The effect of competitive anxiety and task complexity on mental effort, probe reaction time and performance in table tennis players

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of competitive anxiety and task complexity on mental effort، probe reaction time and performance in table tennis players. 16 table tennis players were tested using a table tennis tasks with low and high complexity and two levels of anxiety. The test comprised of two decision-making tests in which ball color signified the target to which the ball should be hit. Competitive anxiety was manipulated through current methods such as ranking and prize. Participants'' accuracy in hitting targets was taken as a measure of performance effectiveness، while verbal probe reaction time (PRT) and perceived mental effort (RSME) were recorded as measures of efficiency. Data were analyzed using separate factorial repeated-measures ANOVA for each variable in which anxiety (low and high) and complexity (low and high) were within-group factors. The result showed that anxiety had no significant effect on performance effectiveness in both tasks (P>0. 05). There was a significant increase in PRT in both tasks under high versus low anxiety conditions، but this increase in RSME values was founded only in task with low complexity (P<0. 05). In total، the results provide a support for processing efficiency theory.