Stuart Beattie

Anxiety‐induced performance catastrophes: Investigating effort required as an asymmetry factor

Two studies are reported that test the hypothesis that previous support for the cusp catastrophe model of anxiety and performance, and the hysteresis effect in particular, could have been due to a complex interaction between cognitive anxiety and effort required rather than between cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal. We used task difficulty to manipulate effort required in a letter transformation task. Experiment 1 (N=32) used high levels of trait anxiety together with a competitive environment to induce state anxiety. Experiment 2 (N=20) used a competitive environment with social pressure and ego threat instructions to induce high levels of worry. Both studies revealed significant three-way interactions as hypothesized with follow-up tests showing some support for the hysteresis hypothesis in Study 1, and strong support for the hysteresis hypothesis in Study 2. The findings support a processing efficiency theory explanation of anxiety-induced performance catastrophes and indicate that two cusp catastrophe models of performance may exist; one that incorporates the interactive effects of cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal upon performance and the other that incorporates the interactive effects of cognitive anxiety and effort required upon performance.

A Neuropsychological Model of Mentally Tough Behavior

Four studies were conducted with two primary objectives: (a) to conceptualize and measure mental toughness from a behavioral perspective and (b) to apply relevant personality theory to the examination of between-person differences in mentally tough behavior. Studies 1 (N = 305 participants from a range of different sports) and 2 (N = 110 high-level cricketers) focused on the development of an informant-rated mental toughness questionnaire that assessed individual differences in ability to maintain or enhance performance under pressure from a wide range of stressors. Studies 3 (N = 214) and 4 (N = 196) examined the relationship between reinforcement sensitivities and mentally tough behavior in high-level cricketers. The highest levels of mental toughness reported by coaches occurred when cricketers were sensitive to punishment and insensitive to reward. Study 4 suggested that such players are predisposed to identify threatening stimuli early, which gives them the best possible opportunity to prepare an effective response to the pressurized environments they encounter. The findings show that high-level cricketers who are punishment sensitive, but not reward sensitive, detect threat early and can maintain goal-directed behavior under pressure from a range of different stressors.

Do Performance Strategies Moderate the Relationship Between Personality and Training Behaviors? An Exploratory Study

The aim of the present research was to investigate the relationship between personality traits, performance strategies, and training behaviors. In two studies we distributed the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP), the Test of Performance Strategies-2 (TOPS-2), and the Quality of Training Inventory (QTI) to British gymnasts (n = 93 and n = 71, respectively). The results revealed additive and interactive effects of personality and performance strategies on training behaviors. Conscientiousness and goal-setting each independently predicted quality of preparation, goal-setting moderated the relationship between extraversion and distractibility, and emotional stability and emotional control largely independently predicted coping with adversity. The results suggest that athletes’ personalities and performance strategies should both be considered when attempting to maximize training effectiveness and that performance strategies are sometimes more effective for some people than for others.

Development and Validation of a Military Training Mental Toughness Inventory

Three studies were conducted to develop and validate a mental toughness instrument for use in military training environments. Study 1 (n = 435) focused on item generation and testing the structural integrity of the Military Training Mental Toughness Inventory (MTMTI). The measure assessed ability to maintain optimal performance under pressure from a range of different stressors experienced by recruits during infantry basic training. Study 2 (n = 104) examined the concurrent validity, predictive validity, and test–retest reliability of the measure. Study 3 (n = 106) confirmed the predictive validity of the measure with a sample of more specialized infantry recruits. Overall, the military training mental toughness inventory demonstrated sound psychometric properties and structural validity. Furthermore, it was found to possess good test–retest reliability, concurrent validity, and predicted performance in 2 different training contexts with 2 separate samples.

Practice with anxiety improves performance, but only when anxious: evidence for the specificity of practice hypothesis

Abstract We investigated for the first time whether the principles of specificity could be extended to the psychological construct of anxiety and whether any benefits of practicing with anxiety are dependent on the amount of exposure and timing of that exposure in relation to where in learning the exposure occurs. In Experiment 1, novices practiced a discrete golf-putting task in one of four groups: all practice trials under anxiety (anxiety), non-anxiety (control), or a combination of these two (i.e., the first half of practice under anxiety before changing to non-anxiety conditions, anxiety-control, or the reverse of this, control-anxiety). Following acquisition, all groups were transferred to an anxiety condition. Results revealed a significant acquisition-to-transfer decrement in performance between acquisition and transfer for the control group only. In Experiment 2, novices practiced a complex rock climbing task in one of the four groups detailed above, before being transferred to both a high-anxiety condition and a low-anxiety condition (the ordering of these was counterbalanced across participants). Performance in anxiety transfer was greater following practice with anxiety compared to practice without anxiety. However, these benefits were influenced by the timing of anxiety exposure since performance was greatest when exposure to anxiety occurred in the latter half of acquisition. In the low-anxiety transfer test, performance was lowest for those who had practiced with anxiety only, thus providing support for the specificity of practice hypothesis. Results demonstrate that the specificity of learning principle can be extended to include the psychological construct of anxiety. Furthermore, the specificity advantage appears dependent on its timing in the learning process.

