The Effects of Skin Conductance Biofeedback on Elite Shooters’ Performance

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of providing skin conductance (SC) biofeedback on the performance of elite rifle shooters. Volunteer participants (n=10) were divided into experimental and control groups (n=5, in each group). After pretest, the experimental group, was educated about SC biofeedback, then participated in five shooting practice sessions while receiving skin conductance feedback. The control group, performed five sessions of their regular exercise. Both groups then took part in the posttest and a week later in the transfer test. The results of one-way ANOVA showed that the performance of the experimental group in the posttest and in the transfer test significantly increased compared to the pretest. Also, the results showed that the ability to adjust the arousal level of the experimental group at the end of the intervention, significantly improved. It seems that shooting practice along with receiving SC feedback has led to the self-regulation of shooters in providing an appropriate response to arousal and thus improving performance. In summary, the results of this study showed that athletic performance is improved by stimulating arousal levels and providing biofeedback.