Positive and Negative Stimuli in Relation to Tennis Players' Reaction Time

Abstract

Research has indicated that negative and positive thoughts may affect sport performance. The purpose of this analogue study was to assess whether negative and positive stimuli influenced tennis performance similar to positive and negative thought. The reaction time (RT) of 40 competitive tennis players was measured during a timed response to a tennis ball rotating in a topspin, sidespin, or backspin direction on the computer screen. Immediately prior to the ball presentation, a phrase (accessory stimulus) was presented visually or aurally. The accessory stimulus provided either positive (e.g., 'nice shot') or negative information (e.g., 'bad shot') followed by the subject's name. Analysis showed a main effect only for the type of spin. The slowest RT occurred when responding to a tennis ball rotating in a backspin direction. A significant interaction was found for the sensory modality (audition vs vision) and polarity (positive vs negative) of the accessory stimulus. RT to negative stimuli was slowest when the accessory stimulus was presented aurally. The quickest RT to positive stimuli occurred when the accessory stimulus was presented aurally. These results indicated that negative and positive stimuli, when presented aurally, affected performance as positive and negative thoughts measured in other studies. Not measured was whether negative and positive stimuli actually produce the negative and positive thoughts, respectively, that have been reported to affect performance.

Psychological Sporting Talent and Indicators of Mental Health at Young Male and Female Handball Players // Psihološki talent i obilježja mentalnog zdravlja kod rukometaša i rukometašica

“…Brojne studije su provedene kako bi se istražile važne psihološke karakteristike sportaša. Vrlo često, naglasak u ovim studijama je motivacija sportaša (Seifriz, Duda i Chi, 1992;Mead, Drowatzky & Hardin-Crosby, 2000), osobine i raspoloženja (Berger et al, 1997), itd. Osim motivacije, ponašanje sportaša u kritičnim situacijama tijekom natjecanja i tijekom trenažnog procesa je posebno važno (James & Collins, 1997;Wiggins, 1998), kao i u situacijama koje naglašavaju tjeskobu (Dunn & Nielsen, 1996).…”

“…Numerous studies are conducted to investigate important psychological characteristics of the athletes. Very often, the focus in these studies was the motivation of the athletes (Seifriz, Duda & Chi, 1992;Mead, Drowatzky & Hardin-Crosby, 2000), traits and moods (Berger et al, 1997), etc. Except the motivation, the athletes' behaviors in critical situations during a competition and during training process are particularly important (James & Collins, 1997;Wiggins, 1998), as same as in situations that emphasize anxiety (Dunn & Nielsen, 1996).…”

Comparison Of Hand Reaction Ability Among The Different Racket Game Players

“…When you have good reaction time, you may respond better to the opponent's moves, smashes, serves, and strokes. According to many studies (Mead et al, 2000; Jui-Hung Tu et al, 2010;Uzu et al, 2009), the ability to react quickly to a stimulus is a manifestation of superior coordination. "Complex" means that the signals might be diverse and that the response can be selected from among many potential options, while "simple" means that a single signal corresponds to a single planned action (Buzzelli, 2020;Zajdel & Nowak, 2007;Buzzelli, 2021).…”

Development of reaction times in young tennis players using the SensoBuzz application

“…The reaction time is a special coordination capacity, which allows everyone to respond to a stimulus in the shortest possible times (Mead et al, 2000;Jui-Hung Tu et al, 2010;Emre et al, 2010;Uzu et al, 2009). The reaction time is defined as "simple" when a single signal corresponds to a single predetermined action; it is defined as "complex" when the signals can be different, and the response can be chosen among many possible (Buzzelli, 2021;Zajdel & Nowak, 2007;Buzzelli, 2020).…”