Influence of stimulus material and effector specificity on performance in the measurement of interference control in adolescent handball and soccer players compared to non-player controls.
Florian Heilmann, Leif E Langsdorf, Torsten Schubert
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Abstract
This study investigated how stimulus material and effector specificity influence interference control (a form of inhibitory control) in adolescent players. Ninety-one males aged 15-18 years (28 handball players, 34 soccer players, 29 non-player controls) completed nine modified Flanker task versions varying in stimulus type (abstract, handball-specific, soccer-specific) and response modality (finger, hand, foot). Mixed-design ANOVAs revealed significant main effects of congruency, stimulus type, and response modality. Responses were slower, and interference effects were larger in incongruent than in congruent trials. In addition, sports-specific stimuli and more motorically demanding response modalities were associated with increased response times compared to abstract arrow stimuli and simple finger responses. A congruency × stimulus interaction revealed reduced flanker effects for sports-specific stimuli, indicating that domain-specificity shapes interference processing. However, no consistent group differences were found, suggesting adolescent players do not exhibit broad cognitive advantages, or such advantages are context-dependent. Overall, the findings suggest that performance was primarily shaped by perceptual and motor requirements of the task, i.e., bystimulus complexity and response modality rather than by differences between athlete and control groups. Longitudinal research is needed to clarify how training and development interact to shape cognitive-motor control.
期刊介绍：
Psychological Research/Psychologische Forschung publishes articles that contribute to a basic understanding of human perception, attention, memory, and action. The Journal is devoted to the dissemination of knowledge based on firm experimental ground, but not to particular approaches or schools of thought. Theoretical and historical papers are welcome to the extent that they serve this general purpose; papers of an applied nature are acceptable if they contribute to basic understanding or serve to bridge the often felt gap between basic and applied research in the field covered by the Journal.
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