Oliver R. Runswick

The effects of anxiety and situation-specific context on perceptual-motor skill: A multi-level investigation

We examined the effects of anxiety and situation-specific contextual information on attentional, interpretational, and behavioural processes underpinning perceptual–motor performance as proposed by Nieuwenhuys and Oudejans (Psychological Research 76:747–759; Nieuwenhuys, Oudejans, Psychological Research 76:747–759, 2012) using an in situ task. Twelve skilled cricket batsmen played against a skilled spin bowler under conditions manipulated to induce low and high levels of anxiety and the presence of low and high levels of situation-specific context. High anxiety decreased the number of good bat–ball contacts, while high levels of situation-specific context increased the number of times the ball was missed. When under high anxiety, participants employed significantly more fixations of shorter duration to more locations, but the effects of anxiety were restricted to the attentional level only. Situation-specific context affected performance and behavioural measures but not anxiety, cognitive load or perceptual–cognitive processes, suggesting that performance is influenced through different mechanisms from anxiety that are independent of working memory load.

The temporal integration of information during anticipation

Objectives: When performing actions under severe time pressure, the ability to anticipate is vital to performance. Skilled anticipation is underpinned by the use of both kinematic cues and contextual information, yet there have been few published reports examining how, and when, these two sources interact during anticipation. Design: This study employed a mixed experimental design. The between participants factor was skill level (skilled vs less‐skilled) and the repeated measures factor was occlusion point (pre‐run, mid‐run, pre‐release, post‐release). Method: Altogether, 18 skilled and 18 less‐skilled cricket batters anticipated deliveries from bowlers in a video‐based simulation task where the footage was occluded at four‐time points relative to ball release. Participants rated the importance of different sources of information when making their judgements at each occlusion point. Results: Skilled batters anticipated the deliveries significantly more accurately than the less‐skilled group at all occlusion points (p < .05). The skilled group judged the use of both contextual information and visual information to be more important when anticipating compared to the less‐skilled group. Kinematic cues were only considered important to anticipation in the final moments of the bowling sequence (i.e., immediately prior to ball release), whereas contextual information was used throughout the action, albeit mostly by the skilled group. Conclusions: Findings enhance our understanding of the processes underpinning anticipation and present implications for the design of training programmes to improve anticipation. HighlightsSkilled performers anticipate more accurately based on context alone.Skilled performers make more use of context to anticipate than less‐skilled.Contextual information is used throughout the anticipation process.Kinematic information is integrated later in the anticipation process.Learning environments should include contextual and kinematic information sources.

Why do bad balls get wickets? The role of congruent and incongruent information in anticipation

ABSTRACT Skilled anticipation is underpinned by the use of kinematic and contextual information. However, few researchers have examined what happens when contextual information suggests an outcome that is different from the event that follows. We aimed to bridge this gap by manipulating the relationship between contextual information and final ball location in a cricket-batting task. We predicted that when contextual information is congruent with the eventual outcome then anticipation would be facilitated. In contrast, when contextual information is incongruent, this would lead to a confirmation bias on kinematic information and result in decreased anticipation accuracy. We expected this effect to be larger in skilled performers who are more able to utilise context. Skilled and less-skilled cricket batters anticipated deliveries presented using a temporally occluded video-based task. We created conditions whereby contextual information and event outcome were either congruent or incongruent. There was a significant skill by condition interaction (p < 0.05). The skilled group anticipated significantly more accurately than the less-skilled group on the congruent trials. Both groups anticipated less accurately on incongruent trials, with the skilled participants being more negatively affected. Skilled performers prioritise contextual information and confirmation bias affects the use of kinematic information available later in the action.

The effect of consistent and varied follow-through practice schedules on learning a table tennis backhand

ABSTRACT In table tennis the follow-through action after a shot is an important part of skill execution. In this experiment, we aimed to extend literature around the contextual interference effect by investigating whether the way the follow-through is organised in practice affects learning of the backhand shot in table tennis. Thirty unskilled participants were allocated to blocked-variable practice, random-variable practice or a control-constant group and aimed backhand shots towards a target following ball projection from a machine. Each group completed these shots in a pre-test, a training phase with follow-through manipulations, a post-test, and a retention test. The random-variable group improved their shot accuracy from pre-test to post-test and from pre-test to retention test (both P < 0.01, d = 1.03), whereas neither the blocked-variable nor the control-constant group displayed any change in shot accuracy. Practising the follow-through in a random-variable fashion enhanced learning of the preceding shot compared with blocked-variable practice or no follow-through instructions. The benefits of learning motor skills under conditions of high contextual interference also apply to how follow-through actions are organised. The findings are valuable to coaches and suggest that instructions related to the follow-through action should be considered as well as the primary skill itself.

How to present your data II: Tables

In a previous paper [1] the use of graphs in research papers was discussed. Tufte, [2] listed the data presentation choices as, the sentence, the table and the graphic, in this paper guidance on the preparation and presentation of table will be described. The purpose of a table is to display numerical information for the reader’s evaluation. However, if you have ever struggled with the layout of a table in a research paper, blame the author [3]. Anyone who produces a table should consider who is going to read it and to make their task as easy as possible.

How to present your data I: Graphs

A major aspect of a research report is analysing and reporting the data. Tufte [1] outlined the basic structures of data presentation as, the sentence, the table, and the graphic, and commented that the sentence only really allowed the presentation of two numbers and prevented comparisons [1]. When reporting data, figures and tables can feature prominently and simplify the understanding for the reader [2]. How to display data has been a topic of discussion for over 200 years, [3] effective presentation techniques will enhance a paper, [4] while poor presentation will obscure meaning and leave the reader uninformed [3, 4]. This is the first of two papers, it will deal with presenting research data in graphs, a second further paper will outline the steps involved in producing data tables.