Psychology Textbook Chapter 22 Self-Control in Sports

Chapter 22 in Sports Chris , Benjamin , and ' of Education , Department of Educational Psychology , University of , Switzerland of Sport Science , Sport Psychology , TU University , Germany de et des sciences de ' physique , de , de , Canada Centre de recherche de de de , Canada of Sports Science , Sport Psychology , University of , Germany Both authors contributed equally to this work Please cite as , 2021 ) in sports . In Jones ( Essentials of exercise and sport psychology An open access textbook ( Society for Transparency , Openness , and Replication in Kinesiology . Attribution 40 International This content is open access and part of Essentials of Exercise and Sport Psychology An Open Access Textbook . All other content can be accessed at Chapter Overview Imagine yourself walking to the gym in the rain after a long hard day at work . Picture yourself lifting heavy weights , even though you would prefer sitting on the sofa watching your favorite baseball team win a playoff match . This isjust one example during which processes enable us to keep striving for a desirable goal and suppress potentially tempting action alternatives . In general , refers to the capacity for altering one own responses , especially to bring them into line with standards such as ideals , values , morals , and social expectations , and to support the suit of goals ( et , 2007 , 351 ) However , is not always applied as , for instance , evidenced by the large number of gym dropouts every year ( 2016 ) In this chapter , we will discuss empirical findings that highlight the importance of for performance and we will introduce the theoretical accounts that try to explain why control sometimes appears to fail . Finally , we will discuss open research questions in order to improve our understanding of how operates and why it can not be applied at all times and at all costs . For correspondence

Chapter 22 in Sports and the Sensation of Effort Research on has along tradition Narcissus Ach conducted the first studies on control already in the beginning of the 20 century ( Ach , 1905 , 1935 ) In general , there is a common agreement amongst researchers that exerting control over the self can be a tiring and unpleasant experience . In the century , Hull already stated that impulses or response tendencies have a motivational strength , suggesting that in order to resist these tendencies one must invest some kind of effort or willpower ( Hull , 1943 ) Thus , the application of is intrinsically linked to the sensation of effort ( 2016 et al . 2017 ) This sensation commonly refers to the particular feeling of that energy being exerted and is associated with a sensation of strain and labor , a feeling that intensifies the harder a person tries ( Preston , 2009 , 570 ) This feeling of work is associated with voluntary actions and provides crucial information for the judgement of personal actions ( Preston , 2009 ) and Sports Performance Imagine you had a long day at work , where you had to face multiple demands For example , you had to perform a very tedious task , where you had to enter an endless string of numbers into a spreadsheet . Additionally , your colleague was constantly talking loudly on the phone and you had a hard time concentrating . It is very likely that after this day you feel mentally drained and ca ( see heading Can Does the application deplete a limited resource ?

or won ( see heading Won Does reflect a choice ?

invest the mental effort that would be required to beat your personal best in a meter run . The bulk of research in sports has focused on precisely this phenomenon the effect of prior application on subsequent sports performance ( for two recent and one book chapter , see Brown et , 2019 , 2019 Lepers , 2018 ) In this line of research , scientists primarily adopt a A primary task which either does or does not require the exertion of or intense mental effort and a subsequent secondary task which requires from all participants ( et , 1998 ) One of the most frequently administered tasks is the task during which participants work on a series of color words which are either written in the same font color as the color word ( red written in red font color congruent trial ) or in a different font color ( red written in yellow font color incongruent trial , 1935 see Figure ) To correctly identify the incongruent trials , one must override the dominant tendency to read the color word and instead name the font color . It has frequently been shown , that participants who have worked on a series of incongruent trials tend to perform worse in secondary tasks than participants who have previously answered the congruent version of the task ( Bray et , 2011 , 2015 ) To assess the effects of prior mental exertion on sports performance , performance in specific sporting tasks is used as a secondary task in sport psychology research . For example , Boat and Taylor ( 2017 ) asked their participants to perform a for as long as possible after having worked on a primary task , which either did or did not require . The results revealed that the were significantly shorter in participants who had to control their impulses in the previous task . Thus , the primary task had reduced the capability or willingness to apply the that would be required to do well in the task ( also see et , 2017 ) and ( 2015 ) tested the effects of prior mental exertion on endurance performance in an indoor cycling task . In their study , participants performed the indoor cycling task at two times of measurement . The experimental setup was almost identical with the only difference being that at one time of measurement participants According to and Kern ( 2011 ) the terms , willpower , or inhibitory control are synonyms for and supposedly capture the same psychological phenomenon . 510

