Orienting Recovery as Predictor of Higher Emotional Regulation in Soccer Players

School of Health Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 16150 Kubang Kerian, Kelantan, Malaysia

email: srilekha@usm.my

Abstract

Purpose of the present study was to extrapolate intricate relationships between autonomic indices of emotionality in predicting changes in transient as well as dispositional emotionality. Performance excellence in sports and games, particularly in soccer has been referred to as resultant of mental toughness or more specifically the aspect of emotional flexibility and hardiness of the athlete. One hundred thirty five high-achiever young-adult male competitive soccer players, who were residents of Kota Bharu region volunteered as participants. All of them were subjected to evaluation of inner psychobiological status (decomposed indices of phasic skin conductance activity – viz. orienting recovery time; rise time and skin conductance adaptation levels); assessment of projective analyses of unconscious core of emotionality (employing Rorschach Ink-Blot Test) in the form of evaluation indices of impulsivity, irritability, integrity. Results however revealed corroborative relationships between psychobiological autonomic indices in predicting differential aspects of inner core emotionality. Multiple linear regression analyses were done to identify differential possibilities of direct, inverse, moderating and supportive relationships between decomposition indices of autonomic orienting activity related to cognitive-affective and affective-motivational aspects of sports behaviour. Analyses of autonomic activation and arousal modulation and various indices habituation paradigm indices were found as significant predictors of changes in dispositional emotional constellation observed in the athletes. Orienting latency was observed as the most significant contributor in influencing recovery from autonomic arousal (orienting recovery) in predicting changes in emotional hardiness as well as in flexibility.