Effects of music on arousal during imagery in elite shooters

13 Pages·2017·0.97 MB·English

RESEARCHARTICLE
Effects of music on arousal during imagery in
elite shooters: A pilot study
GarryKuan1,2*,TonyMorris2,PeterTerry3
1 ExerciseandSportsScience,SchoolofHealthSciences,UniversitiSainsMalaysia,KubangKerian,
Kelantan,Malaysia,2 CollegeofSportandExerciseScience,andInstituteofSport,ExerciseandActive
Living,VictoriaUniversity,Melbourne,Australia,3 DivisionofResearch&Innovation,UniversityofSouthern
Queensland,Toowoomba,Australia
*[email protected]
a1111111111 Abstract
a1111111111
a1111111111 Beneficialeffectsofmusiconseveralperformance-relatedaspectsofsporthavebeen
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reported,buttheprocessesinvolvedarenotwellunderstood.Thepurposeofthepresent
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studywastoinvestigateeffectsofrelaxingandarousingclassicalmusiconphysiological
indicatorsandsubjectiveperceptionsofarousalduringimageryofasporttask.First,appro-
priatemusicexcerptswereselected.Then,12skilledshootersperformedshootingimagery
whilelisteningtothethreepreselectedmusicexcerptsinrandomizedorder.Participants’
OPENACCESS
galvanicskinresponse,peripheraltemperature,andelectromyographyweremonitoreddur-
Citation:KuanG,MorrisT,TerryP(2017)Effects ingmusicplayedconcurrentlywithimagery.Subjectivemusicratingsandphysiological
ofmusiconarousalduringimageryinelite
measuresshowed,ashypothesized,thatunfamiliarrelaxingmusicwasthemostrelaxing
shooters:Apilotstudy.PLoSONE12(4):
andunfamiliararousingmusicwasthemostarousing.Researchersshouldexaminethe
e0175022.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.
pone.0175022 impactofunfamiliarrelaxingandarousingmusicplayedduringimageryonsubsequentper-
formanceindiversesports.Practitionerscanapplyunfamiliarrelaxingandarousingmusic
Editor:UrsMNater,UniversityofMarburg,
GERMANY withimagerytomanipulatearousallevel.
Received:February29,2016
Accepted:March20,2017
Published:April17,2017
Introduction
Copyright:©2017Kuanetal.Thisisanopen
accessarticledistributedunderthetermsofthe
Musiclisteningisassociatedwithsportinseveralways,includingforentertainment,eliciting
CreativeCommonsAttributionLicense,which
patriotismandpride,andenhancingthepsychologicalstateofathletes[1,2].Thedemon-
permitsunrestricteduse,distribution,and
stratedbenefitsofmusiclisteningforathletesincludearousalcontrol,loweredperceivedeffort,
reproductioninanymedium,providedtheoriginal
authorandsourcearecredited. improvedaffectivestates,synchronizationeffects,andenhancedperformance[3,4].Thepres-
entstudyfocusedonuseofmusicforarousalcontrol,extendingtheexistingliteratureinthe
DataAvailabilityStatement:Allrelevantdataare
area.Burnsetal.previouslystudiedtheeffectsofdifferenttypesofmusiconrelaxationlevels,
withinthepaperanditsSupportingInformation
files. skintemperature,andheartratewhenlisteningtoclassical,hardrock,self-selectedrelaxing
music,andnomusic[5].Classicalandself-selectedrelaxingmusicincreasedsubjectiveper-
Funding:Thispresentstudywassupportbythe
ceptionsofrelaxationmorethanhardrockmusic,butnodifferenceswerefoundonthephysi-
FundamentalResearchGrantScheme,Ministryof
HigherEducation,MinistryofEducation,Malaysia ologicalindicatorsofarousal,highlightingadisparitybetweenperceivedeffectsofmusicon
(FRGS/1/2014/SS02/USM/03/1). arousalandobjectivelyassessedeffects.Ourstudyinvestigatedthisdisparityfurther.
Sportsperformanceintrainingandcompetitioncanbehighlyarousing,withheartrateand
Competinginterests:Theauthorshavedeclared
thatnocompetinginterestsexist. mentalalertnesstypicallyincreasingsignificantly[6].Insomecircumstances,suchasduring
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Musicduringimagery
power,strength,orendurancetasks,thistendstohaveapositiveeffectonperformance,
whereasinactivitiesrequiringfinemusclecontrolhigharousalistypicallydetrimentaltoper-
formance[7].Asarousalissopervasiveandanalmostinevitableconsequenceofsportperfor-
mance,understandingthearousal-performancerelationshipisofgreatinteresttosport
psychologypractitionersseekingtohelpathletesgainthebenefitsofoptimalarousalforpeak
performance.
