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Which opponent player to sequentially serve to in beach volleyball is crucial given the advantage of the attacking team. The sequential choice theory was tested in three studies by analyzing allocation strategies based on the hot hand belief. Study 1 showed strong belief in the hot hand of national coaches. In Study 2, we analyzed Tokyo Olympics data to explore how base rates and sequential selection rates varied in an elite sample. When base rates of players differed by 0.25, low-performing players were frequently selected. In an experiment with elite athletes, Study 3A demonstrated accurate base-rate-difference recognition but low base-rate-change recognition. Study 3B found that the hot hand is believed to be important but is not often detected. We conclude that players and coaches follow predictions of the sequential choice theory and believe in the hot hand, but do not have a shared understanding of how to use it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Embodied Cognition approaches suggest that movements influence the understanding of abstract concepts such as time. It follows that moving the arms as watch hands should boost children's learning to read the clock. In a school setting, we compared three learning conditions: an embodied (movement) condition, an interactive App condition, and a text condition. Age, self-reported enjoyment, and group size were controlled. In a clock-time-test, the embodied condition resulted in better performances than the mean of the other conditions in small, but not in large groups. This innovative, theory-informed approach may advance learning of abstract concepts in children.

The aim of this study was to explore when experts trust their intuition. The Take-The-First heuristic suggests that experts generate a few options based on option validity that match the current situation and probably pick the first one they generated. In chess, the rated quality of moves can be used to analyze fast and slow decisions. We provided players with strategic (long-term) and tactical (short-term) situations and asked for fast choices, further candidate moves, and the best choice. We divided the participants into three groups based on expertise. Results indicate that chess players at lower skill levels were more vulnerable in tactics than in strategy, especially under time pressure. Masters scored better than near-experts on intuitive and final decisions, and whereas near-experts profited from more time, the masters did not. This finding implies that Take-The-First is both boundedly and ecologically rational. Conclusions are made regarding trusting the intuitions of experts.

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of predictability on dual-task performance by systematically manipulating predictability in either one of two tasks, as well as between tasks. According to capacity-sharing accounts of multitasking, assuming a general pool of resources two tasks can draw upon, predictability should reduce the need for resources and allow more resources to be used by the other task. However, it is currently not well understood what drives resource-allocation policy in dual tasks and which resource allocation policies participants pursue. We used a continuous tracking task together with an audiomotor task and manipulated advance visual information about the tracking path in the first experiment and a sound sequence in the second experiments (2a/b). Results show that performance predominantly improved in the predictable task but not in the unpredictable task, suggesting that participants did not invest more resources into the unpredictable task. One possible explanation was that the re-investment of resources into another task requires some relationship between the tasks. Therefore, in the third experiment, we covaried the two tasks by having sounds 250 ms before turning points in the tracking curve. This enabled participants to improve performance in both tasks, suggesting that resources were shared better between tasks.

