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 PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH

VOLUME 174

MIND AND MOTION: THE BIDIRECTIONAL

LINK BETWEEN THOUGHT AND ACTION

EDITED BY

MARKUS RAAB
Institute of Psychology, German Sport Universtiy Cologne, Cologne, Germany

JOSEPH G. JOHNSON
Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA

HAUKE R. HEEKEREN
Neurocognition of Decision Making Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, Germany

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09 10 11 12 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
 List of Contributors

O.H. Azar, Department of Business Administration, Guildford Glazer School of Business and
Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
M. Bar-Eli, Department of Business Administration, Guildford Glazer School of Business and
Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
S.L. Beilock, Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
R. Brand, Department of Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
L. Calmeiro, School of Social and Health Sciences, University of Abertay, Dundee, United Kingdom
H. Colonius, Department of Psychology, Oldenburg University, Oldenburg, Germany
J.A. Conlin, Center for Adaptive Behavior and Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Human Develop-
ment, Berlin, Germany
L. Damisch, Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
R.F. de Oliveira, Institute of Psychology, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany
D.A. DeCaro, Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
A. Diederich, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany
R.C. Eklund, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University,
Tallahassee, FL, USA
N. Green, Neurocognition of Decision Making Group, Max Planck Institute for Human Development,
Berlin, Germany
B.D. Hatfield, Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
H.R. Heekeren, Neurocognition of Decision Making Group, Max Planck Institute for Human
Development, Berlin, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences,
Leipzig, Germany
T. Heinen, Institute of Psychology, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany
E.-J. Hossner, Department of Sport Science, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
J.G. Johnson, Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA
W.M. Land, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University,
Tallahassee, FL, USA
Y. Lurie, Department of Management, Guildford Glazer School of Business and Management,
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel
J. Munzert, Institute for Sports Science, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
T. Mussweiler, Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
A. Nieuwenhuys, Research Institute MOVE, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, VU University
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
D. O’Hare, Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
R.R.D. Oudejans, Research Institute MOVE, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, VU University
Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
H. Plessner, Institute of Psychology 1, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
M. Raab, Institute of Psychology, German Sport University Cologne, Cologne, Germany
S. Razon, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University,
Tallahassee, FL, USA

v
vi

H. Ritter, Neuroinformatics Group and Center of Excellence ‘‘Cognitive Interaction Technology’’

(CITEC) and Research Institute for Cognition and Robotics (CoR-Lab), Bielefeld University,
Bielefeld, Germany
T. Schack, Neurocognition and Action Research Group and Center of Excellence ‘‘Cognitive Interaction
Technology’’ (CITEC) and Research Institute for Cognition and Robotics (CoR-Lab), Bielefeld
University, Bielefeld, Germany
G. Schweizer, Department of Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
G. Tenenbaum, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning Systems, Florida State University,
Tallahassee, FL, USA
J. Trommershäuser, Department of Psychology, Giessen University, Giessen, Germany
J.N. Vickers, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
K.G. Volz, Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research, Cologne, Germany
D.Y. von Cramon, Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research, Cologne, Germany; Max Planck
Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
M. Weigelt, Neurocognition and Action Research Group and Center of Excellence ‘‘Cognitive
Interaction Technology’’ (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
N. Wenderoth, Motor Control Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Kinesiology, KU Leuven, Belgium
A.M. Williams, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University,
Liverpool, United Kingdom
U. Wolfensteller, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany;
Section of Systems Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty Carl
Gustav Carus, Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany
K. Zentgraf, Institute for Sports Science, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
 Preface

This volume focuses on the topic of mind and motion, the bidirectional link between thought and action, a
study that by nature is multidisciplinary. Funded by the Center for Interdisciplinary Research (ZiF) at
Bielefeld University and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, in May 2008 a workshop in Bielefeld,
Germany brought together an international group of scholars from a variety of disciplines such as
movement science, neuroscience, neuroinformatics, psychology, robotics, and sport science.
The idea behind bringing this group together is that the bidirectional link between thought and action is
a topic of study that by nature is multidisciplinary. One coherent interest of these experts is achieving a
joint understanding of decision-making that has heretofore been advanced mainly in isolation within the
distinct research fields. Despite the contributions from such diverse viewpoints, the locus of human
decision making has resided almost exclusively in the cognitive realm of the mind. Our work expands this
notion to include the important dimension of action (motion), thereby expanding, refining, and generally
improving our knowledge of decision making. Rather than viewing observable actions as merely the
necessary extension of latent cognitive processes, we envision a system that appreciates the close,
bidirectional interaction of mind and motion in forming a coherent system. The focus on the bidirectional
link adds to the topic of embodied cognition recently presented in volume 164 of Progress in
Brain Research ‘‘From action to cognition’’ (Von Hofsten and Rossander, 2007) and the Attention
and Performance volume XXII on the nature of ‘‘Sensorimotor foundations of higher cognition’’
(Haggard et al., 2008).
The goals of the symposium held in May 2008 were to (a) explore the range of implications this view
has on existing research, (b) develop novel, testable hypotheses for future research, and (c) adapt existing
research methods in both movement science and decision research to provide the best tools for empirical
study.
The workshop addressed questions that are central for the understanding of the bidirectional link
between thought and action: how do we anticipate the consequences of choices and how is the brain able
to represent these options and the potential consequences? How are different options evaluated and how
is a preferred option implemented? These questions were discussed in three interdisciplinary groups of
experts providing a unique environment in which seeking answers to these questions also generated
stimulating input for further research.
We hope that this book will increase the interaction among the research fields represented and start a
dialogue that we are confident will be enduring and productive to a broad audience.
This volume is structured into three sections corresponding to the three guiding questions. In each
section the associated question will be answered via individual chapters as well as an interdisciplinary
group report of all authors led by a group reporter. This volume provides an extensive body of knowledge
and an attempt to go beyond individual chapters by integrating group reports as a runway into the future.

Markus Raab
Joseph G. Johnson
Hauke R. Heekeren

vii
 Acknowledgment

The ZiF-conference ‘‘Mind and motion: the bidirectional link between thought and action’’ was sponsored
by the Center of Interdisciplinary Research, Bielefeld, Germany and the Alexander von Humboldt
Foundation (Transcoop 2-Deu/119109).

ix
M. Raab et al. (Eds.)
Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 174
ISSN 0079-6123
Copyright r 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

CHAPTER 1

Grounding cognition in action: expertise,

comprehension, and judgment$

Sian L. Beilock

Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

Abstract: Recent work demonstrating that both the observation and planning of actions share common
neural substrates suggests that merely thinking about action may call upon motor-based neural processes. As a
result, higher-level cognitive processes not directly involved with motor production, such as language com-
prehension or the preference judgments one makes for objects and items in their environment, may be rooted
in the sensorimotor systems. In this chapter we not only explore the links between cognition and action, but
ask how such cognition–action links may differ as a function of one’s experience performing and seeing actions
related to the language one hears or the items one is making judgments about. Together, the work presented
here suggests that a complete understanding of high-level performance not only requires consideration of how
cognition drives action, but vice versa — a bidirectional link between cognition and action.

Keywords: embodied cognition; expertise; judgment; comprehension

Introduction: an embodied perspective many of these textbooks do not even mention the
word motor at all. It is as if the field of cognitive
I teach a class at the University of Chicago psychology has — in some sense — proclaimed
entitled ‘‘Cognitive psychology’’ and because of ‘‘Who needs the body in the study of cognition?’’
this I have the opportunity to examine a majority The above point regarding the absence of
of the cognitive psychology textbooks that are motor-related topics in cognitive psychology is
available for use. Although these text books are not limited to my own observations, but has been
rather variable in terms of the topics they cover, made by prominent psychologists interested in
one consistency jumps out. Out of the 20 or so motor control issues as well (e.g., Rosenbaum,
cognitive psychology textbooks I own, only one of 2005). This lack of motor representation in
them has a chapter devoted to motor learning and cognitive psychology is perhaps not surprising
control. And, it is not just that these books do not given that traditional views of cognitive psychol-
devote an entire chapter to the motor system, ogy characterize the mind as an abstract informa-
tion processor largely divorced from the body and
the environment. However, more recent theories
$
This research was supported by NSF Grant BCS-0601148 of embodied cognition suggest that our ability
to Sian L. Beilock. to represent objects, events, and even abstract
Corresponding author. concepts (e.g., metaphor) is subserved by the
Tel.: +773-834-3713; sensorimotor systems we rely on to navigate
E-mail: [email protected] throughout the world (e.g., Glenberg, 1997;

DOI: 10.1016/S0079-6123(09)01301-6 3
4

Barsalou, 1999; Zwaan, 1999; Wilson, 2002; possibilities associated with the stimuli one
Gallese and Lakoff, 2005). This embodied view- encounters which, in turn, can influence prefer-
point has roots in ecological psychology’s refuta- ences and judgments for objects and events (see
tion of a distinction between perception and Beilock and Holt, 2007; Yang et al., submitted).
action (Gibson, 1979/1986) and finds support Together, our work suggests that cognition is
across multiple levels of psychological inquiry. deeply rooted in action — irrespective of one’s
For example, reading action words associated intention to act — and that experience operating
with the leg and arm (e.g., ‘‘kick,’’ ‘‘pick’’) in particular environments directly affects knowl-
activates brain areas implicated in the movements edge representations, preference judgments, and
of these body parts (Hauk et al., 2004; Tettamanti even memory. Below I describe, in more detail,
et al., 2005). And, Longcamp et al. (2003, 2005) some of the research we have been conducting
have found that presenting single English letters in an attempt to support this experience-driven
to experienced English speakers activated pre- embodied viewpoint. Specifically, I describe work
motor areas involved in writing (i.e., Exner’s area) examining how activities as diverse as language
— even though there is no intention to actually comprehension and likeability judgments for the
write in the perceiver. Moreover, sensibility objects and items individuals encounter may be
judgments of sentences such as ‘‘Can you squeeze driven, at least in part, by the motor system.
a tomato?’’ are facilitated when individuals are
primed with a sentence-associated hand shape (a
clenched hand) relative to an inconsistent hand Language comprehension
shape (a pointed finger; Klatzky et al., 1989).
Thus, rather than our representations of the Sport is unlike most human activities, inspiring
objects and events we hear, see, or read about those who play as well as those who merely watch.
being limited to amodal or propositional code For those who aspire to achieve elite performance
arbitrarily related to the concepts they represent levels, intensive practice is a must. However,
(Pylyshyn, 1986), our representations appear to whether athletic experience carries implications
be grounded in action. In other words, our beyond the playing field (i.e., beyond action per-
knowledge is embodied in the sense that it ception and production) is less well understood.
consists of sensorimotor information about poten- Importantly, this issue has been an increasing topic
tial interactions the objects or events we encoun- of interest as researchers interested in how one
ter may allow (Wilson, 2002). goes about judging the performance of themselves
Despite recent interest in this embodied cogni- versus others (see Chapter 2: On the relativity of
tion viewpoint, less work has focused on how athletic performance: a comparison perspective on
individual differences in visual and/or motor performance judgments in sports) and researchers
experience (e.g., motor skill expertise) shape interested in how high-pressure situations might
embodied knowledge representations. Moreover, impact the realization of the action possibilities
little work has examined how embodied repre- afforded by one’s environment (see Chapter 4:
sentations might affect the explicit choices and Perceiving and moving in sports and other high-
judgments individuals make in situations when pressure contexts) begin to explore the bidirec-
there is no intention to act. Using both behavioral tional link between cognition and action.
and neuroimaging techniques, my colleagues and Across diverse research areas, investigators of
I are currently exploring (a) how motor and visual human performance are trying to understand the
experience in a particular domain changes lan- implications that athletic experience may carry for
guage comprehension in that domain — an performance ‘‘beyond the playing field’’ by build-
activity previously thought to be largely amodal ing on the idea that cognition not only drives
in nature (Holt and Beilock, 2006; Beilock et al., action, but the other way around as well. Our
2008) — and (b) how sensorimotor experience work has been motivated by the assumption that
gives rise to the automatic simulation of action there is a bidirectional link between cognition and
 5

action and we have been especially interested in qualities described in the sentences they hear
looking for connections between an individual’s (Zwaan et al., 2002; Holt and Beilock, 2006), then
action experiences (in terms of both watching responses should be facilitated for pictured
others and performing themselves) and their individuals whose actions match those implied in
ability to perform activities that, at the outset, the sentence relative to pictured individuals
appear to be largely amodal and abstract in whose actions do not match those implied in the
nature — that is, not heavily dependent on sentence. We termed this index of comprehension
specific sensorimotor systems. One activity that the action-match effect.
we have been especially interested in is language All participants, regardless of hockey experi-
comprehension. ence were able to comprehend the everyday
In a recent study, Beilock et al. (2008) showed action scenarios (i.e., they all showed a significant
that sports experience changes the neural basis of action-match effect). This is not surprising given
language comprehension — even when there is no that everyone should have experience viewing
intention to act based on the language one hears. and performing everyday actions. However, par-
As it turns out, people with different motor skill ticipants with more hockey experience (i.e.,
experiences not only rely on different cognitive players and fans) were better hockey language
and neural operations in overt action execution comprehenders (i.e., they showed a larger action-
(Beilock and Carr, 2001), but also in the com- match effect; for confirmatory results see Holt and
prehension of action-related language. To demon- Beilock, 2006). More interestingly, this experi-
strate this, my colleagues and I asked professional ence-driven hockey comprehension effect was
and intercollegiate ice-hockey players (n ¼ 12), fully mediated by increased neural activity in the
ice-hockey fans with no ice-hockey playing left dorsal premotor cortex [Talairach center-of-
experience but a significant amount of ice-hockey gravity ¼ (745,9,41)] that occurred while subjects
watching experience (n ¼ 8), and hockey novices initially listened to the ice-hockey scenarios
with no ice-hockey playing or watching experi- during fMRI. Put another way, effective auditory
ence (n ¼ 9) to passively listen to sentences comprehension of action-based language was
depicting ice-hockey action scenarios (e.g., ‘‘The accounted for by experience-dependent activation
hockey player finished the stride’’) or everyday of the left dorsal premotor cortex, a region
actions scenarios (e.g., ‘‘The individual pushed the thought to support the selection of well-learned
bell’’) during functional neuroimaging (functional action plans and procedures — often in response
magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI). Everyone to learned symbolic associations (Grafton et al.,
then performed a comprehension task outside the 1998; Wise and Murray, 2000; Schluter et al., 2001;
fMRI scanner that gauged their understanding of Toni et al., 2002; Rushworth et al., 2003; O’Shea
the sentences they heard inside the scanner. et al., 2007).
In this comprehension task (see Fig. 1), Interestingly, facilitated comprehension of
participants listened to the sentences describing hockey action sentences was not limited to our
ice-hockey actions and everyday actions that they participants with significant hockey motor experi-
had heard in the scanner. Following each sen- ence (i.e., hockey players): ice-hockey fans also
tence, participants were presented with a picture showed increased comprehension of hockey
of a target individual who was performing an language scenarios. This comprehension effect in
action that either matched or mismatched the fans was accompanied by activation in the left
action implied in the sentence. The participant’s dorsal premotor cortex while listening to the
task was to judge as quickly as possible whether hockey action scenarios that was significantly
the target individual was mentioned in the sen- above baseline. Ice-hockey players showed a
tence (on some trials, pictures of individuals not similar pattern of neural activation whereas ice-
mentioned in the sentence were presented and the hockey novices did not. Moreover, increased
action was not part of the directed decision). If dorsal premotor activation during hockey sen-
individuals comprehend the perceptual and action tence comprehension was seen bilaterally for the
6

Hockey Action Sentence Picture

(A) The hockey player finished the stride. (A)

(B) The hockey player finished the shot. (B)

Everyday Action Sentence Picture

(A) The individual pushed the bell. (A)

(B) The individual pushed the cart. (B)

Fig. 1. Examples of the post-scan comprehension task stimuli. Picture A serves as a ‘‘match’’ for Sentence A and a ‘‘mismatch’’ for
Sentence B. Picture B serves as a ‘‘match’’ for Sentence B and a ‘‘mismatch’’ for Sentence A. Adapted from Beilock et al. (2008).

fans but not players. This bilateral premotor the impact of hockey experience on language
activation may be indicative of more effortful comprehension. The fact that the left (but not
action selection in fans versus players, which right) premotor cortex was the only significant
would be generally consistent with the overall mediator of our experience-language comprehen-
longer response times seen in the fans versus sion relation is in line with the finding that the left
players for hockey sentence comprehension. premotor cortex plays a dominant role in higher-
Nonetheless, it is important to point out that only level action selection, regardless of the side of the
activation in the left dorsal premotor cortex — body involved (Schluter et al., 2001; Haaland
and not bilateral premotor activation — mediated et al., 2004; Grafton and Hamilton, 2007).
 7