Arousalcanbemeasuredcentrallyinthebrainusinganelectroencephalogram,orperipher-
allyautonomicmeasures,suchasheartrate,peripheraltemperature,bloodvolumepulserates,
andmuscletension,asindicators[8].Arousalcanbemanifestedinmental,physical,andbeha-
viouralreactions.Insports,over-arousalmightcausebehavioralchangesleadingto,forexam-
ple,ahighly-arousedsoccerplayershowingdecrementsinpassingperformanceduetopoor
decision-making,orincorrectskillexecutioncausedbymuscletightness[8].Thepresent
investigationexploredthemusic-arousallinkamongagroupofhighly-skilledpistolshooters
whiletheyusedimagerytomentallyrehearseperformance.
Imageryisacognitiveprocessinwhichindividualsrecallandcreatesensoryexperiencesin
theabsenceofexternalstimuli[9]andisamongthemostpopularformsofmentaltraining
techniquesusedinpsychologicalskillsprogramsforathletes[10,11].Athletesoftenuseimag-
erytopreparethemselvesforperformance,mentallyrehearsingroutinesrelatedtotheir
respectivesportsbeforeacompetition[12].Thereisevidencetosuggestthatarousal-reducing
musicpromotesmoreeffectiveuseofimagery[13]andmanycommercially-availableCDsof
guidedimageryforpeakperformance[14,15]incorporateimageryscriptswithsoftback-
groundmusic.
Thereisconsiderableliteratureoneffectiveimageryuse[11,12,16]butlimitedempirical
evidenceaboutusingmusictolowerarousalduringimagery.Dorneyetal.examinedeffectsof
imagerywithmusicandnomusiconamuscularendurancetaskandshowedthatimagery
withmusicwasassociatedwithasignificantincreaseinheartrateduringpreparation,but
heartratewasunrelatedtotaskperformance[17].Karageorghisetal.examinedeffectsof
voice-enhancingtechnology(VET)andrelaxingmusicduringimageryamongbreak-dancers,
andfoundthattheVETplusrelaxingmusicconditionimprovedtheefficacyofrelaxationand
motorperformancecomparedtothecontrolcondition[18].Theyconcludedthatuseofimag-
erywithmusicwarrantedfurtherinvestigationinsportandexercisecontexts.
Toinvestigatethepotentialofrelaxingandarousingmusictoenhancetheimpactofimag-
eryonperformance,itisfirstnecessarytoidentifymusicthatisconsistentlyperceivedtobe
relaxingorarousing.Thus,thepurposeofthepresentstudywastoexaminetheeffectsof
musiconlevelofarousal,measuredbyphysiologicalindicatorsandsubjectiveratings,while
pistolshootersperformedimageryoftheirshootingtask.
Stage1:Identificationofrelaxingandarousingclassicalmusicexcerpts
InStage1,preliminaryprocedureswerecompletedtoidentifyappropriateexamplesofrelax-
ingandarousingmusic.
Musicselection. Allmusicusedinthisstudycanbetermedclassicalmusic[19].Although
thereisabroadvarietyofforms,styles,genres,andhistoricalperiods,classicalmusicinvolves
greatercomplexitythanothertypesofmusic,suchasfolk,blues,androck,andtendstobe
writtenandperformedbythosewhounderstandnotationandthewrittenqualityofmusic.
Thus,althoughmuchclassicalmusicishighlyarousing,withadrivingbeatthatincreases
physiologicalandpsychologicalstates,theelementsofmusicthatstimulatearousalisderived
fromitsstructuralnotation.Classicalmusictendstohavefewchangesinchordprogression,
unlikemodernmusic,whichoftenincludesimprovisationandrhythmicflexibilitythatareless
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suitableforimagerypurposes[11].Lowisfoundthatlisteningtoclassicalmusic,particularly
fastorarousingpieces,canleadtoreportsofincreasedpeakexperiences[19].Accordingto
Nercessian,relaxingclassicalmusic,characterizedbyaslowerbeat,withsmootherandlonger
melodicpatterns,decreasesarousingemotions,creatingalesstense,lessformal,andless
restrainedenvironmentforimagery,whichgeneratesphysicalrelaxationandmentalcalmness
thatenhancescognitiveresponsesandcreativity.Nercessianproposedthatarousingclassical
musicisusuallybasedonapowerfulbeat,andtendstohaveshortmelodicpatternsthatcause
awakeningandalertness,andstimulateenergeticresponsesinpeoplewhentheyareusing
imagery[20].
