Takehiro IwatsukiUniversity of Hawaiʻi at Hilo | UHH · Department of Kinesiology and Exercise Sciences
Takehiro Iwatsuki
Ph.D. in Kinesiology
About
33
Publications
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346
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Introduction
Takehiro Iwatsuki is an Associate Professor of Kinesiology at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. His research interests include motivational aspects of motor learning and performance, influence of practice condition, self-talk, and choking under pressure.
Skills and Expertise
Additional affiliations
August 2018 - September 2022
Education
August 2015 - May 2018
August 2012 - December 2014
April 2009 - March 2011
Publications
Publications (33)
Performer autonomy has been shown to contribute to effective motor performance and learning. Autonomy support is therefore a key factor in the OPTIMAL theory of motor learning (Wulf, G., & Lewthwaite, 2016). The purpose of the present study was to examine whether supporting individuals’ need for autonomy by giving them choices would increase moveme...
Variability in practice has been shown to enhance motor skill learning. Benefits of practice variability have been attributed to motor schema formation (variable versus constant practice), or more effortful information processing (random versus blocked practice). We hypothesized that, among other mechanisms, greater practice variability might promo...
The purpose of this study was to examine whether conditions that provide performers with a sense of autonomy, by giving them choices, would increase movement efficiency. We evaluated neuromuscular activation as a function of choice, using surface electromyography (EMG), during isometric force production. Participants (N = 16) were asked to perform...
The purpose of this present study was to examine whether providing choice would enhance motor performance under psychological pressure. Participants were asked to throw soft-golf balls toward a circular target. The practice phase consisted of 30 trials using three colored balls (i.e., blue, red, yellow) from 5.5 meters. Participants then performed...
Expectancies for success and autonomy support have been shown to facilitate motor learning and enhance motor performance. The purpose of the study was to examine whether we replicated (a) enhanced expectancies and autonomy support intervention enhanced motor skill learning in children, and (b) identified the underlying psychological mechanism. Sixt...
The aim of the present study was to examine the effects of attentional focus instructions on acute changes in the transverse relaxation time (T2) of the femorotibial cartilage and in cartilage volume during repeated drop‐jump landings. Ten healthy females (Mage = 20.4 ± 0.8 years) performed a drop landing task from a 50 cm high box over the course...
The purpose of the present studies was to examine whether providing superstitious instruction has beneficial effects on motor performance. The results of the effectiveness of superstitious instructions have been mixed. Additionally, the two present studies moved one step forward to examine the effects on motor learning, assessed by retention and tr...
The performance assessment of relevant biomechanical factors is essential for appropriate age-related training progression in volleyball spike (VS). This study aimed to investigate the differences in upper limbs’ (a) range of motion (ROM), (b) angular velocities, and (c) muscular activity during VS among under 16- (U-16), under 18- (U-18), and unde...
Objectives:
According to the OPTIMAL theory (Wulf & Lewthwaite, 2016), enhanced expectancies (EE), autonomy support (AS), and an external focus (EF) of attention facilitate motor performance and learning. The present study examined whether consecutive implementation of EE, AS and EF during practice would enhance the learning of a square-stepping t...
The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of the relatively long induction of negative gender stereotypes on motor skill learning in young adolescent girls. Forty-six Iranian girls (Mage = 14.02 years old, SD = 0.80) were asked to practice a futsal kicking task (i.e., kicking a rolling ball toward a target) for 3 days with approx...
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different volleyball-specific attentional focus instructions on arm velocities of a volleyball spike in young female volleyball players using the Statistical Parametric Mapping method. Twelve young female volleyball players (13.6 ± 0.6 years old, 1.8 ± 0.8 years of experience in volleyball trai...
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different success criteria on motor learning in children. Forty-eight children threw soft-golf balls towards a circular target using their non-dominant arm. On Day 1, they performed six blocks of 12 trials from 5.5 meters. On Day 2, they performed a 12 trial retention test followed by a 12 tri...
The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a brief version of the Japanese Academic and Athletic Identity Scale (AAIS-JB), which would enable the survey to be easily conducted online nationwide in Japan. In addition, this study determined the centrality of academic and athletic identities in the elite student-athletes with scholarships a...
The purpose of the two studies was to investigate the relationships among student athletes’ identity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this study aimed to clarify the relationship between perceived social support from teammates and mental health in student-athletes. Two studies were conducted to investigate and clarify th...
