The main objectives of this study were (a) to elucidate young tennis players' use of music to manipulate emotional states, and (b) to present a model grounded in present data to illustrate this phenomenon and to stimulate further research. Anecdotal evidence suggests that music listening is used regularly by elite athletes as a preperformance strategy, but only limited empirical evidence corroborates such use. Young tennis players (N = 14) were selected purposively for interview and diary data collection. Results indicated that participants consciously selected music to elicit various emotional states; frequently reported consequences of music listening included improved mood, increased arousal, and visual and auditory imagery. The choice of music tracks and the impact of music listening were mediated by a number of factors, including extramusical associations, inspirational lyrics, music properties, and desired emotional state. Implications for the future investigation of preperformance music are discussed.

Peak performance videos accompanied by music can help athletes to optimize their pre-competition mindset and are often used. Priming techniques can be incorporated into such videos to influence athletes' motivational state. There has been limited empirical work investigating the combined effects of such stimuli on anaerobic performance. The present study examined the psychological and psychophysiological effects of video, music, and priming when used as a pre-performance intervention for an anaerobic endurance task. Psychological measures included the main axes of the circumplex model of affect and liking scores taken pre-task, and the Exercise-induced Feeling Inventory, which was administered post-task. Physiological measures comprised heart rate variability and heart rate recorded pre-task. Fifteen males (age = 26.3 ± 2.8 years) were exposed to four conditions prior to performing the Wingate Anaerobic Test: music-only, video and music, video with music and motivational primes, and a no-video/no-music control. Results indicate that the combined video, music, and primes condition was the most effective in terms of influencing participants' pre-task affect and subsequent anaerobic performance; this was followed by the music-only condition. The findings indicate the utility of such stimuli as a pre-performance technique to enhance athletes' or exercisers' psychological states.

No abstract

No abstract

The circumplex model of affect holds that most emotions can be arranged in a circular fashion around the perimeter of two independent bipolar dimensions that intersect each other, namely pleasant/unpleasant and arousing/sleepy. The authors of the present study attempted to construct the circumplex model using English and Greek athletic samples, examining similarities among and differences between these cultures, and comparing the original circumplex against the models that were constructed. A mixed-model design was employed in which there was a within-subjects factor (three word-sorting tasks) and a betweensubjects factor (culture). A purposive athletic sample of 128 volunteers (English, n = 60; 29 women, 31 men; Mage = 24.5 ± 5.0 years; Greek, n = 68; 23 women, 45 men; Mage = 23.2 ± 4.2 years) completed three word-sorting tasks. A software package named Kyklos was developed to facilitate the circumplex analysis. Findings provided support for the circumplex model among English and Greek athletic populations and more specifically, its pleasantness and arousal dimensions. Some concepts describing an individual's emotional or psychological state may be understood and experienced differently across such diverse cultures.