UROP Project
The Effects of Acute Pain on Quiet Eye During a Dart Throwing Task
psychophysiology, eye-tracking, heart rate variability, performance, acute stress
Research Mentor: Daniel Biancamano, He/Him
Department, College, Affiliation: Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: ddb25a@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Department, College, Affiliation: Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Education, Health, and Human Sciences
Contact Email: ddb25a@fsu.edu
Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from mentor):
Research Assistant Supervisor Email:
Faculty Collaborators:
Faculty Collaborators Email:
Looking for Research Assistants: Yes
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors, slight preference for Psychology, Exercise Physiology, and Behavioral Neuroscience
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 6-10, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
Number of Research Assistants: 2
Relevant Majors: Open to all majors, slight preference for Psychology, Exercise Physiology, and Behavioral Neuroscience
Project Location: On FSU Main Campus
Research Assistant Transportation Required: Remote or In-person: In-person
Approximate Weekly Hours: 6-10, During business hours
Roundtable Times and Zoom Link:
- Day: Monday, August 31
Start Time: 1:00
End Time: 3:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/my/danielbiancamano - Day: Tuesday, September 1
Start Time: 3:00
End Time: 5:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/my/danielbiancamano - Day: Thursday, September 3
Start Time: 12:00
End Time: 2:00
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/my/danielbiancamano
Project Description
Performing through pain is common at all levels of performance. Despite this prevalence, little research has examined how acute physiological stressors like pain affect performance-relevant perceptual-cognitive processes. Quiet eye (QE), the final fixation before the execution of a movement, is an established index of attentional control that reliably shortens under psychosocial stress, anxiety, and physical exertion. QE is proposed to shield the motor plan from distraction, acting as a coping mechanism against task-irrelevant information. Additionally, high-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), which reflects cardiac parasympathetic activity, has been associated with cognitive performance, pain tolerance, and resilience to stress.This study will offer one of the first tests of quiet eye's sensitivity to pain during performance while also providing insight into how factors like HF-HRV and pain tolerance play a role in the relationship between acute pain and performance. In this study, participants will complete a dart-throwing task while simultaneously completing a cold pressor test where they submerge their non-dominant hand in cold water to induce a physiological stress response and acute pain. Participants will also complete a control condition in which they submerge their hand in room temperature water. Throughout both conditions, participants' eye movements will be tracked using eye-tracking glasses to measure quiet eye duration and HRV will be recorded both at rest and during each condition. A number of self-reported surveys assessing pain intensity, mental effort, and affect will also be collected before and during each condition. Through these methods, this study will gain insight into how perceptual-cognitive processes are influenced by acute pain during performance and how factors like HF-HRV and acute pain may affect this relationship.
Research Tasks: Data collection: heart rate variability (Polar H10), cold pressor test, eye-tracking (Tobii Pro Glasses 3), questionnaires
Data analysis: HRV in Kubios software, eye tracking, dart accuracy (in-task video collection, manual scoring), statistical analysis (SPSS)
Skills that research assistant(s) may need: Required:
- Able to follow a protocol consistently and accurately
- Comfortable working with participants in a lab setting
- Data organization skills (e.g. excel, file management, etc.)
- Reliable and consistent
- Able to communicate clearly with researchers and participants
Recommended:
- Experience or coursework in research methods
- Familiarity with or interest in eye-tracking measures and methods (quiet eye, fixation duration/location, eye-tracking glasses)
- Familiarity with or interest in cardiovascular measures and methods (ECG, HRV, etc.)
Mentoring Philosophy
My mentorship philosophy is that a mentor-mentee relationship is mutually beneficial and allows both parties to achieve their goals with each other’s help. As someone who has been shaped by fantastic mentors, I understand that having a safe learning environment and trustworthy mentor to rely on as you develop as a student, researcher, and person can be extremely beneficial. I believe that the experiences and knowledge that I’ve gained through extensive experience in psychophysiology labs as well as coursework in psychology, exercise science, and sociology will allow for a mentee to obtain a thorough understanding of concepts and methodologies that are integral to multiple fields of research. Similarly, a mentee’s experiences, knowledge, and perspective are valuable to me as I strive to become a better researcher and mentor. My goal as a mentor is not only to help a mentee succeed, but also to help them enjoy their work and inspire them to get the best out of themselves in the process.An aspect of mentorship that is often overlooked is accessibility. As a mentor, I will be available to mentees during regularly scheduled meetings as well as over email/teams for any questions they may have and to provide feedback on their work. At the beginning of our time working together, we will establish responsibilities as well as short- and long-term personal goals that we will circle back to regularly to ensure that we are both making progress and helping each other as best as possible.