Edson Filho

• PhD
• Professor (Associate) at Boston University

I put forth a theoretical framework, namely Team Dynamics Theory (TDT), to address the need for a parsimonious yet integrated, explanatory and systemic view of team dynamics. In TDT, I integrate team processes and outputs and explain their relationships within a systemic view of team dynamics. Specifically, I propose a generative nomological networ...

Psychophysiology pertains to the study of the reciprocal and “many to many” relations between the mind and the body. Accordingly, this special issue includes a collection of articles examining psychophysiological mechanisms implicated in the performance and well-being of athletes and exercisers. More specifically, this issue contains a literature r...

We examined changes in brain rhythms in relation to optimal performance in self-paced sports. Eight studies met the inclusion/exclusion criteria, representing 153 participants and eight different sports. We found that (a) optimal performance is characterised by increased alpha (g = .62, p = .02) and theta (g = .74, p = .002) across the cortex; (b)...

To advance knowledge on the psychophysiological markers of “coordination cost” in team settings, we explored differences in meta-communication patterns (i.e., silence, speaking, listening, and overlap), perceived psychological states (i.e., core affect, attention, efficacy beliefs), heart rate variability (i.e., RMSSD), and brain rhythms (i.e., alp...

The Shared Zones of Optimal Functioning (SZOF) framework posits that different teams or sub-teams share unique psycho-bio-social states, momentum, and leadership patterns associated with optimal performance. In this paper, a theoretical summary of the SZOF framework is provided and the concept of Complementary Zones of Optimal Functioning (CZOF) is...

This study investigates how scoring before overtime and various contextual factors influence outcomes during overtime in three professional basketball leagues. We collected data from the National Basketball Association (NBA), Euroleague, and Spanish Professional League (ACB), consisting of n = 275, n = 37, and n = 59 games, respectively, and played...

We examined whether the alpha-band coherence between the T7-Fz (verbal analytical-motor planning) brain areas were related to superior performance in sports. We searched for related papers across eight databases: ProQuest Central, ProQuest Psychology Journals, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science using relevant k...

Football referees at the elite level are required to meet high-performance standards, physically, behaviourally, and mentally. These may pose considerable cognitive load which necessitates expert ability of gaze behaviour, perception, and attention allocation. In this article we aim to model the array of professional and psychological factors that...

We tested predictions deriving from the “Pleasure-Interest Model of Aesthetic Liking” (PIA Model), whereby aesthetic preferences arise from two fluency-based processes: an initial automatic, percept-driven default process and a subsequent perceiver-driven reflective process. One key trigger for reflective processing is stimulus complexity. Moreover...

A novel multimodal experimental setup and dyadic study protocol were designed to investigate the neurophysiological underpinnings of joint action through the synchronous acquisition of EEG, ECG, EMG, respiration and kinematic data from two individuals engaged in ecologic and naturalistic cooperative and competitive joint actions involving face-to-f...

The aim of the study was to explore sources of organizational stress among Brazilian youth rhythmic gymnasts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six female athletes aged approximately 15 years (M = 14.50; SD = 1.76) with approximately seven years of experience in the sport on average (M = 6.83; SD = 3.25). Deductive categorical analysis...

We examined whether the alpha band-coherence between the T7-Fz (verbal analytical-motor planning) brain areas were related to superior performance in sports. We searched for related papers across eight databases: ProQuest Central, ProQuest Psychology Journals, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science using relevant k...

When observing team-based athletic events, one notices the key role leadership plays in the success of a team. This usually is attributed to the leadership of the coach, which has been the major focus of leadership research done in sport (Cotteril & Fransen, 2016; Loughead, 2017). Often, what is overlooked is the leadership that occurs amongst the...

Abstract Given the extensive neural networks connecting the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) with other subcortical regions, the DLPFC has been implicated in a wide range of psychological and physiological functions during execution of movements. The main objective of this narrative review is to provide a solid theoretical foundation to deepe...

We examined whether practice in an open skill video-game task would lead to changes in performance, attention, motivation, perceived effort, and theta, alpha, and beta waves. Specifically, we were interested on whether potential performance gains from practice would be primarily explained by the neural efficiency (i.e., cortical idling) or the neur...

Objectives To develop and validate a new psychometric tool to measure Shared Mental Models (SMM) and Complementary Mental Models (CMM) in sport settings, namely the Team Mental Models Instrument (TMMI). Methods Data from 627 college athletes competing in the European Universities Games 2018 was randomly organized into two sub-samples. Data from Su...

We explored the relationship among intra-group communication, collective efficacy, transactive memory systems and team performance. One hundred and seventy soccer players, aged between 14 and 38 years (M = 18.35, SD = 4.71), from eight national teams participated in this study. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. First, our analy...

