title: Interaction between physiological and subjective states predicts the effect of a judging panel on the postures of cellists in performance.
abstract: This study investigated the effect of a panel of judges on the movements and postures of cellists in performance. Twenty four expert cellists played a short piece of music, to a metronome beat, in the presence and absence of the panel. Kinematic analyses showed that in the presence of the panel the temporal execution of left arm shifting movements became less variable and closer to the metronome beat. In contrast, the panel's presence had no reliable effect on their spatial accuracy. A detailed postural analysis indicated that left elbow angle during execution of a given high note was correlated with level of heart rate, though the nature of this correlation was systematically affected by the relevant participant's subjective state: if anxious, a higher heart rate correlated with a more flexed elbow, if not anxious then with a more extended elbow. Our results suggest a change in physiological state alone does not reliably predict a change in behavior in performing cellists, which instead depends on the interaction between physiological state and subjective experience of anxiety. This highlights a need to distinguish performance anxiety from physiological arousal, to which end we advocate currency for the specific term performance arousal to describe heightened physiological activity in a performer.
authors.affiliation: Chair of Information-Oriented Control, Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology, Technische Universität München Munich, Germany ; SyMoN Lab, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Endo
authors.affiliation: Hörcentralen, Hälsa och Habilitering, Landstinget i Uppsala län Uppsala, Sweden ; Department of Clinical Psychology, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Juhlberg
authors.affiliation: SyMoN Lab, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham Birmingham, UK ; Royal Academy of Music, University of London London, UK.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bradbury
authors.affiliation: SyMoN Lab, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham Birmingham, UK.
authors.forename: Alan M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Wing
keywords: anxiety; cardiac response; electrodermal activity; motor control; music