The effects of negative instructions on performance of a Stroop rifle shooting task: An examination of ironic errors in elite biathletes

Suppressing unwanted thoughts is generally characterized by the opposite outcomes of what is desired in motor task performance, resulting in ironic errors. Purpose: This study aimed to examine the impact of negative cues on elite biathletes' ironic performance and reaction time (RT) in Stroop target shooting task within the context of Wegner's ironic process theory (IPT). Method: Elite biathletes (n = 10) participated in the study. The study involved a quasi-experimental within-subject factor design. Particularly a Bayesian samples t-test was conducted to determine participants target hit rates and RTs towards target hits at the incongruent stimuli. The biathletes completed a Stroop target shooting task under no-frequency negative cue (NFN) and high-frequency negative cue (HFN) conditions. Results: The findings showed biathletes did not exhibit ironic shooting errors or delay towards target hits across conditions. The Bayes factor robustness test in Bayesian paired samples t-test analysis yields moderate and anecdotal evidence in support of the null model (BF01) for hit rates and RTs towards target hits, respectively compared to the alternative model (BF10). Conclusion: Inducing negative instructions alone had not significant effects on Stroop target shooting performance. This implies that negative cues like 'do not shoot blue,' whether they are repeatedly primed or not cannot undermine shooting performance in an ironic manner in the sample of elite biathletes.