Drawing on theories from the sociology of work and organizations, such as Leiter and Maslach's concept of burnout and Siegrist's model of effort–reward imbalance, this paper argues that burnout symptoms in elite sport are related to a mismatch of investment and gratification. Building on data from a sample of German elite athletes (N = 312), findings show that high time investments for training and competitions, the experience of time and role conflicts and negative emotions related to daily training are associated with more burnout symptoms, while sporting success, social support and training-related positive emotions are associated with lower burnout scores. Vulnerability to burnout is increased in situations that qualify as gratification crises, in which athletes perceive that high time commitment does not pay off in terms of sporting success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adapting to the ever‐changing demands of the environment requires a complex interplay between cognitive‐affective, neuronal, and autonomic processes. Vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) is positively associated with both cognitive‐affective functioning and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity. Accordingly, the Neurovisceral Integration Model has posited a shared role of the PFC in the regulation of cognitive‐affective processes and autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. While there are numerous correlational findings in this regard, no study so far has investigated whether the manipulation of PFC activity induces changes in vmHRV and cognitive‐affective processing in an inter‐dependent manner. In a sample of 64 participants, we examined the effects of continuous (cTBS; n = 21) and intermittent theta‐burst stimulation (iTBS; n = 20) compared to sham stimulation (n = 23) over the left dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC) on vmHRV and cognitive‐affective processing within an emotional stop‐signal task (ESST). Our results revealed that both resting vmHRV and vmHRV reactivity predicted cognitive‐affective processing. Furthermore, we found a dampening effect of cTBS on resting and on‐task vmHRV, as well as an enhancing effect of iTBS on ESST performance. Our results show no direct association between vmHRV changes and ESST performance alterations following stimulation. We interpret our results in the light of a hierarchical model of neurovisceral integration, suggesting a dynamical situation‐dependent recruitment of higher‐order cortical areas like the dlPFC in the regulation of the ANS. In conclusion, our results highlight the complex interplay between PFC activity, autonomic regulation, and cognitive‐affective processing, emphasizing the need for further research to understand the causal dynamics of the underlying neural mechanisms. Our study represents the first attempt to use repetitive transcranial magnet stimulation (rTMS) to test the relationship between prefrontal activity, vagally mediated heart rate variability (vmHRV) and cognitive‐affective processing, suggested by the Neurovisceral Integration Model. While we did not find hypothesized links between changes in vmHRV and cognitive‐affective processing induced by rTMS over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), our results indicate flexible recruitment of higher‐order cortical areas, such as the left dlPFC in autonomic regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about how children generate options for taking action in familiar situations or how they select which action option to actually perform. In this article, we explore the interplay between option generation and selection from a developmental perspective using sports as a testbed. In a longitudinal design with four measurement waves, we asked 6- to 13-year-old children (N = 73) to generate and select action options in a soccer-related task. Children generated and selected options in accordance with the predictions of the take-the-first heuristic, which served as a theoretical starting point: They generated only a few options in decreasing order of validity (i.e., better options were generated earlier) and selected the first options they had generated. Older children selected the first option generated more often than younger children and generated options faster. Longitudinal effects revealed that both age groups generated fewer options and faster across waves. Time limitation fostered fewer and higher quality options being generated and selected. Overall, our results highlight the importance of considering the predecisional process of option generation to deepen our understanding of developmental changes in decision-strategy use. Future research directions and implications for children's real-life decision making are discussed.

Purpose: The concepts of creativity and intuition have been well studied in isolation, but less is known about their distinctive contributions to option generation in decision making. Method: We examined the relation between creative and intuitive decision making in two studies--one involving coaches and one involving soccer players--using video footage of real soccer matches. Additionally, we analyzed whether this relation is culture generic or culture specific by conducting matched cross-cultural studies in a European and a South American country. Results: In Study 1, results indicate a conceptual overlap of creativity and intuition for Brazilian and German soccer coaches. Furthermore, coaches did not differ in their evaluation of creative and intuitive actions of players of both cultures. In Study 2, we found that for both subsamples the total number of generated options was positively correlated with the quality of the first and the final option and that the quality of players' first (intuitive) option was higher than that of options generated later. Moreover, results indicate a positive correlation between a player's creativity score and the quality of the first generated option for the whole sample. Conclusion: Overall, our findings provide meaningful information regarding athletes' and coaches' option-generation processes in decision making in complex team sports.

