Within an achievement motivation theoretical framework, there are factors thought to most heavily influence performance and task difficulty selection. More specifically, motivational climates, feedback, confidence, and anxiety have all been identified as important factors influencing outcomes within performance settings. Much of the literature in the area of achievement motivation has focused on on the effects of mastery- and ego-oriented feedback on performance within academic settings and has received limited attention in the sport psychology literature within an athletic setting. Given the demonstrated effects of mastery- and ego-oriented feedback on performance, the importance of performance within the athletic context, and the scant literature examining the effects of feedback on athletic performance, the influence of feedback on sport performance needed to be empirically examined. The primary aim of this study was to provide a clearer understanding of the relationship of factors influencing athletic performance, with the ultimate goal of moving research toward a greater understanding of how optimal performance is achieved. As a result, this research may prove applicable to researchers, coaches, and athletes working toward optimal performance. In this study, I examined how mastery- and ego-oriented feedback influenced youth athletes' soccer performance, task difficulty selection, confidence, and anxiety. Youth soccer athletes (n = 71) participated in a soccer kicking task consisting of two trials. Between subjects ANCOVA analyses revealed athletes receiving mastery-oriented feedback performed significantly better on the soccer kicking task than athletes receiving ego-oriented feedback. No differences were discovered on task difficulty selection, confidence, or anxiety. Providing athletes mastery-oriented feedback before or after skill execution could be helpful in the development of athletic skill development and performance. Limitations of the present study and questions to examine in future research are also discussed.

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This thesis investigated the effect of visuomotor and working memory 1) task difficulty and 2) multitasking on dynamic functional connectivity in the brain. Studies have only recently begun to investigate functional connectivity within the scope of concurrent dual task or varying task difficulty conditions (Cocchi, Zalesky, et al. 2011; Rietschel et al. 2012). A series of EEG recordings were conducted during execution of visuomotor or working memory tasks within a novel paradigm using BCI2VR custom MATLAB toolbox. Functional connectivity was correlated with task-related coherence (TRCoh) analysis between two task conditions involving either variation in task difficulty or concurrent execution during multitasking within the delta (0 – 4 Hz), theta (4 – 8 Hz), alpha (8 – 12 Hz), beta1 (12-16 Hz), beta2 (16 – 20 Hz) and beta3 (20 – 24 Hz) frequency bands. An increase in coherence was observed with increased cognitive load, during both increased task difficulty and multitasking, in all frequency bands except beta1 and beta2. This may suggest that the psychomotor efficiency hypothesis also applies to multitasking as well as task difficulty. Decreases in beta coherence were observed with increased performance error, indicating that interregional beta coherence may not follow the PEH trend. The increased coherence between brain regions in the alpha, delta and theta bands contributes to the growing volume of research on quantifying cognitive workload and may serve as a future basis on increasing multitasking efficiency during high stress environments. Further research recording multitasking effects on individuals over regular intervals during an extended period of time (months or years) will be required to better understand changes in functional connectivity within the brain.

There are several approaches to brand image measurement. The main aim of this thesis is to understand which of the two most common approaches, namely the personification and the direct approach, should be preferred. The personification approach adopts the brand = person metaphor (if the brand came to life as a person would s/he be trustworthy?), while the direct approach simply asks 'Do you think this brand is trustworthy?'. The main method used is to compare their explanations of typical outcomes (dependent variables) in a series of online surveys. Two different dimensions of brand image (warmth and competence) are considered for different types of brand (product, employer and corporate). The thesis uses the 'journal ready format' where a series of related papers form the main part of the work. This thesis adopts a quantitative approach and presents the results from four empirical studies. To compare the two approaches to brand image measurement, Study I (Journal Article I) compared two types of brands (product and corporate) and the two types of brand image measurement approach. In Study II and Study III (Journal Article II), the context was shifted to employer branding, when comparing the two approaches. The analysis of the first and the second studies showed no consistent pattern and no systematic advantage for the personified approach. Indeed the two types of measure appeared quite similar in many respects. When trying to explain the results, task difficulty emerged as a possible explanation and was investigated via Study III and Study IV (Journal Article III). Task difficulty was not lower for the personified approach as expected. While there is a rich body of brand image literature using either personification or direct measurement approaches, there is no research comparing them in the same context/setting to understand any differences between these approaches. Two main conclusions emerged from this research to contribute to the market research literature. This research shows that there is no systematic statistical benefit from adopting the personification approach. Task difficulty varied with age and education, but not as expected from the literature, a finding that might be considered in all survey research, not just that involving brand image.

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This thesis examined the intra-individual relationship between state affect and task performance, with an emphasis on a) the moderating effects of trait affect and task difficulty; and b) the mediating effects of cognitive and affective regulation. Theory and empirical research from the emotion, motivation, and personality literatures was integrated to develop a multilevel model of states, traits, and situational factors as predictors of task performance. Data from five studies were analysed using single- and multi-level techniques to test the hypothesised model of relationships. The findings are reported within three manuscripts, which comprise the body of this thesis. Manuscript 1 presents validation evidence for the psychometric instruments used to measure the self-regulatory components of the model. Three studies (N = 758) were conducted to examine the nomological network of cognitive and affective regulation. In parallel, two new self-report scales were developed to operationalise these constructs within a repeated measures paradigm. The three studies demonstrated that the new cognitive and affective regulation scales were uniquely associated with other self-regulatory, personality, affective and achievement variables at the intra-individual and inter-individual levels. Study 1 provided evidence for the unidimensionality, internal consistency, and construct validity of each scale. Study 2 replicated and extended construct validity evidence using a different sample and performance domain. Study 3 established the utility of each scale for assessing intra-individual variability in cognitive and affective regulation, and their ability to predict performance within individuals. In sum, the three studies suggested that the new measures of cognitive and affective regulation were psychometrically adequate for use in model testing. Manuscripts 2 and 3 tested the intra-individual relationship between state affect and task performance, with a focus on the moderating effects of trait affect and task difficulty (Manuscript 2), and the mediating effects of cognitive and affective regulation (Manuscript 3). Each manuscript analysed different portions of data from two laboratory experiments (N = 182). In each experiment, participants performed multiple trials of an air-traffic control simulation that varied in task difficulty at the inter-individual (Study 4) or intra-individual (Study 5) level. Trait positive and negative affect were measured before the task, whereas state positive and negative affect, cognitive and affective regulation, and task performance were measured at repeated intervals over practice. In Manuscript 2, hierarchical linear modelling demonstrated that state positive affect was positively related, whereas state negative affect was negatively related, to task performance at the intra-individual level of analysis. As hypothesised, the strength of these affect-performance relationships was significantly moderated by trait affect and task difficulty. In both studies, the positive intra-individual relationship between state positive affect and performance was stronger for individuals with high (versus low) trait positive affect, particularly when task difficulty was high (versus low). In contrast, the negative intra-individual relationship between state negative affect and performance only emerged for individuals with low (versus high) trait negative affect, regardless of the level of task difficulty. In Study 4, the intra-individual relationship between state negative affect and task performance was also more pronounced when task difficulty was high (versus low). In Manuscript 3, multilevel multiple-mediation modelling demonstrated that cognitive regulation significantly mediated the intra-individual relationship between state positive affect and performance in both studies, alongside the intra-individual relationship between state negative affect and performance in Study 4. Unexpectedly, affective regulation failed to mediate either of these affect-performance relationships. However, state positive affect was positively related to affective regulation in both studies, whereas state negative affect was positively related to affective regulation in Study 5. Overall, this thesis makes theoretical, empirical and methodological contributions to understanding how affect relates to performance at the intra-individual level of analysis; and for whom, when, and why these relationships emerge. Within a multilevel framework, it integrates interdisciplinary perspectives to identify the affective determinants of performance from two levels of analysis. The results demonstrate that state positive and negative affect can differentially predict intra-individual variability in task performance, and that these effects may a) depend on trait affect and task difficulty; and b) be partially explained by cognitive regulation. These findings emphasise the importance of adopting a multilevel, repeated measures paradigm to examine how affective states, traits, and task demands interactively predict task performance. There is scope for extending this research further by investigating a broader range of moderating and mediating constructs. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