Inourstudy,wecomparedrelaxingandarousingclassicalmusicthatwasjudgedtobe
unfamiliartothegeneralpopulationsinordertominimizepre-existingassociations,which
canproduceunpredictableeffectsonindividualarousallevels.Althoughthefocusofthepres-
entstudywasonunfamiliarclassicalmusic,researchershavesuggestedthatfamiliararousing
classicalmusicisparticularlypotent,becauseofitsassociationswitharousingcontexts[4].
Thus,weaddedthisspecificcomparisontocheckwhetherfamiliararousingmusicissignifi-
cantlymorepowerfulthanunfamiliararousingmusic.Giventhatwefoundnoequivalent
priorclaimforfamiliarrelaxingmusicintheliterature,weconsideredthismusicconditionto
beunnecessary.
Musicexcerptsforarousingandrelaxingconditionswereselectedusingasystematic
process.First,weselected90piecesofclassicalmusicrecommendedintheAustraliaMusic
TherapyAssociationlists,basedoncriteriadeterminedinpreviousresearch[20,21].Three
experiencedmusictherapistswhowerealsoprofessionalmusicianswithatleast10yearsof
orchestraexperience,actedasexpertjudges.Second,wepresentedeachjudgewith30classi-
calmusicalexcerptsinaquietroom,onthreeoccasions,usingaportablecompactdisc
audiosystemwithheadphones,sothateachjudgeconsideredall90pieces.Themusicwas
playedat55–70decibels,whichiswithinapleasanthearingrangeforindividualswithnor-
malhearing[22].Afterlisteningtoeachpieceforoneminute,thejudgesratedthemusicin
termsofhowrelaxingorarousingtheyperceivedittobeonaratingscalefrom1(veryrelax-
ing)to10(veryarousing).Eachvisitlastedapproximatelyonehour.Throughthisexpert
judgingprocess,72excerptswereidentifiedasappropriateforuseasrelaxingorarousing
musicduringimagery,and18excerptswereratedas“lessappropriate”duetopotentialcon-
foundingeffects,includingculturalinterpretation,socialinfluences,orexcessvariationin
themelodicstructure.Eachjudgeindependentlyorganizedthe72musicexcerptsintocate-
goriesrepresenting“relaxing”and“arousing”,and“familiar”or“unfamiliar”musicaccord-
ingtotheperceptionsofthegeneralpopulation.Fourgroupsofmusicexcerptswere
produced,including33familiarrelaxingexcerpts,17unfamiliarrelaxingexcerpts,12famil-
iararousingexcerpts,and10unfamiliararousingexcerpts.Weexcludedthefamiliarrelax-
ingexcerpts.
Psychologicalassessmentofmusic. Threesportpsychologistswithatleasttwoyears
experienceofusingimagerywithathletesidentifiedthethreemusicexcerptstheyconsidered
thegeneralpopulationwouldperceivetobeunfamiliarrelaxingmusic(URM),unfamiliar
arousingmusic(UAM),andfamiliararousingmusic(FAM).Theninemusicexcerptsdeter-
minedbyconsensusamongthethreesportpsychologists(seeTable1)werepilottestedwith
fivevolunteerundergraduatestudentsofsportsciences.Allstudentsconfirmedtheyhasnot
previouslyheardanyofthesixpiecesofunfamiliarmusic.Intermsofsubjectiveexperience,
allstudentsreportedthatthepiecesintendedtobearousingwereactuallyarousing,andthat
thepiecesintendedtoberelaxingwereindeedrelaxing.Itwasconcludedthatthenineselected
piecesofmusicwereappropriateforuseinthisstudyofthephysiologicalandpsychological
effectsofrelaxingandarousingmusicduringimageryamongeliteshooters.
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Table1. Preselectedclassicalmusicexcerpts.
Composer Name
UnfamiliarRelaxingMusic(URM):
Copland AppalachianSpring:BalletforMartha
Delius FloridaSuite:IIISunset—NearthePlantation
Respighi TheBirds:TheDove
UnfamiliarArousingMusic(UAM):
DeLuca ConquerorsoftheAges:AttilatheHun
Mussorgsky TheGreatGateofKiev
Shostakovich MusicfromtheGadfly:Finale
FamiliarArousingMusic(FAM):
Orff CarminaBurana:OFortuna(orchestraonly)
Tchaikovsky 1812Overture:GrandFinale
Wagner DieWalkure:TheRideoftheValkyries
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175022.t001
Stage2:Effectsofmusiconarousalduringimageryamongelite
shooters
InStage2,weusedarepeatedmeasuresdesign,inwhicheachparticipantperformedtheir
usualimagerywithURM,UAM,andFAM.Duringeachsession,wemonitoredphysiological
variablesandaftereachsessionparticipantscompletedratingscalesrelatedtolevelofarousal,
familiarity,andpreference.