To inform the development of athletes and teams, an applied analysis of the factors contributing to the team collapse experienced by the Brazilian soccer team against Germany during the 2014 FIFA World Cup semifinal is presented. Specifically , the iterative role of individual players, team processes, and contextual factors in the team collapse exp...

Introduction: Children's maximal muscle strength is consistently lower than adults', even normalized to body size. Lower volitional muscle activation (VA) in children is often considered one of the main reasons for age-related differences in muscle performance. However, some recent studies have reported similar VA in children and adults, bringing...

This chapter puts forth five research questions on group dynamics in sport, exercise, and performance psychology. Specifically, it proposes that future research should explore the antecedents of key team processes and seek to evolve an integrated and parsimonious theory of team dynamics linking cohesion, team mental models, collective efficacy, tra...

This book presents the most pressing questions to advance the field of sport, exercise, and performance psychology. Organized around performance and learning, health and wellbeing, and cultural and professional considerations, expert contributors in the field summarize the state-of-the-art literature, including tables with five must-read papers in...

Putting is paramount to performance in golf and differentiates low and high achievers in the sport. In the present study, we compared the heart rate, respiration rate, and galvanic skin response for missed and holed putts performed by 13 skilled male golfers from a 12-ft (3.65-m) distance. Contrary to our expectations, no significant effects were o...

Background: Mental fatigue is a psychobiological state caused by extended periods of cognitive effort, and evidence suggests that mentally fatigued athletes present impaired physical performance. Different ergogenic aids have been proposed to counteract the deleterious effects of mental fatigue, but whether brain stimulation can counteract mental f...

The aim of the current compendium on the psychology of sport, performance, and ethics was to assemble both theoretical and applied research from experts within the field of sport psychology, sociology, performance, and exercise. Twelve articles, written by researchers from Brazil, China, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Ta...

The aim of the current compendium on the psychology of sport, performance, and ethics was to assemble both theoretical and applied research from experts within the field of sport psychology, sociology, performance, and exercise. Twelve articles, written by researchers from Brazil, China, Germany, Israel, Netherland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Taiwan,...

By bridging the literature on shared mental models and the individual zones of optimal functioning, the author advances a new framework called the shared zones of optimal functioning. The shared zones of optimal functioning is a probabilistic methodology designed to (a) capture optimal and suboptimal performance experiences in teams, (b) track team...

The inclusion of the video assistant referee (VAR) in the Laws of the Game [International Football Association Board (IFAB)] reflects a historic action in the world of soccer. The VAR was designed to reduce critical errors in soccer referees’ decision-making (DM), thereby increasing the social perceptions of justice. From the referees’ perspective,...

Soccer players at the U-21 level are in the challenging process of transitioning to the professional level. Accordingly, we examined whether U-21 soccer players would show a similar recovery-stress balance profile as professional soccer players. Furthermore, we explored differences in recovery-stress balance by playing status (i.e., starter or subs...

This chapter focuses on a specific team process, namely team mental models (TMM), which has been the subject of extensive theoretical and empirical work in sport, exercise, and performance psychology in particular, and applied psychology at large. It explains the terminology and provides an operational definition of TMM. The chapter discusses the r...

The purpose of this study was to explore the career transition experiences of elite gymnasts who became professional circus artists. Eight (inter)national level gymnasts who worked as circus artists were interviewed. Using a constructionist approach to thematic data analysis, we identified a three-phase career transition process. High levels of psy...

Research across disciplines has revealed how different team processes underpin the development and optimal functioning of working teams. In this chapter, we focus on a specific team process, namely team mental models (TMM), which has been the subject of extensive theoretical and empirical work in sport, exercise, and performance psychology in parti...

High-performing sports teams are said to have “good chemistry,” similar to how a complex molecule is formed by several chemical elements, and scholars and practitioners concur that success in team settings hinges on many well-connected team properties (Filho, 2015). To this extent, over the past 30 years, scholars and practitioners from various dom...

Safety is paramount to nurture artists’ creative growth and performance. In several contemporary circus arts disciplines, the consequences of accidents may involve severe injuries or death. In this article, we explore perceived risks, personality, experiences of sensation, emotion regulation, and agency in relation to accidents and near misses in c...

Hyperscanning studies, wherein brain activity is recorded from multiple participants simultaneously, offer an opportunity to investigate interpersonal dynamics during interactive tasks at the neurophysiological level. In this study, we employed a dyadic juggling paradigm and electroencephalography (EEG) hyperscanning to evaluate functional connecti...

