The Effect of Navigation Demand on Decision Making in a Dynamic, Sport-Inspired Virtual Environment

Athletes commonly make decisions about the passability of closing gaps when navigating sport environments. This study examined whether increased temporal pressure to arrive at a desired location modifies these decisions. Thirty participants navigated toward a waypoint in a virtual, sport-inspired environment. To do so, they had to decide whether they could pass through closing gaps of virtual humans (and take the shortest route) or steer around them (and take a longer route). The decision boundary of participants who were time pressured to arrive at a waypoint was biased toward end gaps of smaller sizes and was less reliably defined, resulting in a higher number of collisions. Effects of temporal pressure were minimized with experience in the experimental task. Results indicate that temporal pressure affects perceptual–motor processes supporting information pickup and shapes the information–action coupling that drives compliance with navigation demands. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Pleasant Emotions Widen Thought–Action Repertoires, Develop Long-Term Resources, and Improve Reaction Time Performance: A Multistudy Examination of the Broaden-and-Build Theory Among Athletes

The authors investigated relationships between emotions, coping, and resilience across two studies. In Study 1a, 319 athletes completed dispositional questionnaires relating to the aforementioned constructs. In Study 1b, 126 athletes from Study 1a repeated the same questionnaires 6 months later. In Study 2, 21 athletes were randomly allocated to an emotional (e.g., pleasant or unpleasant emotions) or control group and undertook a laboratory-based reaction-time task across three time points. Questionnaires and salivary cortisol samples were collected before and after each performance with imagery-based emotional manipulations engendered during the second testing session. Partial longitudinal evidence of the broaden-and-build effects of pleasant emotions was found. Pleasant emotions may undo lingering cognitive resource losses incurred from previous unpleasant emotional experiences. In Study 2, pleasant and unpleasant emotions had an immediate and sustained psychophysiological and performance impact. Taken together, this research supports the application of broaden-and-build theory in framing emotional interventions for athletes.

Using Critical Incident Technique to Investigate Anxiety in Physical Activity Settings

Physical activity participation is linked with many benefits including a reduction in anxiety; it is, however, also important to explore aspects of activity that incite anxiety. One way to investigate sources of anxiety in physical activity is to use the critical incident technique (CIT). The purpose of this study was to explore anxiety-inducing events in physical activity settings and to evaluate the impact on future behavior. A total of 122 participants (M = 21.23 ± 1.77 years) completed an online survey asking when a physical activity setting incited anxiety using the CIT. Four common sources of anxiety were evident in the responses: fragile self-beliefs, social interaction and the threat of negative social evaluation, competition, and a lack of knowledge or unfamiliarity with surroundings. Tenets from achievement goal theory can help to explain the incitement of anxiety and can help shape physical activity settings to be more inclusive and welcoming for all.

Development and Validation of the Diet-Related Beliefs of Exercisers Scale

Many exercise-based weight-loss interventions result in considerably less weight loss than predicted. One possible explanation could be that people have certain beliefs about the interplay of exercise and food that also influence their eating behavior, such as the belief that food is a reward for exercise. The current research outlines a systematic multiphase process to develop a psychometrically sound scale to assess these beliefs. In Study 1, regular exercisers (N = 520) completed an exploratory questionnaire on their beliefs related to diet and exercise. In Study 2 (N = 380), the factor structure of the newly developed scale was corroborated by confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, a test–retest (N = 166) was used to confirm reliability and stability. In sum, the Diet-Related Beliefs of Exercisers Scale with its four subscales (“Refrain from Eating,” “Food as Reward,” “Healthy Eating,” and “Nutritional Replenishment”) represents a valid and reliable measure of exercisers’ diet-related beliefs.

Application of the Multi-Process Action Control Model to Predict Physical Activity During Late Adolescence

The aim of this study was to apply the Multi-Process Action Control model to examine how the additions of regulatory and reflexive processes predict physical activity (PA) behaviors among adolescents. Our sample included 1,176 Grade 11 students (Mage = 15.85 ± 0.38) recruited from a large school board in Southern Ontario. Participants completed a questionnaire including measures of self-reported PA and PA cognitions derived from the Multi-Process Action Control model. Results found the reflective process explaining 16.5% of the variance in PA, with the additions of regulatory and reflexive processes significantly improving the explained variance by 5.1% and 8.2%, respectively. Final models revealed coping planning (estimate = 45.10, p = .047), identity (estimate = 55.82, p < .001), and habit (estimate = 64.07, p < .001) as significant predictors of PA. Findings reinforce the need for integrative models to better understand PA, with coping planning, habit formation, and development of an active identity to be salient targets for intervention during adolescence.

“Know That You’re Not Just Settling”: Exploring Women Athletes’ Self-Compassion, Sport Performance Perceptions, and Well-Being Around Important Competitive Events

Self-compassion, an adaptive self-attitude, is a resource that women athletes use during emotionally difficult times and as a way to reach their potential. The relationship between self-compassion and sport performance, however, is complex. The role and experience of self-compassion within perceived important competitive events are important to explore, as athletes face unique pressures and stressors in these meaningful sport experiences. This collective case study describes women athletes’ self-compassion, sport performance perceptions, and well-being around a self-identified important competitive event. Competitive women athletes (N = 9) participated in two one-on-one interviews, before and after their important competitive event. Results from the holistic, functional, and thematic analyses are represented by holistic case descriptions and an overarching theme, Continuing to Excel in Sport, and subthemes, Reframing Criticism and A Determined Approach. In important competitive events, women athletes utilize self-compassion to promote performance perceptions and well-being when preparing, competing, and reflecting to excel in sport.

The Impact of Video Speed on the Estimation of Time Duration in Sport

The authors investigated the impact of video speed on judging the duration of sport performance. In three experiments, they investigated whether the speed of video presentation (slow motion vs. real time) has an influence on the accuracy of time estimation of sporting activities (n1 = 103; n2 = 100; n3 = 106). In all three studies, the time estimation was more accurate in real time than in slow motion, in which time was overestimated. In two studies, the authors initially investigated whether actions in slow motion are perceived to last longer because the distance they cycled or ran is perceived to be longer (n4 = 92; n5 = 106). The results support the hypothesis that the duration of sporting activities is estimated more accurately when they are presented in real time than in slow motion. Sporting officials’ judgments that require accurate time estimation may thus be biased when based on slow-motion displays.

Experiences With Social Participation in Group Physical Activity Programs for Older Adults

Little is known about how social participation can be facilitated among older adults in group physical activity and its psychosocial benefits that contribute to successful aging. This study aimed to understand older adults’ experiences with social participation in group physical activity programs. Using interpretive description methodology, 16 observations, eight focus groups, and two interviews with participants unable to attend focus groups were conducted with adults 55 years and older attending programs across four recreation facilities. Group programs were found to influence social participation through (a) a meaningful context for connecting and (b) instructors’ expectations of social interaction. Social participation in these programs addressed psychosocial needs by (c) increasing social contact and interaction, (d) fostering social relationships and belonging, and (e) promoting regular engagement. Training for instructors should include balancing the physical aspects of program delivery with the social, while also considering older adults’ diverse needs and preferences for social interaction.