Materialsandmethods
Participants
Participantswere12eliteairpistolshooters(male=8,female=4),aged22to41years
(M=29.3,SD=5.1),recruitedfromtheMelbourneInternationalShootingClubandVicto-
rianAmateurPistolAssociation.Allparticipantshadatleasttwoyearsofcompetitiveexperi-
enceatstatelevelinair-pistolshooting.Wechoseshootingbecauseitinvolvesfinemuscle
movementthatdemandsmuchlowerlevelsofarousalduringperformancethanhighimpact
sports.Tobeeligibleforinclusion,participantswererequiredtohavenormalhearingandto
scoreinthemoderate-to-highimageryabilityrangeontheSportImageryAbilityMeasure
(SIAM)[23].TherequiredsamplesizewascalculatedusingaG(cid:3)Power3.1analysis.Withasig-
nificancelevelof.05,amoderateeffectsizeof.50basedonpreviousresearch[24],andstatisti-
calpowerof.80,14participantswererequiredtoprovideadequatepower[25].However,due
totherestrictednumberofeligibleparticipants,12shooterswererecruited.
Measures
Tomeasuretheimpactofthemusicexcerptsonthearousalofskilledshooters,bothphysiolog-
icalandpsychologicaldatawerecollected.Physiologicalsignaldatawerecollectedusingthe
ProComp+systemandBioGraphsoftwareversion5.0fromThoughtTechnologiesTM(Mon-
treal,Canada),whichassessedparticipants’galvanicskinresponse(GSR),peripheraltempera-
ture(PT),andelectromyography(EMG).EMGwascollectedat256Hz/secs,whileGSRand
PTwerecollectedat32Hz/secs.Matlabsoftwarewasusedtocombinethedatainto10second
averages.AndreassisuggestedthatGSR,PTandEMGaregoodindicatorsofautonomicner-
voussystemactivity[26],providingresearchersusenon-invasive,reliabledatasourcesto
objectivelyevaluatephysiologicalarousallevel.Toexaminepsychologicalperceptions,
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subjectiveratingsofarousal,musicfamiliarityandmusicpreferencewereassessedusinga
100mmvisualanaloguescalefrom0(relaxing)to100(arousing),0(notfamiliar)to100(very
familiar),and0(dislike)to100(highlypreferred),respectively[27].Thepistolshootersalso
completedashortdemographicformtocollectinformationaboutgender,age,education,
sportsparticipation,andsportsexperiences.
SportImageryAbilityMeasure(SIAM). TheSIAM[23]assessesimageryabilityinsport.
Athletesimagineeachoffourgenericsportscenesfor60secondseach.Thefourscenesrefer
tothehomevenue,asuccessfulcompetition,aslowstart,andatrainingsession.Following
imageryofeachscene,athletesrespondto12itemswithreferencetothatparticularscene.The
12imageryabilityitemsincludefivespecificdimensions:control,vividness,ease,speedofgen-
eration,andduration,aswellassixsensorymodalities:kinesthetic,tactile,visual,auditory,
olfactory,andgustatorysensesassociatedwiththeimage.Inaddition,oneitemassessesimag-
eryofemotionexperiencedduringeachscene.Participantsrespondbyplacingacrossona
100-mmanaloguescale,anchoredbyopposingstatements,suchas“nofeeling”and“veryclear
feeling”forthetactilemodalityofimagery.The12subscalesappearindifferentordersfor
eachscenetominimizeordereffects.Theitemscomprisingeachdimensionormodalityare
summedforeachofthefourscenesintheSIAMtocreateanoverallscoreforeachdimension
ormodality,whichvariesbetween0and400points.Wattetal.reportedthattheSIAMhas
beenshowntohaveacceptableinternalconsistency,withalphacoefficientsbetween0.66and
0.87[23],andhasbeenusedfrequentlytoscreenforimageryabilityinimagerystudies[e.g.,
7].TheSIAMwasadministeredinthepresentstudytoscreenparticipantsforadequateimag-
eryability(atleastmoderateabilitybasedonnormativedataintheSIAMManual)toperform
theshootingimagerytasks.