, worked on a demanding primary task ( incongruent task ) while at the other time of measurement they completed a less demanding primary task ( congruent task ) Again , participants performed worse after they had worked on the demanding primary task , compared to when they worked on the less demanding primary task . Apparently , the same participants were less capable or less willing to push themselves to their limits during the cycling task if they had to control their impulses in the previous task ( see also , Martin Bray 2010 , 2014 ) In line with these studies , evidence supports the notion that prior mental exertion is a detriment to subsequent sports performance ( Brown et , 2019 2019 ) Figure Illustration of the task YELLOW GREEN YELLOW GREEN RED BLUE A RED RED GREEN BLUE BLUE BLUE Note . Categorizing the words font color is easier and faster when font color and meaning match ( congruent ) compared to when they differ ( incongruent ) Research has also shown that prior mental exertion impairs performance under pressure ( for an overview , see , 2015 , 2015 ) In general , anxiety negatively affects efficient attention regulation as anxious individuals are more likely to be distracted by irrelevant stimuli ( the crowd or worrying thoughts , Wilson et , 2009 ) In order to shift the focus away from the irrelevant stimuli onto the actual task at hand , is highly important ( 2010 ) However , if prior mental exertion affects the capability or willingness to effectively apply , it should be more difficult to flexibly shift attention away from these stimuli , potentially affecting performance . Empirical evidence has reliably supported this assumption . For instance , and ( 2012 ) instructed basketball players to perform a series of under high and low anxiety conditions after having worked on a demanding or a demanding primary task . In the high anxiety condition , participants scored a significantly lower number of successful when they had worked on the demanding primary task , compared to those who had worked on the task ( see also , 2015 , 2015 Shin et , 2019 Yang et , 2019 ) Prior Mental Exertion Does Not Impact All Types of Physical Performances Since the study of et al . 2009 ) the effects of prior mental exertion on subsequent physical performance has also been a growing topic of interest for exercise . While these researchers mainly refer to mental fatigue induced by prolonged engagement in cognitively 511

Chapter 22 in Sports demanding tasks , they are using similar experimental setups involving the sequential task paradigm ( for reviews , see Brown et al . 2019 Lepers 2018 ) In these studies , the classical paradigm is used , as well as other tasks such as the AX Continuous Performance test known to involve sustained attention , working memory , and response inhibition processes . The principal difference between the two approaches is that exercise traditionally use longer primary tasks compared to the psychological researchers ( 513 minutes , 2019 ) During sporting events , athletes performance is linked to their ability to accurately and efficiently produce different types of physical performance . As an example , during a game , basketball players are confronted with physical efforts that drastically differ in nature . They have to sprint as fast as possible in a fast break situation to take advantage of the defense , throw the ball as accurately as possible to score points , decide when to pass the ball to their teammate in the most accurate timing , or have to repeat a vast number of efforts over the course of the game . These examples in the context of basketball illustrate that athletes performance can be subdivided into their ability to a ) produce a given speed , power or force as fast as possible ( maximal force production , sprinting ) efficiently perform movements ( motor skills performance , shooting ) make accurate decisions based on the information provided by the environment ( performance , passing ) and ) repeat their effort for a prolonged duration ( endurance performance ) Therefore , athletes and coaches would greatly benefit from research that specifically assesses the effects of prior mental exertion on each subgroup of physical performance that is required in sports . Interestingly , a recent questioned the magnitude of the detrimental effect of prior mental exertion , also referred to as mental fatigue , on subsequent physical performance ( et , 2020 ) However , it is important to note that this effect size is likely to hinge on the specific nature of the subsequent physical performance . It is plausible that due to differences in physiological and psychological demands of different performances , prior mental exertion could differentially impact these various performances . This possibility has not been accounted for in this recent . Building on this rationale proposed by and Lepers ( 2018 ) Brown et al . 2019 ) confirmed in their a performance dependant effect of prior mental exertion . It appears that contrary to endurance performance , motor skills performance and performance , maximal force production is not impaired by prior mental exertion . In other words , when an athlete is mentally fatigued , their sprinting performance is unlikely to be affected , whereas their endurance performance , movement precision or decision making are all likely to suffer . While further research is needed to better understand why prior mental exertion specifically impacts some types of physical performances , it is worth noting that the only subgroup of physical performance not impacted by mental fatigue , maximal force production , is the only kind of performance where might not be critically present . Indeed , in this kind of performance , the athlete has to produce an that does not require taking any specific decisions choosing between different conflicting action alternatives ( endurance deciding to quit or not motor skills choosing and executing the appropriate movement choosing an action between different action alternatives ) This observation reinforces the link between the and mental fatigue literature , and highlights the need of research breaking the traditional barriers between sport psychology and exercise ( neuro ) to better understand how performance is regulated . Failures Ca or Wo ?

