Diagnostics of Executive Functions
Diagnostics of
Executive Functions
What Gets Measured, Gets Managed.
Previous research has proposed that cognitive functions play an essential role in sport, connecting successful athletes with greater cognitive abilities. Research has further proposed that cognitive testing can beneficial for coaches and sport clubs to integrate cognitive tests as an additional tool for scouting and for optimizing the athletic development of their players. Therefore, academics and practitioners alike are implementing EF testing batteries as an additional measure of performance. Therefore, this line of research aims to evaluate the differences between high- and low-level athletes in a variety of sports relative to their perceptual-cognitive abilities; with an emphasis on measuring executive functions.
Both cross sectional and longitudinal approaches have been employed to gain a further understanding on whether the cognitive abilities that athletes display are a result of being immersed in a high-performance environment for many years or whether these athletes are born with a natural cognitive advantage.
Working Memory
Athletes must process a lot of new information that the have to integrate with their previous experience. For example, a player must ask themselves in a split second a variety of questions. What did this player do last time we were in a similar position? How did I react then, and should I react the same way? What did the coach warm me about at half time?
Cognitive Flexiblity
Athletes are great at being adaptive to the ever-changing and unpredictable environment. This ExF helps athletes "think outside the box".
Inhibition
Inhibition suppresses an intended action that is not correct in the moment. For example, stopping to pass to a specific player if they suddenly become marked by a defender.
Handbook for Psychological Diagnostics in Sport
Handbook for Psychological Diagnostics in Sport
Handbuch sportpsychologische Diagnostik von Jan Spielmann, Christoph Herr, Hans-Dieter Hermann & Jan Mayer
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Project Cooperations
Project Cooperations
Schuhfried, Mödling
The TSG ResearchLab uses the Vienna Test System's psychological assessments to measure a variety of cognitive abilities of individuals ranging from general, clinical and high-performing populations.
skills.lab, Graz
The TSG ResearchLab works together with skills.lab to develop new cognitive assessments in a 360° environment.
Scientific Journal Publications
Scientific Journal Publications
Beavan, A., Spielmann, J., Ehmann, P., & Mayer, J. (2022). The Development of Executive Functions in High-Level Female Soccer Players. Perceptual and Motor Skills. https://doi.org/10.1177/00315125221096989
Ehmann, P., Beavan, A., Spielmann, J., Mayer, J., Altmann, S., Ruf, L., ... & Englert, C. (2022). Perceptual-cognitive performance of youth soccer players in a 360°-environment–Differences between age groups and performance levels. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 59, 102120.
Ehmann, P., Beavan, A., Spielmann, J., Ruf, L., Mayer, J., Rohrmann, S., ... & Englert, C. (2021). 360°-multiple object tracking in team sport athletes: Reliability and relationship to visuospatial cognitive functions. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 55, 101952.
Chin, V., Beavan, A., Fransen, J., Mayer, J., Kohn, R., Ryan, L. M., & Sisson, S. A. (2021). Modelling age-related changes in executive functions of soccer players. arXiv preprint arXiv:2105.01226.
Beavan, A., Chin, V., Ryan, L. M., Spielmann, J., Mayer, J., Skorski, S., ... & Fransen, J. (2020). A Longitudinal Analysis of the Executive Functions in High-Level Soccer Players. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1(aop), 1-9.
Beavan, A., Spielmann, J., Mayer, J., Skorski, S., Meyer, T., & Fransen, J. (2020). The rise and fall of executive functions in high-level football players. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 101677.
Beavan, A. F., Spielmann, J., Mayer, J., Skorski, S., Meyer, T., & Fransen, J. (2019). Age-related differences in executive functions within high-level youth soccer players. Brazilian Journal of Motor Behavior, 13(2), 64-75.
Scientific Reports & Theses
Scientific Reports & Theses
Cölsch, R. (2019). Anwendung des Wiener Testsystems (WTS), um die Exekutiven Funktionen zu erforschen und den Zusammenhang zu Fußballspezifika weiter zu untermauern. Masterthesis at Deutsche Hochschule für Prävention und Gesundheitsmanagement Saarbrücken, University of Applied Sciences.
Ehmann, P. (2019). Kognitive Funktionen im Nachwuchsfußball: eine Analyse verschiedener sportlicher Leistungsniveaus, Altersstufen und einer kontextspezifischen Aufgabe. Masterthesis at Goethe-University Frankfurt/Main. Frankfurt, Germany.
Rosenegger, M. (2019). Testung ausgewählter Exekutivfunktionen zum Vergleich der kognitiven Leistungsfähigkeit zweier Mannschafts-sportarten. Masterthesis at Deutsche Hochschule für Prävention und Gesundheitsmanagement Saarbrücken, University of Applied Sciences.
Schächtele, B. (2019). Vergleich der exekutiven Funtionen zweier ausgewählter Berufsgruppen. Masterthesis at Deutsche Hochschule für Prävention und Gesundheitsmanagement Saarbrücken, University of Applied Sciences.
Schöneberg, J. (2019). Testung von zwei ausgewählten exekutiven Funktionen zum Vergleich der kognitiven Leistungsfähigkeit der Mannschaftssportarten Handball und Fußball. Masterthesis at Deutsche Hochschule für Prävention und Gesundheits-management Saarbrücken, University of Applied Sciences.