The relation between hockey experience and Explicit judgments

hockey sentence comprehension was also fully
mediated by bilateral dorsal primary sensory- The above findings suggest that we represent
motor activity [Talairach center-of-gravity ¼ language, at least in part, via covert sensorimotor
(722,–21,53)] while listening to hockey action simulation of how we might execute a described
sentences. Just as with the left premotor region, behavior and that this representation may be
when activity in these bilateral regions was used fundamentally different depending on one’s
to predict hockey language comprehension along experience viewing and performing the actions
with hockey experience, the relation between described in the language in question. But,
hockey experience and comprehension was do these action-cognition links extend beyond
rendered nonsignificant. In this case, however, understanding? For example, might the covert
only a strong negative relation between bilateral simulation of action carry implications beyond
primary sensory-motor activity and hockey com- comprehension, influencing — for example —
prehension remained. Primary sensory-motor individuals’ explicit judgments about the stimuli
regions are thought to be heavily involved in they encounter. We have explored this idea in
instantiating the specific step-by-step movements terms of both explicit memory judgments and
needed to carry out a novel task (Rizzolatti explicit preferences individuals have for the
and Luppino, 2001; Grafton and Hamilton, objects and events they encounter.
2007). Less hockey experience was associated
with increased activity in bilateral primary sen-
sory-motor regions during hockey language listen- Memory judgments
ing and decreased comprehension. Those without
the ability to associate plans for action with Fluency, or the ease with which an item is
linguistic cues — most likely because such actions processed, is thought to lead individuals to have
are not a dominant part of their motor skill a subjective feeling of remembering that can often
repertoires (novices) — instead show increased serve as a useful heuristic in recognition. How-
activity (vs. more experienced counterparts) in ever, fluency does not always result in accurate
neural areas known to be involved in the memory judgments because it can arise indepen-
instantiation of simple movements. Such activa- dently of whether one has actually seen the item
tion actually hurts comprehension, possibly they are judging before. For example, a word such
because it does not embody the higher- as ‘‘test’’ presented in a semantically predictive
level action plans effective comprehension sentence (e.g., ‘‘the anxious student took a test’’)
relies on. is more likely to be recognized as old (i.e., having
In summary, the data presented above show been seen or studied previously) than when
that sports experience enhances the understand- this same word is presented in a nonpredictive
ing of sports-related language even when there sentence (e.g., ‘‘later in the afternoon he/she took
is no intention to act because of the recruitment a test’’). This is because semantic expectancy
of neural areas normally involved in action increases the conceptual fluency of this word
planning and execution (areas outside the pur- (Whittlesea, 1993). Similarly, manipulating an
view of traditional language processing). Substan- item’s visual clarity alters its perceptual fluency.
tial prior experience viewing or performing The easier an item is to visually process, the more
ice-hockey actions enhances hockey language likely individuals will say that they have seen it
comprehension, likely by enabling individuals to before (Whittlesea et al., 1990).
associate linguistically described action scenarios In a recent series of studies, we (Yang et al.,
with motor plans for execution. This, in turn, gives submitted) asked whether memory errors might
individuals the type of robust and multimodal arise from a source rather different from the
representation that is the hallmark of optimal semantic or visual context of a given stimulus.
language comprehension. Specifically, we examined whether fluency effects
8

might be tied to motor plans that are automati- typing consecutive letters using the same finger is
cally activated in association with the items longer than the interval between typing consecu-
individuals encounter — even in situations where tive letters with different fingers (Viviani and
there is no actual intention to act. Laissard, 1996). This is because typing is a parallel
As mentioned above, recent behavioral and process in which consecutive letters are pro-
neurophysiological work suggest that we repre- grammed simultaneously and a given finger can
sent our surroundings, at least in part, via covert only be in one place at a time. Thus, letter dyads
motor simulation of how we might execute an typed by the same finger should cause more motor
observed behavior or act on the objects around us. interference or be harder to type than dyads typed
We reasoned that if individuals covertly simulate with different fingers because, the latter case can
actions associated with the items they observe, be planned and performed more so in parallel
and if this gives rise to information about ease or than the former (Rumelhart and McClelland,
fluency of action, then this may in turn impact 1982; Rumelhart and Norman, 1982).
memory judgments for these items. In other If dyad recognition memory judgments are
words, fluency might not only arise from the driven by motor fluency, individuals’ propensity
conceptual context in which an item is viewed or to recognize a dyad as old should be higher for
the visual qualities of the item itself, but also from those dyads that would be easier (i.e., different-
the automatic activation of motor plans for action finger dyads) versus harder (i.e., same-finger
associated with the stimuli one is making memory dyads) to type. However, this should only hold
judgments about. for skilled typists who have extensive typing
To test this idea, we turned to the domain of experience and have thus formed consistent
typing. Recent work has shown that an integral mappings between specific letters and the fingers
part of letter processing — at least for experi- used to type them. This is exactly what was found.
enced typists — is the motor simulation of typing Skilled typists made more false recognition errors
the letters themselves. Specifically, in a Stroop- (i.e., indicting they had studied a dyad when
like task, Rieger (2004, 2007) found that typing in fact they had not) for same-finger dyads in
experts’ manual responses were faster when the comparison to different-finger dyads.
finger used to indicate the color of a letter the
typists were presented with was congruent with
the finger typically used to type the letter using Preference judgments
standard touch-typing conventions. Such work
suggests that when typing experts perceive letters, The above findings suggest that explicit memory
they automatically activate motor plans for typing judgments can be influenced by the motor
them. If this motor simulation carries information associations individuals have with the items being
about how easy it would be to produce such judged. But, can we take this a step further? If
letters, then individuals’ propensity to recognize (a) individuals mentally simulate acting on the
letters as previously studied items in a memory objects they perceive in their environment, and
judgment task might be a function of how easy it (b) if this mental simulation of action differs as a
would be to actually type the letters. This would function of skill level, and (c) if people prefer to
be the case despite the fact that the individuals act in ways that create less motor interference
have no intention to type. (i.e., are more fluent), then individuals should
Skilled and novice typists studied a list of letter report higher ratings of liking for objects that are
dyads and then took a subsequent recognition easier versus harder to act on — even though
memory test. To manipulate the typing ease of the these individuals have no intention to act. In other
dyads, we varied whether the presented letter words, the fluency associated with covertly simu-
dyads would be typed, using standard touch- lating typing letter dyads may not only impact
typing methods, with the same finger (e.g., FV) or one’s memory judgments, but one’s preferences
different fingers (e.g., FK). The interval between for one dyad over another.
 9

To explore this idea, we (Beilock and Holt, involved one dyad from each category — a
2007) again turned to the domain of typing. paradigm first introduced by Van den Bergh
Skilled and novice typists were simultaneously et al. (1990). As mentioned above, because typing
presented with two separate letter dyads on a is thought to involve the overlap of successive key
screen and asked to indicate the dyad they strokes (Rumelhart and Norman, 1982), typing
preferred. Specifically, participants were informed two letters with the same finger should result in
that they would see two letter dyads and that more motor interference than typing two letters
they should verbally indicate which of the two with different fingers, as the former case requires
dyads they preferred, using their first impressions that the same digit essentially be in two places at
of the letters while avoiding choosing dyads once (or in very close succession).
based on their associations with any initials or Results demonstrated that skilled typists pre-
abbreviations. As in the memory judgment study, ferred dyads typed with different fingers (i.e.,
the dyads fell into one of two categories: dyads dyads that would be easier to type) significantly
that would be typed with the same finger using more than chance (note that chance is 0.5
standard typing methods (e.g., FV) or dyads that because half of the letter dyads that were judged
would be typed with different fingers (e.g., FJ). involved the same finger and half different
Each dyad pair presented to participants always fingers). Novices showed no preference (see Fig. 2,

Fig. 2. Letter dyad preferences in the single-task and dual-task blocks for novice and skilled typists in Experiment 1 and Experiment 2.
Dyad preference: To create a dependent variable indicating preferences for same-finger or different-finger dyads, a score was calculated
such that every time a same-finger dyad was preferred, a 1 was assigned to that trial. A different-finger dyad preference received a 0.
These values were summed and divided by the total number of trials in each block. Thus, a score of 0.5 indicates no preference, less than
0.5 indicates a preference for different-finger (easier to type) dyads, and greater than 0.5 indicates a preference for same-finger (harder
to type) dyads. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Adapted from Beilock and Holt (2007).
10

experiment 1, black bars). Importantly, partici- Conclusions

pants were recruited for a study examining
‘‘cognitive task performance’’ to minimize asso- In conclusion, the embodied viewpoint finds
ciations with the study and typing. It was only support across multiple levels of psychological
when the study was completed that individuals inquiry from behavioral studies of memory to
were categorized as skilled or novice typists. neuroimaging studies of language comprehension.
As a result, participants were unaware of the Although such work supports the notion that the
link between the study and typing, and when cognitive and neural systems that subserve action
asked, could not explicate how the letter dyads are also engaged during cognitive tasks that,
typed with the same versus different finger on the surface, involve no intention to action, less
differed. attention has been focused on how individuals’
Why might skilled typists show the letter dyad motor skill experiences modulate the content of
preference that novices do not? If typing experi- their embodied knowledge representations. Our
ence results in the association between specific work demonstrates that one’s experience on the
letters and the motor programs used to type them, playing field, ice rink, or even computer keyboard
and perceiving letters automatically activates fundamentally changes the extent to which (and
these motor plans (Rieger, 2004; see also Prinz’s how) cognition is grounded in action.
common coding theory, 1997), then such covert
simulation of typing should provide informa-
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M. Raab et al. (Eds.)
Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 174
ISSN 0079-6123
Copyright r 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

CHAPTER 2

On the relativity of athletic performance:

a comparison perspective on performance
judgments in sports

Lysann Damisch and Thomas Mussweiler

Department of Psychology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany

Abstract: Identifying the best performance at a specific point in time constitutes the central purpose of all
competitive sports. In many sports, this decision is based on subjective performance judgments. In the
present chapter, we consider how these judgments are formed by emphasizing the relative nature of
person judgments and athletic performance judgments in particular. Specifically, we argue that athletic
judgments are influenced by comparisons with prior performances thereby leading to similar judgmental
consequences as have been observed in other comparison domains (e.g., social comparison). Particularly,
we demonstrate that performance judgments are assimilated to judgments of the preceding performance if
judges focus on similarities between the two. If judges focus on differences, however, contrast ensues.
Strategies for preventing or correcting this judgmental bias are discussed.

Keywords: comparison; performance judgments; sport; similarity; dissimilarity; assimilation; contrast

The relativity of athletic performances from the International Olympic Committee (IOC),
he even made it to the Olympics 2000 in Sydney,
Athletic performances are inherently relative in Australia. In the men’s 100-m freestyle race,
nature. Because athletic achievements are obtained Moussambani performed a personal best even
in competition with others, it is not those who though he had never before raced in a 50-m pool
perform well that find their way onto Olympic nor had he managed to swim the whole distance of
pedestals and into halls of fame, but those who 100 m without a break. However, despite this
perform better than others. Eric Moussambani, for personal record, in relation to the performance of
example, was one of the best swimmers of all other participants, Moussambani’s performance
Equatorial Guinea, which was mainly because most appeared rather weak. The time he needed to swim
Guineans do not know how to swim at all. the 100-m distance was more than twice the time of
Moussambani had learned to swim in small pools his faster competitors and remains the slowest time
and rivers and 8 months later, due to a wild card an Olympic 100-m freestyle race was ever finished.
The essential relativity of athletic perfor-
mances, however, is not only apparent for the
Corresponding author. performing athletes, as is apparent in this intro-
Tel.: +49-221-470-1525; Fax: 49-221-470-5105; ductory example. It equally holds for the judges
E-mail: [email protected] who evaluate these performances. In fact, the

DOI: 10.1016/S0079-6123(09)01302-8 13
14

assessment of athletic performances by subjective as athletic, for example, already implies that this
evaluations is part of many sports such as person is more athletic than others and is thus
gymnastics, springboard diving, or figure skating comparative in nature (Huttenlocher and Higgins,
(Landers, 1970; Stefani, 1998). In many ways, such 1971). Consistent with this general notion,
performance judgments are choice situations. abundant research attests that when people judge
Given a number of different performances, it themselves or another person, they rely on
is the judges’ task to decide, which one should comparisons with accessible standards. In fact,
be chosen as the best performance. From this the tendency to engage in comparison information
perspective, the relative nature of performance processing is remarkably robust and occurs even if
judgments becomes apparent. judges are not explicitly asked for. When making
Given the important standing of athletic per- judgments about themselves, for example, people
formance judgments, it seems essential to know spontaneously compare themselves to another
how these judgments are formed. How is the person (Festinger, 1954; Mussweiler and Rüter,
psychological context in which athletic perfor- 2003). Similar, when making judgments about
mances occur incorporated into the final judg- another person, people spontaneously compare
ment? In which way can these contextual stimuli that person to themselves (Dunning and Hayes,
influence how a performance is perceived and 1996). Recent evidence suggests that this ten-
evaluated? What are the psychological mechan- dency to make spontaneous comparisons when
isms that underlie the contextual effects on processing information about a given target goes
performance judgments? so far that even stimuli that are not consciously
perceived because they are presented subliminally
are compared to a pertinent standard (Dehaene
Influences of athletic performance judgments
et al., 1998). The same is true if not the target but
the standards are presented so briefly that judges
In general, judgments in sport follow the same
are not consciously aware of them (Mussweiler
principles as social judgments in other domains
et al., 2004a; Mussweiler and Englich, 2005). The
(Plessner, 2005; Plessner and Haar, 2006). In
urge to engage in comparative processing is so
particular, if judgments have to be made under
strong that even standards that are normatively
suboptimal conditions, which is often true for
irrelevant are used for comparisons with a target
judgments in sports (Salmela, 1978a, b), they
(Gilbert et al., 1995). This whole body of evidence
are influenced by normatively irrelevant factors
suggests that comparisons are naturally and
(Nisbett and Ross, 1980; Kahneman et al., 1982).
spontaneously engaged whenever context infor-
Some of these factors are rather specific for the
mation is processed. From that notion, one could
sports context. Thus, performance judgments can
derive a certain likelihood that comparisons also
be influenced by feedback about other judges’
are involved when judging performances in the
scores, leading to conformity (Scheer et al., 1983;
field of sport.
Boen et al., 2008), order-related expectancies
(Plessner, 1999), and effects of prior processing
(Ste-Marie and Lee, 1991; Ste-Marie et al., 2001).
Assimilation and contrast
Other factors influencing performance judgments
in sports, however, are rather general factors that
Less clarity, however, exists about the direction
influence person judgments universally. One such
of this comparative influence. At first sight, the
influencing factor is comparison processes.
evidence that has accumulated in social compar-
ison research (Buunk et al., 1990; Brown et al.,
Self–other comparisons 1992; Brewer and Weber, 1994; Lockwood
and Kunda, 1997) suggests that comparative
Generally, person judgments are fundamentally processing can lead to opposing judgmental
comparative in nature. To judge another person influences, which are hard to predict. Sometimes,
 15

comparisons produce contrast effects in target of comparative judgments, the once selected
evaluation. In a study by Morse and Gergen hypothesis concerning the perceived degree of
(1970), for example, participants judged them- similarity between a target and a standard will be
selves to be less competent in the context of a tested by focusing on information that is consis-
competent person than in comparison with an tent with the first general impression (Snyder and
incompetent standard. In another study, the Swann, 1978; Trope and Bassok, 1982; Klayman
evaluation of one’s own attractiveness was more and Ha, 1987). If judges perceive a target and a
favorable after viewing another unattractive standard as rather similar, they engage in the
person than after viewing an attractive person process of similarity testing by selectively search-
(Brown et al., 1992). At other times, however, ing for information that indicates that target
comparisons yield the opposite outcome by and standard are indeed similar. Thus, target
producing assimilation effects in target evaluation. knowledge, which is consistent with the standard,
For example, the self may be judged to be more becomes accessible. If judges perceive a target
competent after a comparison with a competent and a standard as rather dissimilar, they engage in
rather than an incompetent other (Brewer and the process of dissimilarity testing by selectively
Weber, 1994; Pelham and Wachsmuth, 1995). searching for information to indicate that the
Similarly, participants’ evaluations of their athletic target and standard are different. Thus, target
abilities are higher in the context of an athletic knowledge, which is inconsistent with the stan-
rather than an unathletic standard (Mussweiler dard, becomes accessible. Finally, this temporarily
and Strack, 2000). In fact, it had turned out that highly accessible information, which had just
whether assimilation or contrast is the result been gathered during the process of hypothesis
of comparison depends on a host of moderators testing, is used to make the target judgment.
such as the extremity of the standard (Herr et al., Consequently, similarity testing moves the target
1983; Herr, 1986), the ambiguity of the target judgment closer to the standard (assimilation),
(Herr et al., 1983; Pelham and Wachsmuth, 1995), whereas dissimilarity testing moves the target
the category membership (Brewer and Weber, judgment away from the standard (contrast) (for
1994; Mussweiler and Bodenhausen, 2002), or a more detailed description of the model see
the psychological closeness between target and Mussweiler, 2003).
standard (Tesser et al., 1988; Brown et al., 1992;
Lockwood and Kunda, 1997). How can these Empirical evidence in support of the SAM
diverging findings be explained?
In the realm of social comparison research,
The selective accessibility model (SAM) of manifold empirical support for the basic assump-
comparison processes tions of the SAM has been gathered. Thus, it has
been shown that perceived similarity between
One integration of these diverse findings is the standard and the self influences the judgment
suggested by the SAM of comparison mechanisms of the self (Mussweiler, 2001; Mussweiler and
and consequences (Mussweiler, 2003). From this Bodenhausen, 2002). Mussweiler (2001), for
theoretical perspective, judges engage in one of example, used a procedural priming task to
two alternative comparison processes. The main manipulate whether participants primarily focus
moderating factor that determines which of the on similarities or on dissimilarities experimentally
two processes is engaged is the perceived similar- during a comparison. The result of a subsequent
ity between the standard and the target. Depend- social comparison task showed that participants
ing on this overall perceived similarity between assimilated their self-judgments to a given stan-
a given target and a particular standard either dard if they were made to focus on similarities.
assimilative or contrastive comparison conse- Participants contrasted their self-judgments away
quences will occur. Applying previous literature from the comparison standard, however, if they
on hypothesis testing to the current phenomenon had been manipulated to focus on dissimilarities.
16