Musicforimagery. Theninepiecesofclassicalmusicweretrimmedintothree-minute
excerptsanddigitizedintoalaptopcomputeratSoundWorkMusicRecordingStudio,Bruns-
wick,Australia.Then,themusicexcerptswereprerecordedintoaSonyWalkmandigital
mediaplayer(modelZWZZ1050B).Acertifiedmusicaudiologistfromthestudioevaluated
boththeSonyplayerandtheheadphones(Sennheiser’sHD600Avantgardeheadphones)and
fixedthesoundatamoderatelevelandmidrangeonthevolumedial,sothemusicdidnot
causediscomfortorharmtotheparticipants.Thisvolumewaschosentoensureclearsoundof
themusic,withoutraisingittoavolumethatwouldhavebeenarousing.
Instructionsforimagery. Thefollowingstandardizedinstructionstoparticipantswere
used:“Todayyouwillbelisteningtothreedifferenttypesofmusicforthreeminutes;youwill
needtositinsilenceforapproximately10minutes,withelectrodesplacedonyournon-domi-
nanthand,andoneelectrodeatyourrightfrontalismuscle,withtheheadphoneattached.To
avoidinaccuratemeasurement,trynottomoveyournon-dominanthandwhileperforming
theimagery.Themusicwillthenbeplayedwhenyourbaselineofmeasuresisachieved.When
youhearthemusicsoundinthebackground,youwillslowlystarttoimagineyourpreparation
routineduringtraining,whilelisteningtothemusic.Asyougetapictureofyourselfperform-
ingnormallytheskillinpractice,trytocompleteanentiretrainingsessionsuccessfully.Three
minutesafterthemusicfinishesyouwillneedtocompletesomequestions.Inbetweeneach
session,youwillhave10minutesbeforethenextmusicexcerptstarts.Doyouhaveanyques-
tionsbeforewebegin?”
Procedure
ThestudywasconductedinaccordancewiththeDeclarationofHelsinkiandwasapprovedby
theVictoriaUniversityHumanResearchEthicsCommittee.Participantsweregivenaninfor-
mationsheetandprovidedwritteninformedconsentpriortodatacollection.
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Musicexcerptswererandomlyassignedtoparticipantsonthreeoccasionspriortotheir
normaltrainingscheduleinthetestingroomoftheshootingclub,whichwasquietandunaf-
fectedbyoutsidenoise.Threepiecesofmusicwereplayedoneachoccasion.Participantswere
notinformedaboutthepre-selectionofthemusicaseitherrelaxingorarousing.Priortotest-
ing,participantsavoidedarousingactivities,suchasrunning,cycling,orswimming,toprevent
theconfoundingpotentialofphysicalexertiononarousal.Thetemperatureoftheroomwas
maintainedintherange20–24degreesCelsius.
ParticipantssatinacomfortablechairwhileGSR,PT,andEMGsensorswereattachedand
remainedstillandsilentforupto10minuteswhilebaselinereadingsofGSR,PT,andEMG
(t )wererecorded.Arousalwasmonitoredduringimageryforeachmusiccondition(URM,
0
UAM,FAM)inrandomorder.Participantsthenrecordedsubjectiveratingsofarousal,music
familiarityandmusicpreferenceusingthevisualanaloguescales.Thetotaldurationofeach
sessionwas60–80minutes,dependingontimetakenforpreparingparticipants,baselineread-
ings,andforarousalleveltoreturntobaselineaftereachmusicexcerpt.
Dataanalysis
DatawerecompiledforanalysisusingSPSS20.0andcheckedformissingvalues,outliers,and
non-normality.Meansandstandarddeviationswerecalculatedforeachtimepointacrossthe
12shooterstoexaminetrendsforGSR,PT,andEMGfromrestingat0seconds(t )toendof
0
trialat170seconds(t ).Weusedreadingsatt asopposedtot (threeminutes)because
170 170 180
ofthepossibilityofartefactsatt duetoterminationofthemusic.Weidentifiedthediffer-
180
encebetweenthestartandtheendofeachexcerpt(t )asthegainscore(t t ).One-way
170 170—0
AnalysisofVariance(ANOVA)andpost-hocTukeytestswereusedtoassessdifferences
amongthethreemusicconditionsatthestartofeachexcerpt(t )andgainscoreforGSR,PT,
0
andEMG.WealsousedANOVAtocompareratingsofsubjectiveperceptionsofarousallevel,
musicfamiliarityandmusicpreferenceacrossthedifferenttypesofmusic.