Introduction. Current research on the Russian-Ukrainian conflict explores various aspects of psychological distr ess among affected individuals. However, there is a lack of information regarding post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among Ukrainian athletes affected by the conflict. Objective: In this study we aimed to investigate the prevalence of PTSD among Ukrainian athletes affected by the ongoing war. Materials and methods: A total of 163 Ukrainians with varying degrees of exposure to the war participated in the study. Among them, 109 (67%) were non-athletes, while 54 (33%) were athletes. Non-athletes were individuals who remained in Ukraine after the onset of the conflict. Athletes with many having traveled for competitions and subsequently returned to Ukraine. This study used the primary care PTSD screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5). According to this method, the main scales are: anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Additional stress disorder scales were used as a supplement to the main questionnaire. Results The results show the prevalence of PTSD in the general sample compared to the general population. 54.4% persons reported PTSD. Non-athletes felt more in danger and threatened than athletes. We hypothesize that stress resistance in athletes supports the ability to reduce the effects of post-traumatic stress. The results of clinical symptoms was obtained that athletes avoid negative memories associated with military situations compared to non-athletes. This demonstrates that athletes are very busy with the training process. Non-athletes lack this tendency. In conclusion, we argue that the consequences of PTSD in athletes are lower than in non-athletes, and this may be an opportunity to prevent PTSD through sport. Conclusions The obtained studies show a connection between the war situation and the development of posttraumatic stress syndrome in people. A higher level of stress resistance in athletes has been established. This manifests itself in resistance to traumatic stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data analytics have become increasingly popular within professional sport organizations. Big data exists upon which decisions are made in relation to athlete selection and performance analysis. The data draw upon vary from big data and more idiosyncratic data that is contextually focused. We consider the importance of data technology in relation to the prediction of athlete and team performance within high-performance sport. Here we expand upon existing approaches to analytics, and why the prediction of athletes' behaviors is often found to be ineffective. Recommendations are provided how sport psychology can offer insights for analytics departments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The aim of the study is to address embodied planning in climbing. Embodied planning was conceptualized as the interaction between perceptualcognitive pre-planning and motor execution. Methods: In an experimental study, 18 climbers were asked to pre-plan a climbing route and to perform the route afterward. During pre-planning, the visual search pattern of climbers was captured using a portable eye tracker. After previewing, they were invited to climb the wall. Results: Results revealed that holds looked at during pre-planning were used twice as much during route execution than those not looked at. The duration of fixations was longer for holds used than those not used during route execution. The experience of climbers (training years) correlated with visual strategies and climbing performance, such that experienced participants climbed faster and fixated at the holds not used for a shorter time. Discussion: The visual behaviors of climbers were influenced by their past sensorimotor experiences during route previewing, impacting subsequent climbing performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is an editorial from the International Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology that explores the relationship between cognition and action in skilled performance, specifically in sports. The authors argue that understanding how cognitive and bodily resources are utilized in motor tasks can enhance performance in sports and other high-performance fields. They highlight the significance of viewing the body as a source of cognitive processes and suggest further exploration of the bidirectional links and interactions between cognition and action. The editorial also provides an overview of the articles published in the special issue and proposes future research directions in the field. [Extracted from the article]

