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The Effects of Priming Negative Cues on Stroop Rifle Shooting Task in Elite Biathletes: A Psychophysiological Pilot
Khelifa Bartura1, Henrik Gustafsson1,2, Frank Eirik Abrahamsen1
1Department of Sport and Social Sciences, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway.
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|January 28, 2026
Summary
Negative instructions do not impair elite biathletes' performance in shooting tasks. Elite athletes demonstrated resilience against ironic errors, maintaining consistent performance regardless of cue frequency.
Area of Science:
- Sports Psychology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Motor Control
Background:
- Attempting to suppress unwanted thoughts often leads to counterintentional errors in motor tasks.
- Ironic processes of mental control theory suggests that negative cues can hinder performance.
- Elite athletes may possess enhanced mental control, potentially mitigating these effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of negative cue priming on elite biathletes' performance in a Stroop rifle shooting task.
- To test the applicability of ironic processes of mental control theory in a high-stakes sports context.
- To assess whether cue frequency influences the occurrence of ironic errors.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental within-subject design was employed with ten elite youth biathletes.
- Participants performed a Stroop rifle shooting task under Low-Cue Frequency (LCF) and High-Cue Frequency (HCF) conditions.
- Psychophysiological measures, including heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV), were used alongside performance metrics like errors and reaction times (RTs).
Main Results:
- Negative priming cues did not induce ironic shooting errors or delays in reaction times.
- Bayesian analysis supported the null model for target hit rates and reaction times, indicating no significant effect of cues.
- No significant variations in heart rate or heart rate variability were observed between conditions.
Conclusions:
- Negative instructions, irrespective of frequency, do not disrupt the shooting performance of elite biathletes.
- Elite biathletes exhibit resilience to directives aimed at suppressing specific actions, such as 'do not shoot [color]'.
- The findings challenge the universal applicability of ironic processes of mental control theory in elite sports performance.
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