Thus, an induced focus on similarities versus may thus well be the psychological mechanisms
differences determines whether assimilative ver- that underlie assimilation and contrast effects
sus contrastive comparisons result. In turn, in a variety of domains, such as performance
assimilative versus contrastive comparisons are judgments in sports.
accompanied by a generalized focus on simila-
rities versus differences. More specifically, after
assimilating the evaluation of their athletic Other–other comparison
abilities to those of a standard (Bill Clinton),
participants focused on similarities in a subse- The presented findings demonstrate that the
quent unrelated picture comparison task. After selective accessibility mechanisms of similarity
contrasting the judgments about their sportsman- and dissimilarity testing contribute to comparison
ship from those of a standard (Pope John Paul), consequences in the context of the self. If judges
however, participants focused on differences in compare their own characteristics and perfor-
a picture comparison (Mussweiler et al., 2004b). mances to others, then they appear to engage in
Taken together with a large body of additional one of two alternative comparison processes:
evidence (for a recent review see Mussweiler, similarity or dissimilarity testing. However, pre-
2007), these social comparison findings suggest vious empirical research has no answer to the
that a focus on similarities versus differences question whether the same mechanisms apply to
critically determines whether a comparison leads comparisons that do not involve the self. On the
to assimilation or contrast. one hand, one could argue that social comparisons
Further evidence for the underlying mechan- are unique in that they involve the self as unique
isms of comparative processing in judgment tasks psychological entity and are likely to be shaped by
stems from research examining what specific motivational processes. This would suggest that
target knowledge is activated in the case of self–other comparisons differ from other–other
assimilation versus contrast to context stimuli. comparisons. On the other hand, however, all
Using a specific variant of a lexical decision task person comparisons may share a common psy-
(Dijksterhuis et al., 1998), these studies demon- chological architecture in that they all involve a
strated that standard-consistent knowledge is psychological process in which the characteristics
more accessible after comparisons with assimila- of a target person are related to those of a
tive judgmental outcomes, whereas standard- standard. In this respect, it remains unclear
inconsistent knowledge is more accessible after whether mechanisms of selective accessibility also
comparisons with contrastive judgmental conse- play out in those types of person–person compar-
quences (Mussweiler and Strack, 2000; Mussweiler isons that are also part of athletic performance
and Bodenhausen, 2002; Smeesters and Mandel, judgments or other types of sequential judgments
2006). In a recent study by Förster et al. (2008), such as in oral exams, job interviews, or casting
it was even demonstrated that the accessibility shows. More specifically, the question remains
of standard-inconsistent knowledge, for example, whether judges of athletic performances indeed
statistically mediated the contrastive self-evalua- engage in the process of similarity or dissimilarity
tions of participants’ athletic abilities in comparison testing and thus, yield assimilation or contrast
to those of a pertinent standard. effects. If this were the case, then a comparison
In summary, the described body of evidence is perspective on performance judgments would
consistent with the notion that assimilation is hold a number of interesting implications. First,
closely associated with a focus on similarities and if a performance judgment depends on a compar-
accessibility of standard-consistent knowledge, ison with a previous performance, one could
whereas contrast is closely associated with a focus expect that sequential performance judgments
on differences and accessibility of standard- of any athletic competition should be related
inconsistent knowledge. The selective accessibility with each other. Would such a relation between
mechanisms of similarity and dissimilarity testing consecutively presented performances indeed be
 17

attained when analyzing the Olympic perfor- gymnasts should be correlated, if the judgment for
mance judgments in gymnastics, for example? a particular performance is influenced by compar-
Second, if a performance judgment depends on ing it to a preceding performance. Moreover,
a comparison with a previous performance, one given the specific situational conditions in gym-
could wonder which direction the comparison nastics competitions, we particularly expected
process takes and thus, which consequences it judges to focus on similarities. Consecutively
yields. Would judges rather assimilate their judg- starting gymnasts at a competition share a host
ments to an earlier performance or contrast them of features such as their gender, their approximate
away from the previous performance? Third, if a age group, parts of the presented routine, and
performance judgment depends on a comparison their general level of gymnastic abilities. Here, a
with a previous performance, the question arises, natural focus on similarities and thus an assim-
which characteristics decide whether the judge ilative influence of prior gymnasts on performance
engages into a similarity testing comparison or a judgments seemed to be especially likely. Ulti-
dissimilarity testing comparison process. Would a mately, if the judgment for a specific athlete is
simple factor such as the nationality of sequentially built on the information gathered during testing
performing athletes be enough to have experi- the hypothesis that this performance was similar
enced judges engage in the opposing processes of to the preceding performance, assimilation, and
similarity versus dissimilarity testing and thus, thus, a positive correlation should be apparent:
produce the opposing outcomes of assimilation or the better the preceding athlete’s performance,
contrast? Our recent research (Damisch et al., the better the target athlete’s performance should
2006) suggests several answers to these questions. be judged. This is exactly what we found.
Computing several Pearson product–moment
The inter-relation of Olympic gymnastic correlations between the performance judgments
judgments for all gymnasts and the scores of their respective
predecessors, we found a significant positive
Are performance judgments in sport indeed correlation. This correlation was equally high,
influenced by preceding performances? How whether it was controlled for the starting order of
could such an influence be obtained? Our recent the gymnasts or not. Furthermore, we found that
research suggests a simple analysis of real life date the influence of the performance just prior to the
and reveals evidence, which supports the claim. target performance was the strongest, whereas
If judges use the performance of an athlete as a this influence decreased the farther in time (two
comparison standard in order to judge a subse- performances prior to the target performance;
quent performance, we figured that sequential three performances prior to the target perfor-
judgments should be correlated with each other mance) the prior judgment was made to the target
instead of being independent. judgment. Together, these findings demonstrate
To test this assumption, we analyzed the that the likelihood for Olympic gymnasts to
performance judgments of the gymnastics compe- receive high scores for their exercises is higher if
tition of the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, the preceding gymnast presented a good rather
Greece. In sum, this included 1373 individual than a flawed performance. Putting this positive
judgments from different competitive events correlation into other words, one can say that
(preliminary rounds, team finals, individual all- performance judgments indeed are influenced by
around finals, apparatus finals) for female and the context of prior performances.
male gymnasts. Again, if these judgments, made
by highly qualified and trained judges at the most Assimilation and contrast after procedural
important competition — the Olympic Games — priming of comparison focus
were not influenced by prior performance judg-
ments, no correlation should occur. However, The first piece of our evidence suggests that
performance judgments of consecutively starting comparison processes appear to shape athletic
18

performance judgments. Which direction does this ski jump was kept constant on a moderate level.
influence take and what are the factors that decide Consistent with a selective accessibility perspec-
about the final outcome? A selective accessibility tive on comparison consequences, performance
direction suggests that the most crucial factor judgments of the target athlete critically depended
influencing the direction of the process is the on whether participants were induced to focus
comparison focus judges adopt during the com- on similarities or differences (see Fig. 1). Judges
parison process. Applied to athletic performance who were primed to focus on similarities and thus,
judgments, one can expect that judges who focus to engage in similarity testing assimilated their
on similarities between consecutively starting performance judgments toward the standard.
athletes yield assimilative judgments, whereas These judges estimated the length of the target
judges who focus on dissimilarities between seq- ski jump to be higher if it was presented after the
uentially presented performances yield contrast prior high performance rather than the prior low
effects. This perspective was supported by find- performance. Judges who were primed to focus
ings of our recent line of research. Specifically, on differences and thus, to engage in dissimilarity
we tested our assumption in an experimental testing, however, contrasted their performance
study. To do so, participants’ foci on similarities judgments away from the standard. These judges
versus dissimilarities were directly manipulated estimated the length of the target ski jump to be
before they were asked to judge the performance lower after a prior high performance rather than
of two consecutively presented athletes. Specifi- a prior low performance. This pattern of means
cally, we used a procedural priming task (for an produced a significant interaction effect, while
overview see Smith, 1994), in which participants’ none of the main effects reached the level of
tendency to rely on a particular processing significance.
style is strengthened by engaging them in this
type of processing in a preceding unrelated Assimilation and contrast in experts’ gymnastic
task (Mussweiler, 2001). More specifically, we performance judgments
had participants work on a picture comparison
task, thereby either focusing on similarities or So far, we have learned that athletic performance
differences between the pictures. Participants judgments seem to be influenced by comparisons
were given sketches of two scenes and were asked with prior performances and that these influences
to either list all the similarities or all the dif- can take the form of assimilation or contrast
ferences they could find for the two pictures. effects depending on whether judges are induced
Doing so activates participants’ focus on either of to focus on similarities or dissimilarities in an
these two alternative processing styles, which is unrelated picture task. Would this influence on
then thought to carry over to a subsequent task. assimilative versus contrastive judgmental biases
Thus, participants who focused on similarities also extend to naturally occurring factors that
between the two pictures were expected to focus facilitate similarity versus dissimilarity testing?
also on similarities between the consecutively Moreover, would performance judgments be
presented athletes in the subsequent performance influenced by prior performances, even if the
judgment task that is otherwise unrelated to the judges were very familiar with that task? Again,
picture comparison task. For the judgment task, our recent research suggests affirming both ques-
participants were presented with two athletic tions. Specifically, in this line of our research, we
performances in the event of ski jumping. conducted a study in the field of gymnastics, in
Performance judgments were assessed by having which solely certified and highly qualified, male,
participants, who were students with no experi- German gymnastic judges were used as partici-
ence on this task, estimate the achieved length pants. It was their task to evaluate the perfor-
for each of the presented ski jumps. Whereas the mance of two sequentially presented gymnastic
objective performance of the former athlete was routines thereby applying the official rules con-
manipulated (high vs. low), the length of the latter cerning the evaluation of male gymnasts’ routines
 19

high standard
130
low standard

120

estimated length (metres)

110

100

90

80

70
similarity focus dissimilarity focus

high standard 104.4 91.3

low standard 96 102.6

Fig. 1. Means and standard errors for performance judgments of target ski jump (length in meters) by standard performance
(high vs. low) and induced focus (similarity vs. dissimilarity).

prescribed by the code of points (Fédération occur. As depicted in Fig. 2, the results are in line
Internationale de Gymnastique, 2001). Whereas with our assumptions. While performance judg-
the objective performance of the former gymnast ments for the standard gymnast were not affected
was manipulated (high vs. low), the performance by the gymnast’s ostensible nationality, perfor-
of the latter athlete was kept constant on a mance judgments for the target gymnast critically
moderate level. To vary the perceived similarity depended on whether the two gymnasts were
between the presented gymnasts, we experimen- presented as similar to each other or dissimilar
tally manipulated their alleged nationalities. By from each other. Judges, who got the information
giving the judges the information about the that both gymnasts had the same nationality and
nationalities of the gymnasts, while other char- thus engaged in similarity testing, assimilated their
acteristics were not mentioned or were controlled, performance judgment toward the standard.
this feature of the gymnasts was considered to be These judges rewarded the target gymnastic per-
a very salient attribute that would be taken into formance with a higher score if it was presented
account to assess the general degree of similarity after the prior high performance rather than
between the gymnasts. We expected the two the prior low performance. Judges, who were
presented gymnasts to be perceived as similar if informed that the gymnasts had different nation-
both of them apparently had the same nationality alities and thus engaged in dissimilarity testing,
(Australian). In this case, we predicted, judges however, contrasted their performance judgments
would engage in similarity testing, hence leading away from the standard. These judges evaluated
to assimilation effects. If the gymnasts differed in the target routine with a lower score if it was
terms of their nationalities (first Canadian, second presented after the prior high performance rather
Australian), however, dissimilarity testing would than the prior low performance. This pattern of
be more likely, and thus, contrast effects would means produced a significant interaction effect,
20

high standard
8.9 low standard

8.7

8.5

target scores (1-10)

8.3

8.1

7.9

7.7

7.5
same different
nationalities nationalities
high standard 8.23 8.15
low standard 8.07 8.35

Fig. 2. Mean performance judgments and standard errors for target gymnastic routine by standard performance (high vs. low) and
alleged nationalities (same vs. different).

while none of the main effects reached the level of consequences, it appears to be the degree of
significance. perceived similarity between two consecutively
These findings clearly suggest that judgments judged targets that determines whether assimila-
of athletic performances are influenced by pre- tion or contrast is the judgmental outcome. In this
viously encountered achievements. Specifically, respect, the same basic principles that determine
our findings demonstrate that a particular perfor- comparison consequences also appear to apply to
mance judgment does not only depend on the sequential performance judgments. This concor-
quality of the prior performance but also whether dance suggests that comparison processes con-
the sequentially judged athletes are perceived as tribute to the obtained effects.
similar or dissimilar from each other. Does such a comparative evaluation result in
homogenous and fair judgments for all athletes or
do the assimilative and contrastive influences
Advantages and disadvantages of comparative on the final score mark a judgmental bias, which
performance judgments asks for correction? On the one hand, we would
assume, there is nothing wrong with comparative
Summing up the findings of our research, we judgments within the realm of sports. In fact, the
find that performance judgments in sports are relativity of performances was the starting point
influenced by previous performances of other of the present chapter. As the initial example
athletes. Moreover, we demonstrate that the demonstrated, Eric Moussambani performed the
judgmental consequences and their moderating best swimming race of his life. However, when
factor are similar to those that are typical of compared with all other participants of the
comparison processes. As is true for comparison swimming event, it becomes clear that his
 21

performance was not good enough to get even that suboptimal conditions such as time pressure
near an Olympic medal. On the other hand, the or extremely demanding evaluation rules are no
findings of our research go above this relative exceptions in the task of athletic performance
classification of performances. In the swimming evaluation (Salmela, 1978a; Plessner and Raab,
example, Moussambani’s performance was asses- 1999). From this perspective, any intervention
sed via an objective measure. No matter whether that helps the judges to safe cognitive capacity
all other participants were faster or slower than he might prevent them from building their perfor-
was, the time he needed to finish the race would mance judgments on irrelevant influences such as
always stay the same. As the presented findings the performance of a previous athlete. Thus, for
indicate, this is different for sports such as example, more intense training (Ericsson and
gymnastics, for example. Here, it is not just the Lehmann, 1996) as well as a higher specification
ranking of performances relative to other athletes of the athletic judges (Salmela, 1978a), the
in order to choose the best performance, but adaptation of evaluation rules on psychological
rather, it is the initial assessment of the gymnasts’ boundaries (Plessner and Raab, 1999), and the
performance themselves that is influenced in routine use of technical equipment such as video
assimilative or contrastive directions. Thus, one analyses (Wilson, 1976; Puhl, 1980) might be
and the same performance of a gymnast can be suggestions to avoid the comparative bias.
evaluated differently depending on which com- However, it has been claimed that the compar-
parison this judgment is based. This difference, ison process itself constitutes a heuristic form of
which constitutes about two tenths of a point in information processing (Mussweiler and Epstude,
the described gymnastics study, might have a 2009). The frequent use of comparisons caused by
profound effect on the final outcome. Looking at the relative nature of all human judgments might
the results of the Olympics in 2004, for example, lead to a general leaning toward comparative
it becomes apparent that for each of the six processing. This reasoning is supported by recent
apparatuses, on which men perform, the score of findings demonstrating that comparisons often
the winner and the score of the gymnast ending at happen in a relatively spontaneous, effortless, and
the sixth position did not differ by more than two unintentional manner rather than being deliber-
tenths of a point. From this perspective, under ately and strategically engaged (Gilbert et al.,
some conditions the assimilative and contrastive 1995; Mussweiler et al., 2004a; Mussweiler and
influences might result in advantages for some Englich, 2005). Also in athletic performance
athletes, however in disadvantages for other evaluation, judges seem to engage in comparisons
athletes. In this light, it seems necessary to with previous performances in a rather automatic
intervene and look for ways to prevent or correct and effortless way as in neither our experiments
for these biases. nor in real athletic competitions, judges are
explicitly urged to engage into a comparison
between the athletes. Thus, rather than trying to
Prevention and correction of comparative biases prevent this automatic tendency of informational
in athletic performance judgments processing, it might be a more efficient approach
to correct these judgmental biases. However,
One way to correct for the comparative bias in former research on correction processes exhibited
athletic performance evaluation simply seems to a rather pessimistic perspective concerning peo-
prevent these influences from happening. Abun- ple’s general ability to correct for contextual
dant literature in the field of judgment and influences (Wetzel et al., 1981; Wegner et al.,
decision making suggests that judges are particu- 1985). Wilson and Brekke (1994), for example,
larly likely to base their judgments on normatively doubted that people are able to correct judg-
irrelevant information under suboptimal condi- mental biases because of their generally weak
tions and reduced cognitive capacity (e.g., Nisbett introspective abilities (Nisbett and Wilson, 1977).
and Ross, 1980). At the same time, it is known In contrast, more recent findings demonstrate that
22

sometimes people do correct their judgments afterward. In this respect, we hope that our
for influences of contextual factors (Schwarz research contributes to a better understanding of
et al., 1991; Martin and Achee, 1992; Petty and athletic performance judgments and might help
Wegener, 1993). This becomes especially likely judges to make the right choice in deciding who
if judges know about the source, direction, and will make their way onto the Olympic pedestal.
size of the bias (Stapel et al., 1998). Thereby, this
knowledge can either be retrieved from people’s
naı̈ve theories (Strack, 1992; Strack and Hannover,
1996) or from explicitly given information (Petty References
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M. Raab et al. (Eds.)
Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 174
ISSN 0079-6123
Copyright r 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

CHAPTER 3

A cognitive movement scientist’s view on the

link between thought and action: insights
from the ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’ metaphor

Ernst-Joachim Hossner

Department of Sport Science, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Abstract: The problem of a bidirectional link between thought and action is approached from the
perspective of cognitive movement science. The metaphor of the ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’ — an adaptation of
Searle’s Chinese room metaphor — is used to illustrate shortcomings in the classical conception of linear
information processing and to introduce some features which current theories of movement control and
learning should embrace. On this basis, the case is made for a return to an ideomotor view of motor
control and learning based on effect prediction (Eu) as a function of the situational context (Su) and one’s
own motor responses (Ru). The relevance of the derived concept of sensorimotor chains linking
elementary SuRuEu units in the course of motor learning is finally discussed with respect to potential
implications for an integrative theory of perception, action, and decision making.