This thesis examined the intra-individual relationship between state affect and task performance, with an emphasis on a) the moderating effects of trait affect and task difficulty; and b) the mediating effects of cognitive and affective regulation. Theory and empirical research from the emotion, motivation, and personality literatures was integrated to develop a multilevel model of states, traits, and situational factors as predictors of task performance. Data from five studies were analysed using single- and multi-level techniques to test the hypothesised model of relationships. The findings are reported within three manuscripts, which comprise the body of this thesis. Manuscript 1 presents validation evidence for the psychometric instruments used to measure the self-regulatory components of the model. Three studies (N = 758) were conducted to examine the nomological network of cognitive and affective regulation. In parallel, two new self-report scales were developed to operationalise these constructs within a repeated measures paradigm. The three studies demonstrated that the new cognitive and affective regulation scales were uniquely associated with other self-regulatory, personality, affective and achievement variables at the intra-individual and inter-individual levels. Study 1 provided evidence for the unidimensionality, internal consistency, and construct validity of each scale. Study 2 replicated and extended construct validity evidence using a different sample and performance domain. Study 3 established the utility of each scale for assessing intra-individual variability in cognitive and affective regulation, and their ability to predict performance within individuals. In sum, the three studies suggested that the new measures of cognitive and affective regulation were psychometrically adequate for use in model testing. Manuscripts 2 and 3 tested the intra-individual relationship between state affect and task performance, with a focus on the moderating effects of trait affect and task difficulty (Manuscript 2), and the mediating effects of cognitive and affective regulation (Manuscript 3). Each manuscript analysed different portions of data from two laboratory experiments (N = 182). In each experiment, participants performed multiple trials of an air-traffic control simulation that varied in task difficulty at the inter-individual (Study 4) or intra-individual (Study 5) level. Trait positive and negative affect were measured before the task, whereas state positive and negative affect, cognitive and affective regulation, and task performance were measured at repeated intervals over practice. In Manuscript 2, hierarchical linear modelling demonstrated that state positive affect was positively related, whereas state negative affect was negatively related, to task performance at the intra-individual level of analysis. As hypothesised, the strength of these affect-performance relationships was significantly moderated by trait affect and task difficulty. In both studies, the positive intra-individual relationship between state positive affect and performance was stronger for individuals with high (versus low) trait positive affect, particularly when task difficulty was high (versus low). In contrast, the negative intra-individual relationship between state negative affect and performance only emerged for individuals with low (versus high) trait negative affect, regardless of the level of task difficulty. In Study 4, the intra-individual relationship between state negative affect and task performance was also more pronounced when task difficulty was high (versus low). In Manuscript 3, multilevel multiple-mediation modelling demonstrated that cognitive regulation significantly mediated the intra-individual relationship between state positive affect and performance in both studies, alongside the intra-individual relationship between state negative affect and performance in Study 4. Unexpectedly, affective regulation failed to mediate either of these affect-performance relationships. However, state positive affect was positively related to affective regulation in both studies, whereas state negative affect was positively related to affective regulation in Study 5. Overall, this thesis makes theoretical, empirical and methodological contributions to understanding how affect relates to performance at the intra-individual level of analysis; and for whom, when, and why these relationships emerge. Within a multilevel framework, it integrates interdisciplinary perspectives to identify the affective determinants of performance from two levels of analysis. The results demonstrate that state positive and negative affect can differentially predict intra-individual variability in task performance, and that these effects may a) depend on trait affect and task difficulty; and b) be partially explained by cognitive regulation. These findings emphasise the importance of adopting a multilevel, repeated measures paradigm to examine how affective states, traits, and task demands interactively predict task performance. There is scope for extending this research further by investigating a broader range of moderating and mediating constructs. Practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.