Graduate School of Sport Sciences早稲田大学 大学院スポーツ科学研究科

Class Report of Psychophysiology of Sport, Exercise and Performance

This semester, I attended an intensive class taught by a visiting scholar. Professor Christopher Ring is a leading scholar in sport psychology. His class is held twice a week. In each class, he introduced a main topic, collected many studies to explain the concept, and shared the important findings with us. We can quickly grasp the basic picture of how to design the experiment using physiological indicators and what results they found. We will have a general idea about designing different experiments by measuring physiological indicators in sport psychology.

The first class explores the link between anxiety, arousal, and sports performance, discussing models like social facilitation, the inverted-U hypothesis, and catastrophe theory. Physiological indicators such as EEG and heart rate variability highlight how stress affects performance under pressure.

The second class explores reinvestment theory, noting that pressure leads to overthinking, impacting performance, especially in novices. Athletes with high reinvestment tendencies perform worse under pressure, as seen in golf studies. Learning strategies can adjust these tendencies and improve performance.

Psychophysiological processes during motor preparation indicate performance outcomes, with internal focus benefiting novices and external focus aiding experts. EEG studies reveal distinct brain activity patterns in experienced athletes during motor tasks.

Social contexts also influence psychological experiences; team competitions enhance performance through social support. The biopsychosocial model shows that challenge appraisals can boost performance while threat appraisals hinder it.

Quiet Eye (QE) refers to the crucial final gaze before action, with longer fixation periods linked to better performance in sports. The type of attentional focus affects motor learning, with an external focus generally yielding superior outcomes.

EEG greatly aids in studying brain activity related to motor control, and NFT provides real-time feedback to help athletes optimize their brain function. Exercise enhances cognitive abilities and reduces pain perception, with moderate aerobic exercise being the most effective. Models like the Central Governor Model explain exercise regulation and Brain Endurance Training combines mental and physical tasks to improve overall performance.

In Conclusion, these courses highlight the interaction of physiological and psychological factors influencing athletes’ performance and cognitive function. The research underscores the complexity of optimizing athletic and cognitive outcomes by integrating findings on anxiety, reinvestment, motor preparation, competition, challenge and threat states, attentional focus, neurofeedback, and exercise’s broader impacts. Happy to attend this class, and I hope we can invite more visiting scholars and have more classes in the future.