As we have seen so far in this chapter , a large body of empirical evidence attests to the importance of for sports performance ( for a review , please see 2017 , 2019 ) Particularly , the detrimental effects of prior mental exertion on subsequent physical performance has been well supported ( Brown et , 2019 , 2019 see also Lepers 2018 ) This 512

, begs an important question Why does prior mental exertion have these detrimental effects ?

Or more generally , what are the operating principles that underlie the application of , and why does it sometimes appear to fail ?

To answer these questions , a plethora of theoretical models have been developed in recent years ( Kool , et , 2013 et , 2013 et , 2016 , 2020 ) While most researchers seem to agree on the observation that applying is perceived as effortful and produces some form of cost , there is less agreement on the nature of this cost ( et , 2017 ) Broadly , one theoretical branch proposes that the exertion of reduces the capacity to further apply ( 2003 ) while the other branch proposes that it reduces the willingness to apply ( 2012 ) up I Photo by from Ca Does the Application of Deplete a Limited Resource ?

One of the most prominent theoretical explanations for the observation that we do not apply consistently conceives as a limited resource ( et , 1998 ) Such accounts assume that individuals are less adept at controlling themselves after having previously engaged in another demanding task ( Andre , 2015 , 2017 , 2019 ) The account that has shaped the last 20 years of psychological research is the strength model of ( et , 2007 ) The strength model postulates that there is only a limited amount of strength available at a given point of time ( et , 2007 ) Supposedly , all actions which require draw upon this finite resource , meaning it is not . importantly , according to the strength model , the resource can become temporarily depleted after a primary act and is not immediately replenished , which is a state labelled as ego depletion ( et , 1998 ) The strength model of has been frequently adopted to explain performance in several domains ( endurance performance , impulse regulation , performance under pressure for an overview , 2017 , 2019 see also , 2014 ) Thus , according to the strength model of , the detrimental effect 513

Chapter 22 in Sports of prior mental exertion on subsequent sports performance is due to ego depletion The demanding task depletes the participants strength , thereby leaving them unable to perform the sporting task as efficiently as their peers , who had performed a less demanding primary task . Despite their popularity and intuitive appeal , accounts have recently been questioned on empirical ( et , 2019 ) and on theoretical grounds ( 2015 , et , 2013 ) In 2016 , the results of a replication report did not find any significant empirical evidence for the ego depletion effect ( Hagger et , 2016 ) and also other replication attempts often failed to support the assumptions ofthe strength model ( et , 2017 et , 2021 , raising questions regarding its validity . In addition , the robustness of the ego depletion effect has further been questioned by research pointing towards evidence for publication bias and to a large body of grey literature in ego depletion research ( et , 2018 ) It is important to note that most of the published replication failures have been outside the sports context and two recent related of the published literature revealed that prior mental exertion was related to lower endurance , motor skills and performances ( Brown et , 2019 2019 ) In addition , if prior mental exertion depletes a resource , then the performance impairment on the secondary task should scale as a function of the primary tasks duration ( Hagger et , 2010 ) While some researchers have found such a relationship ( Boat et , 2020 Brown Bray , 2017 ) other large scale studies have failed to do so ( et , 2019 ) and the two analyses by and ( 2019 ) and Brown et al . 2019 ) revealed that task duration was unrelated to the subsequent drop in endurance performance . In light of these findings , researchers have increasingly turned to explain the application of as a choice , thereby circumventing the notion of a limited ( but not yet identified ) resource ( et , 2013 ) Wo Does Reflect a Choice ?

