TY - THES A1 - Ehrlenspiel, Felix T1 - Choking under pressure : attention and motor control in performance situations T1 - Versagen unter Druck : Aufmerksamkeit und Bewegungskontrolle in Leistungssituationen N2 - When top sports performers fail or “choke” under pressure, everyone asks: why? Research has identified a number of conditions (e.g. an audience) that elicit choking and that moderate (e.g. trait-anxiety) pressure – performance relation. Furthermore, mediating processes have been investigated. For example, explicit monitoring theories link performance failure under psychological stress to an increase in attention paid to a skill and its step-by-step execution (Beilock & Carr, 2001). Many studies have provided support for these ideas. However, so far only overt performance measures have been investigated which do not allow more thorough analyses of processes or performance strategies. But also a theoretical framework has been missing, that could (a) explain the effects of explicit monitoring on skill execution and that (b) makes predictions as to what is being monitored during execution. Consequently in this study, the nodalpoint hypothesis of motor control (Hossner & Ehrlenspiel, 2006) was taken to predict movement changes on three levels of analysis at certain “nodalpoints” within the movement sequence. Performance in two different laboratory tasks was assessed with respect to overt performance (the observable result, for example accuracy in the target), covert performance (description of movement execution, for example the acceleration of body segements) and task exploitation (the utilization of task properties such as covariation). A fake competition (see Beilock & Carr, 2002) was used to invoke pressure. In study 1 a ball bouncing task in a virtual-reality set-up was chosen. Previous studies (de Rugy, Wei, Müller, & Sternad, 2003) have shown that learners are usually able to “passively” exploit the dynamical stability of the system. According to explicit monitoring theories, choking should be expected either if the task itself evokes an “active control” (Experiment 1) or if learners are provided with explicit instructions (Experiment 2). In both experiments, participants first went through a practice phase on day 1. On day 2, following the Baseline Test participants were divided into a High-Stress or No-Stress Group for the final Performance Test. The High-Stress Group entered a fake competition. Overt performance was measured by the Absolute Error (AE) of ball amplitudes from target height; covert performance was measured by Period Modulation between successive hits and task exploitation was measured by Acceleration (AC) at ball-racket impact and Covariation (COV) of impact parameters. To evoke active control in Exp. 1 (N=20), perturbations to the ball flight were introduced. In Exp. 2 (N=39) half of the participants received explicit skill-focused instructions during learning. For overt performance, results generally show an interaction between Stress Group and Test, with better performance (i. e. lower AE) for the High-Stress group in the final Performance Test. This effect is also independent of the Instructions that participants had received during learning (Exp. 2). Similar effects were found for COV but not for AC. In study 2 a visuomotor tracking task in which participants had to pursuit a target cross that was moving on an invisible curve. This curve consisted of 3 segments of 6 turning points sequentially ordered around the x-axis. Participants learned two short movement sequences which were then concatenated to form a single sequence. It was expected that under pressure, this sequence should “fall apart” at the point of concatenation. Overt Performance was assessed by the Root Mean Square Error between target and pursuit cross as well as the Absolute Error at the turning points, covert performance was measured by the Latency from target to pursuit turning and task exploitation was measured by the temporal covariation between successive intervals between turning points. Experiment 3 (intraindividual variation) as well as Experiment 4 (interindividual variation) show performance enhancement in the pressure situation on the overt level with matching results on covert and task exploitation level. Thus, contrary to previous studies, no choking under pressure was found in any of the experiments. This may be interpreted as a failure in the experimental manipulation. But certainly also important characteristics of the task are highlighted. Choking should occur in tasks where performers do not have the time to use action or thought control strategies, that are more relevant to their “self” and that are discrete in nature. N2 - Wenn Top-Athleten im Wettkampf versagen fragt sich jeder: warum? Die Forschung hat dazu einerseits Bedingungen identifiziert (z.B. die Anwesenheit von Publikum), die „Versagen“ auslösen und die Beziehung Druck- Leistung moderieren. Zudem wurden vermittelnde Prozesse gefunden wie zum Beispiel die bewusste Aufmerksamkeitsfokussierung („explicit monitoring“) auf die Ausführung der Bewegung (Beilock & Carr, 2001). Obwohl es gerade für diese Vorstellungen einige Befunde gibt, wurde bislang fast ausschließlich das Bewegungsresultat („overt performance“) untersucht, nicht aber Variablen, die Aussagen über die Bewegungsausführung