Sport Science Department, Sport, Health and Performance Enhancement (SHAPE) Research Centre, School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK.
Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2021 Oct;31(10):1971-1980. doi: 10.1111/sms.14011. Epub 2021 Jul 6.
The prior exertion of self-control has previously been shown to negatively affect physical performance, yet the effects on complex sporting skill performance have not been examined. Therefore, this study examined whether prior self-control exertion influences performance on a field hockey task, alongside measuring plasma cortisol concentration and attention as potential mechanisms to explain any effects. Following familiarization, 13 male hockey players (20 ± 1 years) participated in a randomized, order-balanced, crossover design. For the manipulation of self-control, participants completed an incongruent (self-control exertion trial) or a congruent (control trial) Stroop task. Skill performance was assessed using a field hockey skills task. Capillary blood samples, for the determination of plasma cortisol concentration, were taken at baseline, post-Stroop task, and post-field hockey skills task. Cognitive tests of attention (RVIP and Flanker tasks) were completed following the field hockey skills task. Participants made more errors in the latter stages of the field hockey skills task following self-control exertion (trial*time interaction, p = 0.041). Participants also made more errors on the RVIP task following self-control exertion (p = 0.035); yet the time taken to complete the hockey skills task, performance on the flanker task, and plasma cortisol concentrations were unaffected (all p > 0.05). Overall, these findings suggest that prior self-control exertion has detrimental effects on subsequent sporting skill performance (more errors made on the field hockey task), which may be explained by poorer sustained attention (lower accuracy on the RVIP task). This suggests that athletes should aim to avoid self-control exertion before a competitive match to optimize performance.
先前的自我控制消耗已被证明会对身体表现产生负面影响，但对复杂运动技能表现的影响尚未得到检验。因此，本研究检验了先前的自我控制消耗是否会影响曲棍球任务的表现，同时测量了血浆皮质醇浓度和注意力，作为解释任何影响的潜在机制。在熟悉之后，13 名男性曲棍球运动员（20±1 岁）参与了一项随机、顺序平衡、交叉设计的研究。为了操纵自我控制，参与者完成了不一致（自我控制消耗试验）或一致（控制试验）的 Stroop 任务。使用曲棍球技能任务评估技能表现。在基线、Stroop 任务后和曲棍球技能任务后采集毛细血管血样，以确定血浆皮质醇浓度。完成曲棍球技能任务后，进行了注意力的认知测试（RVIP 和 Flanker 任务）。参与者在自我控制消耗后，在曲棍球技能任务的后期阶段犯了更多的错误（试验*时间交互作用，p=0.041）。参与者在完成自我控制消耗后，在 RVIP 任务上也犯了更多的错误（p=0.035）；然而，完成曲棍球技能任务的时间、在 Flanker 任务上的表现和血浆皮质醇浓度不受影响（所有 p>0.05）。总体而言，这些发现表明，先前的自我控制消耗对随后的运动技能表现有不利影响（在曲棍球任务上犯了更多的错误），这可能是由于持续注意力较差（在 RVIP 任务上的准确性较低）造成的。这表明运动员在比赛前应避免自我控制消耗，以优化表现。