Emerging evidence on the effect prior mental exertion has on subsequent performance is not fully in alignment with the notion of limited resources . In addition , it has been argued that without specifying and identifying which physiological resource becomes depleted when is applied , then the notion of resources represents an unnecessary assumption ( 2012 ) To illustrate , if you do not perform well on a secondary task after having applied in a primary task , then this drop in performance must not necessarily mean you ca perform well . It might simply mean you wo be willing to perform another effortful task . Indeed , research shows that the effects of prior mental exertion can be readily offset for example , by the secondary task with money ( 2003 ) thereby indicating that subsequent performance might rather be a motivational phenomenon . This finding is hard to reconcile with the notion of limited resources . However , it also shows that applying is indeed costly and people are only willing to incur these costs if the prospective outcome is worth the effort . In line with this reasoning , recent theoretical and empirical work has focused on explaining the costs of beyond limited resources , as well as on the decision processes that govern the application of ( et , 2013 et , 2013 , 2020 ) Beyond Limited Resources Why is Costly ?

If indeed does not rely on a global resource but is nevertheless costly to apply , what is it that makes costly ?

Various explanations have been put forward to explain the costs of and these must not be mutually exclusive ( et , 2017 ) One explanation that has been supported by recent computational work is that applying control produces the sensation of effort due to functional processing constraints in the brain ( Feng et 514

, 2014 ) According to this view , the brain has developed a preference for sharing neural representations ( a preference for ) between various mental operations because this facilitates learning ( et , 2016 ) The reliance on shared representations for different operations severely limits our capacity for multitasking ( for doing multiple tasks simultaneously ) and tasks that tap into the same neural representation require to avoid the detrimental impact of that occurs when two tasks compete for the same local processing resource ( Cohen et , 1990 ) To illustrate , during an incongruent trial , the automatic response would be to categorize the word according to its meaning and this interferes with the task demand of categorizing it according to its font color . The perceived effort that with applying then indexes the costs that arise when tasks compete for the same neural representation and require to prevent ( et , 2017 ) This explanation can account for replication failures in ego depletion research , where , instead of performing worse , participants sometimes even improved on a demanding secondary task over time ( et , 2019 ) Longer exposure to an initially demanding task is expected to make this task less reliant on shared representations and allow for a more automatic task execution ( Cohen et , 1990 ) This might be one reason for the heterogeneous findings in regard to the effect of primary task duration on subsequent performance in the ego depletion and mental fatigue literature . Beyond costs that are intrinsic to the application of , it has been proposed that control produces opportunity costs ( et , 2013 ) According to this view , applying towards one goal implies that one has to forego behavioral alternatives that might be pursued instead . Thus , while one is responding to an incongruent trial , one can not use valuable processing capabilities for a task that might be more rewarding . The perceived effort that arises when is applied is then thought to signal the incurred opportunity costs . This explanation can , for example , explain replication failures in ego depletion research , where participants perceived to be depleted ( they perceived the task to be very costly ) and the amount of perceived depletion scaled as a function of task duration ( the longer the task , the it felt ) but did not show signs of impaired performance ( et , 2019 ) Thus , although a task produced very high opportunity costs , this did not impair performance because presumably no resource had been depleted . Likewise , an opportunity cost account on can explain why monetary incentives offset ego depletion effects If applying yields a sufficient reward then it should make the costs worthwhile . Taken together , functional processing constraints and opportunity costs provide compelling alternative explanations as for why the application of is costly . An opportunity costs account also points to the conditions under which people are willing to incur these costs the rewards need to outweigh the costs of . as a Choice The Expected Value of Control ( In light of the costs of applying , researchers have become increasingly interested in explaining the conditions under which people are willing to incur these costs . Similar to opportunity cost accounts of , most recent theoretical accounts conceptualize control as a choice , in which the benefits of an ongoing activity are pitted against the costs of the that is required to continue with this activity ( Kool , 2014 et , 2013 , 2016 ) For example , while one might see substantial prospective benefits in running ( getting in better shape ) this benefit needs to outweigh the costs one incurs when running despite being tired . One recent theory that has gained a considerable amount of traction is the Expected Value of Control ( theory ( et , 2013 , 2016 ) theory integrates assumptions from other theories and provides a mathematically explicit and mechanistically coherent framework for explaining . In a nutshell , theory proposes that people try to maximize the . This is achieved by comparing the perceived prospective rewards that can be attained by a 515