Keywords: human movement; cognition; motor behavior; decision making; ideomotor principle; serial
chaining; time perception; Chinese room

Introduction: classical views on motor control Traditionally, the potential of movement

and a need for revision science with respect to contributing to integrative
views was limited, as classical cognitive models of
As these lines were written by a movement motor behavior (e.g., see Schmidt, 1982) postu-
scientist whose main focus is on functional aspects lated a linear processing of information. In this
of motor behavior, this paper is rooted in classical theoretical approach, stimulus identification is
as well as current ideas on cognitive behavioral defined as the first stage of information proces-
control. However, these roots will be developed sing, followed by response selection as the second
further with respect to the question to what extent stage and response programming and execution
valuable contributions can be made to an inte- as the third and final stage. In linear models,
grative view of perception, action, and decision motor actions are assumed to be mere products
making. of decision making and perception, without any
backwards effects, that is, from response pro-
gramming to stimulus identification or response
Corresponding author. selection. This strict succession from perception to
Tel.: +41-31-631-5101; Fax: +41-31-631-4631; action seems to fit laboratory settings preferred
E-mail: [email protected] by experimental psychologists perfectly well, as in

DOI: 10.1016/S0079-6123(09)01303-X 25
26

such settings participants typically have to been substantiated by the argument of incom-
respond to signals given by the experimenter in mensurability introduced by Wolfgang Prinz
a predefined way. In real-life situations, however, (1987).
things are often much less structured. In particu- In what follows, the argument’s core will be
lar, movements quite frequently serve the main illustrated on the basis of the ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’
purpose of gathering more information about the metaphor (Hossner, 2004). Furthermore, it will be
situation at hand. As a consequence, the func- shown that the resulting revival of the old idea
tional order is reversed, and succession is no of ideomotor control leads to some interesting
longer from perceiving via deciding to moving, consequences on the temporal organization of
but instead from moving via perceiving to decid- motor behavior. Finally, I will investigate to what
ing. For this reason, when searching for bidirec- extent these consequences provide some hints for
tional links between thought and action, the the future development of integrative theories on
fundamental reciprocal character of movement perception, action, and decision making.
and perception in the context of decision making
has necessarily to be taken into account.
There are two ways of dealing with this critique From China to Heidelberg: a hermetically
on classical models of motor behavior. The first locked room, internal models, and the
option is to dispense with the cognitive approach ideomotor principle
of information processing in its entirety and
to consider an alternative theoretical framework In his famous Chinese room metaphor, John
that incorporates close links between perception Searle (1980) describes the situation of an
and action. This would more or less mandatorily English-speaking man (actually himself) who is
lead to the adoption of an ecological realistic in a hermetically locked room. He has no knowl-
standpoint (Gibson, 1979/1986) focusing on edge of Chinese, yet the only input he gets from
direct perception–action couplings. The — less outside from time to time are questions written
radical — second option is to stick to a cognitive on paper in Chinese characters. As his task is to
theoretical framework and to investigate whether generate appropriate answers to these questions
the problem of bidirectional links between per- as an output — again by solely using Chinese
ception and action could also be solved within characters — he has to rely on a rule ledger by
the framework. The second option will be pursued looking up the Chinese input characters and
here. writing down the Chinese output characters as
For this purpose, the major problem has to be described by the rule in the ledger. By this means,
identified first, before possible solutions can be from an outer perspective it seems as if the
discussed. For this first step of problem identifica- Chinese room system (i.e., the man inside plus his
tion, it seems worth noting that in classical ledger) is able to respond in a meaningful way
cognitive models of motor control the information although the Englishman inside — and this is the
processing from stage to stage is simply imple- crucial point — has not developed any under-
mented as arrows between boxes (for a critique standing for the whole process at all. In Searle’s
on this sort of linear ‘‘boxology’’ see Neisser, argument, this lack of understanding serves as a
1976). By means of introspection, this problem demonstration that algorithmic systems like com-
does not seem to be a problem at all as it comes to puters may generate perfect responses to sophis-
us as indubitable truth that it is we, as individuals, ticated questions; however, they will never evolve
who decide to move on the basis of our own an understanding of the information they have
perception, and that our subsequent movement processed successfully. The argument provides
directly results from this decision. The fact that some obvious consequences for theories on
the process of translating perceptions into move- intentionality and consciousness.
ments or of movements into perceptions actually From a motor control perspective, high-level
is a severe theoretical problem has most notably processes like intentionality and consciousness are
 27

of less interest when compared to low-level environment (R). Some rules for connecting Su to
processes like movement coordination. However, Ru can be found pre-existing in the rule ledger.
the Chinese room metaphor also relates to those For example, the connection between situation Sxu
low-level processes, as the basic problem of motor (standing for a ball rapidly approaching the face)
control is to transform inputs (sensations) into and the appropriate response Rx1u (standing for
outputs (movements). From a motor learning closing the eyes) may be ‘‘hard-wired’’ as a result
perspective, the main question then would be, of evolution. For other situations, new rules are
how is the person inside the room able to add new to be generated by the Chinese him/herself, for
rules to his ledger? In order to have a closer look example, the rule for connecting the response Ryu
at this question, let us employ the ‘‘Badische (standing for hitting a ball with a tennis racket) to
Zimmer’’ metaphor (Hossner, 2004). a given situation Syu (standing for characteristics
In the ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’ metaphor, Searle’s of the approaching ball and the current position of
original configuration is changed such that Latin the own body).
letters replace Chinese characters and a Chinese At this juncture, the reader may like to take
person is put into the room instead of an some time to figure out how the appropriate
Englishman. The resulting situation is illustrated response signal can be found by the Chinese
in Fig. 1. As can be seen, the Chinese person person in this task, bearing in mind that the
receives sensory input signals about the current Chinese person solely has access to the internal
situation in the external environment (S) in the variables and not to the external ones. A further
transduced form to internal signals (Su). Further- given is that the Chinese person should not be
more, the Chinese person is able to produce conceptualized as a human-like cognitive system
internal signals for motor responses (Ru) that in in order to avoid problems of infinite regress,
turn lead to bodily movements in the external that is, he/she is incapable of making intelligent
inferences about constellations of variables, of
abstract thoughts, of considering his/her own
situation, of recognizing events, and even of
labeling them by use of language. The only things
he/she is capable of are to send out response
signals Ru, to watch constellations of sensory
signals Su and to make notes in his/her rule ledger
on interdependencies between these signals.
Furthermore, it should be kept in mind that the
Chinese person neither ‘‘knows’’ what movements
are caused externally by his/her response signals
nor has a clue about the ‘‘meaning’’ of the
incoming sensory signals in the external world.
The obvious problem the Chinese person faces
in this situation is that the input signals Su cannot
be transformed directly into appropriate output
signals Ru. Because they are not written in the
Fig. 1. The ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’ metaphor (based on the
Chinese room metaphor introduced by Searle, 1980). The same ‘‘language’’ there is a severe lack of com-
Chinese person inside a hermetically locked room generates mensurability — the core of the argument of
new behavioral rules by trying out response signals Ru that in a incommensurability given by Prinz (1987). But
perceived situational context Su reliably lead to anticipatable how can this problem be solved by the Chinese
effects Eu by changing the external situation from S to S(t+1) as
person locked in the ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’? The
a consequence of the movement R. The acquired SuRuEu
triplets can then be used in order to actively produce intended answer to this question — and probably the final
effects by inverting the (Su,Ru)-Eu predictor into a (Su,Eu)-Ru result of the reader’s considerations — is that the
controller. only way the Chinese person can act on this
28

situation is to try out response signals Ru in the is required to achieve intentional goals is a simple
first place (may be in extrapolation of existing inversion of the SuRuEu rules available in the
experience) and to check whether these signals predictor: if it is known what action effect is
result in changes on the input side of the room. predictable as a function of perceived situation
Of course, those internal changes from Su to and actual response signals, it is a simple task to
Su(t+1) are to be ascribed to external changes identify promising response signals as a function
from S to S(t+1). If those changes can be achieved of perceived situation and desired action effects.
reliably by activating internal signals Ru they It is worth noting that, although in Fig. 1
acquire the status of anticipatable sensory con- internal variables Su, Ru, and Eu are clearly
sequences of one’s own action so that the internal distinguished from external variables S, R, and
signal Su(t+1) can be interpreted as action effect S(t+1), the metaphor should not be misread as
Eu. In the ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’ metaphor, these a strong dualistic approach. Instead, it is clearly
SuRuEu relations should be written down by the recognized that the cognitive system illustrated
Chinese person as soon as they are detected. by the ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’ has to construct the
The derived SuRuEu triplets can be best under- ‘‘outer’’ world solely on the basis of its internal
stood as rules of an internal predictor. Whenever accessible signals and that even the construction
a response signal is sent out in a given situation a of oneself in opposition to the world is part of
certain action effect can be predicted. So if a this internal process. Given that, the distinction
response signal Ru leads externally to the produc- between internal and external variables looses
tion of a finger movement this movement in turn numerous explanatory power as everything must
reliably results in proprioceptive (feeling the be located internally — including the internal–
finger moving) as well as exteroceptive conse- external distinction.
quences (seeing the finger moving). These effects Developing this thought further, the metaphor
Eu may differ with respect to the situational may also be considered valuable when it comes
context — perceived as Su — so that the same to the appraisal of theories on motor control and
response signal may lead to different sensory learning as an external-intelligence criterion
consequences, for example, the perception of a can be derived. What becomes clear from the
letter on the screen if the finger is moved on a ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’ metaphor is that only ‘‘inter-
computer keyboard, or the perception of a tone nal’’ signals can be used by the system for
when the finger is moved on a piano keyboard. optimization purposes. As a straightforward con-
This is the reason why not only response–effect sequence, one should refrain from including
relationships are crucial for generating predictor ‘‘external’’ variables in theories on motor beha-
rules, but SuRuEu triplets standing for a predictable vior as, by this, some ‘‘external’’ intelligence
effect Eu as a function of a response signal Ru and would be added to the cognitive system. However,
a perceived situation Su. intelligence has to be developed by the cognitive
What should have become clear in this first step system itself by solely relying on ‘‘internal’’
is that the Chinese person is not able to ascribe accessible variables.
any ‘‘meaning’’ to input or output signals in the That the external-intelligence criterion is not
first place but that meaning is internally generated as trivial as it may seem at first sight can be
by relating situational changes to own responses. demonstrated by the famous schema theory
As such, this makes the derivation of cognitive of motor learning introduced by Schmidt (1975).
rules fundamentally embedded in the inter- The schema theory actually fails the external-
related context of perception and action. On the intelligence criterion because recognition sche-
basis of this meaning, the acquired internal mata are assumed to be formed by relating
predictor can be used in order to allow for initial conditions and actual movement outcomes
intentional behavior. If intentional behavior is to sensory consequences of the movement. In
defined as producing desired effects under given this concept, initial conditions and sensory con-
situational constraints, the internal controller that sequences can be defined independently as
 29

internally perceived situation Su and internally a revitalization of the idea of movement control
perceived movement effect Eu, respectively. in terms of perceived action effects — the old
Movement outcome, however, must be inter- idea of the ‘‘ideomotor principle,’’ which can be
preted as external signal S(t+1), which only can traced back to the Principles by William James
be used by the system in the form of its internal (1890/1981).
transduction to Eu. For this reason, an internal As this turn-back makes cognitive approaches
process of optimization based on independent on motor control less cognitive, more integrated
values for sensory consequences and movement views of motor behavior are possible, merging
outcome is not feasible, as sensory consequences approaches on cognitive control on the one hand
Eu and internally transduced movement outcomes with more perception-focused or system-related
Eu always match perfectly. Of course, from an approaches on the other hand (see Chapter 8:
external third-person perspective, the ‘‘actual’’ The bidirectional links between decision making,
movement outcome can easily be distinguished perception, and action). For the purpose of
from the sensory consequences that are experi- identifying bidirectional links between thought
enced by the moving person from his/her internal and action in the context of decision making,
first-person perspective. It does not make taking a second step will prove to be helpful. This
any theoretical sense, however, to use this knowl- step relates to motor control in time, bearing in
edge about the external world — this external mind the important role of effect anticipation for
intelligence — when theorizing about human motor control and learning as has been illustrated
motor control. In failing the external-intelligence in this section.
criterion therefore, the idea of recognition
schema — which is central to Schmidt’s schema
theory — has to be rejected. Moving in time: psychological moments, the
In brief, the ‘‘Badische Zimmer’’ metaphor psychological present, and streams of action
provides a criterion for the appraisal of theories
on motor control and learning as well as a When relating effect anticipation to perception
demonstration of a viable solution of the problem and decision making, two questions arise:
of incommensurability as stated by Prinz (1987). (a) assuming that these processes run in parallel
It should be noted, however, that the solution (which seems to be reasonable), are there
itself is not a consequence of the metaphor, but particular points in time for mutual alignment of
that the metaphor is an illustration of well- the processes? (b) If particular points in time
established concepts of current cognitive psychol- for alignment purposes are to be stated, what is
ogy. In particular: the two-step structure of motor the format of the processes’ output that allows
learning — an internal predictor as prerequisite comparison? When turning to question (a) first,
for an internal controller — is the central idea of it makes sense to investigate motor control
the internal modeling approach (Wolpert et al., processes with respect to different time scales.
1995); the assumption of SRE triplets is crucial for Drawing on Pöppel’s (1994) seminal work on
the concept of anticipatory behavioral control temporal mechanisms in perception, these may be
proposed by Hoffmann (1993, 2003); and com- labeled as microscopic time scales concerning the
mensurate codes of sensory and motor signals, as elements of an elementary action, as mesoscopic
‘‘event codes,’’ form the basis for the theory time scales concerning the elementary actions
of event coding proposed by Hommel et al. (2001; themselves, and as macroscopic time scales con-
for the underlying idea of ‘‘common coding’’ see cerning the linkage of those elementary actions to
Prinz, 1987). Although these approaches signifi- streams of action (for an overview of psychologi-
cantly differ in detail and although some specific cal models of time see, for example, Block, 1990).
questions still have to be answered, the over- On the microscopic time scale, it is worthwhile
arching message seems to be that in the field of having a closer look onto the variables Su and Eu of
motor control and learning, the time has come for the ‘‘Badische Zimmer.’’ Both refer to perceived
30

events, that is, signals referring to the situational On the mesoscopic time scale, it is important for
context and to the anticipated or desired action a motor learner to be able to relate perceived
effect in the format of sensory consequences, situational conditions Su and action effects Eu to
respectively. For this reason, they basically fall internal response signals Ru. With respect to the
into the same class of perceptions: Su could also be room metaphor, this poses a further temporal
defined as effect Eu(t–1) of the last elementary problem to the Chinese person. As long as the
action Ru(t–1), and Eu could also be defined as effect Eu arrives in the room as the consequence of
initial situational condition Su(t+1) for the next the changed situation S(t+1), he/she has to store
elementary action Ru(t+1). In contrast, these the sheets with the situation and response signals
perceptions are limited as they deliver nothing Su and Ru for future reference. For this task then, a
more than a partial view of ‘‘real’’ situational ‘‘short-term memory’’ is needed, thus allowing for
events (which, see above, are hard to define variables to be related to each other that
beyond our access given by the senses); however, otherwise would not be present in the room at
they are enriched as we typically perceive situa- the same physical point in time. Hence, besides
tional events by more than one sense and the capability for the construction of psychological
integrate these sensory-specific inputs into a moments, a system capable for motor learning
holistic percept. With respect to the room must also include a ‘‘psychological present’’ for
metaphor, this process of integration is crucial in the purpose of continuously adding new moments
order to decide whether a situation is actually and subtracting old moments. A fluid stream of
given or not, because a situation has to be given in time perception may be constructed within the
order to be able to predict an effect of one’s own time span of the psychological present, however,
action with a sufficient probability. This in turn the general architecture of movement organiza-
not only poses the problem of multimodal sensory tion in time has to exhibit a more digital character
integration but also the problem of temporal due to the functional necessity of the assumption
integration, as the internal sensory inputs are of psychological moments within a psychological
typically not delivered to the Chinese person at present.
the same point in physical time. In particular, for On the macroscopic time scale, it is less a
events in very close distance to the perceiver, theoretical necessity but more a reasonable
auditory consequences are available sooner theoretical extension to assume that action plan-
than visual ones due to the higher processing ning does not exclusively relate to elementary
speed of the auditory as compared to the visual acts. When climbing stairs, for example, it
system of the human body. For distant events, in becomes quite clear that not every single step has
contrast, this succession in physical time is to be planned as a separate unit (which might fit
inverted due to the much higher physical speed the scope of a single SuRuEu triplet best). Climbing
of light compared to sound waves. The last stairs seems, rather, to be planned as a compact
mentioned effect becomes obvious in the case of chunk of units where the final effect, that is
the perception of a lightning strike, when the reaching the top of the stairs, takes over control
visual and auditory consequence of one and the for all the steps leading to this final goal. Again,
same physical event cannot be integrated any- the problem of serial chaining has already been
more into a single percept. As a result, two addressed by James (1890/1981), and further
separated events are perceived, a flash first and a refinements have been made by Greenwald
thunder later. With the exception of those (1970); Figs. 2a and 2b draw on both James and
extraordinary examples, however, the cognitive Greenwald to illustrate how this process of
system is able to merge different sensory inputs chunking can be understood on the basis of an
perfectly to generate ‘‘psychological moments.’’ effect-related view of motor control and learning.
This process of merging is crucial in order to In Fig. 2a, the situation in an early stage of
identify events and to act on this identification learning is depicted where each elementary
appropriately. behavioral act has to be controlled separately, as
 31

Fig. 2. Elementary behavioral actions in the initial stage of learning (a) and serial chaining after extensive experience to an
anticipatory chain of action effects (b). In the expert stage of learning, in a given situational context the intended effect of the chain’s
endpoint is sufficient in order to start the chain as a behavioral chunk. However, there is still the need to monitor the attainment of
subgoals of the chain and the opportunity to split up the chain as a consequence of a mismatch between anticipated and actual
perceived effects or as a consequence voluntary pre-planning (c). Note: all symbols should be read as Sxu, Rxu and Exu; primes has
been dropped for the purpose of clarity.

the achievement of the units’ intended effects First, it should be noted that the serial chaining
cannot be predicted to a sufficient degree. procedure not only results in anticipations of
However, after extensive experience, as shown endpoint effects in the more distant future, but
in Fig. 2b, the predictability allows for using the also (as elaborated indepth by Hoffmann, 1993)
effect of a certain SuRuEu unit as sensory input for situational constellations are anticipated. These
the next one. In the expert stage of learning then, are needed as prerequisites to make a chosen
the initial conditions of the first unit and the response lead to an intended effect. Given this,
intention of attaining the final unit’s effects are the active search for promising situations for
sufficient to start the sensorimotor chain as a putting intentions into practice becomes a crucial
compact chunk. In this stage, the subunits’ effects part of action control: if there is urgent need for
may still be monitored; the whole action, how- refueling the car, traffic signs indicating a petrol
ever, is directed to the endpoint of the chain, so station pop out immediately as soon as they
that this type of action control may be best labeled enter sight. Second, it seems worth noting that
as endpoint control. although in Fig. 2b a succession of effects of equal
For theories of decision making, it seems worth importance is depicted, the reliability of effect
adding the following two specifications to the predictions may differ dramatically between the
concept of anticipatory chains of action effects. units. An experienced tennis player, for example,
32

would perfectly approach the ball and hit it with been discussed from a movement science perspec-
the goal of passing the opponent longline; there is tive seems to be encouraging. Not only could a
much less predictability, however, with respect solution of the problem of incommensurability
to the next intentional subgoal as the opponent between sensory and motor codes be provided by
may or may not succeed in intercepting the ball returning to the idea of the ideomotor principle;
as a volley. Consequently, the subeffects of a beyond that, this solution offers a promising
chain should be interconnected as a function starting point in the search for synergies between
of the uncertainty with respect to achieving the approaches that stem from quite diverged tradi-
next subgoal. The resulting different strengths in tions — on a molecular level with respect to
connections then will emulate a hierarchy for theories of motor control as well as on a molar
motor control. There is no need, however, to level with respect to the integration of theories of
assume that this hierarchy is implemented as such; action, perception, and decision making.
the assumption of different strengths of connec- On a more molecular level, this opportunity for
tions between SuRuEu units is superior with respect synergies becomes obvious with respect to the-
to the criterion of parsimony. ories focusing on more top-down processes of
In brief, on the basis of the developed cognitive motor control on the one hand and
theoretical framework, the above posed question theories focusing on more bottom-up processes of
(a) on mutual alignment of processes of effect constrained movement coordination on the other
anticipation, perception, and decision making with hand. Without any doubt, the ideomotor idea of
respect to motor control in time can be answered controlling movements in time from one per-
as follows: experts’ motor behavior relies on ceived action effect to the next one brings the
chunks of elementary actions; these elementary cognitive-based conceptualization quite close to
actions can be defined as SuRuEu units; SuRuEu units interacting views of perception and action as
have to be run within the time span of specified in the concepts of the perception–action
a psychological present; the sensory building cycle (Neisser, 1976), the ‘‘Gestaltkreis’’ (Gestalt
blocks of these units correspond to psychological circle, von Weizsäcker, 1973), or even of the
moments. Given that, the moments of effect ecological view on direct perception (Gibson,
anticipation under situational constraints seem to 1979/1986). Furthermore, and on a more molar
be good candidates for the mutual alignment of level, it is important to note that the crucial role of
the processes of perception, action control, and intended action effects in ideomotor approaches
decision making. As a consequence, the follow-up provides a straightforward link to theories on
question (b) concerning the format of this align- decision making, as decisions are naturally related
ment, is trivial because: perception corresponds to intention and the desired effects of one’s own
to sensory signals Su; action is assumed to be actions. The emphasis of perception as a crucial
based on the perceived difference between the variable for motor control in turn allows for
current situation Su and the desired effect Eu; considerations on bidirectional links between
and decision-making processes aim at exactly this thought and action.
difference. As all these variables are written in the Taken together, these synergies lead directly to
language of perception, the problem of different an integrative view that is based on the assump-
formats simply disappears. tion of continuous, circular and parallel processes
of perceiving, moving, and decision making, as it
is described in more depth in Chapter 8: The
Final remarks: some speculations on the role bidirectional links between decision making,
of motor control mechanisms for theories perception, and action. A specific point that could
on decision making be added to this model from the special perspec-
tive developed throughout this chapter relates to
For scholars focusing on processes of decision the necessity of discrete points of accentuated
making, the message to be derived from what has check as to whether the current perception fits the
 33

current intentional status: if there is a fit, the to assume a weighting procedure to prioritize
sensorimotor chain can be processed further; if options. After this prioritization has been done,
intended subgoals are not achieved, decision an already running sensorimotor chain may serve
making is demanded. as a ‘‘shield’’ against other potentially important
Although this idea of accentuated checking goals, thereby preventing the actor from a
points is developed here from a more cognitive permanent switching between competing goals.
perspective on motor control, it is worth noting In contrast, interrupting an already running chain
that related concepts can be found in the literature must always remain an option, as it may either be
proposed by authors who are deeply rooted in the case that other goals become more important
dynamic system theory of movement coordination, in the course of pursuing a particular goal or that
in particular Beek’s (1989) idea of ‘‘anchoring’’ the environment may change in a nonpredicted
behavior at meaningful points in time (see also manner. In those cases, an entirely new decision
Byblow et al., 1994) and the referential behavior has to be made.
theory proposed by Pressing (1998, 1999). This, Integrating these implications as well as the
once again, demonstrates that a converging picture consequences derived from the perspective of
can be possible for the purpose of linking thought cognitive movement science into a — still to be
and action bidirectionally. evolved — overarching theory on the bidirec-
A final comment should be made on the tional link between thought and action seems to
limitations of the overall perspective proposed in be a challenging, but promising endeavor for the
this chapter. Although the emerging integrative future.
picture provides promising synergies between
current theories of action and perception and
although it can been stated on this basis that
motor, perceptual, as well as decision-making References
processes should be thought of as running in
Beek, P. J. (1989). Juggling dynamics. Amsterdam: Vrije
parallel, the nature of decision making itself is a Universiteit.
question that has been left open. Of course, this Block, R. A. (1990). Models of psychological time. In R. A.
question simply cannot be answered from the Block (Ed.), Cognitive models of psychological time (pp. 1–
perspective of a movement scientist; however, 35). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Byblow, W. D., Carson, R. G., & Goodman, D. (1994).
some implications are to be identified.
Expressions of asymmetries and anchoring in bimanual
First, and as already stated above, a sufficient coordination. Human Movement Science, 13, 3–28.
condition for interrupting an already running Gibson, J. J. (1979/1986). The ecological approach to visual
sensorimotor chain is fulfilled, if the monitoring perception. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
of the chain’s subgoals reveals a mismatch bet- Greenwald, A. G. (1970). Sensory feedback mechanisms in
performance control: with special reference to the ideo-
ween anticipated and actually perceived effects.
motor mechanism. Psychological Review, 77, 73–99.
When failing to take a step when climbing stairs, Hoffmann, J. (1993). Vorhersage und Erkenntnis [Prediction
for example, this mismatch requires new decision- and reason]. Göttingen, Germany: Hogrefe Verlag.
making processes. Second, and as illustrated in Hoffmann, J. (2003). Anticipatory behavioral control. In
Fig. 2c, a splitting up of an already formed chain M. Butz, O. Sigaud, & P. Gerard (Eds.), Anticipatory behavior
in adaptive learning systems (pp. 44–65). Berlin: Springer.
could also result from voluntary processes of
Hommel, B., Müsseler, J., Aschersleben, G., & Prinz, W.
initial action planning. In the expert stage of (2001). The theory of event coding (TEC): a framework for
learning a gymnastic skill, for example, the perception and action. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 24,
emphasis of the attentional focus may be placed 869–937.
in advance on a crucial point of the underlying Hossner, E.-J. (2004). Bewegende Ereignisse [Moving events].
Schorndorf, Germany: Hofmann.
chain — in sport practice often termed ‘‘key
James, W. (1890/1981). The principles of psychology. Cambridge,
point’’ or ‘‘nodal point.’’ Third, for the parallel MA: Harvard University Press.
decision-making strand — and definitely beyond Neisser, U. (1976). Cognition and reality: principles and
the scope of movement science — it might be best implications of cognitive psychology. San Francisco: Freeman.
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Pöppel, E. (1994). Temporal mechanisms in perception. Schmidt, R. A. (1975). A schema theory of discrete motor skill
International Review of Neurobiology, 37, 185–202. learning. Psychological Review, 82, 225–260.
Pressing, J. (1998). Referential behavior theory. In J. P. Pieck Schmidt, R. A. (1982). Motor control and learning. A
(Ed.), Motor behavior and human skill (pp. 357–384). behavioral emphasis. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Searle, J. R. (1980). Minds, brains, and programs. Behavioral
Pressing, J. (1999). The referential dynamics of cognition and and Brain Sciences, 3, 417–457.
action. Psychological Review, 106, 714–747. von Weizsäcker, V. (1973). Der Gestaltkreis [The Gestalt
Prinz, W. (1987). Ideomotor action. In H. Heuer & circle]. Stuttgart, Germany: Suhrkamp.
A. F. Sanders (Eds.), Perspectives on perception and Wolpert, D. M., Ghahramani, Z., & Jordan, M. I. (1995). An
action (pp. 47–76). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum internal model for sensorimotor integration. Science, 269,
Associates. 1880–1882.
M. Raab et al. (Eds.)
Progress in Brain Research, Vol. 174
ISSN 0079-6123
Copyright r 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

CHAPTER 4

Perceiving and moving in sports and other

high-pressure contexts

Raôul R. D. Oudejans and Arne Nieuwenhuys

Research Institute MOVE, Faculty of Human Movement Sciences, VU University Amsterdam,

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Abstract: From an ecological psychological perspective, the current chapter discusses the influence of
anxiety on the perception, selection, and realization of affordances in sports and other high-pressure
contexts, particularly police work. Drawing on recent developments in the anxiety-performance literature
(i.e., the attentional control theory) the authors’ experimental work on the impact of anxiety on
perceptual-motor performance is described. Furthermore, several experiments showing positive effects of
training with anxiety on performance under pressure are discussed. We argue that through reality-based
training with anxiety, processes that underlie performance might be recalibrated to the new task
constraints, thereby preventing a degradation of eventual performance in stressful situations.

Keywords: ecological psychology; affordances; attentional control theory; training with anxiety

Introduction et al., 2002; Berg et al., 2005). Second, all of these

contexts are characterized by several possibilities
There are two important similarities between pro- for and restrictions to action that may or may not
fessional sports and other high-pressure contexts, be recognized and realized. In soccer, for instance,
such as the work of fire fighters and police officers. a player may have several options without the ball
First, expert athletes, fire fighters, and police (e.g., jump away from an opponent or not, run for
officers often have to perform under conditions the ball, sprint into the open space, or await a
where the stakes are high, as a game, a champion- better opportunity) while passing, shooting, or
ship, a building, or even several lives are at risk. dribbling are only possible in ball possession.
Performing in those conditions may be accom- Similarly, in dealing with a criminal opponent a
panied by physical (such as the heat in extinguish- police officer may shout verbal commands to the
ing a fire) or mental stress (such as increased opponent, seek cover, or wait for back up, while
arousal or anxiety), putting additional constraints other options (e.g., shoot at the opponent, or run
on performance (Cooper et al., 1982; Gould and away) are perhaps not possible. Whether or not
Udry, 1994; Smith et al., 1997, 2001b; Anderson certain options are recognized, selected, and
realized may determine the eventual performance
and the outcome of the event.
Corresponding author. The general goal of this chapter is to present
Tel.: +31-20-598-8541; Fax: +31-20-598-8529; our view on the effects of psychological factors
E-mail: [email protected] such as attention and anxiety on perceiving and

DOI: 10.1016/S0079-6123(09)01304-1 35
36

moving in sports or other high-pressure contexts, is seen as a recreating process (Wilson, 2002). The
particularly police work. One main objective is to observer must elaborate the impoverished input
unravel the role of anxiety in perceiving and with help of memory and other cognitive pro-
realizing affordances (possibilities for action cesses, that is, processes needed to reconstruct the
offered by the situation). As our view is firmly world, its objects, and events, into meaningful
based on Gibson’s ecological approach to visual things. The observer has to create his/her own
perception (1979/1986), also known as direct perception of the world ‘‘out there’’ from the
perception, we will start with an outline of this meaningless building blocks that enter his/her
theory in the first part of this chapter. Next, we senses. Despite the impoverished input, percep-
will discuss our research into the effects of anxiety tion is recognized as being very rich, elaborate,
on perception and action, followed by a discussion and accurate. Thus, the richness of the world is
of our studies on the positive influence of training considered to exist in perception, but not in the
with anxiety on eventual performance under stimuli impinging upon the observer (Michaels
pressure. The idea behind this line of research is and Carello, 1981). This discrepancy has to be
that practicing with anxiety can prevent choking solved by the observer with the aid of internal
in perceptual-motor performance in experts and processes and interpretation.
beginners alike, as one acclimatizes to the specific As a result of its emphasis on the way that
processes accompanying anxiety. This holds not perceptual information is internally processed, this
just for athletes but also for, for instance, police information-processing approach to perception has
officers having to fire their weapon in the line of initially neglected the importance of the environ-
duty. We will end with theoretical implications ment for perceiving and acting animals. Theories
and concluding remarks. both in the field of perception and in the field of
movement coordination assume in one way or
The ecological approach to perception another that it is the animal who gives meaning and
structure to perception and to action. A meaningful
Ecological psychology is the approach to the coor- internal representation of the world out there
dination of animal activity that takes as its depar- (a so-called ‘‘percept’’) can only be obtained via a
ture points both animal–environment mutuality process of association and inference, because the
and the coupling between perception and action. stimulation of receptors only provides an impover-
Animals do not live in a vacuum, but in their ished physical image (the ‘‘doctrine of stimulus
environments in which they eat, sleep, mate, move poverty’’, Fodor, 1983). Action (meaningful chan-
around, etc. In addition, an environment is only ges of the environment by the animal) too can arise
an environment when it is occupied by an animal. only on the basis of internal representations of the
In other words, animal and environment make future goal, including the way to achieve this goal.
an inseparable pair. One cannot explain what an Gibson proposed that the solution to the
animal is doing without giving due attention to the problem of how perception is meaningful should
environmental properties that make the animal’s not be sought in the animal itself, or in the brain,
actions possible. Similarly, perception and action but in the interaction between animal and environ-
are tightly coupled; they imply one another. ment. Further, he argued that only if the environ-
Not only is perception supposed to enable action ment is described in animal-relevant terms, and
(a proposition with which no one would disagree), vice versa, can an adequate theory of perception
action is also considered essential for perception and action arise. Therefore, Gibson (1979/1986)
(a proposition that is less obvious) as activity introduced his direct perception account or the
creates information (Gibson, 1979/1986). theory of information pickup. We now briefly
In the information-processing approach to per- consider three essential concepts in the the-
ception, the stimuli (e.g., retinal images and sound ory that figure significantly into this chapter.
pressure waves) are thought to provide a poor They are information, affordances, and active
basis for perception. Hence, the act of perception exploration.
 37

Information times and in many directions against the particles

in the atmosphere and the surfaces of the environ-
Information in the Gibsonian sense is a concept ment. It is simply the light that surrounds us. The
in which animal and environment clearly come scatter-reflection of light by surfaces in the envi-
together. Gibson was one of the first to recognize ronment imparts structure to ambient light. Struc-
the richness of the information that is available in tured ambient light is called the ambient optic
the flow fields around us. He argued that stimulus array. Because the optic array is ambient light that
information for perception is not poor and mean- is lawfully structured by reflection in the environ-
ingless but can specify properties of the environ- ment, the structure of the ambient optic array can
ment. Therefore, information in the Gibsonian specify surface layout. Hence, the ambient optic
sense can be conceived as specific to objects, array comprises information about the environ-
events, and actions. It specifies meaningful rela- ment and picking up this information is tantamount
tionships between animals and their environments to perceiving the environment.
and therefore can guide the behavior of animals. To reiterate, information in the Gibsonian sense
The specificational character of information is the first underpinning of the theory of direct
implies that it is ‘‘lawfully related to its source’’ perception. The concept of affordances is the next
(Turvey et al., 1981, 1990; Fajen, 2007). concept in which animal and environment as well
An important aspect of information in the as perception and action come together (Turvey,
Gibsonian sense is that it points in two directions, 1992; Michaels and Beek, 1995).
to the environment and to the animal. When
animals interact with their environments by means Affordances
of actions, these actions are ‘‘neither triggered nor
commanded but controlled. They are constrained, In Gibson’s theory of direct perception, perception
guided, or steered, and only in this sense are they is seen as an active pickup of meaningful informa-
ruled or governed. In addition, they are controlled tion specifying action possibilities, or affordances.
not by the brain but by information, that is, by Affordances are the behavioral possibilities of an
seeing oneself in the world’’ (Gibson, 1979/1986, environmental layout taken with reference to a
p. 225). Thus, information is crucial to the actions particular animal. A ball, for instance, affords
of an animal in an environment. By the importance throwing, hitting, catching, avoiding, or being hit
of ‘‘seeing oneself in the world’’, Gibson argues in the head. Water affords drinking, swimming,
that perception of the environment also involves splashing but it does not offer a surface of support
perception of the self. One cannot perceive some- for animals like us, although it may for other
thing in the environment without at the same time, organisms. The ground surface affords standing,
in one way or another, perceiving oneself. Thus, sitting, lying, running, etc. The important thing is
perception of the self and perception of the that the description of the environment is in terms
environment go together; information about the of possibilities for behavior. We perceive the
environment is always information relative to an environment in terms of possibilities it offers for
observer and information for an observer. There- action, that is, in terms of what it affords. The
fore, information can be conceived as the bridge claim is that information specifying these affor-
between an animal and its environment and it dances is present in the structure of light, sound,
cannot be usefully described without considering etc. and will be picked up by the active animal. As
both. Given this definition of information, percep- a result of this pickup the animal will perceive the
tion of the environment is understood as picking affordances of the environment; it will perceive
up information specific to the environment. Saying what it can do in and with the environment. With
this is easy but how does information become to be the concept of affordances, the perception of
specific to its source in the first place? meaning is introduced in a very natural way.
Optical information is present in the light Perceiving affordances is tantamount to perceiving
around us. Ambient light is usually reflected many what the environment means to the observer.
38

