Hettinga Florentina J, Konings Marco J, Pepping Gert-Jan
Centre for Sports and Exercise Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Essex Colchester, UK.
School of Exercise Science, Australian Catholic University Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
Front Physiol. 2017 Feb 28;8:118. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00118. eCollection 2017.
Athlete-environment interactions are crucial factors in understanding the regulation of exercise intensity in head-to-head competitions. Previously, we have proposed a framework based on the interdependence of perception and action, which allows us to explore athletic behavior in the more complex pacing situations occurring when athletes need to respond to actions of their opponents. In the present perspective we will further explore whether opponents, crucial external factors in competitive sports, could indeed be perceived as social invitations for action. Decisions regarding how to expend energy over the race are based on internal factors such as the physiological/biomechanical capacity of the athlete in relation to external factors such as those presented by opponents. For example: Is the athlete able to overtake competitors, or not? We present several experimental studies that demonstrate that athletes regulate their exercise intensity differently in head-to-head competition compared to time-trial exercises: Relational athlete-environment aspects seem to outweigh benefits of the individual optimal energy distribution. Also, the behavior of the opponents has been shown to influence pacing strategies of competing athletes, again demonstrating the importance of relational athlete-environment aspects in addition to strictly internal factors. An ecological perspective is presented in which opponents are proposed to present social affordances, and decision-making is conceptualized as a resultant of affordance-competition. This approach will provide novel insights in tactical decision-making and pacing behavior in head-to-head competitions. Future research should not only focus on the athlete's internal state, but also try to understand opponents in the context of the social affordances they provide.
运动员与环境的相互作用是理解面对面比赛中运动强度调节的关键因素。此前，我们提出了一个基于感知与行动相互依存关系的框架，这使我们能够在运动员需要应对对手行动时出现的更复杂的节奏控制情境中探索运动行为。在本观点中，我们将进一步探讨对手这一竞技运动中的关键外部因素是否确实可被视为行动的社会诱因。关于如何在比赛中消耗能量的决策基于内部因素，如运动员的生理/生物力学能力，以及外部因素，如对手所呈现的因素。例如：运动员是否能够超越竞争对手？我们展示了几项实验研究，这些研究表明，与计时赛相比，运动员在面对面比赛中调节运动强度的方式有所不同：运动员与环境的关系方面似乎比个体最佳能量分配的益处更为重要。此外，对手的行为已被证明会影响参赛运动员的节奏控制策略，这再次证明了除严格的内部因素外，运动员与环境关系方面的重要性。本文提出了一种生态视角，其中对手被认为提供了社会可供性，决策被概念化为可供性竞争的结果。这种方法将为面对面比赛中的战术决策和节奏控制行为提供新的见解。未来的研究不仅应关注运动员的内部状态，还应尝试在对手所提供的社会可供性背景下理解对手。