Results
Imageryability
ParticipantscompletedtheSIAMasameasureofimageryability.SIAMscoresforthegroup
wereallabove260pointswithamaximumof400,exceptfortheolfactoryandgustatorysub-
scales.Thesesubscalesappeartobelessrelevanttothepresentstudy,assmellandtasteplaya
negligibleroleinshootingtasks.Scoresabove200areconsideredtoreflectmoderatelevelsof
imageryability,soscoresindicatedatleastmoderateimageryabilityonallkeysubscales.This
providedaclearindicatorthatallparticipantspossessedadequateimageryabilitytoeffectively
employimageryaspartoftheirtrainingprogram,sonoparticipantswereexcludedfromthe
study.
Galvanicskinresponse(GSR)
Theline-graphofGSRovertimeispresentedinFig1forURM,UAM,andFAM.Allmusic
conditionsshowedadecreaseinGSRfromt tot duringimagery.URMshowedthelargest
0 170
decreaseinGSRlevel,whereasUAMandFAMshowedlesserdeclines.ANOVAshowedno
significantbaselinedifferencesamongthethreemusicconditions,F(2,107)=-0.03,p=0.97,
eta2<0.001,whereassignificantdifferencesingainscoresofmoderatemagnitudewerefound
amongmusicconditions,F(2,107)=9.26,p<0.001,eta2=0.15.Tukeytestsconfirmedthat
URM(M=-0.19,SD=0.16)wasassociatedwithsignificantlygreatergainscoresthaneither
UAM(M=-0.04,SD=0.14,p<.001)orFAM(M=-0.07,SD=0.14,p=.005).Therewasno
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Fig1.Galvanicskinresponse(GSR)forURM,UAM,andFAM.Peripheraltemperature(PT).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175022.g001
significantdifferenceingainscoresbetweenUAMandFAM(p=.66).Unfamiliarrelaxing
musicwasassociatedwithasignificantlygreaterdecreaseinGSRcomparedtothefamiliarand
unfamiliararousingmusic,indicatingthatitwasmorerelaxingthaneithertypeofarousing
musicacrossthe3-minuteexcerpts.Theabsenceofasignificantdifferenceingainscores
betweenUAMandFAMshowsthatthefamiliarityofthemusicdidnotinfluencechangesin
arousallevel.
ThelinegraphofPTovertimeispresentedinFig2forURM,UAM,andFAM.URMand
UAMshowedanupwardtrendinPTwhereasthetrendforFAMshowedaslightdecline.
ANOVAshowednosignificantbaselinedifferencesamongthethreemusicconditions,F
(2,107)=0.52,p=.60,eta2=0.01,whereasasignificantdifferenceingainscoresofmoderate
Fig2.Peripheraltemperatures(PT)forURM,UAM,andFAM.Electromyogram(EMG).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175022.g002
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Fig3.Electromyogram(EMG)forURM,UAMandFAM.Subjectiveperceptionsofrelaxation,familiarity,
andpreference.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175022.g003
magnitudewasfoundbetweenmusicconditions,F(2,107)=7.39,p=.001,eta2=0.12.URM
wasmorerelaxing(highestinPTlevel)thanthetwoarousingmusicconditions.Tukeytests
showedasignificantdifferenceingainscoresbetweenURM(M=0.83,SD=1.21)andFAM
(M=-0.11,SD=0.86,p=.001)althoughnosignificantdifferencesingainscoreswerefound
betweenURMandUAM(M=0.38,SD=1.01,p=.18)norbetweenUAMandFAM(p=.11).
Theline-graphofEMGovertimeispresentedinFig3forURM,UAM,andFAM.URM
showedacleardownwardtrendinEMGlevelfromt tot ,whereasUAMandFAMshowed
0 170
slightincreases.ANOVAshowednosignificantbaselinedifferencesamongthethreemusic
conditions,F(2,107)=1.02,p=.37,eta2=0.02,whereasasignificantdifferenceingainscores
ofmoderatemagnitudewasfoundbetweenmusicconditions,F(2,107)=9.21,p<.001,eta2=
0.15.TukeytestsindicatedsignificantdifferencesbetweenURM(M=-0.35,SD=0.71),UAM
(M=0.22,SD=0.56,p<.001),andFAM(M=0.10,SD=0.52,p=.005).Gainscoresfor
UAMandFAMdidnotdiffersignificantly(p=.69).ThesetrendsclearlyshowthatURMwas
associatedwithareductioninarousalleveloverthe3-minuteperiod,whereasbothUAMand
FAMshowedslightincreasesinarousallevel.
Subjectiveratingsofarousallevel,musicfamiliarity,andmusicpreferenceforURM,UAM,
andFAM,aresummarizedinTable2.UAMandFAMwereratedtowardthehighendofthe
Table2. Meansandstandarddeviationsofratingsbymusic.
