C. Collet et al., RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PERFORMANCE AND SKIN RESISTANCE EVOLUTION INVOLVING VARIOUS MOTOR-SKILLS, Physiology & behavior, 59(4-5), 1996, pp. 953-963
The aim of this article was to question the classical inverted-U curve
relationship between activation and performance. It was hypothesized
that changes in performance were related to both activation and the de
gree of skill difficulty, suggesting a more complex relation. Fifty-on
e subjects took part in one of three experiments requiring sensory and
motor anticipation abilities. They were divided into three different
groups, each performing one particular anticipation task. Skin resista
nce was continuously recorded during task performance. This autonomic
variable is well known to be a reliable index in predicting activation
variations. The first task, carried out in a seated position, was to
intercept a moving spot on a computer screen by pressing the space bar
on the keyboard. The second task, performed standing, required subjec
ts to intercept a moving table tennis ball with palm of the hand, by e
xtending the forearm and the arm. The third task, executed in movement
was performed on a volley-ball ground. The aim was to hit a ball to r
each a moving human target, using the forearm-blow technique. Results
showed that 90.9% of subjects' performance in Experiment 1 was related
to skin resistance tonic level variations, thus establishing a strong
relationship between performance and arousal. Subjects' performance (
43.8%) in Experiment 2 was related to skin resistance tonic level vari
ations, whereas only 12.5% of performance was related to this variable
in Experiment 3. In conclusion, tonic level variations can only accou
nt for success or failure in the first experiment. Conversely, success
or failure were dependent upon information processing, decision makin
g, and motor execution in the third experiment. The second experiment,
requiring intermediate abilities, was found to show intermediate resu
lts. The role of skin resistance tonic level fluctuations and their us
e in the study of sporting performance are discussed, suggesting that
arousal/performance relationships do not correspond to a simple invert
ed-U curve in complex motor skills requiring a steady level of arousal
.