zulassen. Zudem fehlt ein theoretischer Rahmen, der Vorhersagen zulässt darüber, (a) welche Veränderungen der Bewegungsausführung unter Druck zu erwarten sind und (b) welchen Stellen der Bewegung bewusst fokussiert werden. Darum wurde für diese Studie die „Knotenpunkthypothese motorischer Kontrolle“ (Hossner & Ehrlenspiel, 2006) herangezogen um auf drei Analyse-Ebenen zu ermöglichen Vorhersagen an Knotenpunkten der Bewegung zu treffen. Leistung wurde entsprechend auf einer overt-Ebene (beobachtbare Bewegungsresultat, z.B. Treffgenauigkeit), einer covert-Ebene (z.B. raum-zeitliche Verlaufe von Gelenkwinkeln) und einer task-exploitation-Ebene (z.B. die Covariation von Ausführungsparametern) untersucht. Für die Manipulation einer „Druck-Bedingung“ wurde ein Pseudowettkampf (nach Beilock & Carr, 2002) verwendet. Für die Experimente 1 und 2 wurde eine semi-virtueller „ball bouncing“-Aufgabe verwendet, für die sich gezeigt hat (de Rugy, Wei, Müller, & Sternad, 2003), dass Lernende tatsächlich in der Lage sind, die dynamische Stabilität der Aufgabe zunehmend auszunutzen. Angenommen wurde, dass Versagen unter Druck erscheinen sollte, wenn die Aufgabe entweder eine „aktive Kontrolle“ verlangt (Experiment 1) oder aber die Lernenden explizite Instruktionen während der Lernphase erhalten. Allerdings zeigen die Ergebnisse beider Experimente nur Leistungsverbesserungen unter Druck-Bedingungen auf overt-Ebene, die mit entsprechenden Verbesserungen auf covefrt- und task-exploitation-Ebene einhergehen. Für die Experimente 3 und 4 wurde eine visuomotorische Tracking-Aufgabe verwendet in der die Probanden zunächst zwei kleinere Bewegungssequenzen erlernten, bevor diese zu einer großen Sequenz verbunden wurde. Unter Druck sollte diese Gesamtsequenz „auseinander brechen“. Jedoch zeigt sich auch hier in beiden Experimenten eine Resultatsverbesserung unter Druck (gegenüber Kontrollbedingungen bzw. –gruppen) auf overt wie auf covert-Ebene. Im Gegensatz zu vielen vorangehenden Studien zeigte sich kein „Choking under Pressure“. Sicherlich stellt sich zunächst die Frage nach der Validität der Druckmanipulation, die aber zumindest für die beiden ersten Experimente gesichert scheint. Relevanter scheint demnach eine Inspektion der Aufgabe. Hier dürfte es sein, dass diskrete Aufgaben, die einen Einsatz von Handlungskontroll-Strategien nicht erlauben und die von größerer „Selbst“-Relevanz sind, eher unter Druck beeinträchtigt werden. KW - Aufmerksamkeit KW - Bewegungssteuerung KW - Leistungsdruck KW - Bewegungsanalyse KW - Knotenpunkte KW - attention KW - motor control KW - pressure KW - movement analysis KW - nodalpoints Y1 - 2006 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-12377 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schaefer, Laura A1 - Dech, Silas A1 - Wolff, Lara L. A1 - Bittmann, Frank T1 - Emotional Imagery Influences the Adaptive Force in Young Women BT - Unpleasant Imagery Reduces Instantaneously the Muscular Holding Capacity T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The link between emotions and motor function has been known for decades but is still not clarified. The Adaptive Force (AF) describes the neuromuscular capability to adapt to increasing forces and was suggested to be especially vulnerable to interfering inputs. This study investigated the influence of pleasant an unpleasant food imagery on the manually assessed AF of elbow and hip flexors objectified by a handheld device in 12 healthy women. The maximal isometric AF was significantly reduced during unpleasant vs. pleasant imagery and baseline (p < 0.001, dz = 0.98–1.61). During unpleasant imagery, muscle lengthening started at 59.00 ± 22.50% of maximal AF, in contrast to baseline and pleasant imagery, during which the isometric position could be maintained mostly during the entire force increase up to ~97.90 ± 5.00% of maximal AF. Healthy participants showed an immediately impaired holding function triggered by unpleasant imagery, presumably related to negative emotions. Hence, AF seems to be suitable to test instantaneously the effect of emotions on motor function. Since musculoskeletal complaints can result from muscular instability, the findings provide insights into the understanding of the causal chain of linked musculoskeletal pain and mental stress. A case example (current stress vs. positive imagery) suggests that the approach presented in this study might have future implications for psychomotor diagnostics and therapeutics. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 816 KW - Adaptive Force KW - maximal isometric Adaptive Force KW - holding capability KW - neuromuscular adaptation KW - motor control KW - pleasant and unpleasant imagery KW - emotions KW - emotional imagery KW - manual muscle test Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-582014 SN - 1866-8364 IS - 816 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schaefer, Laura A1 - Dech, Silas A1 - Wolff, Lara L. A1 - Bittmann, Frank T1 - Emotional Imagery Influences the Adaptive Force in Young Women BT - Unpleasant Imagery Reduces Instantaneously the Muscular Holding Capacity JF - Brain Sciences N2 - The link between emotions and motor function has been known for decades but is still not clarified. The Adaptive Force (AF) describes the neuromuscular capability to adapt to increasing