(18) ROTC CADETS’ SYMPATHETIC AND VAGAL RESPONSES AND SHOOTING PERFORMANCE TO RECEIVING BRIEF TASK-INVOLVING MOTIVATIONAL CLIMATE FEEDBACK FROM LEADERS

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the achievement goal perspective theory task-involving motivational climate feedback on reserve officers’ training corps (ROTC) junior cadets’ sympathetic and vagal response measured by their heart rate variability (HRV) with three-lead EKG and their performance measured by hits on a target with air rifles from simulated 50-, 100-, and 150-meter distances in the prone, kneeling, and standing positions. Prior research with elite competitive shooters has identified the importance of being at an optimal arousal level (sympathetic/vagal response), rather than an overly aroused, stress state. Sport psychology research has shown experiencing a task-involving motivational climate (i.e., leaders’ positive reinforcement for performers’ effort, self-referenced improvement, and corrective feedback) promotes athletes’ learning strategies, attempting appropriate challenges, and not inducing a stress response compared to other motivational climates. The non-task-involving condition leaders identified mistakes (without correcting) and compared participants’ performance to others’ performance or norms. Methods: After receiving IRB approval, 68 ROTC non-senior cadets (n = 33 task-involving condition; n = 23 women) completed shooting task assessments once without receiving feedback while wearing three-lead EKG to measure their HRV. One month later, the cadets completed the shooting performance test again (time 2; T2) while receiving feedback between each set of 5 shots. The PI randomly assigned the feedback conditions. Results: The ANCOVA to test the hypothesized effects of the brief motivational climate feedback intervention on the non-senior cadets’ sympathetic and vagal responses revealed the motivational climate condition accounted for up to 5% of the sympathetic and vagal variance. In addition, though not statistically significant, those in the task-involving condition made two more target hits. Conclusions: The task-involving motivational climate feedback improved the ROTC cadets’ arousal level (increased sympathetic/decreased vagal response) during this brief shooting task. This aligned short-term with shooting the target more often. This study provides physiological support for Nicholls’ suggestion that a task-involving motivational climate optimizes participants’ responses to learn and perform. Practical Applications: These results support that even receiving brief task-involving feedback (e.g., 30-60 seconds/feedback dose) between sets can meaningfully improve ROTC cadets’ arousal state. This supports that with brief inter-set feedback, strength and conditioning coaches can promote optimal arousal levels of their tactical athletes' during training via a task-involving climate by encourages maximum effort through positive reinforcement, self-referenced improvement, and facilitation of cooperative learning. Acknowledgements: Association for Applied Sport Psychology Research Grant Award helped fund this study.