Self-confidence is one of the major predictors of performance in football. Collective efficacy is also paramount as high-performing teams show greater group-level confidence compared to lower-performing teams. In this chapter, we review the antecedent , moderator, and outcome variables that influence self-confidence and collective efficacy in footb...

Nos últimos anos a iniciação esportiva têm sido objeto de estudo de inúmeros trabalhos na literatura internacional, assim como a transição de carreira. Entretanto, grande parte dos trabalhos sobre transição se concentram no término da carreira esportiva. Assim, o objetivo do presente estudo foi analisar a trajetória dos jogadores de futebol no proc...

We explored the interrelationship among cohesion, transactive memory systems (TMS), and collective efficacy in professional football. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that TMS would mediate the relationship between cohesion and collective efficacy in football teams. Furthermore, we explored the specific effects of task and social cohesion on...

Coach turnover is frequent, especially in collegiate sports in the United States. To date, however, there is limited research on how coach turnover might affect student-athletes. Accordingly, we aimed to qualitatively explore how coach turnover might influence student-athletes’ psychosocial states and team dynamics in collegiate sports. Eleven athl...

The authors tested the notion that expertise effects would be more noticeable when access to situational information was reduced by occluding (i.e., noncued) or freezing (i.e., cued) the environment under temporal constraints. Using an adaptation of tasks developed by Ward, Ericsson, and Williams, the participants viewed video clips of attacking so...

Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am” observation symbolizes the birth of modern Western philosophy and highlights the functional role of the human mind. In this chapter, we extend Descartes’ observation from “I” to “we” processes in team dynamics research. The notion of “collective mind” is an integral part of many team processes described in the S...

Objectives: A meta-analysis was employed to examine the effects of mental imagery (MI) on bio-psychological variables, namely functional mobility, perceived pain, and self-efficacy. Method: Ten studies were included in the meta-analytical review. Cohen's d effect sizes (ES) and Hedge's g weighted mean ES (WMES) were computed for all dependent varia...

Objectives: A meta-analysis was employed to examine the effects of mental imagery (MI) on bio-psychological variables, namely functional mobility, perceived pain, and self-efficacy. Method: Ten studies were included in the meta-analytical review. Cohen's d effect sizes (ES) and Hedge's g weighted mean ES (WMES) were computed for all dependent varia...

Objectives: To explore coach-level, team-level, and country-level factors associated with performance in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Design: This study involved archival analysis of factual data on teams and coaches participating in the UEFA Women’s Champions League (2011-12 until 2015-16). Method: Official data records were provided by UE...

Sport psychology practitioners frequently utilize questionnaires to evaluate sport psychology services, yet questionnaires may not be valued as highly by the coaches and/or athletes themselves. Therefore, an alternative, more reliable, and ecologically valid method of assessing mental skills is needed for sport psychology practitioners. As such, th...

To advance understanding of the mechanisms allowing for team coordination (TC) in complex motor actions, we conducted a qualitative study with eight elite hand-to-hand circus acrobats. Data collection consisted of field observations, an open-ended interview with the participants' head coach, and focus group interviews with all acrobats. Data analys...

The aim of this study was to explore the degree to which smartphone-based fitness applications help people start and maintain a regular physical activity across NorthAmerica, SouthAmerica and Europe. This descriptive and exploratory study consisted of 904 respondents from three continents. A survey composed of demographic questions, closed question...

Trustworthy measurement is essential to make inferences about people and events, as well as to make scientific inquiries and comprehend human behaviors. Measurement is used for validating and building theories, substantiating research endeavors, contributing to science, and supporting a variety of applications. Sport and exercise psychology is a th...

Decision-making (DM) in sport is a process of information processing in natural environments that impose unique constraints upon the decision makers. Athletes rely on their mental representations to locate cues in the environment, which are used for anticipatory DM. Furthermore, with increased experience, athletes shift from serial to parallel proc...

The aim of this study was to explore the degree to which smartphone-based fitness applications help people start and maintain a regular physical activity across NorthAmerica, SouthAmerica and Europe. This descriptive and exploratory study consisted of 904 respondents from three continents. A survey composed of demographic questions, closed question...

The miniaturization of computer hardware, particularly gaming joysticks and controls, along with the advent of new wireless systems, has allowed for the creation of “exergames,” derived from the combination of “exercise” and “digital gaming” ( Di Tore & Raiola, 2012 ). Indeed, exergames combine exercise with game play by emulating real-life fi tnes...

Contemporary circus is an art form in which human performers use circus skills to tell a story (Leroux, 2014, Theatre Research in Canada, 35(2), 263–279). Due to the similarities between physical skills in circus and gymnastics, world-renowned circus companies are purposefully recruiting professional athletes for their shows (Rantisi & Leslie, 2014...

