1,721,048 research outputs found
Ready, set, go: Cortical hemodynamics during self-controlled sprint starts
No full textObjectives: Successful sprint starts require self-control: Athletes need to avoid a false start (impulse control) and at the same time need to start as fast as possible (action initiation). Research from cognitive neuroscience shows that such self-control acts hinge on activity in areas in the lateral Prefrontal Cortex (lPFC). We are harnessing these findings in order to accurately analyze and better understand the neural basis of self-controlled sprint start performance.
Design: In a within-subject experimental design, participants executed three different sprint start sequences (Ready-Set-Go) for ten times each. In the no-start condition, participants only had to avoid producing a false start (impulse control) and in the experimental conditions - either with fixed or with supposedly variable set-start intervals - they additionally had to execute a fast start (impulse control + action initiation).
Methods: We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to assess cerebral oxygenation in the lPFC during sprint start in 33 male participants.
Results: Results show that cerebral oxygenation increased after the set-signal and this increase was particularly pronounced in the fixed and supposedly-variable start conditions. Post-hoc analyses further indicated that oxygenation differences between no-start and the two start conditions were particularly pronounced in anterior parts of the LPFC.
Discussion: This is the first study to reveal oxygenation changes in self-control relevant cortical areas during sprint start performance. This substantiates the claim that sprint starts impose self-control demands and provides a much called for application of neuroscience findings to the sport context
Overview of Current Directions in Boredom Research
Full text linkThe concluding chapter of this book represents a collaborative effort between the editors and all contributing authors, resulting in a comprehensive overview of the current directions in boredom research. Summaries of each chapter not only underscore the multitude of perspectives on boredom but also elucidate the diverse approaches employed in its study. Furthermore, the chapter directs attention to both known and unknown aspects of boredom, providing a foundation for future research in the field
Ego depletion and persistent performance in a cycling task
No full textWe tested the assumption that persistent performance in an exhausting indoor cycling task would depend on momentarily available self-control strength (N = 20 active participants). In a within-subjects design (two points of measurement, exactly seven days apart), participants’ self-control strength was experimentally manipulated (depletion: yes vs. no; order counterbalanced) via the Stroop test before the participants performed a cycling task. In line with our hypothesis, hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) revealed that participants consistently performed worse over a period of 18 minutes when they were ego depleted. In addition, HLM analysis revealed that depleted participants invested less effort in the cycling task, as indicated by their lower heart rate. This effect escalated over time, as indicated by a time × condition interaction. These results indicate that self-control strength is necessary to obtain an optimal level of performance in endurance tasks requiring high levels of persistence. Practical implications are discussed
Flow As An Experience Beyond Boredom
No full textThe holistic experience of flow was first proposed by Csikszentmihalyi in 1975. Flow can be described as a mental state of operation in which a person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing. Flow is a highly gratifying mental state which is characterized by the merging of action and awareness, clear goals, unambiguous feedback, concentration on the task, sense of control, the loss of self-consciousness, time transformation, and autotelic experience. In addition, and most importantly, flow is experienced when there is a balance between a particular challenge and the skills required to accomplish it. However, if this balance is not met and the situation is not challenging enough, the individual is likely to experience boredom. Thus, flow is somehow the opposite of boredom. In the words of Csikszentmihalyi, flow is “beyond boredom.” In this context, the question arises as to what point the state of boredom changes to the state of flow and how an initially satisfying activity can be perceived as boring. In addition to providing an overview of flow theory, we will discuss these issues in this chapter. We will also look at the consequences of boredom and flow and examine strategies for avoiding boredom and facilitating flow
Lapses in self-control: A consequence of depleted self-control strength or the result of attentional and motivational shifts
No full textResearch in the field of sport and exercise psychology has repeatedly highlighted the importance of self-control strength for successful performance. For instance, higher levels of self-control strength are associated with performance under pressure (e.g., Englert & Bertrams, 2012), persistence in straining physical exercises (e.g., Wagstaff, 2014), or the ability to regularly follow physical exercise routines (e.g., Martin Ginis & Bray, 2010). Self-control can be defined as the ability to volitionally override dominant response tendencies and to bring them in line with individual goals, aims, or norms (e.g., Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1994). A large number of studies have shown that individuals who performed a primary self-control act performed worse in a secondary self-control task compared to participants who had not exerted self-control in a respective primary task (Hagger, Wood, Stiff, & Chatzisarantis, 2010). Traditionally, these performance impairments in secondary self-control acts have been explained by adopting the strength model of self-control (e.g., Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & Tice, 1998), which proposes that all acts of self-control are energized by one global metaphorical resource of limited capacity. After having performed a self-control act, an individual’s self-control strength may become temporarily depleted and may not be immediately replenished (Baumeister et al., 1998). In this state of ego depletion, subsequent self-control acts are executed less efficiently compared to when self-control strength is fully available. However, recently, the strength model of self-control has been challenged on empirical and on theoretical grounds. For instance, a registered replication attempt conducted in 23 different laboratories failed to find any evidence of the ego depletion effect (Hagger et al., 2016). Aside of highlighting the importance of such replication attempts, this raises the question of how lapses in self-control can be explained and which variables determine whether primary self-control acts have a negative carry-over effect on secondary self-control performance. Recently, an alternative theoretical model explaining self-control impairments after primary self-control acts has been proposed by Inzlicht and Schmeichel (2012; 2013). Based upon the premise that the exertion of self-control is inherently aversive, their process model of self-control postulates that impaired self-control performance may not be the consequence of depleted self-control resources but rather the consequence of motivational, attentional, and emotional shifts following the primary self-control act. The goal of this talk is going to be to discuss recent developments in self-control research and how these new developments may affect research on self-control in the field of sport and exercise psychology
Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy in Sport Psychology Research
No full textThis article aims at introducing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) as a neuroimaging technique for the assessment of cortical processes during physical activity. Compared with other neuroimaging techniques, fNIRS has a relatively low susceptibility to movement artifacts and very high portability. fNIRS could potentially be a useful addition to neuroscientific methods currently used for sport psychology research. This article provides a brief introduction of the basic physical principles of fNIRS and an analysis of the relative strengths and limitations of this method for sport psychology research. Further, a brief discussion is presented of some fNIRS-based findings that are relevant to sport psychology research. To conclude, a sport psychology research perspective where fNIRS will hopefully be used in future research is proposed as an example.Ziel des Beitrags ist die Vorstellung der funktionellen Nahinfrarotspektroskopie (fNIRS) als bildgebendes Verfahren, welches zur Messung kortikaler Prozesse während sportlicher Aktivität eingesetzt werden kann. Im Vergleich mit anderen bildgebenden Verfahren ist fNIRS sehr portabel und weniger anfällig für Bewegungsartefakte. Daher ist fNIRS potentiell eine vielversprechende Ergänzung zu bereits in der sportpsychologischen Forschung genutzten neurowissenschaftlichen Methoden. Dieser Beitrag konzentriert sich auf eine kurze Darstellung der grundlegenden physikalischen Prinzipien von fNIRS und eine Analyse der relativen Stärken und Schwächen von fNIRS mit Blick auf den Einsatz in der sportpsychologischen Forschung. Anschließend werden einige fNIRS basierte Forschungsergebnisse erörtert, die sportpsychologische Forschungsfragen betreffen. Abschließend wird beispielhaft eine mögliche sportpsychologische Forschungsfrage vorgestellt, zu deren Untersuchung fNIRS eingesetzt werden kann
What Brings Out the Best and Worst of People With a Strong Explicit Achievement Motive? : The Role of (Lack of) Achievement Incentives for Performance in an Endurance Task
Full text linkAn explicit achievement motive is intuitively related to good performance. In contrast, the present paper directs attention to conditions where individuals with a strong explicit achievement motive display poor performance. We hypothesized that participants with a strong achievement motive perform worse in a bicycle ergometer task when task instructions lack achievement incentives than when the instructions include achievement incentives. Furthermore, we expected that, when achievement incentives are lacking, they show even worse performance than participants with a weak achievement motive. For the latter, we assumed that they are relatively unaffected by the achievement incentive content of the instructions. In a within-subject experimental design (N = 55) with two blocks (achievement incentives vs. lack of achievement incentives; each block consisted of three trials), our hypotheses were partly supported. The lack of achievement incentives brought out the worst (regarding performance), but the presence of achievement incentives did not bring out the best of participants with a strong achievement motive. In the discussion, we suggest how to improve future experimental achievement settings and reflect the results within the framework of the differentiation into implicit and explicit motives.publishe
Religious faith, academic stress, and instrumental drug use in a sample of Western-African University students
No full textBackground: Neuroenhancement (NE), the use of substances in order to improve cognitive performance, has received considerable scientific attention in recent years. Broadening this NE concept, people can use drugs as instruments (DI) to improve various aspects of performance. Whereas such functional drug use is well-researched in Western countries, there is a lack of research on this phenomenon in African countries.
Objectives: We will provide a first estimate of the frequency by which freely available lifestyle drugs, prescription drugs, and illicit drugs are used for DI and NE purposes in a sample of Western-African university students. Further, we investigate the association of religious faith and academic stress with functional drug use.
Methods: Participants were 669 (mean age 22.58 ± 3.89 years) university students from Ghana. Academic stress and religious faith were measured using self-reports. DI – and its’ facet NE - was measured with a questionnaire that assesses the lifetime prevalence of 3 × 9 DI combinations.
Results: The frequency of DI varied as a function of the specific drug × goal combination between 0.6% and 24.7%. Religious faith was associated with less DI for all measured substance classes and academic stress was only associated with prescription drug DI. Religious faith and academic stress interacted in predicting lifestyle drug DI and prescription drug DI.
Conclusions: In general, the frequency of DI in Ghanaian students was markedly lower than in Western samples and this was also the case for DI goals most closely related to NE. In addition, religious faith was associated with less drug use, supporting the claim that religion might serve as a buffer against drug use
Bursting balloons - comparison of risk taking between extreme sports, esports, and the general public
Full text linkArguably, extreme sports athletes exhibit a more significant risk appetite than the general public. Are standard behavioral risk measures able to capture this? To answer this question, we assessed self-reports of risk taking and measured the risk-taking behavior of samples of snowboarders and climbers. Two groups of non-athletes, university students and crowdworkers, and athletes of a sport that does not include the potential of grave injury or death, esports athletes, serve as control conditions and complement our study. Across these five different groups, 1313 participants performed an online version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and gave self-reports of general willingness to take risks and sports-specific risk taking. Extreme sports athletes exhibited greater risk taking in the BART than non-athletes and esports athletes. Furthermore, BART-performance predicted sports-specific risk taking and its affective consequences. Our results speak to the BART’s ecological validity and the unique role of physical consequences on risk-taking behavior
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