In other words, the concept of an affordance perceivers at first misjudged maximal sittable
relation is a treatment of meaning; it is intended as height in the direction that was expected. How-
a way of describing the surrounding surfaces and ever, information-gathering activities, such as
substances in animal-relevant dimensions, so that locomotion, head turning, and leaning, enabled
an individual animal does not have to add meaning almost every observer to quickly (within 12 trials)
to that which is ‘‘merely’’ physical (Shaw et al., retune judgments of his/her critical action bound-
1982, p. 196). Thus, an ecological definition of an ary for sitting (Mark, 1987; Mark et al., 1990). In
environment as a set of affordances ‘‘attempts to addition, it appeared that not permitting obser-
answer the pragmatic question of what an envir- vers to engage in exploratory behavior prevented
onment means to an animal. The answer given is them from recalibrating their action capabilities to
that it means what an animal can in principle do or the affordances of the environment (Mark et al.,
is in practice constrained from doing in that 1990; see also Fajen, 2007). Activity is obviously
environmental context’’ (Shaw et al., 1982, p. 196). required to learn about the new relation between
observer and environment. However, even in the
Active exploration no-block conditions, exploratory behavior impro-
ved performance. Thus, exploratory behavior is
Another core idea in which perception and action crucial to perception. More generally, movement,
meet in the theory of direct perception is the idea no matter how small and whether exploratory or
that perception usually involves active exploration performatory, creates information and this crea-
(Gibson, 1979/1986; Gibson, 1988; Turvey et al., tion of information is an essential aspect of
1990; Michaels and Beek, 1995). Perception is no perception and action.
longer conceived as the impingement of stimuli
onto a (qua movement) passive observer. Instead, Ecological psychology: summary
perception entails activity in the sense of moving
(e.g., locomoting, hefting, rubbing). Looking In sum, the theory of direct perception is about
around, scanning, and exploring the environment how animals perceive and act in their environ-
are most common activities of ordinary percep- ments. Contrary to information-processing theo-
tion. Thus, an important aspect of the pickup of ries, the claim is that meaningful information is
information is that it is deeply intertwined with available in the sea of energy around us. This
movement itself. Not only is perception supposed information specifies the affordances of the envi-
to enable movement, movement is also consid- ronment. It specifies what animals can do with and
ered essential for perception. Endorsing the in the environment. Simply picking up this
intimate relation between perceiving and moving information results in perceiving the affordances.
has consequences for the study of behavior. A crucial characteristic of this pickup of informa-
An experimental demonstration of the impor- tion is that it is often an active process in which
tance of exploratory activity for the perception of movement is as important to perception as
affordances is provided by Mark (1987; Mark perception is to movement.
et al., 1990). Mark examined the perception of Before we continue our discussion on perceiv-
action boundaries of sitting. Observers had to ing and moving in high-pressure contexts, it is
judge the maximal sittable height of a surface they important to note that within embodied cognition
were seeing in front of them. While people appea- there are several recent developments within
red very accurate at this, Mark disturbed the cognitive science and other fields reflecting ideas
functional relation between observers and their that are in line with ecological psychology. As
environments by having them wear 10 cm high such, ‘‘there is a growing commitment to the idea
blocks under their feet. Because this changes the that the mind must be understood in the context
action capabilities of the perceiver as well as eye of its relationship to a physical body that interacts
height (which is considered to be involved in the with the world’’ (Wilson, 2002, p. 625). Within this
scaling of sittability to the measures of the body), view, knowledge and perception of the world
 39

around us can be considered as based upon neural As mentioned in the Introduction, an important
processes that reflect our previous actions and constraint to perception and action in these
experiences (e.g., Wilson, 2002; Niedenthal et al., contexts is the pressure to perform well, which is
2005; Proffitt, 2006; Beilock, 2008; Chapter 1: often accompanied by anxiety. Our research dis-
Grounding cognition in action: expertise, compre- cussed below aims to understand how anxiety
hension, and judgment; Chapter 17: Perceptual influences perceiving and realizing affordances in
decision making: a bidirectional link between such contexts. In the remainder of this section we
mind and motion). Future work is needed to find will describe several studies from our laboratory
out in what regard these new developments add to in which we systematically investigated the
our understanding of perceptual-motor control in influence of anxiety on perceiving and moving.
high-pressure contexts. After that we will address the question whether
training with anxiety can help in ameliorating
performance in stressful situations.
Perceiving and moving in sport and other
high-pressure contexts: effects of anxiety Anxiety and performance

Regarding sports, Fajen et al. (in press) correctly Feelings of performance pressure and, more gene-
remark that perceiving and realizing affordances is ral, anxiety are likely to arise when a person
at the heart of any sport activity. Our claim goes doubts his/her ability to cope with the demands of
even further, namely that sports exist by virtue of a stressful situation (Woodman and Hardy, 2001;
affordances, as the goal of an attacking team or Hanton et al., 2004). According to Schwenkmezger
player, for instance, is to create as many possibilities and Steffgen (1989, pp. 78–79) ‘‘anxiety can be
for action (and eventually for scoring) as possible, regarded as a broad concept for a number of very
while the defenders’ main aim is to prevent possi- complex emotional states and processes that occur
bilities for action of the attackers. Other sports, as a result of threat. This threat is related to the
such as track and field, consist of comparing subjective evaluation of a situation and concerns
absolute action capabilities; who runs a particular jeopardy to one’s self-esteem during performance
distance in the fastest time, who can jump the or social situations, physical danger, or insecurity
highest or the furthest, etc. In ball games, of all and uncertainty.’’ When anxiety and/or the pres-
possible actions in time only a limited number is sure to perform well increase, people tend to
executed. Somehow there must be a selection both perform below expectations given their actual
in perception and in the realization of affordances. level of skill. In the literature this phenomenon
As for perception, we contend that there is a has been termed choking (Baumeister, 1984).
selection of the information that is picked up. Choking under pressure is particularly known
Attention cannot capture all available information from sports (e.g., golf putting, Lewis and Linder,
at the same time. In selecting affordances, relevant 1997; Beilock and Carr, 2001; soccer dribbling,
information concerning these affordances should be Beilock et al., 2002; and baseball, Gray, 2004),
picked up, while irrelevant information should be but has been shown to also occur in a variety of
ignored. In realizing affordances it is possible that other settings, including mathematical problem
more than one affordance is perceived while only solving (Beilock et al., 2004) and police work
one can be realized. It is impossible to both shoot at (Murray, 2004).
goal and pass at the same time. Only the eventual To explain the mechanisms that are involved in
action reveals what the selection has been. Similar performance decrements under pressure and the
examples can be provided for police work, where influence of anxiety on performance, several
different situations afford different actions, and theoretical models have been put forward (e.g.,
where proper perception, selection, and realization Easterbrook, 1959; Wine, 1971; Baumeister, 1984;
of affordances are essential in bringing an event to Sarason, 1988; Eysenck, 1992; Eysenck and
a proper ending. Calvo, 1992; Masters, 1992; Eysenck et al., 2007).
40

Based on our ecological perspective, presented an increase in the influence of the stimulus-driven
above, we adopt a process-oriented approach to system and a decrease in the influence of the
the anxiety–performance relationship, investigat- goal-directed system (e.g., Bishop et al., 2004).
ing the effects of anxiety on the perception, Therefore, by reducing attentional control, anxiety
selection, and realization of affordances. To this increases the allocation of attention to threat-
end, we will focus primarily on the attentional related, task-irrelevant stimuli and deciding how
control theory (Eysenck et al., 2007), an emerging to respond, while at the same time reducing
theory that provides a comprehensive account of on-task attentional focus. It is assumed that
the mechanisms behind the effects of anxiety on threat-related and/or distracting stimuli may exist
performance and which has recently been devel- externally as well as internally. For example,
oped on the basis of processing efficiency theory when an athlete focuses his/her attention on
(Eysenck and Calvo, 1992). Although the atten- offensive crowd noise (an external stimulus) it is
tional control theory and processing efficiency likely that relevant information about the task
theory are claimed to have most relevance to cannot be picked up. In contrast, attention to
cognitive performance, several studies have pro- worry (an internal stimulus) proceeding from, for
vided empirical support for the processing effi- instance, performance pressure might also lead to
ciency theory with respect to perceptual-motor missing task-relevant information.
tasks (e.g., Mullen and Hardy, 2000; Smith et al., By concentrating on the detection of task-
2001a; Williams et al., 2002b; Murray and Janelle, relevant information and the ability to distinguish
2003; Mullen et al., 2005; Wilson et al., 2006; between task-relevant and task-irrelevant informa-
Murray and Janelle, 2007; Wilson et al., 2007; tion, the attentional control theory envelops a
Nieuwenhuys et al., 2008). In the next section we central tenet of ecological psychology. Further-
will discuss the attentional control theory in more more, the theory is generally in line with several
detail and in light of another more prevailing earlier models of anxiety and performance (e.g.,
explanation for decrements in perceptual-motor Wine, 1971; Sarason, 1988; Eysenck, 1992) and
performance under pressure, the explicit monitor- more or less incorporates some of the specific pre-
ing hypothesis (see Beilock and Gray, 2007). dictions of others (Easterbrook, 1959; Baumeister,
1984; Masters, 1992; also see Lewis and Linders,
Attentional control theory 1997; Beilock and Carr, 2001; Wilson et al., 2007).
Going beyond these models, however, the atten-
In short, the attentional control theory (Eysenck tional control theory also provides an explanation
et al., 2007) is based on the assumption that we for why anxiety does not necessarily have to
have two attentional systems: one is goal-directed lead to a decrement in performance. According
and based on our intentions, knowledge, and to Eysenck and his colleagues (Eysenck and Calvo,
current goals, and the other is stimulus driven, and 1992; Eysenck et al., 2007), negative effects of
responds maximally to the most salient or beha- anxiety may be compensated for by self-regulatory
viorally relevant cues (Posner and Petersen, 1990; processes, involving increased on-task effort and
Corbetta and Shulman, 2002). According to additional activities to improve or maintain per-
Eysenck et al. (2007) anxiety influences perfor- formance. As such, anxiety primarily affects the
mance by reducing the processing and tempo- efficiency (i.e., process) of task execution while, as
rary storage capacity of working memory (see a result of the extra effort invested, the effectiveness
Baddeley, 1992), a brain system which is used by (i.e., outcome) of performance remains unaltered
the goal-directed attentional system to actively or might even improve.
draw attention to a task and to inhibit distraction As an aside, research on the explicit monitoring
or interference from task-irrelevant stimuli and/or hypothesis (e.g., Beilock and Carr, 2001; Gray,
responses. With anxiety, the balance that nor- 2004; Jackson et al., 2006) seems to suggest that in
mally exists between the goal-directed and stimu- perceptual-motor tasks a conscious step-by-step
lus-driven attentional system is disrupted, causing control of movement execution (skill-focused
 41

attention) is responsible for a breakdown of ex- individuals’ perceptual judgments (e.g., in estimat-
pert performance under pressure, as it disrupts ing the geographical slant of a hill or the distance
the automatic execution of the task at hand. Thus, of a certain extent) occur when changes are
according to this line of research, it is conscious induced in their physiological or psychological
control rather than distraction causing these state, for instance, when wearing a heavy back-
performance decrements. However, in the studies pack, after a tiring run, or when they are afraid of
in question attentional focus was always experi- falling (see Proffitt, 2006 for an overview of this
mentally manipulated, also in the high anxiety line of research). Recently, we conducted a series
conditions. Therefore, it still remains to be seen of experiments in our own laboratory, in which we
whether it is skill-focused attention or distraction systematically investigated the influence of anxi-
that (most often) occurs naturally and sponta- ety on the perception, selection, and realization of
neously when performers are under pressure. affordances in climbing (Pijpers et al., 2005, 2006;
Anecdotal evidence (e.g., Gerrard, 2007), psycho- Nieuwenhuys et al., 2008).
logical research (Wine, 1971; Sarason, 1988) as Pijpers et al. (2005) asked novices to climb
well as studies examining athletes’ thoughts identical traverses low (low-anxiety) and high
during actual competition, thus, outside the labo- (high-anxiety) on a climbing wall. As expected,
ratory setting (e.g., Hatzigeorgiadis and Biddle, anxiety appeared to affect movement behavior
2000, 2001), seem to suggest that rather than skill- (i.e., the realization of affordances), which was
focused attention all kinds of distracting thoughts indicated by longer climbing times, longer gras-
and worries naturally occur when performers are ping of holds, and slower movements in the high-
under pressure (see also Wilson and Smith, 2007). compared to the low-anxiety condition.
Therefore, acknowledging the potentially debili- In a follow-up study, Pijpers et al. (2006) used a
tative effects of explicit monitoring in expert similar experimental setup to manipulate anxiety,
perceptual-motor performance, we feel that in a and reported three experiments on the relation
natural (sporting) environment choking is most between anxiety and perception. In the first experi-
often caused by changes in attention to task- ment, participants judged their maximal overhead
irrelevant stimuli rather than to step-by-step skill reaching height and executed maximal overhead
execution. As such, the attentional control theory reaches. As expected, an increase in anxiety
(Eysenck et al., 2007) appears to provide a more (high on the wall) led to decreases in actual
universal framework in explaining the underlying as well as perceived maximal reaching height. To
mechanisms of performing perceptual-motor tasks test whether these changes in (perceived) action
under pressure (for experts as well as novices). capability were accompanied by changes in the
Still, a proper assessment of what happens to selection of affordances, we conducted a second
attention (most frequently) when performers are experiment. In this experiment participants again
put under pressure is needed. climbed identical traverses high and low on the
wall, which now consisted of an abundance of
holds to allow for different action possibilities. As
The effects of anxiety on perceiving and moving expected, increased anxiety led to increases in
on a climbing wall climbing times as well as the numbers of holds that
were used, implying that participants indeed
Returning to the predicted changes in attention selected different affordances as a result of the
and information detection due to anxiety, one observed changes in perceived reaching ability.
might contend that anxiety — similar to other However, the actual numbers of holds that were
state variables such as fatigue or injury (Fajen used implied a decrease in reaching distance that
et al., in press) — may lead to alterations in the was larger than could be expected on the basis of
perception, selection, and realization of affor- changes in maximal reaching ability alone. To
dances. In fact, recent investigations by Proffitt investigate this further, and to gain more insight
and his colleagues have shown that differences in into the attentional mechanisms that supposedly
42

underlie anxiety-induced changes in perceptual- grasped holds longer, spent more time moving
motor behavior, we conducted a third experiment. their hands and feet, and executed more move-
In this experiment participants climbed the same ments in the high-anxiety condition than in the
traverse, but were now also asked to detect lights low-anxiety condition. In addition, changes in
that were projected around them on the climbing movement behavior were accompanied by increa-
wall while they were climbing. As fewer lights were ses in total and average fixation duration and the
reported in the high-anxiety condition we con- number of fixations, which were primarily direc-
cluded that with increased anxiety, attention was ted at the holds used for climbing. Furthermore,
more narrowly focused on information that was participants appeared to need more time to
relevant for the climbing task, whereas information extract relevant information from the handholds
that was less relevant for the climbing task (i.e., when they were anxious compared with when they
projected lights) was overlooked. In other words, were not anxious. These findings provide evidence
in addition to the observed changes in action for a decrease in processing efficiency as anxiety
capability, anxiety apparently led to changes in increased (Eysenck and Calvo, 1992; Eysenck
information detection (Eysenck et al., 2007; see et al., 2007). Finally, it also appeared that while the
also Bootsma et al., 1992; Stefanucci et al., 2008; mean distance of hand movements decreased with
Teachman et al., 2008). anxiety, the mean distance over which participants
From the perspective of the attentional control executed their fixations did not. This confirmed
theory (Eysenck et al., 2007), one could contend that in the high-anxiety condition different action
that the longer climbing times and greater possibilities were selected, as anxious participants
numbers and durations of movements that were apparently preferred handholds that were closer
found, in fact, indirectly indicate a decrease in over handholds that were further away, despite
processing efficiency as anxiety increased. Namely, the fact that they had visually explored the same
although performance effectiveness (operationa- handholds as without anxiety.
lized in this experiment as being able to reach the
other side of the climbing wall without slipping or Conclusions
falling down) remained unaltered, as participants
still managed to perform the climbing task in the Based on these experiments (i.e., Pijpers et al.,
high-anxiety condition, additional resources (e.g., 2005, 2006; Nieuwenhuys et al., 2008), we can
longer climbing times and movement durations) conclude that performing with increased anxiety
and activities (e.g., more movements) were needed influences perceptual-motor behavior in such a
to achieve this (i.e., performance efficiency way that it alters (a) perception of action cap-
decreased). To test this hypothesis, and to better ability, as was indicated by a decrease in perceived
understand what happens with attention when maximal reaching height; (b) information detec-
performers are anxious we recently conducted an tion, as was indicated by detecting fewer lights and
experiment in which information detection, and increases in the number of (explorative) fixations;
the perception, selection, and realization of (c) perception of affordances, as was indicated
affordances were measured all at once by analyz- by our finding that participants needed more time
ing both movement and gaze behavior in the same to recognize task-relevant information as a possi-
setting (Nieuwenhuys et al., 2008). bility for action; (d) selection of affordances, as
In this experiment, novices were again asked to was indicated by increases in the number of
climb horizontal traverses low (low-anxiety) and holds used for climbing (i.e., preferring handholds
high (high-anxiety) on a climbing wall. Similar to that are closer over handholds that are further
the study by Pijpers et al. (2006) the traverses away); and (e) realization of affordances, as was
consisted of an abundance of holds to allow for indicated in our experiments by the increased
the selection of different action possibilities. duration of climbing movements from one hold to
Replicating the findings of Pijpers et al. (2005, another and, consequently, an increase in climbing
2006), participants showed longer climbing times, time.
 43