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of mental fatigue on heart rate variability, subjective measures of fatigue, and swimming performance in young athletes. Methods: Sixteen swimmers [15.45 (0.51) y old, 7.35 (2.20) y of swimming experience] performed a 1500-m time trial on 2 occasions separated by an interval of at least 72 hour...

Objectives A meta-analysis was employed to examine the effects of mental imagery (MI) on bio-psychological variables, namely functional mobility, perceived pain, and self-efficacy. Method Ten studies were included in the meta-analytical review. Cohen's d effect sizes (ES) and Hedge's g weighted mean ES (WMES) were computed for all dependent variabl...

Grounded in achievement goal and self-determination theories, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of mastery and performance climate interventions on students’ psychobiosocial (PBS) states and self-determined motivation. A first study was conducted to determine the validity of the measures. In a second study, two groups of fema...

Introduction: This study involved an analysis of the impact of mental fatigue on heart rate recovery (HRR), subjective measures of fatigue and intermittent running performance in handball players. Objective: This study was aimed at (1) examining the effects of an induced state of mental fatigue on the aerobic performance of handball players, as me...

Background Research on cooperative behavior and the social brain exists, but little research has focused on real-time motor cooperative behavior and its neural correlates. In this proof of concept study, we explored the conceptual notion of shared and complementary mental models through EEG mapping of two brains performing a real-world interactive...

We report on the case of Dr. José Ramos-Horta (JRH), a 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate, former President of East Timor, and current envoy of the United Nations to Guinea-Bissau. JRH agreed to an interview detailing the peace building strategies he has used to manage conflicts. The transcript of his Nobel Laureate acceptance speech was also analysed to st...

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the individuals' dynamics of perceived control and hedonic tone over time, with respect to the 4 performance states as conceptualized within the multiaction plan (MAP) model. We expected to find idiosyncratic and differentiated trends over time in the scores of perceived control and hedonic tone...

This study focused on identifying the neural markers underlying optimal and suboptimal performance experiences of an elite air-pistol shooter, based on the tenets of the multi-action plan (MAP) model. According to the MAP model’s assumptions, skilled athletes’ cortical patterns are expected to differ among optimal/automatic (Type 1), optimal/contro...

The main goal of the present study was to explore theta and alpha event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) activity during shooting performance. We adopted the idiosyncratic framework of the multi-action plan (MAP) model to investigate different processing modes underpinning four types of performance. In particular, we were interes...

Our purposes were to investigate: (a) differences in mood states between high and low performers at the beginning and end of the Girobio 2012 cycling race, and in respect to both actual and perceived performance; and (b) whether the participants' mood states predicted actual and perceived performance. Profile of Mood States (POMS) of 72 elite cycli...

We explored implicit coordination mechanisms underlying the conceptual notion of "shared mental models" (SMM) through physiological (i.e., breathing and heart rates) and affective-cognitive (i.e., arousal, pleasantness, attention, self-efficacy, other's efficacy) monitoring of two professional jugglers performing a real-time interactive task of inc...

In this article, an applied analysis of the psychological processes and skills necessary for performance artists to excel in contemporary circus is presented. This analysis is based on applied experience at Cirque du Soleil and the National Circus School, leading contemporary circus programs in the world. The importance of learning the rules of the...

Sport and exercise psychology is a scientific and applied domain, which centers on social, applied, cognitive, cultural, and methodological issues pertaining to sport and exercise (Eklund & Tenenbaum, 2013). We claim that major advances in sport psychology will result from studying the neural correlates of both individual and teams’ mental operatio...

Aims: The purpose of the current study was to establish a conceptual framework of team chemistry components in sport with an emphasis on Shared Mental Models (SMM). Method: Elite soccer coaches (n = 6) and players (n = 3) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. An inductive thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data. Resul...

We discuss the assumptions of trustworthy quantitative measurements required to meet scientific and ecological rigor, and emphasize the need for methodological triangulation and interpretative pluralism in qualitative research. We view measurement in performance psychology as theory-driven as well as one that aims at developing and refining theorie...

In 1898, Norman Triplett conducted a study on bicycle racing and observed that cyclists tend to have better performance times when riding in the presence of another cyclist as opposed to riding alone. Triplett’s study, considered the first in the sport psychology domain, has since expanded into various subdomains. Over the past century, the sport p...

We sought to examine whether the relationship between recovery–stress factors and performance would differ at the beginning (Stage 1) and the end (Final Stage) of a multi-stage cycling competition. Sixty-seven cyclists with a mean age of 21.90 years (SD = 1.60) and extensive international experience participated in the study. The cyclists responded...

