Examining the effects of musical type and intensity in performing the flanker task: A test of attentional control theory applied to non-emotional distractions

Music alters the interplay between components of cognition and performance; however, there are inconclusive findings on how. One explanation may be Attentional Control Theory, which states that anxiety places demands on cognitive resources producing adverse effects on cognitive performance. Similarly, characteristics of music alter cognitive faculties resulting in poor performance. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate effects on cognition specific to influences of music through the lens of Attentional Control Theory. In an attempt to explain how music impacts cognitive performance, we asked 141 college students (63.1% female) to complete the flanker task while listening to either lyrical or non-lyrical music at differing sound intensities. Results revealed a significant main effect of music type on flanker performance; however, no significant differences emerged with sound intensity. Findings suggest music with lyrics, rather than intensity, impairs cognition in adults, thereby elucidating the importance of avoiding music with lyrics during active tasks. Moreover, musical lyrics worsen performance by either interfering with selective attention processing of goal-relevant information or altering working memory capacity resulting in decreases in processing efficiency and performance effectiveness. Therefore, findings support the use of attentional control theory as a means of explaining differences in cognitive performance due to characteristics of music.

Download Full-text

Anxiety, Processing Efficiency, and Cognitive Performance

European Psychologist ◽

10.1027/1016-9040.14.2.168 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 168-176 ◽

Cited By ~ 289

Author(s):

Nazanin Derakshan ◽

Michael W. Eysenck

Keyword(s):

Control Theory ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Attentional Control ◽

Processing Efficiency ◽

Performance Effectiveness ◽

Theoretical Predictions ◽

Attentional Control Theory ◽

Efficiency Theory ◽

And Performance ◽

Switching Attention

There have been many attempts to account theoretically for the effects of anxiety on cognitive performance. This article focuses on two theories based on insights from cognitive psychology. The more recent is the attentional control theory ( Eysenck, Derakshan, Santos, & Calvo, 2007 ), which developed from the earlier processing efficiency theory ( Eysenck & Calvo, 1992 ). Both theories assume there is a fundamental distinction between performance effectiveness (quality of performance) and processing efficiency (the relationship between performance effectiveness and use of processing resources), and that anxiety impairs processing efficiency more than performance effectiveness. Both theories also assume that anxiety impairs the efficiency of the central executive component of the working memory system. In addition, attentional control theory assumes that anxiety impairs the efficiency of two types of attentional control: (1) negative attentional control (involved in inhibiting attention to task-irrelevant stimuli); and (2) positive attentional control (involved in flexibly switching attention between and within tasks to maximize performance). Recent (including unpublished) research relevant to theoretical predictions from attentional control theory is discussed. In addition, future directions for theory and research in the area of anxiety and performance are presented.

Download Full-text

Anxiety, Inhibition, Efficiency, and Effectiveness

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169.56.1.48 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 48-55 ◽

Cited By ~ 135

Author(s):

Nazanin Derakshan ◽

Tahereh L. Ansari ◽

Miles Hansard ◽

Leor Shoker ◽

Michael W. Eysenck

Keyword(s):

Control Theory ◽

Error Rate ◽

Attentional Control ◽

Antisaccade Task ◽

Processing Efficiency ◽

Performance Effectiveness ◽

Use Of Resources ◽

High Anxious ◽

Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽

Attentional Control Theory

Effects of anxiety on the antisaccade task were assessed. Performance effectiveness on this task (indexed by error rate) reflects a conflict between volitional and reflexive responses resolved by inhibitory processes (Hutton, S. B., & Ettinger, U. (2006). The antisaccade task as a research tool in psychopathology: A critical review. Psychophysiology, 43, 302–313). However, latency of the first correct saccade reflects processing efficiency (relationship between performance effectiveness and use of resources). In two experiments, high-anxious participants had longer correct antisaccade latencies than low-anxious participants and this effect was greater with threatening cues than positive or neutral ones. The high- and low-anxious groups did not differ in terms of error rate in the antisaccade task. No group differences were found in terms of latency or error rate in the prosaccade task. These results indicate that anxiety affects performance efficiency but not performance effectiveness. The findings are interpreted within the context of attentional control theory (Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., & Calvo, M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion, 7 (2), 336–353).

Download Full-text

The Influence of Anxiety on Visual Attentional Control in Basketball Free Throw Shooting

Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology ◽

10.1123/jsep.31.2.152 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 152-168 ◽

Cited By ~ 124

Author(s):

Mark R. Wilson ◽

Samuel J. Vine ◽

Greg Wood

Keyword(s):

Control Theory ◽

Attentional Control ◽

Objective Measure ◽

Eye Tracker ◽

Basketball Players ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Free Throw ◽

Quiet Eye ◽

Attentional Control Theory ◽

And Performance

The aim of this study was to test the predictions of attentional control theory using the quiet eye period as an objective measure of attentional control. Ten basketball players took free throws in two counterbalanced experimental conditions designed to manipulate the anxiety they experienced. Point of gaze was measured using an ASL Mobile Eye tracker and fixations including the quiet eye were determined using frame-by-frame analysis. The manipulation of anxiety resulted in significant reductions in the duration of the quiet eye period and free throw success rate, thus supporting the predictions of attentional control theory. Anxiety impaired goal-directed attentional control (quiet eye period) at the expense of stimulus-driven control (more fixations of shorter duration to various targets). The findings suggest that attentional control theory may be a useful theoretical framework for examining the relationship between anxiety and performance in visuomotor sport skills.

Download Full-text

The Impact of Anxiety on Processing Efficiency: Implications for the Attentional Control Theory

The Open Behavioral Science Journal ◽

10.2174/1874230001307010007 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 7-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Wong, I. Y

Keyword(s):

Control Theory ◽

Attentional Control ◽

Processing Efficiency ◽

Attentional Control Theory ◽

The Impact

Download Full-text

wandering mind and performance routine in golf

Journal of Human Sciences ◽

10.14687/jhs.v18i4.6189 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 536-549

Author(s):

Paul Christianson ◽

Brent Hill ◽

Brad Strand ◽

Joe Deutsch

Keyword(s):

Control Theory ◽

Attentional Control ◽

Performance Enhancement ◽

Skill Levels ◽

The Past ◽

Current State ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Attentional Control Theory ◽

State Of Research ◽

And Performance

The past decade of research has brought about new understandings in the study of pre-shot routines, with multiple researchers advancing the field of knowledge surrounding the usage of pre-shot routines as a performance enhancement mechanism. Across golfers of novice to expert skill-levels, the results of peer-reviewed studies have clearly presented the potential benefits of incorporating pre-shot routines for all golfers in improving their play. However, with the current state of research serving as an indicator as to how far we have come in our learning of pre-shot routines in golf, researchers and practitioners in the field understand that there is still a long way to go in expanding our knowledge base on pre-shot routines and their role in the golf performance spectrum. The paper reviews the concept of the wandering mind, attentional control theory, performance routines in general, and more specifically, pre-shot routines in golf.

Download Full-text