Effects of precompetition state anxiety interventions on performance time and accuracy among amateur soccer players: Revisiting the matching hypothesis

Abstract In this study, we tested the matching hypothesis, which contends that administration of a cognitive or somatic anxiety intervention should be matched to a participant's dominant anxiety response. Sixty‐one male soccer players (mean age 31.6 years, s =6.3) were assigned to one of four groups based on their responses to the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory‐2, which was modified to include a directional scale. Interventions were randomly administered in a counterbalanced order 10 min before each performance trial on a soccer skill test. The dominantly cognitive anxious group ( n =17), the dominantly somatic anxious group ( n =17), and the non‐anxious control intervention group ( n =14) completed a baseline performance trial. The second and third trials were completed with random administration of brief cognitive and somatic interventions. The non‐anxious control group ( n =13) completed three trials with no intervention. A mixed‐model, Group×Treatment multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant ( P <0.05) changes in cognitive anxiety intensity and somatic anxiety intensity, but not in state anxiety direction ( P >0.05), or performance time or accuracy ( P >0.05). The present findings do not provide support for the matching hypothesis for state anxiety intensity and direction, or for performance.