Edson Filho

Affective and Physiological States during Archery Competitions: Adopting and Enhancing the Probabilistic Methodology of Individual Affect-Related Performance Zones (IAPZs)

A probabilistic approach of individual affect-related performance zones (IAPZs), for studying the link between affective states and athletic performance, was applied to determine idiographic profiles associated with optimal and non-optimal performance. Participants were three Brazilian male archers 24, 27, and 57 years old, with M = 13.7 (SD = 2.1) years of experience in archery. Data were collected in a southeast Brazilian state, throughout a whole competitive season and during competitions at different shooting distances. The archers reported their perceptions of arousal and pleasure, and had their heart rate responses recorded. Ordinal logistic regression was used to establish each archers IAPZs for each shooting distance. Results indicated that (a) the archers possess unique IAPZs for the different archery shooting distances, (b) they fluctuated among their optimal and non-optimal IAPZs throughout the season, and (c) optimal performance was not prevalent following optimal performance.

Emotions–decision-making in sport: Theoretical conceptualization and experimental evidence

We review current evidence on the linkage between emotion and decision-making (DM) in sports, and the appraisal, emotions, and cognitions linkage under temporal and societal pressure. The conceptual framework proposes that perceptions and actions are stored and retrieved from the same representation structure, and thus stimuli are either negatively or positively appraised and evoke emotions, which in turn activate cognitive processes linked to DM. The emotion–cognition congruence concept relies on the notion that neural network in long-term memory is activated when events occur, and influences the capacity of the cognitive system to make the decision for response execution. The quality of this process is considered by us as the underlying mechanism of functioning in or out of the individual or team zone of optimal functioning. We also claim that basic regulations stabilize the action system under conditions which vary in perceived pressure. Using mental routines stabilize the emotional level required to perform the task. Process regulations are used for capturing environmental cues to direct attention selectively, and make the response-selection and DM for action execution. The interface between the two coping regulations influences the quality of both the DM and consequent performance. This concept is applied to individual and team processes alike.

Cohesion, team mental models, and collective efficacy: towards an integrated framework of team dynamics in sport

Abstract A nomological network on team dynamics in sports consisting of a multiframework perspective is introduced and tested. The aim was to explore the interrelationship among cohesion, team mental models (TMMs), collective efficacy (CE) and perceived performance potential (PPP). Three hundred and forty college-aged soccer players representing 17 different teams (8 female and 9 male) participated in the study. They responded to surveys on team cohesion, TMMs, CE and PPP. Results are congruent with the theoretical conceptualisation of a parsimonious view of team dynamics in sports. Specifically, cohesion was found to be an exogenous variable predicting both TMMs and CE beliefs. TMMs and CE were correlated and predicted PPP, which in turn accounted for 59% of the variance of objective performance scores as measured by teams’ season record. From a theoretical standpoint, findings resulted in a parsimonious view of team dynamics, which may represent an initial step towards clarifying the epistemological roots and nomological network of various team-level properties. From an applied standpoint, results suggest that team expertise starts with the establishment of team cohesion. Following the establishment of cohesiveness, teammates are able to advance team-related schemas and a collective sense of confidence. Limitations and key directions for future research are outlined.

My heart is racing! Psychophysiological dynamics of skilled racecar drivers

Abstract Our purpose was to test the multi-action plan model assumptions in which athletes’ psychophysiological patterns differ among optimal and suboptimal performance experiences. Nine professional drivers competing in premier race categories (e.g. Formula 3, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge) completed the study. Data collection involved monitoring the drivers’ perceived hedonic tone, accuracy on core components of action, posture, skin temperature, respiration rate and heart rate responses during a 40-lap simulated race. Time marks, gathered at three standardised sectors, served as the performance variable. The A1GP racing simulator (Allinsport, Modena) established a realistic race platform. Specifically, the Barcelona track was chosen because of its inherently difficult nature characterised by intermittent deceleration points. Idiosyncratic analyses showed large individual differences in the drivers’ psychophysiological profile, as well as distinct patterns in regards to optimal and suboptimal performance experiences. Limitations and future research avenues are discussed. Action- (e.g. attentional control) and emotion (e.g. biofeedback training)-centred applied sport psychology implications are advanced.

Do psychobiosocial states mediate the relationship between perceived motivational climate and individual motivation in youngsters

Abstract Grounded in achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, this cross-sectional study examined the relationship between perceived motivational climate and individuals’ motivation as well as the mediation effect of psychobiosocial states as conceptualised within the individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model. Young students (N = 167, age range 14–15 years) taking part in physical education classes completed measures of teacher-initiated motivational climate, task and ego orientation, motivation and psychobiosocial states. Simple and serial mediation analyses indicated that a perceived mastery climate and individuals’ task orientation were related to intrinsic motivation and identified regulation through the mediation of pleasant/functional psychobiosocial states. In contrast, a perceived performance climate was related to external regulation and amotivation through the mediation of unpleasant/dysfunctional psychobiosocial states. Regression analysis results also showed that discrete psychobiosocial states accounted for a significant proportion of variance in motivational variables. Taken together, findings highlight the role of psychobiosocial states as mediators of the relationship between motivational climate and an individual’s motivation, and suggest that educators should consider a wide range of individual’s functional and dysfunctional reactions deriving from their instructional activity.

