorb specific nutrients, & help maintain core temp
Micronutrients - Needed in many impt cognitive processes, to maintain optimal blood
supply, & maintain effective communication in the brain
- Vitamins help in the burning of fuel in the brain
Water - There is some 55-75% of water in the human body
- Insufficient water intake can lead to dehydration which results in
impairments in concentration & memory + increased fatigue, tension, &
anxiety

Sleep
- We need to get a good night’s sleep of ~8hrs every night for us to function optimally
- When we are deprived of sleep, cognitive activity, alertness, & performance are impaired
- Prior to performance, sleep issues emerge
o  it is impt to be disciplined to keep to a sleep routine every night
- Steps to enhance sleep hygiene:
o Only get in bed when you want to sleep
o Don’t try to sleep for as long as you can before going to bed
 Read, watch tv etc
o Keep the clock out of sight in bed  only use it for setting your alarm but not having the time
display visible to eliminate time pressure
o Do some light exercise in the late afternoon/early evening
o Avoid caffeine, alcohol, & smoking before going to bed
 Caffeine especially should not be consumed @ night if you have low tolerance
o Keep to the same bedtime as much as possible
o Have a set wind-down time in the lead-up to bedtime
 E.g. not doing anything that places cognitive & emotional load, doing simple tasks like
taking a shower & relaxing

Mind-body strategies
- Our minds influence our bodies & our bodies influence our minds
- At the heart of the mind-body connection is self-regulation  how a person alters thoughts,
feelings, & behaviours
- To self-regulate, we need to have the strength to inhibit behaviours
- In the academic domain, students who can effectively self-regulate were found to be more likely
to do better than students who were poor in self-regulation
- Mind-body strategies to improve self-regulation:
o Breathing slowly through the diaphragm allows for more oxygen to enter the bloodstream
o Relaxation  calming & relaxing your body can calm & relax your mind
o Meditation  keeping your mind focused on 1 thing & learning to manage distractions
o Mindfulness  being purposefully attentive to the present
o Cognitive restructuring  changing the way we think from unproductive to productive

Guidelines for stress management & well-being enhancement

- To perform well, it is of critical importance to manage ourselves & our stress levels, + to be in a
good state of well-being
- 1 of the most fundamental points to note is that preparation for performance is crucial &
perhaps even more impt than the actual performance itself
- The need to practise with good quality preparation should be the 1 st step in ensuring that we can
manage stress well:
o Living a healthy lifestyle with good nutrition, physical exercise, & time for recovery
o Using effective self-regulation strategies
o Maintaining +ve r/s
o Flourish & thrive by knowing your strengths, savouring the joys in life, set goals & work to
achieve them, embrace flow experiences, & finding meaning & purpose

Practising for performance: mental skills & strategies

- A key distinguishing factor between high- & low-level performances is psychological factors
- Utilisation of mental skills has been found to increase self-confidence
 o Self-confidence protects athletes from the -ve effects of competition anxiety
- Mental skills & strategies include:
o Goal setting  can influence sport performance through focus, confidence, effort, &
motivation
o Relaxation  by relaxing, an athlete can rid of undesirable muscle tension & calm the mind
to perform optimally under stress
o Imagery  involves mentally practising a particular skill & can be used for
motivation/learning/refining a new skill/technique
o Self-talk  defined as the “athlete’s verbalisations that are addressed to themselves”
 Helps regulate emotions, effort, anxiety, & improve focus & confidence amongst athletes