Background and Study Aim Military conflicts are a stress factor that provokes negative changes in the mental state of people. But, how susceptible are athletes to post-traumatic disorders at the level of psychophysiological functions? The purpose is to study the psychophysiological state of the elite athletes after critical life events related to the war in Ukraine. Material and Methods Twelve elite female fencers, aged 18-23 years and members of the National Team of Ukraine, were examined. Their mental condition was assessed using the Lüscher color test, neurodynamic functions were evaluated with an anticipation test, cognitive characteristics through a decisionmaking test, and levels of anxiety were also measured. The psychophysiological state of the fencers was studied both before and after six months of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine. Results The results indicated changes in the mental state of fencers under military conditions. Six months after the onset of the war, elite fencers exhibited signs of mental stress and a decreased resistance to stress. According to the obtained results, during the war, athletes showed a predominance of excitation processes over inhibition processes. The study revealed a deterioration in performance on decision-making tests and a decreased ability to perceive visual information in fencers six months into the war. As a compensatory mechanism for the reduced ability to process visual stimuli under conditions of information overload, a decrease in impulsivity among fencers was observed. Research on anxiety demonstrated that, over the six months of war compared to peacetime, trait anxiety among athletes significantly increased. Conclusions Significant impacts of military actions on the psychophysiological state of elite athletes have been observed. This deterioration in mental state, along with decreases in neurodynamic and cognitive functions and an increase in personal anxiety levels, calls for the development and implementation of specialized psychological support programs. Such programs should aim to bolster athletes’ resilience to stressful situations. The importance of accounting for psychophysiological aspects in the training of athletes within conflict zones is underscored, providing a basis for further research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction The use of new technologies in human life leads to an improvement in lifestyle. However, many factors of modern life (environmental, social and others) can provoke a decrease in physical and mental performance, which, as a result, worsens health. One of main factor causing deterioration in health is physical inactivity. Physical activity, in turn, can help improve health and mental well-being. The study of the psychophysiological state of persons with different level of physical active may provide new information about the mechanism of physical inactivity and be of use to improve health. The purpose: We study psychophysiological state in physically active and sedentary persons. We predict that physically active participants buffer environmental stressors better and thus have higher values on their psychophysiological states than sedentary persons. Material and methods 19 physically active men (22-35 years) who practiced sports no more than three times a week were examined. Men with low physical activity and a sedentary lifestyle (20 persons, 26-36 years) were also examined. All of persons are non-clinical subjects. The mental state was studied using an adaptive version of the Luscher color test. Neurodynamic tests included a test of a person's ability to make decisions and anticipate them. Among the cognitive tests, the "Number Comparison" test for perception speed was used. All tests used in the study were part of the Multipsychometer-05 hardware and software complex. Results It was revealed that the lack of physical activity leads to increased tension of the autonomic regulation system and limitation of the body's functional reserves. The relationship of physical inactivity with increased anxiety and tension of the autonomic nervous system was revealed. Thus, the increase in effectiveness and speed of perception in physically active persons indicates the stimulating effect of the motor activity factor. In addition, it was revealed that physically active people have better accuracy and quality of non-verbal perception and information processing. Conclusions Physical activity affects the mental state, cognitive functions and anxiety levels. This is promoted by an increase in the performance of perception and the speed of processing non-verbal information. One of the main useful results of this study is the possibility of the influence of physical activity on improving the mental and cognitive properties of an individual. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Previous discussions of the hot hand belief, wherein athletes believe that they have a greater chance of scoring after 2 or 3 hits (successes) compared with 2 or 3 misses, have focused on whether this is the case within game statistics. Researchers have argued that the perception of the hot hand in random sequences is a bias of the cognitive system. Yet most have failed to explore the impact of framing on the stability of the belief and the behavior based on it. Method: The authors conducted 2 studies that manipulated the frame of a judgment task. In Study 1, framing was manipulated via instructions in a playmaker allocation paradigm in volleyball. In Study 2, the frame was manipulated by presenting videos for allocation decisions from either the actor or observer perspective. Results: Both manipulations changed the hot hand belief and sequential choices. We found in both studies that the belief in continuation of positive or negative streaks is nonlinear and allocations to the same player after 3 successive hits are reduced. Conclusions: The authors argue that neither the hot hand belief nor hot hand behavior is stable, but rather, both are sensitive to decision frames. The results can inform coaches on the importance of how to provide information to athletes.

This narrative review in this special issue marking the 20-year anniversary of the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology aims to summarise work on expertise research in sport psychology and beyond. We shall review findings based on factors affecting the path to excellence. The structure of factors is aligned to the multifactorial gene–environment interaction model of Ullén et al. [2016. Rethinking expertise: A multifactorial gene–environment interaction model of expert performance. Psychological Bulletin, 142(4), 427–446]. Our research synthesis indicates that individual factors for expertise are well discussed; but, too often, not examined well empirically in terms of their quantity and quality. Further, it is notable that most of the interactions between important factors have not been investigated together, and thus it is too early to draw specific conclusions on how the combined effects of factors influence expertise development and sport performance. A literature search that differentiates findings on factors for expertise in all sport-related research (using SPORTDiscus as a source) in comparison to papers published in the International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology provides new ways of focusing future research in unexplored factors and their interactions. We shall provide an example of a recent large-scale project of about 600 national team level athletes in seven different sports to illustrate how general expertise models such as that from Ullén et al. can be applied to diagnostics in elite performance as one way to advance research in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Successful sports performance often requires choosing what to do and how to do it in dynamic, complex, and uncertain environments. Thus, an understanding of the processes underpinning judgment and decision making in sports (JDMS) is crucial for both researchers and applied practitioners. Despite the research developments, examining JDMS from several perspectives, there are still significant gaps in the knowledge of the processes involved. In this article we explore how the theoretical understanding of JDMS can be extended by acknowledging that cognition and action dynamics are intertwined, deploy in parallel, and influence each other bidirectionally. We present a holistic approach that integrates simple heuristics and embodied cognition to explain JDMS. Importantly, our aim is not to devalue previous JDMS theories but rather to exemplify how embodied choices can redirect the current interpretation of judgment and decision-making processes in sports. Taking this embodied choice perspective, we reinterpret the findings of four prototypical research papers on JDMS, each representing one of the most influential perspectives in JDMS (i.e., the economic, social cognition, cognitive, and ecological dynamics approaches). Last, we discuss future directions for JDMS research from an embodied choice perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "hot hand" belief in sports refers to the conviction that a player has a higher chance of making a shot after two or three successful shots than after two or three misses (resulting in "streaks"). This belief is usually considered a cognitive fallacy, although it has been conjectured that in basketball the defense will attack a"hot" player and prevent streaks from occurring. To address this argument, we provide the first study on the hot hand in volleyball, where the net limits direct defensive counterstrategies, meaning that streaks can more likely emerge if a player is hot. We first establish that athletes believe in the hot hand in volleyball (Study 1A). Analyzing the top 26 first-division players, we then show that streaks do exist for half of the players (Study 1B). Coaches can detect players' performance variability and use it to make strategic decisions (Study 2A). Playmakers are also sensitive to streaks and rely on them when deciding to whom to allocate the ball (Study 2B). We conclude that for volleyball the hot hand exists, coaches and playmakers are able to detect it, and playmakers tend to use it "adaptively," which results in more hits for a team. (Contains 3 figures, 3 tables, and 4 footnotes.)