Training with anxiety outperformed the group that was low on disposi-
tional self-consciousness when the incentives
Knowing the influence of anxiety on performance to perform well were high. These results led
in general and, more specifically, some important Baumeister (1984) to hypothesize that, either
perceptual-motor processes underlying it (see through practice or experience, one might be
above), the question arises whether or not we can able to acclimatize to the effects that heightened
do something about it. On the one hand one might self-awareness and/or pressure normally have
think of attempts to reduce feelings of anxiety (see on performance. Lewis and Linder (1997) and
Gould and Udry, 1994 for an overview). On the Beilock and Carr (2001) provided more direct
other hand, however, given the nature of profes- support for this ‘‘acclimatization hypothesis,’’
sions such as elite sports and police work, one is demonstrating that self-consciousness training
always going to be confronted with situations in reduced choking on a golf-putting task.
which the pressures are high. As we have seen, Recently, Oudejans and Pijpers conducted a
action capabilities (e.g., maximum reaching series of experiments with which they provide
height) and information detection can change evidence that reality-based practice under pres-
across short time scales as a result of anxiety. Simi- sure reduces the chances of choking for beginners
lar to how athletes and other professionals (e.g., and experts alike, across a variety of settings
fire fighters, police officers, biathlon rifle shooters) (Oudejans, 2008; Oudejans and Pijpers, in press,
learn to deal with the physiologically straining 2009). In two experiments, Oudejans and Pijpers
environments in which they have to perform (see examined whether training with anxiety can
Smith et al., 1997, 2001b; Anderson et al., 2002; prevent choking in experts performing percep-
Vickers and Williams, 2007), we believe that it is tual-motor tasks. In the first experiment, two
possible, through training, to adjust, or — in terms teams of expert basketball players practiced free
of ecological psychology — recalibrate and reat- throws over a 5-week period with (experimental
tune to the action constraints that are imposed by team) or without (control team) induced anxiety.
experiences of anxiety and performance pressure Anxiety was induced using various ego-stressor
(Newell, 1986; Davids et al., 2008; Fajen et al., in methods such as alleged camera recordings,
press; see also Bhalla and Proffitt, 1999; Proffitt, winning a prize, and expert evaluation, each of
2006). However, before turning to how we think which has been applied successfully in earlier
recalibration and reattunement in response to research (e.g., Baumeister, 1984; Lewis and
anxiety might occur, and in what way these Linder, 1997; Beilock et al., 2002). Only after
processes are facilitated by reality-based practice training with anxiety, performance no longer
under pressure, it is important to first provide deteriorated during the (mild) anxiety post-test.
evidence that training with anxiety is effective. In the second experiment expert dart players
Baumeister (1984) already suggested that get- practiced dart throwing from a position high or
ting used to the pressures accompanying perfor- low on a climbing wall, thus, with or without
mance situations might be beneficial, as it reduces anxiety. Again, only after training with anxiety,
the chances for choking. In a series of experi- performance was maintained during the anxiety
ments, Baumeister tested the influence of pres- post-test, despite higher levels of anxiety, heart
sure-induced increases in self-consciousness and rate, and perceived effort.
self-awareness on the performance of individuals In another experiment, Oudejans (2008) exam-
who were accustomed to such an internal focus of ined whether reality-based practice under pressure
attention (i.e., who scored high on a dispositional may help in preventing degradation of handgun
measure of self-consciousness; Fenigstein et al., shooting performance under pressure for police
1975) and individuals who were not (i.e., who officers. One group of police officers practiced
scored low on this dispositional measure of handgun shooting under pressure evoked by an
self-consciousness). Consistently, the group that opponent who fired back using marking (colored
was high on dispositional self-consciousness soap) cartridges. The control group practiced
44

handgun shooting on standard cardboard targets with increased effort under mild anxiety but this
instead of real opponents. Both groups received was no longer the case when anxiety was further
three training sessions of 1 hour. While at the increased during the high-anxiety test. These
outset both groups performed worse in front of an results suggest that practicing under mild anxiety
opponent firing back compared to the cardboard did help in maintaining performance under high
targets, after the training sessions, shooting per- anxiety, a finding with clear practical implications
formance of the experimental group no longer as training with simulated pressure seems suffi-
deteriorated with an opponent while performance cient to prevent choking during the actual event
of the control group was equally harmed. These when pressures are high.
results are similar to those of Oudejans and Pijpers To conclude, despite variations in context (field
(in press) and indicate that training exercises or laboratory), task, experience of the participants,
involving increased pressure can acclimatize shoot- as well as in the manipulation and level of anxiety
ing performance of ordinary police officers to the main findings were replicated in all four
those situations with elevated pressure they may experiments. Each time the group that practiced
encounter during their police work. with anxiety managed to maintain performance
Apparently training with anxiety is effective in during the anxiety post-test, while performance of
preventing choking under pressure. One might those who had not practiced with anxiety system-
contend, however, that anxiety levels induced atically decreased. Therefore, we conclude that
during practice approach, but are not as high as, practicing under anxiety prevents choking in
anxiety experienced in the actual events (e.g., perceptual-motor performance for experts and
handgun shooting in the line of duty, taking a novices alike, as one seems to acclimatize to the
decisive penalty kick during the final of the World specific processes accompanying anxiety. We will
Championships, and performing during the finals try to elucidate this in the next section.
of the Olympic Games). Therefore, in a final
study, Oudejans and Pijpers (2009) investigated
whether practicing with mild levels of anxiety also Theoretical implications
prevents choking when performing under high
levels of anxiety. In this case, as training with The question that arises is how positive effects of
anxiety seems to have positive effects both for training with anxiety can be interpreted within the
experts and novices, novices throwing darts from frameworks of the attentional control theory and
the climbing wall were investigated. Participants ecological psychology. According to the atten-
practiced dart throwing from low on the wall tional control theory, anxiety may not only lead to
either with or without experimentally induced worry about task performance but also to attempts
mild levels of anxiety (using similar ego-stressor to reduce or eliminate the negative effects of
methods as in the first experiment by Oudejans anxiety on performance by investing additional
and Pijpers, in press). After practice, participants effort. With additional effort an attempt is made to
were tested with (a) low levels of anxiety (low on maintain active attention on the task while
the wall), (b) mild levels of induced anxiety (low inhibiting distraction or interference from task-
on the wall), and (c) high levels of anxiety (high irrelevant information (Eysenck et al., 2007). As
on the wall). With increasing levels of anxiety we have shown these attempts become increas-
during the tests processing efficiency appeared to ingly more successful in the process of acclimatiza-
decrease, as was shown by the increases in tion to anxiety (Oudejans and Pijpers, in press).
perceived effort over the tests. Despite increasing From an ecological perspective, as we have
levels of anxiety, and perhaps due to more already indicated and found, anxiety may change
invested effort, dart performance of the experi- the perception, selection, and realization of affor-
mental group remained unharmed. Performance dances. As a consequence of training with anxiety,
of the control group, who had not practiced under performers better learn to adjust their actions to
mild levels of anxiety, could also be maintained the observed changes better. This is in line with the
 45

recent ideas by Fajen et al. (in press) on the strategies leading to, for instance, improved pre-
perception of affordances and control of action in performance routines. Exposure to elevated levels
sport. As they explain, following changes in action of anxiety during practice may be used to develop
capabilities due to factors such as fatigue or injury strategies to deal with pressure situations and
‘‘some form of learning must be involved in the anxiety effectively. For instance, evidence shows
perception of affordances to allow actors to adapt that well-learned pre-performance routines for
to such changes. Such learning can be thought of in tasks as free-throw, penalty, and rifle shooting
terms of perceptual-motor (re)calibration’’ (p. 25). (e.g., fixed order of activities, number of dribbles,
As a performer’s action capabilities change due to number of breaths taken) may lead to higher
constraints such as anxiety, it may be necessary to levels of performance (Konttinen and Lyytinen,
continually retune and recalibrate to ensure 1993; Singer, 2000, 2002; Williams et al., 2002a).
successful control of action (Fajen et al., in press). Eventually, efficient recalibration has the effect
We propose that in training with anxiety, actions of that (despite the anxiety experienced) one is better
performers become better calibrated to the new capable of (a) detecting task-relevant information;
constraints and performers better learn to quickly (b) perceiving and selecting the most optimal
recalibrate their perceptual-motor control when affordances, and (c) realizing those affordances
confronted with changing constraints. Whatever with relatively small losses of efficiency.
the constraints or context in question, specific
activities involving these constraints are obviously
required to learn about the new relations between Concluding remarks
performer and environment. Training with anxiety
provides an example of such activities that lead to In this chapter we have discussed ecological
better calibration and more efficient and effective psychology as a framework in understanding the
recalibration processes for performing in situations perception, selection, and realization of action
where the pressure to perform, and consequently possibilities in sports and other high-pressure
anxiety, is increased. contexts, particularly police work. Rather than
In our view, improved self-regulatory processes resorting to internal representations about actions
(as described in the attentional control theory) and environment, the ecological approach seeks
and recalibration (as proposed in ecological solutions in the reciprocity of performer and
psychology) may involve similar processes. One environment and the mutual dependence of
might argue that recalibration also manifests itself perceiving and moving. Representations for action
in extra invested effort and involves attempts to possibilities are present in the interaction between
reoptimize detection of task-relevant information performer and environment, more specifically, in
(which has changed as well due to changes in the perceptual information specifying the environ-
action capabilities) while preventing distraction by ment in terms of the performer, hereby inherently
task-irrelevant information. Based on our results carrying meaning.
we contend that individuals who have trained with Anxiety is one of the constraints that are
anxiety and are used to recalibrate to their present in several high-pressure contexts. Exam-
changed action capabilities under such circum- ples from practice itself as well as several of our
stances will invest their extra effort more effi- studies have shown how anxiety may negatively
ciently and effectively, while individuals who have influence the perception and realization of affor-
not trained with anxiety and are not used to dances, in part because of its impact on the
recalibrate to their changed action capabilities detection of task-relevant information. Practicing
under such circumstances, may also invest extra with anxiety may counter the negative effects of
effort but not in an effective manner. anxiety, because, as we argue, self-regulatory
Effective acclimatization processes may not be processes improve and perception and action are
restricted to improved subconscious processes but recalibrated in light of the new constraints and
may also involve the development of conscious accompanying changes. In learning to perceive,
46

select, and realize affordances in several settings it Cooper, C. L., Davidson, M. J., & Robinson, P. (1982). Stress in
is important to gain experience in task execution the police service. Journal of Occupational Medicine, 24, 30–36.
Corbetta, M., & Shulman, G. L. (2002). Control of goal-
with the same constraints (physical, technical,
directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain. Nature
tactical, as well as psychological) as those encoun- reviews. Neuroscience, 3, 201–215.
tered in the actual performance environment, be it Davids, K., Button, C., & Bennett, S. (2008). The dynamics of
a decisive event for an athlete or a life-threatening skill acquisition: a constraint led approach. Champaign, IL:
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Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Linderin kautta saatettu Plehwelle ja tämä antanut siitä tiedon H.
Majesteetillensa, joka oli siitä lausunut mielihyvänsä.

Mutta kiertokirje herätti aivan luonnollisesti voimakasta,

kiihtymystä nuorten mielissä ja tämä mieliala puhkesi ilmi
ylioppilaskokouksessa huhtikuun 2 päivänä. Ääniä laskettaessa erään
vaalin aikana joutuivat muutamat niistä, jotka olivat allekirjoittaneet
kiertokirjeen, häväisevän kohtelun alaisiksi. Heidät piiritettiin ja heille
huudettiin haukkumasanoja, heitä nimitettiin maankavaltajiksi,
senaattorikandidaateiksi, puhuttiin venäläisistä ruplista y.m.
Käsikähmään ei kuitenkaan tultu. Mutta kokouksen päätyttyä
hyökättiin erään "decemvirin" kimppuun, ajettiin ulos
ravintolahuoneustosta hänet ja kolme muuta ylioppilasta, jotka
istuivat samassa pöydässä kuin hän. Asiassa toimitettiin tutkimus
muutamia päiviä myöhemmin. Syyllisintä ei saatu selville. Neljä
muuta sai ankaran varoituksen ja yhdeltä otettiin hänen oikeutensa
olla jäsenenä ylioppilaskunnan hallituksessa. Heille teroitettiin, että
yliopistoviranomaiset eivät voineet sallia poliittista vainoa
akateemisen nuorison keskuudessa, sekä että heidän täytyi pitää
silmällä milloin sitä ilmeni, niin että se oli rangaistukseen saatettava,
samoin kuin muutkin epäjärjestykset.

Niinkuin edeltäpäin voi arvata, ottivat ylioppilaat tänäkin keväänä

osaa agitatsioniin kutsunnoista poisjäämisen puolesta, mutta he
tekivät sitä varovaisemmin ja minun luullakseni pienemmässä
määrässä kuin edellisenä vuonna. Niinpä vangittiin toukokuun 27
päivänä kaksi opiskelevaa, W. Godenhjelm ja J. Toiviainen, jotka
edellisen asuntoon olivat koonneet muutamia asevelvollisia
puhuakseen heidän kanssaan, jolloin myöskin eräs urkkija oli hiipinyt
sisään, ja tämä ilmiantoi heidät viipymättä poliisille. Minun onnistui
pelastaa mainitut herrat poliisin käsistä, ja asia siirrettiin
raastuvanoikeuteen, missä he saivat vapauttavan tuomion. Helsingin
kutsunta kävi kaikin puolin rauhallisesti. Eräs ylioppilas vangittiin,
koska hän kadulla oli puhutellut muutamia asevelvollisia, mutta ei
hänelläkään ollut tästä enempiä ikävyyksiä ja raastuvanoikeus
vapautti hänet. Myöhemmin sattui muutamia samanlaatuisia
tapauksia maaseudulla. Helsingissä saapui kutsuntaan joku kymmen
ylioppilasta, maaseudulla tuli verrattain monta, runsaasti 50.
Vastustus ei siis ollut yhtä voimakas kuin edellisenä vuonna.

Elokuun lopulla saatiin tietää, että kenraalikuvernööri oli

senaattiin, lausunnon antamista varten, lähettänyt ehdotuksen
asevelvollisuudesta poisjääneiden rankaisemisesta, ja m.m.
ehdottanut, että ensimmäiseen sivistysluokkaan kuuluvat
sijoitettaisiin venäläisiin joukkoihin. Sen mukaan kuin minulle
ilmoitettiin aivan luotettavalta taholta, oli erääseen Kaukaasian
rykmenttiin saapunut kysely, voisiko se ottaa vastaan neljä
ylioppilasta. Asiaa oli siis sotilaallisella taholla valmisteltu. Syyskuun 1
päivänä sain tietää, että rankaisuasiaa samana päivänä käsiteltäisiin
senaatissa, mutta tiedonanto tuli minulle niin myöhään, että vasta
iltapäivällä voin käydä Enebergin luona (kirkollisasiain päällikkö
Genetz oli matkalla). Hän ilmoitti, että senaatti oli selittänyt, että se
ehdotettu toimenpide, jonka mukaan suomalaisia nuorukaisia
sijoitettaisiin venäläisiin joukkoihin, soti niinhyvin perustus- kuin
asevelvollisuuslakia ja H. Majesteettinsa vakuutuksia vastaan, ja
senaatti oli evännyt tämän osan ehdotusta.

Syyslukukauden alkaessa oli jälleen suurta levottomuutta niiden

huhujen johdosta, joita kierteli odotettavana olevista rangaistuksista.
Minä puolestani koetin tyynnyttää nuorisoa, ja kehoitin nuoria miehiä
pysymään alallaan ja harrastamaan opintojansa. Sijaiskanslerilta sain
sen tiedonannon, että kenraalikuvernööri muutamien päivien
kuluttua matkustaisi Warsovaan, jossa H. Majesteettinsakin siihen
aikaan oli. Koska voitiin pelätä, että kysymys asevelvollisten
rankaisemisesta mahdollisesti silloin tulisi puheeksi tai ratkaistavaksi,
lähti sijaiskansleri 15 päivän iltana Pietariin tutkimaan asemaa ja
tekemään minkä voisi ehkäistäkseen uhkaavan vaaran. Oerstrœmin
luona käydessään huomasi Danielson, että tämä oli kokonaan
tietämätön kenraalikuvernöörin ehdotuksesta. Oerstrœm luuli, ettei
Plehwelläkään ollut tietoa siitä. Hän ei voinut ajatella, että Bobrikoff
Plehwen selän takana esittelisi sellaisen asian, sillä se johtaisi
täydelliseen välien rikkoutumiseen heidän kesken. Plehwen, joka oli
matkalla Siperiassa, piti palata lokakuussa v.l. ja sitä ennen siis
tuskin mitään ratkaisua tapahtuisi. Oerstrœm piti muuten itse
ehdotusta varsin sopimattomana ja lausui: "Mitä tahansa, mutta ei
tätä." Danielson jätti Oerstrœmille pitkähkön promemorian, jonka
hän oli laatinut neuvoteltuaan minun kanssani, ja tämä lupasi esittää
sen Plehwelle.

Muutamia päiviä myöhemmin kävi Danielson Deutrichin luona,

joka juuri oli palannut Pietarista. Tämän kysymykseen, oliko
yliopistossa rauhallista, vastasi Danielson myöntävästi ja sanoi
luulevansa, että niin tulisi olemaankin, jollei mitään odottamatonta
tapahtuisi. Tämän yhteydessä otti hän puheeksi kenraalikuvernöörin
rangaistusehdotuksen ja sanoi sen olevan hyvin onnettoman.
Deutrich lausui: "Olette ehkä oikeassa" ja lupasi esittää Danielsonin
perustelut Bobrikoffille. Kysymyksen ratkaisua ei voitu odottaa
ennenkuin marraskuussa. Mitä tuli kurinpitotoimenpiteisiin
kutsunnasta poisjääneitä ylioppilaita vastaan, huomautti Danielson,
että täkäläiset yliopistoviranomaiset eivät voineet sellaisiin ryhtyä,
vaan että, jos jokin tämänlaatuinen toimenpide tulisi kysymykseen,
kuuluisi se kanslerille.
 Kun Oerstrœm kerran kävi luonani syyskuun lopulla, tuli tämä
kysymys puheeksi. Hän lausui sen toivomuksen, että
kenraalikuvernöörin ehdotus poisjääneiden ylioppilasten
sijoittamisesta venäläiseen sotaväkeen ei tulisi hyväksytyksi, ja hän
arveli, että sen pitemmälle kuin kurinpidollisiin rangaistuksiin ei
mentäisi. Minä huomautin hänelle, että ylioppilasten käytöksessä ei
ollut mitään rikollista tai rangaistavaa tavallisessa merkityksessä. Hän
myönsi että asia niin oli, ja että rankaisutoimenpiteitä tässä vaati
vain poliittinen välttämättömyys. Minä pyysin häntä toimimaan siihen
suuntaan, että ne eivät saisi kovin ankaraa luonnetta.

Täysi-istunnossa lokakuun 19 päivänä laati senaatti, jota siihen oli

kehoitettu, ehdotuksen v. 1903 poisjääneiden asevelvollisten
rankaisemisesta. Siinä huomautettiin m.m. että, jos H.
Majesteettinsa katsoisi tarpeelliseksi, että ankarampiin rangaistuksiin
ryhdyttäisiin kuin edellisenä vuonna, niiden pitäisi kohdistua niihin
asevelvollisiin, joilta korkeamman sivistystasonsa perusteella voitiin
odottaa suurempaa arvostelukykyä ja itsenäisyyttä, siis yliopiston ja
polyteknillisen opiston sekä Evon metsäopiston ja Mustialan
maanviljelysopiston oppilaisiin. Näistä oppilaista etsittäisiin joukko ja
tarkastuksen jälkeen pantaisiin henkikaartin suomalaiseen
tarkkampujapataljoonaan. Muut erotettaisiin vuodeksi mainituista
oppilaitoksista. Kun Danielson kerran kävi kenraalikuvernöörin luona,
tuli tämäkin kysymys puheeksi. Kenraalikuvernööri oli sitä mieltä,
että Suomen kaarti, joka oli yksi H. Majesteettinsa
henkivartiojoukoista, ei sopinut siksi, johon kapinallisia ylioppilaita
liitettäisiin. Sotaministeri oli tahtonut, että kyseessäolevat
nuorukaiset lähetettäisiin kaukaisiin kuvernementteihin, hän,
kenraalikuvernööri oli senvuoksi ehdottanut, että ne sijoitettaisiin
Suomessa oleviin venäläisiin joukkoihin. Danielson huomautti, että
sivistyneet nuoret miehet eivät alistuisi siihen, vaan karkaisivat
maasta kuten monet jo olivat tehneet. Kenraalikuvernööri sanoi
olevansa pakotettu esittämään ehdotuksensa, mutta hän ei tahtoisi
jyrkästi pysyä siinä, jos sijaiskansleri piti sitä sopimattomana (!).
Erottamisrangaistuksesta ei Danielson tahtonut lausua
mielipidettään, se oli kanslerin asia, mutta pakotettuna siihen hän
huomautti, että rangaistus varmaan ei hyödyttäisi mitään. Se
tuottaisi tosin monelle vaikeuksia ja ikävyyksiä, mutta ei saisi ketään
vakuutetuksi siitä, että oli välttämätöntä saapua kutsuntoihin.
Bobrikoff näytti arvelevan, että mahdollisesti vielä tällä kerralla
uhkaus riittäisi (hän tarkoitti ehdotuksensa esittämistä), mutta
seuraavalla kerralla olisi rangaistus pantava täytäntöön.