Variables URM UAM FAM F(2,105) pvalue
M(SD) M(SD) M(SD)
Arousalratings 19.92(13.01) 73.94(13.56) 72.72(13.73) 189.68 <.001
Familiarityratings 24.52(19.47) 24.26(18.82) 74.33(21.14) 76.17 <.001
Preferenceratings 71.33(15.17) 59.56(21.11) 47.64(27.24) 10.69 <.001
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175022.t002
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arousalratingscale,whereasURMwasratedtowardthelowendofthescale.FAMwasrated
towardthehighendofthefamiliarityscale,whereasURMandUAMwereratedtowardthe
lowendofthescale.URMwasgivenahighpreferenceratingbyparticipants,whereasboth
UAMandFAMweregivenmoderateratings.
Discussion
Weexaminedtheeffectsofclassicalmusicexcerptsonphysiologicalandsubjectivearousal
indicatorsamong12highly-skilledpistolshooterswhileperformingimageryoftheirpistol
shootingtask.Resultsconfirmedthatthemusicexcerptsselectedhadthehypothesizedeffects
onarousal,basedoncontinuousmonitoringofphysiologicalindicatorsandsubjectiveratings
elicitedaftereachexcerpt.Usingsubjectiveanalogueratingscales,participantsreportedthat
themusicexcerptsmatchedtheproposedcharacteristicsoffamiliarityandpreference.
FindingsconfirmedthepredictionthatskilledpistolshooterswouldperceiveURMtobe
morerelaxingthaneitherUAMorFAM.TrendsforGSR,PT,andEMGacrossthe3-minute
excerpts,averagedwithintypeofmusic,showedgreaterreductioninarousallevelforURM
thanforUAMorFAM.Correspondencebetweensubjectiveassessmentsofreducedarousal
andobjectivereductionsinphysiologicalindicatorsofarousalextendedtheworkofBurns
etal.,whoshowedMozart’s“SerenataNotturna”KV239tobeperceivedasmorerelaxingthan
thehardrocktrack“SoClose”byAliceinChains,butfoundnodifferencesinthephysiological
responsesofparticipants[5].Thepresentinvestigationalsoextendsthesalientliteratureby
virtueofhavingassessedphysiologicalandpsychologicalresponsesofrelaxingandarousing
musicusingsolelyclassicalmusic,mostofwhichwasunfamiliartoparticipants,andfurther
byexploringbothphysiologicalandpsychologicalresponsestomusicofsportsperformers
whileusingimagery.
Allphysiologicalmeasuresshowedrelativelyconsistentpatternsofchangestotheshooters’
arousalduringimagerysessions.Resultswereconsistentwithpreviousfindingsshowingthat
listeningtorelaxingmusicduringafine-motorskilldecreasesarousal[28].Resultsalsosup-
portedthefindingsofMiluk-KolasaandMatejek,whoshowedthatlisteningtorelaxingclassi-
calmusichelpedreturnpre-surgicalpatientstoalessphysiologically-arousedstateafter
learningaboutthesurgicalproceduretheyweretoexperience[29].Weobservedaninteresting
patterninGSRandEMGresponses,whichshowedsmalldecreasesinarousalduringUAM
andFAM,ratherthantheanticipatedincreaseinarousaltypicallyfoundwhensuchmusicis
playedpriortoorduringpowerandstrengthtasks[4,30].Thisindicatedthatarousallevels
coulddecline,evenwhenarousingmusicisplayedduringimagery.Oneexplanationforthis
couldbethatthetaskofimageryitselfisassociatedwithanautomaticrelaxationeffect.Ifthis
isthecase,athletesperformingimagerymayautomaticallyrelaxwhentheybecomeabsorbed
intheirinternalthoughts,whichmightcounteracttheinfluenceofarousingmusic.Further
researchonthisissuewouldbeinformative.
ResultsalsoshowedthatparticipantssubjectivelyratedtheirarousaltobehigherforUAM
thanforFAMandURM.TheURMwasleastarousing,aspredicted.AlthoughFAMincluded
famousarousingclassicalexcerpts,theywerenotperceivedtobemorearousingthanthe
UAMclassicalexcerpts.Wefoundnoresearchintheliteraturecomparingsubjective
responsestoUAMandFAMclassicalmusic,eitherbeforeorduringasportstaskorwhileath-
letesperformedimagery,sothisresultshouldbereplicated.Nonethelesspresentindications
arethatresearchexaminingrelaxingandarousingmusiccanbeconductedwithunfamiliar
classicalmusic,therebyminimizingtheimpactofpastassociationsonindividuals’responses.
