Conscious motor processing and the pressure-performance relationship: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

This systematic review examined evidence for the role of conscious motor processing in the pressure-performance relationship and, specifically, whether pressure-induced changes in conscious motor processing are associated with pressure-induced changes in performance. Following PRISMA guidelines, 29 studies published up to 22 August 2022 were included. Studies were required to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, include a pressure manipulation, include an outcome measure of conscious motor processing, and examine the performance of a perceptual-motor skill. Studies were excluded if conscious motor processing was experimentally manipulated, the research design involved skill acquisition strategies that influenced conscious motor processing, or the study was unpublished or not published in English. Studies were retrieved from PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science databases. Risk of bias was assessed with the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies, and the strength of evidence was determined with the sum code classification system. Results confirmed that pressure generally increases conscious motor processing but there was insufficient evidence to conclude that conscious motor processing directly contributes to pressure-induced changes in motor skill performance. Future studies are encouraged to directly test for mediation and to contrast the effects of conscious motor processing with other cognitive processes evoked by pressure (e.g. distraction).

KEYWORDS:

• Anxiety
• explicit monitoring
• skill-focus
• skill execution
• perceptual-motor performance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

1 Sum code calculations were re-run without these studies included. While this modified the percentages trivially, exclusion of the articles did not cause any changes in sum code classifications or in the weight of evidence for each hypothesis.