Chapter 22 in Sports control demanding action ( getting in better shape by running ) with the costs of applying a given amount of ( sustaining the fatigue due to running and the opportunity costs of not being able to do something else while running ) and by taking into account the temporal delay with which these rewards will be obtained ( getting in better shape with running will take a couple of weeks and this delay in rewards affects the of applying control towards getting fitter ) Recent simulation studies have provided support for this proposed computational basis of ( et , 2018 et , 2015 ) In regard to its mechanistic basis , the theory proposes that the dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ( computes the and specifies the control signal where the is maximized . The specified command ( resist the impulse to slow down during the run ) is then executed by structures in the lateral Prefrontal Cortex ( These proposed mechanistic underpinnings are well supported by evidence ( et , 2013 ) Importantly , emerging evidence in the sports context has provided ample support for the proposed role of during sports performance ( for an overview , see , et , 2021 ) For example , a systematic review showed that activity with the difficulty of an endurance task ( Rooks et , 2010 ) Thus , when the sporting task was more demanding , because it required more effort , then activity in a key area for applying increased . Linking this pattern more directly to , one study investigated the effects of forming implementation intentions on activation during a strenuous static muscular endurance task ( et , 2018 ) Compared with a control group , participants who had formed an implementation intention exhibited a less pronounced increase in activation during the strenuous task . This finding is in line with research outside the sports setting showing that implementation intentions make less demanding ( et , 2009 ) Further support for the role in dealing with the demands of sports comes from research showing that individuals who score high on a measure of display a less steep increase in activation and mental exertion during an isometric handgrip task ( Schiller , et , 2019 ) Thus , high might allow people to process demands more efficiently ( as indicated by less pronounced increase in activation ) and thereby reducing the perceptual costs of performing a physically demanding task ( as indicated by a less pronounced increase in mental exertion ) Conclusion In the previous sections we have different theoretical explanations for the costliness of applying and have discussed how performance is likely to hinge on effective allocation of . We have also briefly presented the negative impact of prior mental exertion on subsequent performances . With the importance of in sports being widely acknowledged and the rapid theoretical progress that has been made in recent years , several fascinating research questions remain . To conclude this chapter , we would like to discuss a set of research questions that we deem to be particularly interesting for further advancing our understanding of in sports . The Relevance of Expertise for Performance It is reasonable to assume that athletes who are used to controlling their impulses during a sporting competition are more adept at doing so , meaning their performance should not be as strongly affected by previous demands as in beginners . To the best of our knowledge , there are only very few studies which have focused on this issue in settings ( Martin et , 2016 ) A notable exception is a recent study by and colleagues ( 2020 ) in which they asked elite and amateur rifle shooters to perform two shooting rounds consisting of 50 shots each . The shooters also reported their perceived level of strength at the beginning of each shooting 516

