Swimming microorganisms create flows that influence their mutual interactions and modify the rheology of their suspensions. While extensively studied theoretically, these flows have not been measured ...in detail around any freely-swimming microorganism. We report such measurements for the microphytes Volvox carteri and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The minute (∼0.3%) density excess of V. carteri over water leads to a strongly dominant Stokeslet contribution, with the widely-assumed stresslet flow only a correction to the subleading source dipole term. This implies that suspensions of V. carteri have features similar to suspensions of sedimenting particles. The flow in the region around C. reinhardtii where significant hydrodynamic interaction is likely to occur differs qualitatively from a puller stresslet, and can be described by a simple three-Stokeslet model.
We examined whether coach leadership behaviours predicted the intensity and direction of positive and negative affects experiencing during competition controlling for affects experienced within two ...hours before competition. A total of 296 athletes (33% female and 67% male; Mage = 21.61; SD = 6.32) voluntarily participated in the study. A partial least square path modelling (PLS-PM) approach was used to examine the relationships between the study variables. The results showed that coach social support significantly positively predicted the direction of negative affects during competition controlling for pre-competitive negative affect direction. Besides, results revealed that coach democratic behaviour marginally and negatively predicted Negative Affects direction during competition whereas coach autocratic behaviour marginally and negatively predicted Positive Affects intensity. Thus, coach social support emerged as an adaptive coaching behaviour. The usefulness of a longitudinal approach might reveal the multivariate experience of affects states and the manner to handle them from a coach leadership perspective.
The study aimed to identify coach behavior profiles and explore whether athletes from distinct profiles significantly differed on coping and affects experienced within 2 hr before the competition and ...during the competition (measuring them 2 hr after the competition). A sample of 306 French athletes (Mage = 22.24; SD = 4.91; 194 men and 112 women) participated in the study. The results revealed the emergence of two profiles: (a) a coaching engaged profile that stands out for moderate physical training and planning, technical skills, mental preparation, goal setting, competition strategies, personal rapport, and moderate negative personal rapport; and (b) a less engaged coaching profile with low physical training and planning, technical skills, mental preparation, goal setting, competition strategies, personal rapport, and moderate negative personal rapport. Memberships of coach behavior profiles were not confounded by athletes' practice experience, athlete's gender, and coach experience. Results of latent profile analyses with Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem method (BCH) method revealed that coping and affective states significantly differed across the coach behavior profiles. As a whole, the less engaged coaching profile engenders the worst outcomes in competition. In conclusion, the detection of less adaptive coaching profiles would be crucial to prevent negative outcomes in athletes during the competition. This might be using intervention programs adapted to the peculiarities of athletes from a particular coach behavior profiles.
Grounded in Lazarus's (1999) cognitive motivational relational theory of emotions, this study aimed to explore longitudinal relationships between appraisals, everyday emotions related to the ...competitive environment and emotional regulation strategies during a competitive season. Forty adolescent soccer players (Mage = 15.8) involved in an intensive training centre from a professional club voluntarily participated to the study. A series of hierarchical linear modelling analyses were conducted upon the 9 measurement times to: (a) examine the relationships between appraisals (threat, challenge, loss), pleasant (happiness, excitement) and unpleasant (anxiety, dejection, anger) emotions, and emotional regulation strategies (adaptive and less adaptive); and (b) ascertain whether the relationships between appraisals and emotions were mediated by emotion regulation strategies. The results of the random coefficient regression models showed: (a) positive relationships between challenge appraisal, adaptive emotion regulation, and pleasant emotions as well as between threat and loss appraisals, less adaptive emotion regulation and unpleasant emotions; and (b) mediating effects of emotional regulation strategies in the appraisals - emotions relationships. As a whole, this study furthered knowledge base about the competitive environment in showing that appraisals, emotion regulation and emotions are intertwined psychological constructs in a dynamic relationship allowing athletes to continuously adjust to their constantly changing everyday demands.
The aim of this research was to investigate the role of trait emotional intelligence (EI) in recovery stress states in a mountain ultra-marathon (MUM) race. Recovery stress states of 13 finishers ...were assessed before, during, and immediately after the end of an extreme MUM, whereas emotional intelligence was assessed 2 days before the MUM race. Temporal evolutions of recovery stress states were examined. Stress states increased after the race whereas recovery states decreased in all participants. In addition, recovery states were influenced by the trait EI level assessed before the competition. Results supported the hypothesis that trait EI tends to have a positive effect by boosting recovery strategies. In this perspective, trait EI could have a protective role against stress and improve pre-competition mental preparation. High scores of trait EI (in comparison to low scores of trait EI) could have helped athletes to increase recovery states in order to improve their psychological adaptation to one of the most difficult races in the world.
This study aimed to design and evaluate an emotional intelligence (EI) training program for adolescents involved in intensive sport training centers. A total of 31 young elite table-tennis players ...received EI training through six sessions and a recall period across a competitive season. The athletes completed (1) a self-reported questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of the program to assess intra-individual and inter-individual EI; and (2) a logbook twice a month during a period of 6 months including emotion regulation strategies (ERS), cognitive appraisals, and discrete emotions. The results highlighted an increased level of intra-individual EI, especially for understanding and regulation dimensions. Moreover, multilevel growth curve analyses (MGCAs) revealed adaptive changes for the reported levels of acceptance, refocus on planning, positive reappraisal, average less-adaptive ERS, self-blame, and catastrophizing strategies. These findings support a beneficial effect of the program on ERS. However, the analyses revealed limited results for discrete emotions. Finally, MGCAs also revealed adaptive trajectories in the scores of cognitive appraisals and thus provided further evidence of the benefits of the EI program on threat, challenge, and loss levels. In sum, this interventional study adds to a growing body of EI literature by proposing a theoretically based intervention for adolescents involved in a competitive and emotionally demanding environment.
