McKay Brad, Lewthwaite Rebecca, Wulf Gabriele
Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences, University of Nevada Las Vegas, NU, USA.
Front Psychol. 2012 Jan 25;3:8. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00008. eCollection 2012.
Beyond skill, beliefs in requisite abilities and expectations can affect performance. This experiment examined effects of induced perceptions of ability to perform well under generic situations of challenge. Participants (N = 31) first completed one block of 20 trials on a throwing accuracy task. They then completed questionnaires ostensibly measuring individual differences in the ability to perform under pressure. Enhanced-expectancy group participants were told that they were well-suited to perform under pressure, while the control group received neutral information. Subsequently, all participants completed another block of 20 trials on the throwing task, with their performance videotaped and under the assumption that they could secure a prize for themselves and a paired participant with successful performance. Both groups had similar accuracy scores on the first trial block. The enhanced-expectancy group significantly increased their throwing accuracy in the higher-pressure situation (second block), whereas the control group showed no change in performance. Furthermore, beliefs regarding performance under challenge predicted throwing accuracy on the second block. The present findings provide evidence that enhancing individuals' generic expectancies regarding performance under pressure can affect their motor performance.
除了技能之外，对必备能力的信念和期望也会影响表现。本实验研究了在一般挑战情境下诱导产生的良好表现能力认知的影响。参与者（N = 31）首先在一项投掷准确性任务上完成了一组20次试验。然后他们完成了表面上测量在压力下表现能力个体差异的问卷。增强期望组的参与者被告知他们非常适合在压力下表现，而对照组则收到中性信息。随后，所有参与者在投掷任务上又完成了一组20次试验，他们的表现被录像，并且假定他们可以为自己和表现成功的配对参与者赢得奖品。两组在第一个试验组的准确性得分相似。增强期望组在更高压力情境（第二个试验组）下显著提高了他们的投掷准确性，而对照组的表现没有变化。此外，关于在挑战下表现的信念预测了第二个试验组的投掷准确性。目前的研究结果提供了证据，表明增强个体对压力下表现的一般期望会影响他们的运动表现。
