The Effect of Attentional Instruction on Table Tennis Player's Performance under Pressure

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of pressure andattentional instruction on table tennis players'' performance. For this purpose، 16table tennis players were tested in 4 conditions with different attentionalinstructions and pressure conditions. The test included a table tennis task: the ballcolor signified the target where the ball had to be hit and the player had to performtopspin drive against backspin balls that were thrown by the machine. Attentionalinstructions were different in task-irrelevant and task-relevant cues. Pressureconditions were manipulated through a competitive ranking and money prize. Participants'' performances were assessed through accuracy in hitting definitetargets and verbal reaction time to attentional instructions. Data were analyzed bytwo-factorial ANOVA with repeated measures for each variable. The resultsshowed no significant difference in performance in different phases of the test (P>0. 5). The only significant difference was related to the main effect of pressureon verbal reaction time، that is to say verbal reaction time increased under higherpressure (P<0. 5). In total، the results indicated that under pressure، regardless ofthe type of attentional instruction، performance efficiency decreased.