, round and after 10 shots each . The results revealed that in amateurs , the level of perceived strength decreased significantly over the course of each shooting round , while their shooting accuracy also decreased over time . Interestingly , there was neither a decrease in perceived strength nor a significant in shooting accuracy in elite performers . These results illustrate how expert performers might be less likely to suffer from multiple demands during a sporting competition and how this helps them to keep performing at a high level ( see also et , under review ) In a similar fashion , Martin et al . 2016 ) asked eleven professional and nine recreational road cyclists to complete a cycling time trial following a 30 min task ( mental exertion condition ) or a 10 min control task ( control condition order ) The results revealed no significant differences in time trial performance between the two conditions for the professional cyclists , while recreational cyclists performed worse in the mental exertion condition . The question is though , why is that the case ?

One possible explanation might be that in order to achieve an elite status , athletes must generally be especially adept at controlling their impulses across several domains ( forcing yourself to go to practice every day , to not eat too much candy , to not go out before a game day ) According to De Ridder and colleagues ( 2012 ) some individuals are generally better at controlling themselves than others , as for some it might be a constant struggle to resist the last piece of cake , while for others it is rather easy . The general ability to control your impulses is referred to as trait ( et , 2004 ) In line with this assumption , and ( 2019 ) found out that youth soccer players with higher levels of trait were more likely to be selected for a talent development program than players with lower levels of trait . In the same vein , in a study by and ( 2015 ) Division One soccer players in Norway were generally more adept at controlling their impulses than amateur players . If high levels of trait are indeed required to achieve elite status in a specific sport , this would have an important impact on player drafting strategies Tryouts should not only focus on skills and the psychological skills , but also assess each athletes skills . A second explanation might be that repeatedly being confronted with the multiple demands of a sporting competition makes the demands less demanding . For instance , for an elite rifle shooter it should be less difficult to ignore distracting stimuli than for an amateur , simply because he or she is used to it . If this is actually the case , even players with lower levels of trait can achieve elite status . Given the fact that not all professional athletes seem to be capable regulating their impulses , this second explanation seems more likely . Future research is therefore highly necessary , to dig deeper into the relationship between expertise and ( performance . Boredom as an Overlooked Demand Throughout this chapter , we have implicitly linked with the completion of challenging and difficult tasks like completing an incongruent task or running a marathon . This is in line with the bulk of research in the sports setting and beyond . However , recently it has been proposed that boredom , a sensation that occurs when tasks are or feel meaningless ( Wilson , 2018 ) might pose a substantial demand ( 2020 , 2020 ) More specifically , boredom is thought to act as a signal that one resources should be deployed elsewhere ( in press ) thereby making it harder to continue with an ongoing course of action ( Bench Lench , 2019 Eastwood , 2020 Wilson , 2018 , 2020 ) Supporting the link between boredom and , preliminary evidence outside the sporting context shows that boredom makes it more difficult to adhere to a goal and moderates how well people deal with these difficulties ( et , 2020 et , 2010 et , 2020 ) Surprisingly , although the relevance of boredom in the context of repetitive athletic training has been emphasized already in the early parts of the 20 century ( Davies , 1926 ) research on boredom and in sports is scarce ( 517

Chapter 22 in Sports 2021 ) We know of only one study that has assessed the link between both concepts in the sporting context and colleagues showed that boredom and combine into distinct latent personality profiles that are linked to the weekly amount of exercise ( Schiller , 2021 ) One profile was characterized by a combination of low boredom and high and this was linked with more exercise . The other profile displayed the reverse pattern and was linked with relatively lower levels of exercise . Taken together , conceptual work , empirical evidence from outside the sporting context and first evidence from the sporting context all point towards a close link between boredom and . Investigating how boredom modulates the demands of sports and how boredom might be alleviated will be important and fascinating questions for future research . Can Effort Be Valuable ?