Lay summary: The emotional intelligence is now recognized as a crucial factor to success in competitive sport. It appears crucial to develop these competences among youth athletes which are exposed to various constraints. This study confirms that the emotional intelligence (as some emotion regulation strategies) can be improved with short and adapted interventions.
During the last decades, rugby union focused on players' physical development as the main way of performance optimization. Consequently, a tremendous amount of research attention has been devoted to ...better understanding the main training parameters, neglecting however to study the effects of physical conditioning on group dynamics. In the present research, a quasi-experimental design in ecological conditions was used to analyze the effects of effort intensity on social interactions, especially during the rest periods of physical training. Semiprofessional rugby union players (N = 61; M
age
= 23.78, SD = 7.03 years) participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to four conditions consisting of three 5-min runs. With counterbalancing, the participant sample was divided into four groups. A control group ran at 50% Maximum Aerobic Speed (MAS) while the three experimental groups ran at three different effort intensities (80%, 90%, and 100% MAS) in a counterbalanced order (i.e., linear increase/linear decrease/and quadratic evolution of effort intensity). The results showed a positive relationship between effort intensity and the number of intragroup social interactions during rest periods, this result being accrued at the end of the training session. Interestingly, the results suggested that ending a conditioning session at 100% MAS after a linear progression of effort intensity might influence social identity mobility between different levels of self-abstraction, leading to more cooperation between group members. Overall, this research offers a psychosocial view of training effects that invites academics and coaches to consider effort intensity as a way to develop social bonding in rugby.
Lay summary: This study supports the perspective that "working hard" during conditioning influence social interactions between players. As a consequence, our results suggest that conditioning may be a powerful approach to build a feeling of "us-ness" that participates in optimizing group dynamics, and ultimately, performance in rugby.
IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
In order to benefit from the positive influence of conditioning on social interactions within a team coach should:
* Prefer incremental conditioning ending at the highest intensity, to non-linear training
* Encourage emotional expression norms by appointing congratulating behaviors during rest periods and more particularly at the end of the training session
* Employ rest zone on the pitch so as to facilitate social bonding between players
Psychological stress and recovery monitoring is a key issue for increasing athletes' health, well-being, and performance. This multi-study report examined changes and the dose–response relationships ...between recovery–stress psychological states, training load (TL), heart rate (HR), heart rate recovery (HRR), and heart rate variability (HRV) while providing evidence for the factorial validity of a short French version of the Recovery–Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-36-R-Sport).
Four hundred and seventy-three university athletes (Study 1), 72 full expert swimmers (Study 2), and 11 national to international swimmers (Study 3) participated in the study. Data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analyses (Study 1), repeated ANOVAs and correlational analyses (Study 2), t tests and correlational analyses (Study 3).
Multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses showed that the RESTQ-36-R-Sport scores were partially invariant across gender, type of sport, and practice level (Study 1). A dose–response relationship was performed between TL and RESTQ-36-R-Sport scores during an ecological training program (Study 2). Finally, relationships were found between physiological (HRR) and psychological (RESTQ-36-R-Sport) states during an ecological tapering period leading to a national championship (Study 3).
As a whole, these findings provided evidence for the usefulness of the short version of the RESTQ-36-R-Sport for regular monitoring to prevent potential maladaptation due to intensive competitive sport practice.
This study examined the effect of a Slow-Paced Breath (i.e., 6 breaths per minute) without Biofeedback (SPB-NoHRVB) protocol on semi-elite adolescent swimmers' psychological and physiological states ...during a seven-week ecological training period. A linear mixed-effects multilevel regression analysis approach was used with 13 adolescent national-level swimmers. Athletes were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 7) and a control group (n = 6). Seven waves of assessments were completed weekly during a seven-week training preparation in ecological conditions. During the protocol, swimmers completed subjective quantitative measures (RESTQ-36-R-Sport; cognitive perceived stress and control states about the training process, training subjective performance, and subjective internal training load) and physiological heart rate (HR) (HR of exercise, absolute and normalized HR recovery during the first 60 s of recovery; HRR60 and nHRR60) and heart rate variability (HRV) (MeanRR, RMSSD, LFnu and HFnu, LF/HF ration) tests (through a submaximal heart rate (5'-5' test) once a week. Results revealed that the SPB-NoHRVB protocol significantly predicts biopsychosocial recovery states, cognitive perception of control, and training subjective performance (i.e., a significant effect of the SPB-NoHRVB protocol with the dependent variables simple time trajectories). However, no significant effects were found for biopsychosocial stress scales, cognitively perceived stress, HR, or HRV markers. Our results suggest that SPB-NoHRVB induces simple evolutions over time for crucial variables in athletes' adaptation to the training process (i.e., cognitive appraisals and biopsychosocial states). In contrast, it highlights that SPB-NoHRVB does not induce better stress states. This specific effect on the resource component is an exciting result that will be discussed in the manuscript.
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