TY - JOUR
T1 - The effect of manipulating visual input on perceptions of speed and effort: an online study with implications for exercise interventions
AU - Runswick, Oliver
AU - Peng, Chenjiahao
AU - Bruce, Richard
PY - 2021/11/19
Y1 - 2021/11/19
N2 - Episodes of breathlessness (‘dyspnoea’) are one of the causes of exercise intolerance. The degree of exertional dyspnoea is partly dependent on the underlying pathophysiology, but current opinion considers that it arises from the integration of sensory inputs and prior expectations. There is potential for new therapeutic measures if perceptions can be manipulated using visual input. This study aimed to investigate whether perception of speed and effort can be manipulated using uphill slopes on screen-based stimuli across two experiments. The sample size was calculated using a moderate effect size (f =0.25), alpha of 0.05, power of 0.95, and moderate correlation among repeated measures (0.3), resulting in a required sample size of 60 participants for each experiment. With institutional ethical approval, participants were recruited via an online recruitment tool (Prolific) and were linked to the online experiment on Gorilla. The task consisted of stimuli developed in Unity 3D where a cart travelled along a straight track with three check points. In experiment one participants viewed trials in three conditions, a flat track, and two where the cart travelled flat first and then uphill on different inclines. All conditions showed a track of the same length and the cart travelling at the same speed (despite going uphill). In experiment two 60 different participants viewed the uphill slopes from experiment one following a new condition where the cart did slow down. Participants were required to press the space bar at the exact moment they passed a check point (to create a temporal error score), completed NASATLX to investigate effort perceptions, and ranked the order of the cart speed across conditions. In experiment one there was no effect of condition on temporal error or NASATLX scores, but uphill slopes were ranked as slower (χ2 = 28.57; p < 0.05). In experiment two there was an effect of condition on error score (p < 0.05; ηp2 = 0.98), posthoc analysis revealed differences between all conditions (p < 0.05). The first condition viewed after the cart slowing was ranked significantly faster than the third condition despite displaying the same speed (χ2 = 17.40; p < 0.05). Results show that it was possible to influence perceptions by manipulating slope and expectations of speed using a simple 2D task. These preliminary findings have implications for developing therapeutic interventions to minimise dyspnoea and exercise intolerance and suggest investigations utilising immersive stimuli with exercise protocols are warranted.
AB - Episodes of breathlessness (‘dyspnoea’) are one of the causes of exercise intolerance. The degree of exertional dyspnoea is partly dependent on the underlying pathophysiology, but current opinion considers that it arises from the integration of sensory inputs and prior expectations. There is potential for new therapeutic measures if perceptions can be manipulated using visual input. This study aimed to investigate whether perception of speed and effort can be manipulated using uphill slopes on screen-based stimuli across two experiments. The sample size was calculated using a moderate effect size (f =0.25), alpha of 0.05, power of 0.95, and moderate correlation among repeated measures (0.3), resulting in a required sample size of 60 participants for each experiment. With institutional ethical approval, participants were recruited via an online recruitment tool (Prolific) and were linked to the online experiment on Gorilla. The task consisted of stimuli developed in Unity 3D where a cart travelled along a straight track with three check points. In experiment one participants viewed trials in three conditions, a flat track, and two where the cart travelled flat first and then uphill on different inclines. All conditions showed a track of the same length and the cart travelling at the same speed (despite going uphill). In experiment two 60 different participants viewed the uphill slopes from experiment one following a new condition where the cart did slow down. Participants were required to press the space bar at the exact moment they passed a check point (to create a temporal error score), completed NASATLX to investigate effort perceptions, and ranked the order of the cart speed across conditions. In experiment one there was no effect of condition on temporal error or NASATLX scores, but uphill slopes were ranked as slower (χ2 = 28.57; p < 0.05). In experiment two there was an effect of condition on error score (p < 0.05; ηp2 = 0.98), posthoc analysis revealed differences between all conditions (p < 0.05). The first condition viewed after the cart slowing was ranked significantly faster than the third condition despite displaying the same speed (χ2 = 17.40; p < 0.05). Results show that it was possible to influence perceptions by manipulating slope and expectations of speed using a simple 2D task. These preliminary findings have implications for developing therapeutic interventions to minimise dyspnoea and exercise intolerance and suggest investigations utilising immersive stimuli with exercise protocols are warranted.
U2 - 10.1080/02640414.2021.1978748
DO - 10.1080/02640414.2021.1978748
M3 - Meeting Abstract
SN - 0264-0414
VL - 39
JO - Journal of Sports Sciences
JF - Journal of Sports Sciences
ER -