In this chapter , we have emphasized the intrinsic relationship between effort and and have reiterated that the sensation of effort feels costly and that people , in general , try to avoid it . However , at times sport seems to be somewhat at odds with these premises . To illustrate , hobby runners who sign up for a marathon voluntarily pay entry fees for an event they have no hope of winning and apply considerable amounts of to complete the race ( et , 2019 ) Indeed , it has been argued that people do this not despite the associated effort but rather because it requires effort ( 1999 ) In this case , instead of reducing an activity value , effort appears to add value . This effort paradox has only recently been recognized by researchers ( et , 2018 ) and sport seems to be ideally suited to further investigate this phenomenon ( et , 2021 ) theory indicates two ways how effort might indeed add value . First , the amount of effort that has gone into an achievement might affect its perceived value . For example , having mustered the to go out for a run after a hard day at work might feel particularly rewarding . Second , applying might become a secondary reinforcer in its own right . For example , an athlete who repeatedly learns to associate effort with value ( hard training makes me ) might start to seek out effortful activities irrespective of the outcome they yield . It is important to note that while theory provides testable ways how effort might add value , this has so far been a theoretical blind spot that requires more research ( et , 2018 ) Therefore , investigating this effort paradox , particularly in the sports setting , appears to be a particularly promising question for future research . Better Understanding Perception of Effort to Improve Our Knowledge on As previously described in this chapter , is associated with the sensation of strain and labor . This sensation is traditionally defined in the exercise science literature as the perception of effort or the sense of effort ( 2010 , 2016 ) Interestingly , as is known to interact with mental fatigue , perception of effort has been identified as the key variable explaining the observed decreased performance in its presence ( et , 2009 ) Perception of effort is also , to the best of our knowledge , the only variable systematically altered by both physical and mental exertion inducing fatigue ( Le et , 2018 Lepers , 2016 ) The sensation of effort is also present in the physical and mental domain ( Preston , 2009 ) Indeed , effort is perceived when engaging in various tasks such as jogging , walking up the stairs , completing Sudoku , or revising for an exam . Therefore , it seems tempting to propose that investigating the perception of effort could be an ideal way of improving our knowledge of . Other evidence of the potential interest of better understanding perception of effort to better understand , is the close link between control and performance in the physical and mental domains ( 2017 , 2019 ) As , effort and its perception are widely recognized in the psychophysiology literature to be a key determinant of performance ( see the motivational intensity theory , Self , 1989 Richter et , 2016 and the psychobiological model performance , is also interacting with pain ( 2013 et , 2020 ) 518

, another perception that is known to be inherently costly and to interact with performance ( Torta et , 2017 ) While this accumulation of evidence reinforces the rationale of better understanding perception of effort to improve our knowledge of , it has to be acknowledged that so far , most of the research on and perception of effort is performed in . Merging the literature from psychology , psychophysiology , neuroscience and exercise neurophysiology could be of great interest to better understand the overlap between and perception of effort . Such research would allow us to gain unique integrative knowledge of the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of and perception of effort . This will most likely lead to the opportunity of creating , tailoring , and implementing unique interventions aiming at improving performance , such as brain endurance training ( et , 2021 et , 2015 ) mindfulness ( et , 2009 Stocker et , 2019 ) or hypnosis ( Barker et , 2013 et , 2001 ) The rationale for researchers from the aforementioned disciplines to team together and unify their strength is strong as it can not be ignored that our mind , and therefore our brain , interacts with our body to ensure optimal performance . Such a step forward approach would first require some clarification and consensus on the different definitions and constructs used in the exercise science literature to investigate the perception of effort ( for more information , see , 2020 , 2016 ) Learning Exercises How can you define ?

Why is important in sport and exercise settings ?

What exactly is the paradigm ?

What does ego depletion mean and how does it affect performance ?

How is the research on and mental fatigue closely related in the context of performance ?

How can application be understood as a choice ?

What is the Expected Value of Control ?

Which brain areas are primarily involved in processes ?

Why is costly ?

Can effort be valuable ?

