Effects of psychological priming, video, and music on anaerobic exercise performance

Abstract

Peak performance videos accompanied by music can help athletes to optimize their pre-competition mindset and are often used. Priming techniques can be incorporated into such videos to influence athletes' motivational state. There has been limited empirical work investigating the combined effects of such stimuli on anaerobic performance. The present study examined the psychological and psychophysiological effects of video, music, and priming when used as a pre-performance intervention for an anaerobic endurance task. Psychological measures included the main axes of the circumplex model of affect and liking scores taken pre-task, and the Exercise-induced Feeling Inventory, which was administered post-task. Physiological measures comprised heart rate variability and heart rate recorded pre-task. Fifteen males (age = 26.3 ± 2.8 years) were exposed to four conditions prior to performing the Wingate Anaerobic Test: music-only, video and music, video with music and motivational primes, and a no-video/no-music control. Results indicate that the combined video, music, and primes condition was the most effective in terms of influencing participants' pre-task affect and subsequent anaerobic performance; this was followed by the music-only condition. The findings indicate the utility of such stimuli as a pre-performance technique to enhance athletes' or exercisers' psychological states.

Effects of music and music-video on core affect during exercise at the lactate threshold

“…The discrepancy in findings might be attributed to differing exercise modalities (cycle ergometry vs. circuit-type exercises to exhaustion), as well as the manner in which the music was used (asynchronous vs. synchronous application). Both of these are task-related situational factors that were theorized to moderate affective responses to music in a recent model (Karageorghis, 2015). For perceived activation, there was a significant (p = .020) gender x time interaction wherein FAS scores significantly increased during and decreased post-exercise for men only.…”

“…This is in accordance with the average post-exercise state that is characterized by a gradual decrease in perceived activation (Ekkekakis, 2003). It also points to a specialist role that music might play in expediting post-exercise recovery through the principle of entrainment, wherein the main pulses of the body such as respiration and heart rate can be "guided" towards resting levels by appropriate musical stimuli (see Karageorghis, 2015).…”

Experimental Effects of Priming on Affective Responses to Acute Exercise

“…Although traditional views on optimizing task performance emphasize concentration on the task, studies have found that by inducing humor individuals experience more stable positive affect [32]. Priming has been applied with investigating the development of first impressions following visual primes [24], the stimulation of intrinsic motivation [33], as well as goal-directed [34,35] and competitive behavior [36].…”

“…Priming techniques may be applied to subconsciously modify the psychological state of an individual before and during a task [33]. Additionally, the use of video priming techniques to influence motivational state and anaerobic performance has also been explored with some success [35].…”

“…The use of videos to induce an affective experience has been the subject of several research articles. Conversely, only a few studies have explored the use of videos for affective-elicitation purposes within the exercise domain [35]. Although other methods for acutely altering mood have been explored, such as music, pictures, and personal recollection [37], videos are thought to be advantageous, as they are engaging for extended periods (attentional capture) and in a manner consistent with real life experiences [37,38].…”