Cognitive-Emotional Predictors of Anticipation and Reaction Ability as Mediator for Performance Excellence in South-Asian Athletes

Abstract

Abstract Present study was aimed at identification of the extent of confounding contributions of various socio-economic and cultural determinants in the upbringing of the national – level players of South-Asian nations (Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia). Altogether three-hundred and fifty-one individuals having high athletic calibre were engaged as the participants in this study, which was aimed at identification of corroborative relationships between certain physiological parameters (viz. cortical inhibition; autonomic arousal modulation and peripheral measures of arousal etc.) and corresponding psychological attributes (viz. cognitive and emotional stability) and psychomotor ability (viz. anticipation and complex reaction ability) in relation to performance excellence. Simultaneous evaluation of autonomic arousal modulation (habituation paradigm tonic and phasic measures of skin conductance) was done when the swimmers were engaged in cue-related anticipatory task, associated with complex reaction performance. Perceived sense of competence as well as the subjective feelings of apprehension of loosing was explored, and attempts were made to identify the obscure subjective expression of cognitive-emotional make-up (particularly in the form of resilience, constriction etc) in explaining performance upheaval observed in the participants. Multiple linear and polynomial regression analyses and predictive structural analyses were done, which suggested direct and supportive relationships between measures of psychophysiological arousal and psychological phenomena related to cognitive- affective and affective-motivational aspects of sports behaviour explaining pathways to excellent competitive performance outcomes.