This study aimed to investigate whether (1) acute physical activity has positive effects on response inhibition and lapses of attention; and (2) cognitively engaging physical activity has stronger effects on response inhibition and lapses of attention than aerobic physical activity. Children (n = 89) were randomly assigned to the aerobic or cognitively engaging intervention, or a control condition. Response inhibition and lapses of attention were measured with a stop-signal task using a pre-post design. Multilevel analysis revealed no significant beneficial effect of acute physical activity on response inhibition and lapses of attention, nor differences between the interventions. However, more time in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) led to better response inhibition and reduced lapses of attention. It is concluded that positive effects of acute physical activity on response inhibition and lapses of attention are dependent on the intensity and duration, without indications for differential effects of the type of activity.

This study investigated mediating role of basic needs satisfaction (BNS) on the effect of perfectionism traits on social and task cohesion among elite futsal athletes. Participants were 301 athletes from the teams participating in the Brazilian National League. Instruments were the Group Environment Questionnaire, Sport Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale-2 and Basic Needs Satisfaction in Sport Scale. For data analysis, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling were conducted. Perfectionistic traits explained 10% of the BNS variance; perfectionism striving and perfectionism concerns had a significant direct effect on task (.18 and -.20) and social cohesion (.16 and -.27); BNS significantly mediated the perfectionism-cohesion relationship, with the mediation model explaining 72% and 61% of task and social cohesion variability respectively. Within the elite Brazilian futsal context, BNS fosters adaptive perfectionism impact on team cohesion, while decreasing maladaptive perfectionism effects

This study investigated how individuals with different levels of experience, knowledge, and skill made decisions on passing the hall during competitive games of futsal, based on information about angular interpersonal coordination with teammates and opponents. For this purpose, we analysed 80 passes performed by 40 male players (M = 13.0 years, SD = 0.7) differentiated by levels of experience, knowledge, and skill. Results revealed that: (1) players with low levels of knowledge performed successful passes with higher initial angular values than unsuccessful passes; and (2), experienced and skilful players completed successful passes based on information of the variability of emergence of angular interpersonal coordination. The findings revealed the attunement of players to the emergent dynamics of relationships with their teammates, and their teammates' marking defenders, as a crucial aspect of effective decision-making on where and whom to pass to.

In their 1994 publication, Starkes and Lindley considered whether perceptual skill could be trained through the observation of video simulations of sport situations. We return to this topic 20 years later and provide a critical review of the subsequent research on perceptual learning in sport. We reflect on the implications from recent empirical evidence, which indicates that perceptual expertise in sport is best captured using experimental methods that allow participants to perceive and act (i.e., produce an interceptive action) against an opponent in real-time. Despite the pertinent implications that these findings have for the training of perceptual skill, until now, a review has not been forthcoming. Specifically, we consider the implications of an ecological approach to perceptual learning for training interventions in sport. We provide a critical review of current literature, before focussing on an ecological theory of learning as a framework for our perspective. We then overview two contemporary topics in ecological psychology - continuum of contact and between-participant variability in perception-action - before considering the implications of our perspective for future research.

Although collective efficacy has been demonstrated to be an important precursor of team performance, there remains some ambiguity concerning its assessment. Therefore, the main aim of the present study was to test the validity of previous collective efficacy measures. An online survey was completed by 4,451 Flemish players and coaches from nine different team sports. The results revealed two distinct and reliable scales; process-oriented collective efficacy (i.e., the confidence in the team’s skills to accomplish processes that could lead to successes) and outcome-oriented team confidence (i.e., the confidence in the team’s ability to obtain a goal or win a game). Furthermore, we established the validity of a 5-item Observational Collective Efficacy Scale for Sports (OCESS) as short measure of process-oriented collective efficacy. Because the OCESS only includes observable behaviors, this scale has the potential to be a starting point for the development of a continuous in-game measure of collective efficacy.

The design of effective interventions in sport psychology often requires a subtle blend of techniques, tailored to meet the client’s specific needs. Input from a variety of disciplinary support specialists, working as a team, is also frequently needed. Accordingly, this study investigated an interdisciplinary team approach to the technical change and rehabilitation of an elite weight lifter following injury; necessitating the avoidance of regression when performing under competitive pressure. Multiple coaching approaches were used and complimented by targeting specific mental skills. Kinematic analyses indicated progressive technical, and subsequently permanent, change even after 2 years. Self-report measures of self-efficacy and imagery use were deemed essential in facilitating the change. Finally, a discussion focuses on the intervention’s multifactorial nature, its application within high performance coaching, and how this may advise future research into the refinement of already existing and well-established skills.

Research suggests that self-oriented perfectionism and socially prescribed perfectionism have unique and distinct motivational properties that are evident among junior athletes. Likewise, harmonious and obsessive passions encompass distinctive patterns of motivation. Based on suggestions that different dimensions of perfectionism may be associated with varying types of passion, the aim of the current study was to test the possibility that self oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism could be distinguished based on their relationship with harmonious and obsessive passion in junior athletes. Two hundred and forty-nine athletes (M age = 16.07, SD = 2.22) competing in various youth sports completed measures of perfectionism and passion. Multiple regression and canonical correlation analyses indicated that self-oriented perfectionism predicted higher levels of both types of passion. In contrast, socially prescribed perfectionism predicted only obsessive passion. The findings provide an initial indication that the motivational differences between self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism extend to the types of passion they engender. The findings also provide additional insight into the patterns of motivation that are likely to arise from the two dimensions of perfectionism in junior athletes.