Intuition is often considered an effective manner of decision making in sports. In this study we investigated whether a preference for intuition over deliberation results in faster and better lab-based choices in team handball attack situations with 54 male and female handball players of different expertise levels. We assumed that intuitive choices--due to their affective nature--are faster when multiple options are to be considered. The results show that athletes who had a preference for intuitive decisions made faster and better choices than athletes classified as deliberative decision makers. It is important that experts were more intuitive than near-expert and nonexpert players. The results support a take-the-first heuristic defining how options are searched for, how option generation is stopped, and how an option is chosen. Implications for the training of intuitive decision making are presented. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

The current work builds on option-generation research using experts of various skill levels in a realistic task. We extend previous findings that relate an athlete's performance strategy to generated options and subsequent choices in handball. In a 2-year longitudinal study, we present eye-tracking data to independently verify decision strategies previously inferred from patterns of generated options. A verbal protocol identified the option-generation process for each individual prior to an allocation decision. Although athletes of varying expertise generated the same number of options on average, these options differed in quality between expert, near-expert, and nonexpert athletes for both their initial and final choices. These and other key results are formalized to elaborate a model of option generation, deliberation, and selection.

Background: Recent developments of theories for teaching decision making in sport offer a large variety of applications for the context of physical education. Purpose: This review of current models of teaching tactical skills concludes that most models incorporate different cognitive learning mechanisms, such as implicit and explicit learning, and are either domain specific or domain general. Yet, most models ignore the structure of the environment when defining in which situation a specific cognitive process will be beneficial and in which situations it will fail. Findings: From an ecological rationality perspective the experimentally validated SMART (Situation Model of Anticipated Response consequences of Tactical training) model is presented; this model identifies in which situation a particular learning mechanism should be beneficial. Conclusions: It is crucial to acknowledge that no one model of teaching decision making is the best but rather that choosing the appropriate model depends on the task and persons involved. The SMART model provides selection criteria for models of teaching decision making used in the domain of sport. [Appended to this "Discussion" article is "Response to 'Think SMART'--Some Elements of Perception/Decision/Action in Team Sports" by Jean-Francis Grehaigne and Nathalie Wallian. Grehaigne and Wallian present another view on certain concepts and frames of reference used in Raab's essay. They contend that a player's game-play intelligence results from a combination of flair, resourcefulness, vigilant attention, sense of opportunity, etc. They suggest that, when considering the development of decision-making skills, anticipation, decision making, and effective action should be associated whenever reflection on action is sought. Also appended to the original article is Markus Raab's "Response to the Critique: 'Response to "Think SMART"--Some Elements of Perception/Decision/Action in Team Sports.'" In Raab's response, he addresses three main aspects regarding the similarities and differences between his approaches and those of Grehaigne and Wallian: (1) concepts of perception; (2) configuration of play; and (3) transfer.] (Article and individual responses contain references.) (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)