forces and was suggested to be especially vulnerable to interfering inputs. This study investigated the influence of pleasant an unpleasant food imagery on the manually assessed AF of elbow and hip flexors objectified by a handheld device in 12 healthy women. The maximal isometric AF was significantly reduced during unpleasant vs. pleasant imagery and baseline (p < 0.001, dz = 0.98–1.61). During unpleasant imagery, muscle lengthening started at 59.00 ± 22.50% of maximal AF, in contrast to baseline and pleasant imagery, during which the isometric position could be maintained mostly during the entire force increase up to ~97.90 ± 5.00% of maximal AF. Healthy participants showed an immediately impaired holding function triggered by unpleasant imagery, presumably related to negative emotions. Hence, AF seems to be suitable to test instantaneously the effect of emotions on motor function. Since musculoskeletal complaints can result from muscular instability, the findings provide insights into the understanding of the causal chain of linked musculoskeletal pain and mental stress. A case example (current stress vs. positive imagery) suggests that the approach presented in this study might have future implications for psychomotor diagnostics and therapeutics. KW - Adaptive Force KW - maximal isometric Adaptive Force KW - holding capability KW - neuromuscular adaptation KW - motor control KW - pleasant and unpleasant imagery KW - emotions KW - emotional imagery KW - manual muscle test Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12101318 SN - 2076-3425 VL - 12 IS - 10 PB - MDPI CY - Basel, Schweiz ER - TY - GEN A1 - Krügel, André A1 - Vitu, Françoise A1 - Engbert, Ralf T1 - Fixation positions after skipping saccades BT - a single space makes a large difference T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - During reading, saccadic eye movements are generated to shift words into the center of the visual field for lexical processing. Recently, Krugel and Engbert (Vision Research 50:1532-1539, 2010) demonstrated that within-word fixation positions are largely shifted to the left after skipped words. However, explanations of the origin of this effect cannot be drawn from normal reading data alone. Here we show that the large effect of skipped words on the distribution of within-word fixation positions is primarily based on rather subtle differences in the low-level visual information acquired before saccades. Using arrangements of "x" letter strings, we reproduced the effect of skipped character strings in a highly controlled single-saccade task. Our results demonstrate that the effect of skipped words in reading is the signature of a general visuomotor phenomenon. Moreover, our findings extend beyond the scope of the widely accepted range-error model, which posits that within-word fixation positions in reading depend solely on the distances of target words. We expect that our results will provide critical boundary conditions for the development of visuomotor models of saccade planning during reading. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 856 KW - eye movements KW - reading KW - motor control KW - skipping Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-432887 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 856 SP - 1556 EP - 1561 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schaefer, Laura A1 - Hoff, Marco A1 - Bittmann, Frank T1 - Measuring system and method of determining the Adaptive Force N2 - The term Adaptive Force (AF) describes the capability of adaptation of the nerve-muscle-system to externally applied forces during isometric and eccentric muscle action. This ability plays an important role in real life motions as well as in sports. The focus of this paper is on the specific measurement method of this neuromuscular action, which can be seen as innovative. A measuring system based on the use of compressed air was constructed and evaluated for this neuromuscular function. It depends on the physical conditions of the subject, at which force level it deviates from the quasi isometric position and merges into eccentric muscle action. The device enables – in contrast to the isokinetic systems – a measure of strength without forced motion. Evaluation of the scientific quality criteria of the devices was done by measurements regarding the intra- and interrater-, the test-retest-reliability and fatiguing measurements. Comparisons of the pneumatic device with a dynamometer were also done. Looking at the mechanical evaluation, the results show a high level of consistency (r²=0.94 to 0.96). The parallel test reliability delivers a very high and significant correlation (ρ=0.976; p=0.000). Including the biological system, the concordance of three different raters is very high (p=0.001, Cronbachs alpha α=0.987). The test retest with 4 subjects over five weeks speaks for the reliability of the device in showing no statistically significant differences. These evaluations indicate that the scientific evaluation criteria are fulfilled. The specific feature of this system is that an isometric position can be maintained while the externally impacting force rises. Moreover, the device can capture concentric, static and eccentric strength values. Fields of application are performance diagnostics in sports and medicine. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 346 KW - Adaptive Force KW - isometric eccentric force KW - motor control KW - muscle action KW - strength measurement system Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-402676 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schaefer, Laura A1 - Hoff, Marco A1 - Bittmann, Frank T1 - Measuring system and method of determining the Adaptive Force JF - European journal of translational myology N2 - The term Adaptive Force (AF) describes the capability of adaptation of the nerve-muscle-system to externally applied forces during isometric and eccentric muscle action. This ability plays an important role in real life motions as well as in sports. The focus of this paper is on the specific measurement method of this neuromuscular action, which can be seen as innovative. A measuring system based on the use of compressed air was constructed and evaluated for this neuromuscular function. It depends on the physical conditions of the subject, at which force level it deviates from the quasi isometric position and merges into eccentric muscle action. The device enables – in contrast to the isokinetic systems – a measure of strength without forced motion. Evaluation of the scientific quality criteria of the devices was done by measurements regarding the intra- and interrater-, the test-retest-reliability and fatiguing measurements. Comparisons of the pneumatic device with a dynamometer were also done. Looking at the mechanical evaluation, the results show a high level of consistency (r²=0.94 to 0.96). The parallel test reliability delivers a very high and significant correlation (ρ=0.976; p=0.000). Including the biological system, the concordance of three different raters is very high (p=0.001, Cronbachs alpha α=0.987). The test retest with 4 subjects over five weeks speaks for the reliability of the device in showing no statistically significant differences. These evaluations indicate that the scientific evaluation criteria are fulfilled. The specific feature of this system is that an isometric position can be maintained while the externally impacting force rises. Moreover, the device can capture concentric, static and eccentric strength values. Fields of application are performance diagnostics in sports and medicine. KW - Adaptive Force KW - isometric eccentric force KW - muscle action KW - motor control KW - strength measurement system Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.4081/ejtm.2017.6479 SN - 2037-7460 VL - 27 IS - 3 SP - 152 EP - 159 PB - Unipress CY - Padova ER - TY - GEN A1 - Niederer, Daniel A1 - Vogt, Lutz A1 - Wippert, Pia-Maria A1 - Puschmann, Anne-Katrin A1 - Pfeifer, Ann-Christin A1 - Schiltenwolf, Marcus A1 - Banzer, Winfried A1 - Mayer, Frank T1 - Medicine in spine exercise (MiSpEx) for nonspecific low back pain patients BT - study protocol for a multicentre, single-blind randomized controlled trial T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Background: Arising from the relevance of sensorimotor training in the therapy of nonspecific low back pain patients and from the value of individualized therapy, the present trial aims to test the feasibility and efficacy of individualized sensorimotor training interventions in patients suffering from nonspecific low back pain. Methods and study design: A multicentre, single-blind two-armed randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of a 12-week (3 weeks supervised centre-based and 9 weeks home-based) individualized sensorimotor exercise program is performed. The control group stays inactive during this period. Outcomes are pain, and pain-associated function as well as motor function in adults with nonspecific low back pain. Each participant is scheduled to five measurement dates: baseline (M1), following centre-based training (M2), following home-based training (M3) and at two follow-up time points 6 months (M4) and 12 months (M5) after M1. All investigations and the assessment of the primary and secondary outcomes are performed in a standardized order: questionnaires – clinical examination – biomechanics (motor function). Subsequent statistical procedures are executed after the examination of underlying assumptions for parametric or rather non-parametric testing. Discussion: The results and practical relevance of the study will be of clinical and practical relevance not only for researchers and policy makers but also for the general population suffering from nonspecific low back pain. Trial registration: Identification number DRKS00010129. German Clinical Trial registered on 3 March 2016. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe - 444 KW - sensorimotor training KW - motor control KW - exercise KW - low back painExercise KW - functional capacity KW - individualized intervention Y1 - 2018 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-407308 IS - 444 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Gafos, Adamantios I. A1 - Lieshout, Pascal H. H. M. van T1 - Models and theories of speech production BT - editorial JF - Frontiers in psychology KW - speech production KW - motor control KW - dynamical models KW - phonology KW - speech KW - disorders KW - timing Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01238 SN - 1664-1078 VL - 11 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER -