Mental Fatigue, Attentional Focus, and Countermovement Jump Performance

Summary

This study examines whether short-term mental fatigue and different jump instructions affect how high people can jump. Thirty-two physically active university students will complete two testing sessions in random order: one after a 30-minute mentally tiring computer task and one after a 30-minute relaxing video. In both sessions, participants will perform vertical jumps while receiving one of three types of instructions: no special instruction, focusing on their own body movements, or focusing on pushing the ground away. The study will compare jump height across these conditions to better understand how mental tiredness and coaching cues affect jumping performance, which may help coaches and athletes design better training and competition preparation.

Conditions

• Mental Fatigue
• Athletic Performance

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mental-Fatigue Protocol (Stroop Task)

A 30-minute computerized color-word Stroop interference task delivered as one uninterrupted block on a custom program, in which participants identify the font color of color-word stimuli while ignoring word meaning, inducing acute mental fatigue prior to countermovement jump testing.

BEHAVIORAL

Control Protocol (Nature Video)

Approximately 30 minutes of passive viewing of a narration-free nature video under standardized lighting, seating, and sound conditions, serving as the non-fatiguing control condition matched in duration to the mental-fatigue protocol.

BEHAVIORAL

No Prescribed Focus Instruction

A verbal cue delivered before each jump attempt with no directional attentional instruction: "When you are ready, jump as high as possible."

BEHAVIORAL

Internal Focus Instruction

A verbal cue delivered before each jump attempt directing attention to the participant's own body movements: "When you are ready, focus on extending your knees and hips as quickly and explosively as possible while jumping as high as possible."

BEHAVIORAL

External Focus Instruction

A verbal cue delivered before each jump attempt directing attention to the effect of movement on the environment: "When you are ready, focus on pushing the ground away from you as quickly and explosively as possible while jumping as high as possible."

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Inonu University

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-09-01

Primary Completion

2026-10-01

Completion

2026-11-01

Countries

• Turkey (Türkiye)

Study Locations