Esports has been the fastest-growing industry around the globe, as the number of games and prize earnings are dramatically increasing. Esports is defined as competitive sport video gaming; more individuals are beginning to pursue this as a profession. Just like the University of California, Irvine, which offers a program to enhance esports skills a...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among student athlete’s identity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this study aimed to clarify the relationship between perceived social support from teammates and mental health in student-athletes. Two studies were conducted to investigate to clarify the ment...
Esports has been the fastest-growing industry around the globe, as the number of games and prize earnings are dramatically increasing. Esports is defined as competitive sport video gaming; more individuals are beginning to pursue this as a profession. Just like the University of California, Irvine, which offers a program to enhance esports skills a...
The purpose of this study was to examine whether enhancing success expectation by providing relatively easy criteria for success would, in turn, enhance motor learning outcomes. Thirty university student participants threw soft-golf balls towards a circular target, using their non-dominant arm; they performed seven blocks of 12 trials from a distan...
Maintaining an appropriate balance between athletics and academic is integral for the success of student-athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine social identity components in Japanese collegiate student-athletes by investigating the relationship between academic-athletic identification and student-athletes' identity. Participants were 46...
The purpose of this study was to examine relations among reinvestment, self-regulation, and perception of choking under pressure in skilled tennis players. Participants were 160 collegiate players from the NCAA Division I in the U.S. and the 1 st League in Japan. Participants completed questionnaires assessing reinvestment (conscious motor processi...
The authors examined several issues related to the motor learning benefits resulting from giving learners choices. In 2 experiments, participants practiced a novel task, throwing a lasso. In Experiment 1, giving learners a choice ostensibly irrelevant to performance (color of mat under target) resulted in enhanced learning relative to a control gro...
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between social support and mental health problems among male and female intercollegiate student-athletes. Participants were 204 American student- athletes (105 males, 99 females) recruited from the NCAA colleges and universities. Participants were 20.24 (SD = ±1.24) years old, and had a mea...
A series of studies was conducted to replicate and extend research indicating that self-posed questions have performance benefits (Senay, Albarracin, & Noguchi, 2010). Studies 1-3 compared the effects of the self-posed interrogative question (“Will I?”) to declarative (“I will”) and control self-talk, and found no significant group differences in m...
Tennis players who focus on their skill execution and self-regulation are likely to improve in training. On the other hand, focusing on performance too much (reinvestment) can result in “paralysis by analysis” and performance decrements. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between reinvestment, self-regulation, and perceived...
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the intention to hit a disguised backhand drop shot on tennis performance. Skilled tennis players (N 1⁄4 10) were videotaped while hitting drop shots with and without instruction to disguise the shot. Results calculated via three-dimensional motion analysis indicated that disguised drop shots i...
The purpose of this research was to examine the relationships among movement reinvestment, decision-making reinvestment, and perception of choking under pressure with individual and team sport athletes. Participants were 84 male varsity collegiate athletes on tennis, squash, soccer, volleyball, and basketball teams from the NCAA Division III in the...
International Tennis Federation Coaching (ITF Coaching) agreed to provide $2,000 Research Grant for my master's research. This study was supported by Judy, L. Van Raalte, Britton Brewer, and Albert J. Petitpas who work in the Department of Psychology in Athletic Counseling at Springfield College, Massachusetts, USA.
Competitive tennis requires fitness and mental focus for optimal performance. Research has shown, however, that even skilled performers sometimes choke under pressure (Beilock, 2010). Reinvestment Theory (Masters, 2008) suggests that focus on the mechanical aspects of motor performance can lead to “paralysis by analysis,” or choking under pressure...
Choking under pressure is a complex phenomenon that results in a worse performance than expected given a person’s capabilities and past achievements (Beilock & Gray, 2007). Movement reinvestment (Masters, 2008) suggests that athletes who focus on the mechanical aspects of motor performance are more likely to experience “paralysis by analysis” than...
Many tennis instruction books have mentioned the drop shot is an important shot in order to get points effectively, and the drop shots have been used by many professional tennis players in recent years. Several instruction books state that a drop shot should be hit the same way as a slice. Therefore, it is valuable to scientifically examine how to...
The purpose of this study was to focus on the first service during singles matches between two world- class athletes, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, by using game analysis to compare and examine how shot placement is distributed, particularly in relation to different playing surfaces. Six matches between the two players were analyzed. Using video...