An examination of pressure, competition anxiety, and performance in sport using virtual reality

The primary aims of this thesis were: (i) to examine the effectiveness of a sport-specific manipulation of pressure in a dynamic and externally paced virtual reality task; (ii) to examine changes in measures of competition anxiety and performance, under high and low pressure, among elite and non-elite athletes; and, (iii) to investigate whether pressure-related changes in anxiety explained variability in pressure-related performance changes and whether these changes were moderated by personality traits.

Applying an ecological approach, by keeping perception and action coupled within the task, a bespoke virtual environment was designed for testing. Results showed that high skill participants significantly outperformed the low skill participants in all performance measures including higher incidences of correct foot placements that reflect better anticipatory responses. Consistency of the conditions presented to participants was ensured through, for example, the presentation of identical ball types. Having established the VR batting simulator as being a valid tool for capturing batting dynamics, and consistent in its presentation of identical conditions for participants, personality traits, competition anxiety and performance measures were assessed in 28 participants (14 elite; 14 less skilled) across three conditions that applied an A-B-A design of low-pressure – high-pressure – low-pressure.

Overall, the findings showed an increase in cognitive and somatic anxiety, investment of mental effort, and average and maximal heart rates, during the high pressure condition compared to both low pressure conditions. Both skill groups also experienced significant reductions in their perceptions of control under high pressure. Moderate effect sizes suggest that there was a more marked increase in the low-skill group for cognitive and somatic anxiety. While competition anxiety was elevated, there were no group changes to performance under high pressure, with some individuals improving and others performing worse. Pressure-related changes in perceived control and maximal heart rate were significantly associated with pressure-related changes in performance. However, most traits did not significantly predict changes in competition anxiety nor did any associations differ between skill level.

Findings underscore the complexity of competition anxiety, personality traits, and performance among athletes and highlight the importance for holistic research designs that better understand individual appraisals. As a solution to the underrepresentation of externally paced tasks in competition anxiety research, and to produce more ecologically valid research tools in sport, findings suggest that virtual reality offers an effective option. The high-pressure environment was manipulated in several novel ways that were facilitated using virtual reality, providing support for the suitability of virtual reality in implementing pressure manipulations in sport-based research.