Influence of an audience on conscious motor processing and performance during a go-only and stop-signal soccer penalty shooting task

The Theory of Reinvestment predicts that perceived pressure to perform well can negatively impact the perceptual-motor skills of experts, by promoting conscious reinvestment of explicit knowledge about how the skills should be performed (i.e., "conscious motor processing"). This study sought to investigate the influence of pressure on conscious motor processing and performance in a soccer (football) penalty shooting task. Performance was compared in an "execution-only" and "dynamic" task context, in which fifteen experienced soccer players were required to accurately shoot on target (execution-only) or, if the goalkeeper moved to intercept, inhibit their shot (dynamic). Pressure was manipulated by means of a small audience. Manipulation checks of conscious motor processing were taken, and performance measures included movement time, reaction time, inhibition success, and penalty shooting accuracy. Analyses indicated that penalty shooting accuracy was lower in the dynamic than in the execution-only task context (p = .01). Presence of an audience did not increase perceived anxiety, nor did it result in significant effects on conscious motor processing or penalty shooting performance. Covariate analyses identified trait reinvestment as a significant covariate. Whilst in general, presence of an audience had no significant effects on conscious motor processing or penalty shooting performance, high (trait) reinvestors were found to engage more in conscious motor processing, initiated their responses earlier (allowing more time for execution), and showed improved response inhibition in the presence of an audience. Future studies are required to further evaluate the influence of trait reinvestment on conscious motor processing and performance under pressure.