Examining Ironic Processes in Tourist Drivers: Driving on the Unfamiliar Side of the Road

The Effects of Avoiding Instructions Under Pressure: An Examination of the Volleyball Serving Task

Wegner predicts that under pressure self-avoiding instructions not to perform in a certain manner will break down precisely where it is least desired that is the hypothesis of the present study. Specifically, the aim was to test the hypothesis that when instructed not to serve into a certain zone, ironic error would be more prevalent under pressure. Our sample comprised 43 female participants between the age of 13 and 16 (M_age = 14.51, SD = 1.35) who were active volleyball players (M_{training years} = 5.40, SD = 2.38). We measured the participants’ psychophysiological indications of anxiety via the heart rate, heart rate variability as well as the self-reported Mental Readiness Form-3. To measure performance, we counted the number of target and non-target serving zones under different anxiety conditions. Participants scored +5 points for serving into the target zone, scored -5 points for serving to the out or hitting the net and 1 point for serving into the court except the target zone. A 2 (anxiety) × 3 (serving zone) fully repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant anxiety x serving zone interaction F (2, 84) = 36.52, p < .001. When instructed not to serve in a certain zone, players’ overall performance did not change across anxiety conditions t (42) = .68, p =.50. Results did not provide support for the Wegner’s theory as expected, but instead revealed evidence for the Woodman et al.’s (2015) differentiation of ironic performance error. The results demonstrate that the theory of ironic processes may account for practical instruction-based solution for reducing the susceptibility to ironic errors in the serving type of task in volleyball.

An Examination of Ironic Effects in Air-Pistol Shooting under Pressure

This study aimed to test the incidence of ironic performance errors in elite air-pistol shooters. Previous research has revealed that, when shooters are anxious, avoidant instructions can cause ironic performance breakdown, especially in the unintended direction. Fifty-seven experienced air-pistol shooters were given specific instructions not to shoot to a certain part of a target, under low- and high-anxiety conditions, respectively. Results demonstrated that, when instructed not to shoot in a specific direction, anxious shooters did so a significant number of times. Interestingly, there was no difference in non-target non-ironic error, which provides specific support for Wegner's theory of ironic processes of mental control in air-pistol shooting. Consequently, these findings illustrated that the combination of increased anxiety with avoidant instructions could lead to such unintended performance errors, called ironic error. Thus, understanding the mechanism of the anxiety-performance relationship may be a useful theoretical framework which could provide practical, instruction-based interventions to reduce susceptibility to ironic errors under pressure.

Ironic or Overcompensation Effects of Motor Behaviour: An Examination of a Tennis Serving Task Under Pressure

With specific regard to the hypothesized effects of anxiety on performance in motor behaviour, the rival predictions emanating from the Wegner’s “ironic processes theory” and the “implicit overcompensation hypothesis” are largely indiscriminate. Specifically, Wegner’s theory predicts that self-instructions not to perform in a certain manner would lead to the very behaviour the individual seeks to avoid under pressure. On the other hand, the implicit overcompensation hypothesis predicts that avoidant instructions would produce the opposite outcome to that intended by the performer under pressure. The present novel study directly compared these predictions using a tennis serving task under manipulated instructions. The sample comprised 32 (20 men, 12 women; M_age = 20.81, SD = 2.20) experienced tennis players who performed a tennis serving task. Participants’ levels of cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and self-confidence were measured by using Mental Readiness Form-3. A 2 (anxiety: low, high) × 3 (serving zone: target zone, non-target ironic error zone, non-target non-ironic error zone) repeated measures of ANOVA revealed a significant anxiety × serving zone interaction F(2, 62) = 32.27, p < 0.001 which provides specific support for the Wegner’s ironic processes of mental control theory rather than implicit overcompensation hypothesis. More specifically, Bonferroni-corrected follow-up paired samples t-tests revealed that when instructed not to serve in a specific direction, anxious performers did so a significantly greater number of times (t₃₁ = −5.15, p < 0.001). The present research demonstrates that ironic performance errors are a meaningful and robust potential concern for performers who are required to perform under pressure.