Mariane F B Bacelar

Boise State University | BSU · Department of Kinesiology

It is unknown whether rewards improve the capability to select appropriate targets for one’s movement (action selection) and/or the movement itself (action execution). Thus, we devised an experimental task wherein participants categorized a complex visual stimulus to determine toward which one of two targets to execute an action (putt a golf ball)...

Giving learners control over their feedback schedule has been shown to enhance motor learning. This effect has been attributed to enhanced intrinsic motivation via fulfilling learners’ needs for feelings of autonomy and competence, and greater information processing through provoking learners to estimate their errors. However, there is a lack of st...

The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning predicts enhanced expectancies facilitate learning. This meta-analysis investigated this prediction by quantifying effect sizes from studies manipulating feedback after good trials, comparative feedback, perceived task difficulty, conceptions of ability, self-modeling, or extrinsic rewards, and assessing learnin...

Enhanced expectancies and autonomy-support through self-controlled practice conditions form the motivation pillar of OPTIMAL theory (Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016). The influence of these practice variables on motor learning was recently evaluated in two separate meta-analyses. Both meta-analyses found that the published literature suggested a moderate a...

Recent metascience suggests that motor behavior research may be underpowered, on average. Researchers can perform a priori power analyses to ensure adequately powered studies. However, there are common pitfalls that can result in underestimating the required sample size for a given design and effect size of interest. Critical evaluation of power an...

The theory of effort minimization in physical activity argues that individuals have an automatic attraction toward effort minimization. To engage in a physically active behavior, this automatic attraction needs to be overridden by controlled processes. However, direct evidence showing that inhibitory control is required to avoid effort minimization...

The theory of effort minimization in physical activity (TEMPA) argues that individuals have an automatic attraction toward effort minimization. To engage in a physically active behavior, this automatic attraction needs to be overridden by controlled processes. However, direct evidence showing that inhibitory control is required to avoid effort mini...

The theory of effort minimization in physical activity (TEMPA) argues that individuals have an automatic attraction toward effort minimization. To engage in a physically active behavior, this automatic attraction needs to be overridden by controlled processes. However, direct evidence showing that inhibitory control is required to avoid effort mini...

Objective Interest in automatic associations of exercise and physical activity as potential contributors to behavior is rising. However, the measurement of these associations presents a challenge, since the reliability and validity of behavioral tests (despite their widespread usage) is unsatisfactory by most accounts. As a possible alternative, an...

Objective: Having learners practice a motor skill with the expectation of teaching it (versus an expectation of being tested on it) has been revealed to enhance skill learning. However, this improvement in skill performance is lost when the skill must be performed under psychological pressure due to 'choking under pressure.' The present study will...

Recent evidence suggests humans have an automatic attraction to effort minimization. Yet, how this attraction is associated with response inhibition is still unclear. Here, we used go/no-go tasks to capture inhibitory control in response to stimuli depicting physical activity versus physical inactivity in 59 healthy young individuals. Higher commis...

Recent evidence suggests humans have an automatic attraction to effort minimization. Yet, how this attraction is associated with response inhibition is still unclear. Here, we used go/nogo tasks to capture inhibitory control in response to stimuli depicting physical activity versus physical inactivity in 59 healthy young individuals. Higher commiss...

Objetivo: Analisar os motivosque influenciam as fases de uma carreira esportiva em função do sexo, idade e tempo de prática (TP).Métodos: A amostra foi composta por atletas de Voleibol, universitários, de ambos os sexos. Foram utilizadas as subescalas de Manutenção e Abandono do Questionário MIMCA-BR. Resultados: Os atletas continuaram a praticar V...

A recent theory contends that behaviors minimizing energetic cost are rewarding (Cheval et al., 2018). However, direct experimental evidence supporting this theory is lacking. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated the effect of energy expenditure on reward-related brain activity in a pre-registered study. This preregistered study included thi...

A recent theory contends that behaviors minimizing energetic cost are rewarding (Cheval et al., 2018). However, direct experimental evidence supporting this theory is lacking. To fill this knowledge gap, we investigated the effect of energy expenditure on reward-related brain activity. Thirty-one participants were equipped with an electroencephalog...

The influence of individual differences in cognition and behavior may be partly explained by the different genetic polymorphisms. Among the genetic polymorphisms capable of altering cognitive and behavioral functions, the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism regulates the availability of dopamine (DA) in the prefrontal cortex...

When practicing a motor skill, learners who are expecting to teach it to another person exhibit superior gains in skill execution and declarative knowledge. Since skills acquired with large gains in declarative knowledge are highly susceptible to decrement under psychological pressure, it is possible the advantage of expecting to teach is lost when...