Associative and Dissociative Imagery Effects on Perceived Exertion and Task Duration

The study was designed to examine the effects of associative and dissociative imagery interventions on reported ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) and task-duration across a handgrip-squeezing task. Sixty adults (Mage = 22.19 years) were randomly assigned to three groups: associative imagery, dissociative imagery, and control (non-imagery). Participants were instructed to perform a 30% maximal handgrip-squeezing task until volitional fatigue. During the squeezing task, RPE and attention allocation were measured every 30 seconds. A series of RM MANOVA procedures revealed that (a) RPE increased linearly across all three groups as a function of increased effort output, (b) as compared to control participants, RPE was lower in participants using either associative or dissociative imagery, and (c) as compared to control participants, participants using either imagery remained longer on task. While the effects of imagery use on RPE and task-duration were descriptively evident, not all effects were significant. Future studies must examine imagery applications for tasks that vary in workload intensities. Findings shed light on interventions that can possibly render exercise experience more pleasant and less exertive for the general population.

Attentional Focus and Functional Connectivity in Cycling: An EEG Case Study

This study aimed to test the efficacy of associative and dissociative attention-based strategies derived from the MAP model to improve performance in endurance activity, and to verify whether specific cortical functional networks are associated with the different types of performance foreseen in the MAP model. The findings from one cyclist support the hypothesis that dissociative strategies induce electrophysiological conditions facilitating flow performance states, which are mainly characterized by extensive functional connectivity across all brain areas in the alpha band. Associative strategies do not seem to conform to this framework, although focusing on the core components of action minimized the awareness of unpleasant afferent feedback, thus delaying detrimental increments of perception of effort, which manifest as a predominant frontal-motor coupling in the alpha band and fronto-occipital coupling in the beta band.

The judgement of research quality: a response to John Smith

The paper by John Smith (2009) relies on the assumption that positivists’ proPopperian methodology of making science is historically rooted in some kind of a social-political-religious conspiracy aimed at exhibiting power of respective institutions. It remains, however, the mainstream methodology today though it is not explicitly claimed to be attributed to the same reasons. The conclusions of the article are somewhat different from sharing the ‘conspiracy theory’, and are based more on familial experiences, and their personal interpretations. The main question after reading the article remains: How can we distinguish between good and ‘not so good’ scientific inquiries, and does this article provide us with better tools to do so? I will briefly share with the readers my impressions and reflections. It is claimed that well-known scientists, such as Galton and Pearson, among others, developed their scientific methods and tools to justify the interests and policies of the formal institution about the distribution of intelligence among human beings. To do so, also the statistical methods of observing and analysing data, which pertain to intelligence, were developed to satisfy the ‘power intentions’ of policy-makers, who happen to belong of course to the upper class. To make justice to this view, one may assume that political interests indeed govern research preference; this is the case also with US NIH and NSF grants today. However, does this indicate that the research method adapts accordingly to political preferences? Isn’t it more reasonable to assume that the first statisticians in the UK, headed by Fisher, were driven more by developing statistical tools which better fit the data and phenomenon under investigation than by ‘power and dominance’ needs? Say this tools would not be developed, can we assume that intelligence is NOT normally distributed in the population? What exactly one tries to say here: Is the distribution of intelligence in the population dependent on institutional power interest? Of course, the arguments about political and institutional power are valid today as they were in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but the making of science and the development of scientific tools were independent of these needs, unless one comes and presents hard evidence of this conspiracy theory. This of course is not aimed at disputing the new trend of using qualitative and mixed methods in social and behavioural sciences. Just as rigorous are the methods in the life and natural

“Team chemistry” through chemistry lenses: interdisciplinary science or a metaphorical conundrum?

A Google search on “team chemistry” returns over 443,000 entries (October 2014) usually denoting some sort of team process, such as cohesion, shared mental models, and collective efficacy. Practitioners (e.g., athletic coaches and business managers) often emphasize the importance of team chemistry for optimal performance. For instance, former NFL quarterback and current business executive Roger Staubach noted that “In any team sport, the best teams have consistency and chemistry.” Researchers in performance psychology also allude to the notion of “team chemistry” when discussing exceptional teams (Levine, 1994; Gershgoren et al., 2013).

Sport psychology group consultation using social networking web sites.

A social networking Web site, Facebook, was used to deliver long-term sport psychology consultation services to student-athletes (i.e., soccer players) in 30- to 60-min weekly sessions. Additional short-term team building, group cohesion, communication, anger management, injury rehabilitation, mental toughness, commitment, and leadership workshops were provided. Cohesion and overall relationships between both the student-athletes and the sport psychology consultants benefited from this process. Social networking Web sites offer a practical way of providing sport psychology consulting services that does not require use of major resources.