A test of engagement versus disengagement in catastrophe models.

The present study explored the interactive effects of self-efficacy and increasing/decreasing task difficulty upon engagement and disengagement within a cusp-catastrophe model framework. Using a closed motor skill aiming task participants (N=60) were required to compete in conditions where task difficulty increased and then decreased (or vice versa) where they were rewarded for good performance but penalized for bad. Participants who reported low levels of self-efficacy disengage at an earlier level of task difficulty than their high self-efficacy counterparts. Furthermore, this group did not re-engage with the task until task difficulty had significantly decreased. Although task disengagement occurred with high difficulty in the high self-efficacy group, this group re-engaged in a similar manner in which they disengaged. Findings support and extend those of previous tests of catastrophe models by directly allowing for task disengagement.

The Benefit of Punishment Sensitivity on Motor Performance Under Pressure

OBJECTIVE Humans are often required to perform demanding cognitive and motor tasks under pressure. However, in such environments there is considerable interindividual variability in the ability to successfully execute actions. Here, we consider how individual differences in self-reported sensitivity to punishment influence skilled motor performance under pressure and whether this relationship is moderated by the temporal detection of threat. METHOD Across two studies, 160 UK participants (Study 1: N = 80, Mage  = 21.6, 52 males; Study 2: N = 80, Mage  = 24.95, 45 males) performed a precision-grip task and received either early or late warning of an upcoming stressful manipulation involving social evaluation and performance-dependent incentives. RESULTS In both studies, we report an interaction where punishment sensitivity was adaptive for motor performance only when threats were detected early and there was opportunity to prepare for the upcoming stressor. Further, our results suggest that the benefits of punishment sensitivity are likely underpinned by the effective use of cognitive strategies. CONCLUSION Heightened sensitivity to punishment is adaptive for performance under pressure, provided threats are detected early and effective cognitive strategies are implemented.

Changing performance pressure between training and competition influences action planning because of a reduction in the efficiency of action execution

ABSTRACT Background and objectives Specificity of practice proposes optimal performance is linked to the conditions under which learning occurred. The present study investigated this effect within a pressure context to determine whether offline and/or online control processes develop specificity through the introduction or removal of performance pressure. Methods Forty novices practiced a two-dimensional stimulus-response discrimination task in one of four groups; two control (control-control and anxiety-anxiety) and two experimental (control-anxiety and anxiety-control). In the experimental groups, participants experienced a switch in conditions of pressure both early and late in practice, i.e., practiced in low-pressure and transferred to high-pressure (control-anxiety group) or the reverse of this (anxiety-control group). Results A significant acquisition-to-transfer decrement in performance occurred for both experimental groups. This offers support for a pressure-performance specificity effect because a change in conditions of pressure (regardless if that was an increase or decrease) resulted in performance decrements. Furthermore, the reaction time measure of offline control was affected by the change to a significantly greater extent than the movement time measure of online control. Conclusions Increases in offline control processes was a performance strategy adopted to combat the disruption that pressure caused to the processes associated with adjusting or planning movements online.

The moderating role of narcissism on the reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and performance.

We examined the possible moderating role of narcissism—a personality variable associated with overconfidence—upon the reciprocal relationship between self-efficacy and performance. Participants (N = 87) completed ten experimental trials on a driving simulator where performance and self-efficacy beliefs were recorded across trials. Hierarchical linear modeling demonstrated that previous performance had a positive relationship with subsequent self-efficacy (supporting much of self-efficacy research). However, narcissism moderated this relationship in that when narcissism was high, performance had no relationship with subsequent self-efficacy. Conversely, self-efficacy had a significant negative relationship with subsequent performance. However, narcissism had no moderating effect upon this relationship. A secondary purpose of the study was to examine the potential moderating role narcissism played in the relationship between self-efficacy and effort, and between effort and performance. Narcissism moderated the relationship between self-efficacy and self-reported effort and between self-reported effort and performance. Further, the moderating role of narcissism was non-significant for a psychophysiological measure of effort.