Using Technology for Self-regulation in Sport

Self-regulation has been defined as the modulation of thoughts, affects and behaviours, involving deliberate as well as automated mechanisms. It is related to emotion regulation and planning as well as to the control of one’s own behaviour. Specifically, emotion regulation is an individual-specific process that can positively influence task execution, therefore enabling athletes to optimise their sport performance. In this chapter we present the state of the art of technology-based self-regulation interventions in sport performance. Using technology implies the adoption of a holistic and psychophysiological perspective in the study of body–mind interaction processes and their interplay with the environment. This dynamic perspective is in turn grounded on the “enactive approach”, which considers that the human mind is embodied in the organism and embedded in the world. One of the described technologies is virtual reality, which enables athletes to learn how to regulate emotions and optimise athletic performance by “enriching” their physical environment. For a more comprehensive holistic overview, we then present the more traditional and well-established biofeedback and neurofeedback training interventions. We also consider brain stimulation and a new neuromodulation tool, transcutaneous vagal-nerve stimulation (tVNS), which directly influences cognitive processes and modulates flow experience. The chapter concludes with a discussion about the ethical implications of the described technologies.