We conducted a counterbalanced repeated measure trial to investigate the effect of different internal and external associative strategies on endurance performance. Seventeen college-aged students were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions to test the notion that different attention-performance types (optimal Type 1, functional Type 2,...

Since the discovery of the mirror neuron system in the 1980s, little, if any, research has been devoted to the study of interactive motor tasks (Goldman, 2012). Scientists interested in the neuropsychophysiological markers of joint motor action have relied on observation paradigms and passive tasks rather than dynamic paradigms and interactive task...

Tutti in pista! Psicologia, fisiologia e neuroscienze nell'automobilismo sportivo Riassunto L'automobilismo, in quanto sport con elevate componenti di rischio, è una disciplina che richiede complesse abilità tecniche, fisiche e mentali; in esso risultano importanti sia la resa del mezzo, sia le abilità del pilota nella messa a punto e nella guida d...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of task- and ego-involving climate manipulations on students' climate perception and psychobiosocial (PBS) states in a physical education setting. Method: Two subsamples of female students (N = 108, 14-15 years of age) participated in 12 lessons on either a task- or an ego-involving c...

A Google search on “team chemistry” returns over 443,000 entries (October 2014) usually denoting some sort of team process, such as cohesion, shared mental models, and collective efficacy. Practitioners (e.g., athletic coaches and business managers) often emphasize the importance of team chemistry for optimal performance. For instance, former NFL q...

Abstract Our purpose was to test the multi-action plan model assumptions in which athletes' psychophysiological patterns differ among optimal and suboptimal performance experiences. Nine professional drivers competing in premier race categories (e.g. Formula 3, Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge) completed the study. Data collection involved monitoring the...

Abstract A nomological network on team dynamics in sports consisting of a multiframework perspective is introduced and tested. The aim was to explore the interrelationship among cohesion, team mental models (TMMs), collective efficacy (CE) and perceived performance potential (PPP). Three hundred and forty college-aged soccer players representing 17...

The purposes of this meta-analysis were to: (a) examine the direction and magnitude of the cohesion–performance relationship in studies published between 2000 and 2010 and (b) explore moderators of this relationship. A total of 118 effect sizes were calculated. Results revealed a statistically significant (a) moderate relationship between overall c...

The present study was an initial attempt to capture and describe instances of shared mental models within a team from the point of view of the team captain. Specifically, the purpose of this study was to describe a range of perceived and shared behaviors aimed at facilitating the overall performance of a college volleyball team from the perspective...

The main purpose was to test the mythical belief that Brazilian soccer teams possess an offensive style of play while Italian teams rely on a defensive game plan. A dominant rationalization for these perceived differences is rooted in the cultural and social differences between the two nations. Data (goals scored, goals conceded, and points per gam...

This study was aimed at capturing the components comprising shared mental models (SMM) and the training methods used to address SMM in one athletic program context. To meet this aim, two soccer coaches from the same collegiate program were interviewed and observed extensively during practices and games throughout the 2009-2010 season. In addition,...

We review current evidence on the linkage between emotion and decision-making (DM) in sports, and the appraisal, emotions, and cognitions linkage under temporal and societal pressure. The conceptual framework proposes that perceptions and actions are stored and retrieved from the same representation structure, and thus stimuli are either negatively...

Abstract Grounded in achievement goal theory and self-determination theory, this cross-sectional study examined the relationship between perceived motivational climate and individuals' motivation as well as the mediation effect of psychobiosocial states as conceptualised within the individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model. Young student...

This study aimed to test the efficacy of associative and dissociative attention-based strategies derived from the MAP model to improve performance in endurance activity, and to verify whether specific cortical functional networks are associated with the different types of performance foreseen in the MAP model. The findings from one cyclist support...

The multi-action plan (MAP) model reflects the notion that different psychophysiological states underlie distinct performance-related experiences. Previous empirical evidence suggested that attentional focus, affective states, and psycho-physiological patterns differ among optimal-automatic (type 1), optimal-controlled (type 2), suboptimal-controll...

The purposes of this study were to (a) determine and compare the magnitude of pre–post recovery and stress scores among highly trained cyclists participating in the ‘‘Girobio’’, and (b) identify stress/recovery balance factors that remained constant from pre- to post-race testing. Sixty-seven cyclists with extensive international experience and rep...

The effects of trash talk and competition outcome on self-efficacy and affect were examined in 40 Madden™ NFL 08 football video game players randomly assigned to two conditions: silence talk, where they played the first game in complete silence; and the second trash talking. Measures of self-efficacy, positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA)...