Factors that influence motor performance: Colour, inhibition and conscious processing
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis investigates potential psychological mechanisms that influence motor performance in sport, including colour, inhibition function, and propensity for conscious control of movement. A question was raised about whether individuals with poor inhibition function would be more likely to have a high propensity for conscious control (i.e., reinvestment) because they are less able to inhibit conscious control. However, Experiment 1 (Chapter 2) and Experiment 2 (Chapter 3) revealed a positive association between inhibition function (indexed by the Go/NoGo task) and propensity for conscious control of movement (assessed by the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale, MSRS). Experiment 3 (Chapter 4) examined the effect of colour on inhibition function during a basketball-specific Go/NoGo task. Worse inhibition performance was evident when participants viewed an opponent in a green uniform compared to a red and a grey uniform, possibly because green conveys the meaning to ‘go’ (e.g., at traffic lights). Archival data of professional netball games was analysed to examine whether teams in green uniforms made more intercepts because green lowers an opponent’s ability to inhibit an ill-chosen pass. Findings revealed higher mean intercepts for teams wearing green uniforms than for teams wearing red and other-coloured uniforms. Experiment 4 (Chapter 5) examined whether the effect of uniform colour may be due to differences in an opponent’s perception of size. A side-by-side comparison task revealed that goalkeepers in a red and a blue uniform were perceived as larger than goalkeepers in a green uniform, possibly because red and blue colours convey the meaning of dominance and threat in a football context (e.g., the most successful teams, like Manchester United and Chelsea, wear red and blue colours). Experiment 5 (Chapter 6) examined whether viewing a red and a blue spectator background would elicit avoidance motivation during football penalty-kicks, because they conveyed the…
abstract: This thesis investigates potential psychological mechanisms that influence motor performance in sport, including colour, inhibition function, and propensity for conscious control of movement. A question was raised about whether individuals with poor inhibition function would be more likely to have a high propensity for conscious control (i.e., reinvestment) because they are less able to inhibit conscious control. However, Experiment 1 (Chapter 2) and Experiment 2 (Chapter 3) revealed a positive association between inhibition function (indexed by the Go/NoGo task) and propensity for conscious control of movement (assessed by the Movement Specific Reinvestment Scale, MSRS). Experiment 3 (Chapter 4) examined the effect of colour on inhibition function during a basketball-specific Go/NoGo task. Worse inhibition performance was evident when participants viewed an opponent in a green uniform compared to a red and a grey uniform, possibly because green conveys the meaning to ‘go’ (e.g., at traffic lights). Archival data of professional netball games was analysed to examine whether teams in green uniforms made more intercepts because green lowers an opponent’s ability to inhibit an ill-chosen pass. Findings revealed higher mean intercepts for teams wearing green uniforms than for teams wearing red and other-coloured uniforms. Experiment 4 (Chapter 5) examined whether the effect of uniform colour may be due to differences in an opponent’s perception of size. A side-by-side comparison task revealed that goalkeepers in a red and a blue uniform were perceived as larger than goalkeepers in a green uniform, possibly because red and blue colours convey the meaning of dominance and threat in a football context (e.g., the most successful teams, like Manchester United and Chelsea, wear red and blue colours). Experiment 5 (Chapter 6) examined whether viewing a red and a blue spectator background would elicit avoidance motivation during football penalty-kicks, because they conveyed the…
author: Park, So Hyun
keywords: Colour, Effect of colour, Red wins effect, Inhibition function, Conscious processing, Theory of reinvestment, Approach motivation, Avoidance motivation, Motor behaviour, Sports, thesis with publication
license: https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstreams/4a697bd4-1114-4f9b-b037-a85663dd99c1/download
date published: 2021
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:57:18Z
provider: University Waikato
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: The University of Waikato