Jump and free fall! Memory, attention, and decision-making processes in an extreme sport

ABSTRACT

In the present study, we explored the effects of high arousal on cognitive performance when facing a situation of risk. We also investigated how these effects are moderated by either positive or negative emotional states (valence). An ecological methodology was employed, and a field study was carried out in a real-life situation with 39 volunteer participants performing a bungee jumping activity and a control group of 39 participants. Arousal and valence were assessed with the Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM). Working memory capacity (reverse digit span), selective attention (Go/No-Go task) and decision-making (Iowa Gambling Task) were assessed at 3 time points: 30 min before the jump, immediately after the jump, and approximately 8 min after the onset of the previous phase. The results indicate that high arousal accompanied by high positive valence scores after jumping either improved performance or led to a lack of impairment in certain cognitive tasks. The Processing-Efficiency and the Broaden-and-Build theories are put forward to explain emotional moderation of cognitive performance in potentially life-threatening situations.

KEYWORDS:

• Arousal
• valence
• cognitive processing
• bungee jumping

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank La Sargantana, an adventure sports cooperative society based in Collbató, Barcelona, for granting us access to the sample of bungee jumping participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Judit Castellà http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6094-3516

Jorge Luis Méndez-Ulrich http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9718-0607

Antoni Sanz http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7952-4477