Aspredicted,participantsratedfamiliarityforFAMtobehigherthaneitherURMor
UAM.Thisconfirmsfindingsfromthepreliminarystageofthestudyinwhichmusicologists
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Musicduringimagery
andsportpsychologistsclassifiedexcerptsaseitherfamiliarorunfamiliar.Thus,participants
confirmedthatthefamiliarclassicalmusicwasindeedmorefamiliaramongelitepistolshoot-
ersthantheURMorUAMexcerpts.Interestingly,participantsratedURMastheirhighest
preferencewhenperformingimagery,followedbyUAMandFAM,inthatorder.Thisprefer-
enceisconsistentwiththepropositionthatimageryisfacilitatedbyrelaxation[31].
WefoundGSR,PT,andEMGtobereliablephysiologicalmeasuresoflevelofarousal
amongfine-motorskillathletes.Thesephysiologicalmeasurescanbeusedinresearchto
developaclearandcomprehensiveunderstandingoftheuseofmusicwithimageryforperfor-
manceenhancement.However,theeffectivenessofthesephysiologicalmeasuresindetecting
arousaleffectsofmusicduringimageryofpower,strength,orendurancetasks,whichareinev-
itablyarousingwhenathletesperformthem,isnotyetestablished.
Limitationsandfutureresearch
Theuseofshootersinthepresentinvestigation,whoaretypicallylocatedattheverylowend
ofthearousalcontinuumduringperformance,maylimitthegeneralizabilityofthefindings.
Pistolshootinginvolvesminimalphysicalmovementduringperformancewhichreducesthe
potentialconfoundingeffectofmovementonassessmentsofarousalduringimagery.Thus
shootingcanbeviewedasanidealsportforthepresentstudy,althoughwhethertheobserved
effectsgeneralizetosportingtasksperformedathigherlevelsofarousalremainsuncertain,
highlightinganeedforreplicationinothersports.
Wedidnotexaminenorattempttocontrolthequalityorcontentofimagery.Allpartici-
pantswereskilledperformerswhohabituallyusedimageryofpistolshootingintheirnormal
trainingandcompetitionroutines.Thefocusofthisstudywastoexaminewhetherthemusic
excerpts,especiallytheURMandUAMexcerpts,hadthepredictedimpactonphysiological
andpsychologicalindicatorsofarousalduringimagery.Theshootersconfirmedinformally
thattheyhadusedtheirusualimageryofperformanceduringallnineexcerptsofmusic.By
usingarepeatedmeasuresdesign,eachparticipantactedashis/herowncontrol.Thus,itis
unlikelythatthecontentofimagerychangedinanysystematicwaythataffectedtheresults.
Nonetheless,infurtherresearch,whereperformanceofthesportstaskisakeyoutcomevari-
able,imagerycontentshouldbecontrolled,sothatvariationsinperformancecanbeascribed
tothemusicconditions.
Weusedthreephysiologicalmeasuresinthisstudy—GSR,PT,andEMG—primarily
becausetheProComp+equipmentisportable,measuresallthreeindicators,andhasbeen
showntobereliableformonitoringarousallevel[5,32].Thisenabledustotestparticipantsin
aquietroomattheshootingclub,whichminimizedtraveltimeandensuredthattheywere
notdistractedbyanunfamiliarenvironment.Inaddition,usingseveralphysiologicalindica-
torsallowedforcomparisonsofpatternsbetweenmeasurestocheckthatdatawerereliable.
AlthoughGSR,PT,andEMGallshowedsignificantdifferencesbetweenmusicconditions,
EMGshowedgreatervariationthanGSRandPT.EMGmaybealesssensitivemeasureofgen-
eralarousalthanGSRorPT,becauseitismorereadilyaffectedbyconfoundingvariables,such
assmallmovements.Furthermore,wewereadvisedbyshootingcoachestoforegoEMGmea-
suresinfuturestudies,becauseofpotentialdiscomforttoparticipants.
Wecomparedexcerptsofthreetypesofmusicplayedduringimageryamongelitepistol
shooters.Thisisthefirststudythatcomparedunfamiliarrelaxingclassicalexcerptswithunfa-
miliararousingclassicalexcerpts.Familiararousingclassicalexcerptswereaddedtotest
whetherFAMwasmorearousingthanUAMbecauseofassociationswiththefamiliar
excerpts.Inextensiveliteraturesearches,weobservedthatmostresearcherswhohavestudied
musicinsportusedfamiliarmusicfortheirstudies.Inthepresentstudy,unfamiliarmusicwas
PLOSONE|https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0175022 April17,2017 10/13