Elite pistol shooters: physiological patterning of best vs. worst shots

This study examined patterns of physiological activity in elite pistol shoo ters and compared them with novice shooters. Heart rate and electrodermal a ctivity were recorded for three 150-s epochs. Participants performed part o f the Standard Pistol Shooting Protocol, firing five rounds at a target 25 m distant within the first 150 s epoch. In the second epoch, baseline data were recorded with the participant standing at rest. The third epoch was a repetition of the first epoch. For each shot, values of heart rate and skin conductance were calculated at half-second intervals from 20 s before to 1 0 s after the shot. In experts there was a slow reduction in skin conductan ce and heart rate levels prior to the shot, and a 'rebound' increase immedi ately following the shot, which were not apparent in the novice shooters. P re-shot electrodermal levels for the expert shooters were lower for the bes t compared with the worst shots, and the duration of the pre-shot cardiac d eceleration was longer and more systematic for best than for worst shots. T he physiological profiles supported interpretation in terms of two separate state processes, arousal and vigilance, rather than a single construct. Th ese physiological differences are discussed in terms of differential engage ment with the task and its associated attentional narrowing in expert pisto l shooters. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.