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The present study examined the effects of an audience on measures of golf putting accuracy and EEG power and laterality in novice golfers. Twenty novice participants were asked to make 20 putts alone and 20 putts in front of an audience of about 5 strangers, with order counterbalanced across participants while wearing a portable EEG device. The putting accuracy of each condition, absolute power, and laterality scores were examined as a function of audience in two EEG epochs that were 2 and 1 second, respectively, before contact with the golf ball. Accuracy decreased and Beta 1 and Beta 2 power measures increased when participants were in front of an audience. Additionally, a significant increase in left hemisphere (LH) beta 1 activity, resulting in decreased symmetry, was observed in the audience-present condition. The results are contrary to those of Crews and Landers (1993) and others who have shown LH alpha increase as the athlete prepares their motor act, suggesting a difference between expert and novice golfers in their preparation for putting. Additionally, the interaction in the Beta band may indicate a sensitive marker for the effects of social inhibition on performance.
Throughout the last twenty-five years studies have examined changes in electroencephalogram (EEG) laterality as elite athletes have prepared to execute a motor act, such as shooting a bow and arrow or rifle, or performing a golf putt (Bird, 1987; Hatfield, Landers, & Ray, 1984; Hillman, Apparies, Janelle, Hatfield, 2000; see Hatfield, Haufler, Hung, & Spalding, 2004 for a review). However, relatively few studies have examined the EEG correlates of performance for novice athletes during a similar preparatory period. This is largely due to the emphasis placed on research designed to investigate "peak" or "ideal" performance, with its direct application to providing a competitive edge in sports (Williams & Krane, 1998).
In addition, while social facilitation/inhibition is one of the oldest and most researched areas in sport psychology, there are virtually no studies that examine how the presence of an audience affects EEG lateralization patterns within the sports literature (see Saarela, 2000; and see Davidson, Marshall, Tomarken, & Henriques, 2000 for EEG and public speaking). This is particularly surprising given the aforementioned emphasis on researching issues relevant to competitive sport, which has as a hallmark...