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Brimmell, Jack, Lee, Naomi Anne 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0973-6394 and Spokes, Matthew
(2026)
The Influence of Sport Expertise on Response and Cognitive Inhibition.
Perceptual and Motor Skills.
pp. 1-22.
ISSN 0031-5125 Online ISSN: 1558-688X
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Abstract
Research suggests that sporting experts show better response inhibition. Less is known about how expert athletes use cognitive inhibition. Experts may cognitively inhibit, or ‘forget’, previous errors via an expertise-induced-amnesia which suggests that experts have impoverished episodic memory due to the reduced task attention when performing well-rehearsed actions. This amnesia may be relevant at low-pressure, but most interestingly may be more of a factor at high-pressure. The aim of the present study was to examine whether sporting expertise predicted response inhibition (effectiveness and efficiency) and cognitive inhibition (error awareness) at low-pressure and high-pressure, respectively. Forty-five participants from various sports (static, interceptive or strategic) completed Swann et al.’s (2015) measure of sporting expertise and a modified Stop Signal Task under two pressure conditions (manipulated via divergent task instruction). Regression results suggested that expertise only significantly predicted response inhibition effectiveness and efficiency at high-pressure. Interestingly, error awareness at high- and low-pressure were independent of sporting expertise. Finally, change scores across pressure conditions were small and near zero for all participants, not just experts, suggesting that all individuals performed similarly across low- and high-pressure conditions. Sporting expertise appears to facilitate response inhibition at high-pressure but the exact methods in which experts ‘forget’ errors and maintain performance remains unknown.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | PubMed: 41555695 |
| Uncontrolled Discrete Keywords: | athletic expertise, cognitive inhibition, expertise-induced-amnesia, perceptual-cognition, response inhibition |
| Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology |
| Divisions: | College of Business, Psychology and Sport > School of Psychology |
| Related URLs: | |
| Copyright Info: | © The Author(s) 2026., This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage) |
| Depositing User: | Naomi Anne Lee |
| Date Deposited: | 26 Jan 2026 14:43 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Jan 2026 12:07 |
| URI: | https://eprints.worc.ac.uk/id/eprint/15886 |
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