The influence of ego depletion on sprint start performance in athletes without track and field experience.
We tested the assumption that ego depletion would affect the sprint start in a sample of N = 38 athletes without track and field experience in an experiment by applying a mixed between- (depletion vs. non-depletion) within- (T1: before manipulation of ego depletion vs. T2: after manipulation of ego depletion) subjects design. We assumed that ego depletion would increase the possibility for a false start, as regulating the impulse to initiate the sprinting movement too soon before the starting signal requires self-control. In line with our assumption, we found a significant interaction as there was only a significant increase in the number of false starts from T1 to T2 for the depletion group while this was not the case for the non-depletion group. We conclude that ego depletion has a detrimental influence on the sprint start in athletes without track and field experience.
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Bern , Bern, Switzerland.
Chris
C
Englert
Department of Human Movement Sciences, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, VU University , Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Brittany N
BN
Persaud
Department of Human Movement Sciences, MOVE Research Institute Amsterdam, VU University , Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Raôul R D
RR
Oudejans
Department of Educational Psychology, University of Bern , Bern, Switzerland.
Alex
A
Bertrams
ego depletion; reaction time; self-control; self-regulation; sprint