wandering mind and performance routine in golf

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.

Can anxiety and race interact to influence face-recognition accuracy? A systematic literature review

Wrongful convictions continue to occur through eyewitness misidentification. Recognising what factors, or interaction between factors, affect face-recognition is therefore imperative. Extensive research indicates that face-recognition accuracy is impacted by anxiety and by race. Limited research, however, has examined how these factors interact to potentially exacerbate face-recognition deficits. Brigham (2008) suggests that anxiety exacerbates other-race face-recognition deficits. Conversely, Attentional Control Theory predicts that anxiety exacerbates deficits for all faces. This systematic review examined existing studies investigating the possible interaction between anxiety and face-race to compare these theories. Recent studies included in this review found that both anxiety and race influence face-recognition accuracy but found no interaction. Potential moderators existing in reviewed studies, however, might have influenced their results. Separately, in some studies reviewed, anxiety induced during retrieval impacted recognition, contrasting with the conclusions of previous reviews. Recommendations for future research are given to address moderators potentially impacting results observed previously.

Translating Attentional Control Theory to Applied Psychological Eye Tracking Research

This chapter will describe how eye tracking outcomes can be used to evaluate psychological processes, particularly in applied contexts (e.g., clinical anxiety disorders, elite motor performance and rehabilitation settings). Our discussion will focus primarily on the influence of emotion on two key aspects of attentional processing related to Attentional Control Theory: i) attentional bias for threatening stimuli, and ii) processing (in)efficiency. We present key metrics than can be used to infer these processes and describe that previous management of outcome measures can be allocated into two categories: transferred and retrofitted. This content is primarily aimed at readers thinking about using eye-tracking in the context of psychological research and practice; to help them design their task(s) and select appropriate outcome measures in order to avoid potential confounds.

Psychological pressure and compounded errors during elite-level tennis

Objectives: In the context of Grand Slam tennis, we sought to examine how situational pressure and prior errors can disrupt subsequent performance in elite performers. Methods: A retrospective analysis of more than 650,000 points across 12 Grand Slam tennis tournaments from 2016-2019 was conducted to identify pressurised in-game moments and unforced errors. A scoring system was used to index situational pressure based on the current match situation (e.g., break points, stage of the match) on a point-by-point basis. The occurrence of performance errors was identified based on double faults and unforced errors, as instances of controllable mistakes. Results: A mixed effects logistic regression model revealed that an increase in the pressure index (a 1-5 score) significantly increased the probability of a performance error (ps<.001), as did an error on the preceding point (OR=1.2, 95%CI [1.17, 1.23], p<.001). A multiplicative effect of pressure and prior errors also emerged, as the negative impact of prior errors on performance was greater when situational pressure was already high, in line with the predictions of Attentional Control Theory: Sport (ACTS). Analyses of the distribution of winners and unforced errors across individual players revealed that winning players were as susceptible to pressure and prior errors as losing players. Conclusions: These findings extend our understanding of how ongoing feedback from prior mistakes may further exacerbate the effects of pressure on performance.

Baseline Differences in Anxiety Affect Attention and tDCS-Mediated Learning

Variable responses to transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) protocols across individuals are widely reported, but the reasons behind this variation are unclear. This includes tDCS protocols meant to improve attention. Attentional control is impacted by top-down and bottom-up processes, and this relationship is affected by state characteristics such as anxiety. According to Attentional Control Theory, anxiety biases attention towards bottom-up and stimulus-driven processing. The goal of this study was to explore the extent to which differences in state anxiety and related measures affect visual attention and category learning, both with and without the influence of tDCS. Using discovery learning, participants were trained to classify pictures of European streets into two categories while receiving 30 min of 2.0 mA anodal, cathodal, or sham tDCS over the rVLPFC. The pictures were classifiable according to two separate rules, one stimulus and one hypothesis-driven. The Remote Associates Test (RAT), Profile of Mood States, and Attention Networks Task (ANT) were used to understand the effects of individual differences at baseline on subsequent tDCS-mediated learning. Multinomial logistic regression was fit to predict rule learning based on the baseline measures, with subjects classified according to whether they used the stimulus-driven or hypothesis-driven rule to classify the pictures. The overall model showed a classification accuracy of 74.1%. The type of tDCS stimulation applied, attentional orienting score, and self-reported mood were significant predictors of different categories of rule learning. These results indicate that anxiety can influence the quality of subjects’ attention at the onset of the task and that these attentional differences can influence tDCS-mediated category learning during the rapid assessment of visual scenes. These findings have implications for understanding the complex interactions that give rise to the variability in response to tDCS.

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.

Attentional Control in Bilingualism: An Exploration of the Effects of Trait Anxiety and Rumination on Inhibition

Bilingual individuals have been reported to show enhanced executive function in comparison to monolingual peers. However, the role of adverse emotional traits such as trait anxiety and rumination in bilingual cognitive control has not been established. Attentional Control Theory holds that anxiety disproportionately impacts processing efficiency (typically measured via reaction time) in comparison to accuracy (performance effectiveness). We administered eye tracking and behavioural measures of inhibition to young, healthy monolingual and highly proficient bilingual adults. We found that trait anxiety was a reliable risk factor for decreased inhibitory control accuracy in bilingual but not monolingual participants. These findings, therefore, indicate that adverse emotional traits may differentially modulate performance in monolingual and bilingual individuals, an interpretation which has implications both for ACT and future research on bilingual cognition.

Attentional control in bilingualism: An exploration of the effects of trait anxiety and rumination on inhibition

Bilingual and multilingual research has largely focussed on the effects of linguistic experience on general cognitive control abilities, such as inhibitory control and selective attention. However, there is a dearth of studies investigating the possible effect of emotions on executive processing. In this current study we aimed to investigate how trait anxiety and rumination may affect executive function by using behavioural and eye-tracking methods, as well as specific questionnaire used in the field of cognitive and affective sciences. Within the framework of the Attentional Control Theory (ACT), we compared a group of English monolinguals with a group of multilinguals from different linguistic backgrounds. We found that trait anxiety is a reliable predictor of decreased inhibitory control performance in bilingual but not monolingual speakers. This article has been submitted for publication in Behavioural Sciences, Special Issue: Individual Variation and the Bilingual Advantage - Factors that Modulate the Effect of Bilingualism and Cognitive Control, edited by Prof. Dr. Maurits van den Noort, Dr. Peggy Bosch, and Prof. Dr. Esli Struys. We hope this research will open new avenues for investigations that will indeed include an important dimension of our human make up: emotions.