519 Chapter 22 in Sports Further Reading Brown , Graham , Harris , Bray , 2019 ) Effects of prior cognitive exertion on physical performance A systematic review and . Sports Medicine , 50 , Taylor , I . 2021 ) Motivation and in sport and exercise . Lepers , 2018 ) The effects of mental fatigue on performance . In Sarkar ( Progress in brain research ( We would like to thank Sterling Mallory Archer for his valuable comments and suggestions . References Ach , 1905 ) About will activity and thinking . Ach , 1935 ) Analysis of the will . In ( Ed . Handbook Working Methods ( vol . VI ) Urban and . 2015 ) The strength model of revisited Linking acute and chronic effects of exercise on executive functions . Journal and Health Science , 2003 ) Ego depletion and failure A resource model of . Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research , 27 , Tice , 2007 ) The strength model of . Current Directions in Psychological Science , 16 , Barker , Jones , 2013 ) Using hypnosis to enhance in sport performers . Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology , 2009 ) Responding to subliminal cues do plans facilitate action preparation and initiation without conscious intent ?

Social Cognition , 27 , Bench , Lench , 2019 ) Boredom as a seeking state Boredom prompts the pursuit of novel ( even negative ) experiences . Emotion , 19 , 2009 ) Mindfulness and acceptance approaches in sport performance . Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology , 2020 ) Boredom makes it , but it helps to have a plan Investigating adherence to social distancing guidelines during the pandemic . in press ) It not a bug , it boredom Effortful willpower balances exploitation and exploration . Behavioral and Brain Sciences . Botella , 2017 ) The debate on the effect Evidence from with the method . Frontiers in Psychology , Boat , Welsh , Dunn , Cooper , 2020 ) Manipulation of the duration of the initial task within the paradigm Effect on exercise performance . Frontiers in Neuroscience , 14 , 520

, Boat , Taylor , 2017 ) Prior exertion and perceptions of pain during a physically demanding task . Psychology and Exercise , 33 , Bray , Martin , 2011 ) strength depletion and endurance performance A test of the model in older adults . Journal and , 19 , a , Self , A . 1989 ) The intensity of motivation . Annual Review , 40 , Brown , Bray , 2017 ) Graded increases in cognitive control exertion reveal a threshold effect on subsequent physical performance . Sport , Exercise , and Performance Psychology , 0000091 Brown , Graham , Harris , Bray , 2019 ) Effects of prior cognitive exertion on physical performance A systematic review and . Sports Medicine , 50 , Cohen , Dunbar , 1990 ) On the control of automatic processes a parallel distributed processing account of the effect . Psychological Review , 97 , Lucas , Ring , 2021 ) Concurrent brain endurance training improves endurance exercise performance . Journal and Medicine in Sport , 24 ( A . 2020 ) Boredom and rule breaking during . Eastwood , 2020 ) Out ofmy skull The psychology . Davies , 1926 ) Discussion on the physical and mental effects of monotony in modern industry . British Medical Journal , De Ridder , 2012 ) Taking stock of A of how trait relates to a wide range of behaviors . Personality and Social Psychology Review , 16 , Kern , 2011 ) A of the convergent validity of measures . Journal of Research in Personality , 45 , 2015 ) Choking under Pressure und Ego Depletion Eine der Attentional Control Theory und Choking under pressure and ego depletion An extension of Attentional Control Theory and possible interventions . 22 , 2017 ) Ego depletion in sports highlighting the importance of strength for level sport performance . Current Opinion in Psychology , 16 , 2019 ) The of human performance a critical discussion and future directions for research . Performance Enhancement and Health , A . 2012 ) Anxiety , ego depletion , and sport performance . Journal and Exercise Psychology , 34 , A . 2015 ) Integrating attentional control theory and the strength model of control . Frontiers in Psychology Personality and Social Psychology , 521

Chapter 22 in Sports , 2020 ) An investigation of the effects of strength on shooting performance . Psychology and Exercise , under review ) Elites do deplete no effect of prior mental exertion on subsequent shooting performance in elite shooters . 2016 ) I want to keep on exercising but I do The negative impact of momentary lacks of on exercise adherence . Psychology and Exercise , 26 , 2015 ) Ego depletion and persistent performance in a cycling task . lnternational Journal of Sport Psychology , 46 , 2015 ) Ego depletion and attention regulation under pressure is a temporary loss of strength indeed related to impaired attention regulation ?

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