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标题：THE PRECISE MECHANİSM OF PERFORMANCE ANXIETY: HOW INSTRUCTION ABOUT YOUR TARGET CAN INFLUENCE PERFORMANCE UNDER PRESSURE.
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作者：Recep GÖRGÜLÜ
期刊名称：International Journal of Sport, Exercise and Training Sciences
电子版ISSN：2149-8229
出版年度：2017
卷号：3
语种：English
出版社：Balikesir University
摘要：Attempts to explain the tendency for individuals to demonstrate behaviours completely opposite to those intended has been of great importance for both athletes and research in sport psychology (Wilson,2008;Woodman & Hardy,2003). Wegner (1994) predicts that performance when anxious will break down precisely where it is least desired which is called ironic performance error (Woodman,Barlow,& Gorgulu,2015). From the perspective of applying the theory of ironic processes to a performance setting,the aim of the current study was to test the first examination of ironic performance error in a reactive motor control task under different anxiety conditions. Methods: Across two studies,the task required participants to react to a series of different colour balls as they rolled down an inclined section of partially occluded guttering. The sample comprised 53 participants in Study 1 (32 men,21 women;Mage = 19.62,SD = 2.09) and 40 participants in Study 2 (21 men,19 women;Mage = 22.65,SD = 6.30). Participants scored +5 points for stopping red colour ball,scored -5 points for stopping blue colour ball,and scored 0 points for stopping the yellow colour ball (the presentation of three colours of balls were fully counter-balanced across participants). Results: Across two studies,both physiological arousal (cardiac activity and muscle activity) and self-report anxiety measures confirmed the anxiety manipulation. In Study 1,2(condition: low-anxiety,high-anxiety) x 2(ball: target,ironic error) and in Study 2,2(condition: low-anxiety,high-anxiety) x 3(ball: target,ironic error,non-ironic error) fully repeated measures of ANOVA was employed to analyse performance. As hypothesized across two studies,participants significantly stopped more ironic error balls and less target balls in the high-anxiety condition compared with the low-anxiety condition. More importantly,the incidence of non-ironic general error did not significantly change across anxiety conditions regardless of which of the third colour ball conceptualized as non-ironic general error in Study 2. DISCUSSION: In support of Wegner’s (1994) theory,in the present research participants react more precisely in the wrong way to a reactive task when anxious. Across both studies,in the high anxiety condition,compared with low anxiety condition when used inaction instructions participants’ performance suffered,not only by scoring significantly fewer target balls but also by stopping significantly more ironic error balls. However,in study 2,the incidence of non-ironic error did not change across anxiety conditions. In this way,we demonstrated that the greater number of balls stopped for the specifically ironic error balls represent a specific and precise ironic performance breakdown rather than a more generic anxiety-derived performance error. We can conclude that practitioners should use positive and action-based instructions to reduce proneness to ironic errors. These results are discussed in relation to the theory of ironic processes of mental control and the anxiety-performance relationship more globally. REFERENCES: Wegner,D. M. (1994). Ironic processes of mental control. Psychological Review,101,34-52. Woodman,T.,Barlow,M.,& Gorgulu,R. (2015). Don’t miss,don’t miss,d’oh! Performance when anxious suffers specifically where least desired. The Sport Psychologist.