Ratkaisua odotettaessa pohdittiin ylioppilaspiireissä kysymystä,

kuinka nuorison ja yliopiston opettajien ja johtomiesten tulisi
suhtautua, mahdollisiin kurinpidollisiin rankaisutoimenpiteisiin.
Perustuslaillisten ylioppilasten komitea kääntyi muutamien yliopiston
opettajien puoleen (noin 15:n) pyytäen saada kuulla heidän
mielipiteensä varsinkin siitä joukkoerottamisesta, joka kutsunnoista
poisjääneillä oli odotettavana. Ylioppilaat esittivät pohdittavaksi, eikö
yliopisto nyt ollut tienhaarassa, ja he puolestansa luulivat, että
nuoriso olisi taipuvainen lujaan vastarintaan. Yhteisen kokouksen
jälkeen komitean jäsenten kanssa kokoontuivat mainitut opettajat
yksityiseen kokoukseen, johon minäkin olin kutsuttu.
Erottamiskysymyksestä olivat useimmat sitä mieltä, että jolleivät
täkäläiset yliopiston viranomaiset saisi käskyä rangaista poisjääneitä,
vaan kansleri sen tekisi, niin ei olisi syytä kieltäytyä tottelemasta,
eikä aihetta sen vuoksi saattaa yliopistoa vakaviin selkkauksiin. Kaksi
läsnäolevista oli toista mieltä, siten että heidän mielestään piti
kieltäytyä kaikesta osanotosta sellaisen rangaistuksen
toimeenpanemiseen. Minä esitin ajatukseni suunnilleen näin: Jos
kansleri antaisi täkäläisille yliopistoviranomaisille tehtäväksi rangaista
poisjääneitä, täytyi siitä kieltäytyä, mutta jos erottaminen tuli
kanslerilta, oli yliopistoviranomaisten noudatettava kurinpidollista
säädöstä. Kuitenkin oli tässä vain kysymys rehtorista, sillä muita
yliopistoviranomaisia asian ei tarvinnut koskea. Mikäli toistaiseksi
voin ymmärtää, tulisin minä ilmoittamaan erotetuille ylioppilaille
kanslerin toimenpiteen ja kehoittaisin heitä määräystä noudattamaan
sekä pitäisin huolta siitä, että he eivät saisi yliopiston kansliassa
ilmoittautua lukukaudella läsnäoleviksi. Ei ollut mitään alentavaa
alistua tuomioon, jota itse täydellä syyllä piti vääränä. Poisjääneet
olivat toimineet niinkuin, heidän velvollisuutensa vaati ja he voivat
nyt tyynesti alistua velvollisuudenmukaisen tekonsa seurauksiin.
Mutta jos ylioppilaat niskoittelisivat, ja rehtoria tahdottaisiin pakottaa
ankarampiin toimenpiteisiin, silloin kieltäytyisin enempää kajoamasta
asiaan, koska se olisi minulle vastenmielistä, mutta silloin minun
myöskin täytyisi ensin erota rehtorintoimesta. — Mitä taas tuli
ylioppilaskomitean esittämään kysymykseen, pitikö rangaistujen
kieltäytyä tottelemasta ja olla alistumatta tuomioon, ja selittäisivätkö
toiset ylioppilaat olevansa solidaarisia panemalla toimeen suurlakon
yliopistossa, olivat läsnäolevat sitä mieltä, että yliopiston opettajat
eivät voineet vastata sellaisiin kysymyksiin, mutta neuvottaisiin
ylioppilaita siitä luopumaan, koska heidän velvollisuutensa oli olla
lainkuuliaisia ja koska tämänlaatuisista mielenosoituksista, joihin ei
oltu yksimielisesti ryhdytty, tulisi vain fiasko.

Yliopistonopettajien kannan kysymyksessä esitti Runeberg uudessa

yliopiston opettajien ja ylioppilasten yhteisessä kokouksessa. Asiasta
syntyi keskustelua, mutta se ei johtanut mihinkään uuteen
ehdotukseen. Ylioppilaat koettivat pysytellä periaatteellisella
kannallansa ja näyttivät pettyneiltä sekä viittasivat siihen, että
heidän ja yliopiston opettajien mahdollisesti täytyi kulkea eri teitä.
Heitä kannattivat Ernst Estlander ja T. Homén.
 Yllämainitun ylioppilaskomitean kirjelmä yliopiston opettajille oli
tullut Bobrikoffin tietoon. Eräs ylioppilas, joka myöskin itse tuli
luokseni ja kertoi asian, oli lähettänyt yhden kappaleen sitä kirjeessä
eräälle toverille Turkuun. Täällä avattiin kirje postissa ja kirjelmä
takavarikoitiin sekä jätettiin luultavasti santarmeille. Bobrikoff aikoi
tehdä suuren numeron asiasta, mutta erään henkilön, jonka nimeä
minulle ei ole mainittu, mutta jonka luulen olleen prokuraattorin,
onnistui saada Bobrikoff luopumaan aikeestaan. Eräillä virallisilla
päivällisillä kenraalikuvernöörin luona joulukuun alussa, joihin minä
olin kutsuttu, viittasi hän tietävänsä siitä. Hän kysyi minulta, miten
oli ylioppilasten laita, johon minä vastasin, että he olivat jonkun
verran kiihoittuneita odotettavana olevien
asevelvollisuusrangaistusten johdosta. Hän sanoi tietävänsä, että
"kleine Ausschritte vorgekommen sind", johon minä vastasin, että
asia oli järjestetty eikä vaatinut muita toimenpiteitä. Hän lausui
silloin, että heitä ei tällä kertaa sijoitettaisi venäläisiin joukkoihin,
mutta seuraavana vuonna ei mitään armoa annettaisi. Korkeampi
voima piti huolta siitä, että Bobrikoffia "ensi kerralla" ei enää ollut.

Joulukuun 18 päivänä oli sijaiskansleri Pietarissa ja kävi sekä

Oerstrœmin että Plehwen luona. Käynnin tarkoituksena oli etupäässä
saada selville, oliko jotakin tekeillä yliopistoon nähden, sekä
mahdollisesti estää kurinpidolliset toimet. Danielson sai tietää, että
myöskin sotaministeri jo oli luopunut ehdotuksesta, että ylioppilaita
pantaisiin venäläisiin joukkoihin, mutta että käskykirjeessä
nimenomaan ilmoitettaisiin, että näin tehtäisiin seuraavan vuoden
kutsunnasta poisjääneille. Niinkuin meidän kesken oli sovittu, piti
Danielsonin todettuansa, että äskenmainittu jyrkkä toimenpide ei
tulisi kysymykseen, huomauttaa kurinpidollisten rangaistusten
sopimattomuudesta kysymyksessä olevaan tapaukseen ja hän tekikin
sen. Luvattiin ottaa esiintuodut syyt huomioon. Paljon riippui,
arvelivat asianomaiset, H. Majesteettinsa mielentilasta ja tuulesta.
Jos hän olisi hyvällä tuulella, niin Plehwe todennäköisesti ei vaatisi
kurinpidollisia rangaistuksia! Plehwe pyysi Danielsonia puhumaan
tästä kenraalikuvernöörin kanssa, minkä hän kotiin palattuansa
tekikin. Bobrikoff oli sitä mieltä, että rangaistuksia ei voitaisi välttää,
vaan että yhden vuoden erottaminen olisi riittävä, ja silloin kunkin
yksityisen rangaistus sovitettaisiin yliopiston viranomaisten harkinnan
mukaisesti.

Tammikuun alkupäivinä 1904 palasi kenraalikuvernööri käynniltä

Pietarista ja toi sen tiedon, että H. Majesteettinsa oli ratkaissut
kysymyksen asevelvollisuusrangaistuksista. Paitsi muita määräyksiä
säädettiin, että ne ylioppilaat, jotka olivat jääneet pois, erotettaisiin
korkeintaan vuodeksi; kuitenkin saattoivat yliopiston viranomaiset
lieventää rangaistuksia.

Nyt oli minun toimittava määrätyn suunnitelman mukaan.

Suoranainen vastalause itse toimenpidettä vastaan olisi ollut isku
ilmaan. Päämääräksi asetin sen, että tässä asiassa ei pakotettaisi
rehtoria eikä muita yliopistoviranomaisia määräämään itse
rangaistusta, vaan että tämä toimenpide jäisi kanslerille sekä, että
koettaisin johtaa asiaa niin, että karkoituksesta tulisi niin lempeä
kuin mahdollista, mieluimmin aivan mitätön sen käytännöllisiin
seurauksiin nähden. Tätä toivoin niinhyvin ylioppilasten vuoksi kuin
välttääkseni vaikeuksien syntymistä täkäläisille
yliopistoviranomaisille, lähinnä konsistorille, jonka asiaan
sekoittamista pitäisi välttää. Siten voitaisiin asia, niinkuin minusta
näytti, mahdollisesti järjestää niin, ettei vakavampia vaikeuksia
yliopistolle koituisi.
 Estääkseni kysymyksen ratkaisua vaikeuttavia määräyksiä
tulemasta kanslerinvirastosta, kirjoitin minä viipymättä Berendtsille ja
huomautin hänelle, että erottamisen tuli tapahtua kanslerin kautta ja
että sitä piti seurata luettelo erotettavista. Rehtori ei voinut mitään
rangaistusta määrätä tässä tapauksessa, kun ei ollut kysymyksessä
mikään rikos, vaan hän saattoi vain panna toimenpiteen täytäntöön.
Kun tästä kuitenkaan ei mitään kuulunut, tulimme sijaiskansleri ja
minä levottomiksi, että asia voi joutua väärälle tolalle, varsinkin kun
eräät yksityiset senaattorit olivat antaneet ymmärtää, että
yliopistoviranomaisten tässä asiassa muitta mutkitta piti noudattaa
käskykirjettä. Minä matkustin sen vuoksi helmikuun 7 päivänä
Pietariin ja sain Berendtsin tavatessani tietää, että
kanslerinvirastossa ei toistaiseksi oltu asialle mitään tehty. Kävin sen
jälkeen Oerstrœmin luona ja huomautin hänelle kuinka
välttämätöntä oli, että karkoituskäsky lähti kanslerilta, ja hän näytti
ymmärtävän syyni sekä lupasi, että niin tapahtuisi. Minä huomautin
edelleen, että erottamisen täytyy kohdata nimitettyjä ylioppilaita,
jotta voisimme ottaa asian huomioon. Mitään luetteloa poisjääneistä
eivät yliopiston viranomaiset voineet antaa. Veisi tietysti jonkun
verran aikaa, ennenkuin siviiliviranomaiset voisivat hankkia sellaisen,
mutta sitä ei voinut auttaa. Oerstrœm antoi viipymättä määräyksen
Berendtsille laatia asiasta kirjelmän kenraalikuvernöörille. Minä
huomautin edelleen keskustelun kuluessa, että ei sijaiskansleri eikä
rehtori voineet puuttua kysymykseen kunkin yksityisen
rangaistusajasta, vaan että yhteinen karkoitus oli kaikille määrättävä.
Jos joku halusi lievennystä, täytyi hänen sitä erityisesti pyytää.

Erottamiskäsky asevelvollisuudesta poisjääneille saapui maaliskuun

puolivälissä polyteknilliseen opistoon. Laitoksen inspehtori (yli-
intendentti Tigerstedt) kehoitti opettajakollegiota antamaan
lausuntonsa rangaistusajasta. Kollegio ehdotti kuutta kuukautta,
maaliskuun 15 päivästä lukien. Tämän johdosta oli polyteknikkojen
yhdistyksellä kokous, jolloin suurin osa oppilaista, noin 80 %, päätti
ilmoittaa inspehtorille, että he eivät nauttisi opetusta, niin kauan kuin
toverit olivat erotettuina. Maaliskuun 19 päivänä alkoi lakko. Vain
muutamia oppilaita oli saapunut laitokselle. Opettajien puolelta oli
koetettu estää lakkoa, mutta tuloksetta. Johtaja, professori Nyström,
oli useampia kertoja neuvotellut minun kanssani asiasta. Esimerkki
vaikutti voimakkaasti ylioppilaihin, jotka myöskin suunnittelivat
samanlaista toimenpidettä, kun yliopiston vuoro tulisi. Toisaalta
koetettiin muutamissa ylioppilaspiireissä, varsinkin
vanhasuomalaisissa, tehdä työtä sellaiseen lakkoon yhtymistä
vastaan. Pidin viisaimpana toistaiseksi pysytellä passiivisena ja
puhuin ainoastaan inspehtorien kanssa asiasta. Samoin päätin minä
koettaa viivyttää asiaa, niin että lukukausi lähestyi loppuansa,
ennenkuin erottamisen toimeenpanon täytyisi tulla kysymykseen,
sillä silloin menettäisi lakko kaiken suuremman käytännöllisen
merkityksen. Vaikka asiallisesti olin täysin yhtä mieltä nuorison
kanssa ja täydellisesti ymmärsin sen tunteet ja halun ilmaista
mielipiteensä, täytyi minun, joka lähinnä olin vastuussa
järjestyksestä ja yliopiston edusta, koettaa estää sellaista
mielenosoitusta ja järjestää niin, ettei siitä koituisi mitään vakavia
seurauksia yliopistolle ja ylioppilaille itselleen. Kävin maaliskuun 25
päivänä senaattori Åkermanin luona (kauppa- ja
teollisuustoimituskunnan päällikön) neuvoakseni häntä olemaan
ryhtymättä mihinkään tutkimuksiin tai ylimääräisiin rangaistustoimiin
lakon johdosta polyteknillisessä opistossa, ja antamaan asian
vapaasti kehittyä, jotta estettäisiin mieliä enempää kiihoittumasta.
Sellaisilla toimenpiteillä olisi epäedullinen vaikutus myöskin
yliopistonuorisoon. Senaattori Åkerman tuntui olevan samaa mieltä.
Lakko loppui itse asiassa sillä tavalla, että opettajakollegio voitiin
pitää siitä syrjässä ja laitos jäi siten rauhaan. Huhtikuun 24 päivänä
sain Oerstrœmiltä sähkösanomakutsun saapua Pietariin. Matkustin
25:ntenä ja kävin Oerstrœmin luona seuraavana päivänä. Hän
ilmoitti, että kenraalikuvernöörin kautta vaadittu luettelo nyt oli
saapunut. Se oli tehty läänittäin kuvernööreiltä saatujen tietojen
mukaan. Oerstrœm pyysi minun käymään luettelon läpi ja
oikaisemaan siinä olevat mahdolliset virheet. Me pohdimme sitten
eräitä erottamista koskevia yksityisseikkoja. Oerstrœm arveli, että
erottamisajan nähtävästi piti olla yhdenmukainen polyteknikumissa
määrätyn ajan kanssa, s.o. se oli määrättävä kuudeksi kuukaudeksi,
minkä minä myönsin olevan johdonmukaisinta. Erottamisajan
alkamiseksi ehdotin toukokuun 11 päivää, mutta se tuntui
Oerstrœmistä liian myöhäiseltä. Kysymys jätettiin avoimeksi. Minä
lausuin sen toivomuksen, että rehtori yksityisissä tapauksissa,
erityisestä pyynnöstä, voisi määrätä jonkun muun kuin yleisesti
säädetyn ajankohdan karkoituksen aluksi, jota vastaan Oerstrœmillä
ei ollut mitään huomauttamista. Senjälkeen huomautin minä hänelle,
että olisi tarpeellista selvittää, sisälsikö erottaminen, kuten opinto- ja
kurinpitosääntö edellytti, karkoituksen kaupungista vai eikö.
Huomautin, että erottaminen polyteknillisestä opistosta ei sisältänyt
karkoitusta kaupungista, ja koska oli ylioppilaita, jotka kuuluivat sekä
yliopistoon että tähän laitokseen, tuottaisi pakollinen kaupungista
karkoittaminen sellaisissa tapauksissa muodottoman asiain tilan.
Helsinki oli myöskin jo niin suuri kaupunki, että rehtorin oli
mahdotonta valvoa olivatko karkoitetut ylioppilaat, joita oli niin suuri
määrä, kaupungissa vai eivätkö. Mitään poliisiviranomaisten tähän
asiaan sekaantumista tai väkivallalla kaupungista siirtämistä minä en
missään tapauksessa suonut. Hallituksen kannalta katsoen ei
myöskään voinut olla viisasta lähettää pääkaupungista maaseudulle
joukko nuoria miehiä, joita siellä epäilemättä pidettäisiin poliittisina
marttyyreinä. Oerstrœm yhtyi minuun, ja yliopistolle lähetettävässä
kirjelmässä lausuttaisiin nimenomaan, että relegatsioni ei merkinnyt
karkoitusta kaupungista.

Kenraalikuvernöörin luettelossa oli 108 nimeä. Sitä läpikäydessä

huomattiin, että noin 30 nimeä oli henkilöiden, jotka eivät olleet
ylioppilaita tai jotka syystä tai toisesta olivat eronneet yliopistosta.
Kun ne luettiin pois, oli luettelossa kaikkiaan 80 nimeä, vaikka
luultavasti kaksi kertaa suurempi määrä oli jäänyt pois. Seuraavana
päivänä annoin luettelon takaisin Oerstrœmille. Minä huomautin
hänelle, että muutamat nykyiset ylioppilaat, jotka olivat luetteloon
otetut, kutsuntojen aikana vielä olivat koulussa. Oerstrœm suostui
siihen, että näidenkin nimet pyyhittiin pois luettelosta. Vihdoin pyysin
minä, että kirjelmää erottamisesta ei lähetettäisi ennen toukokuun 1
päivää, jotta tämän päivän vietto ei tulisi mitenkään häirityksi.
Oerstrœm lupasi, että kirjelmä päivättäisiin huhtikuun 30 päivälle ja
lähetettäisiin toukokuun 2 päivänä.

Samana päivänä kävin myöskin Plehwen luona.

Erottamiskysymykseen hän ei lähemmin puuttunut, kun minä
ilmoitin, että olin jo neuvotellut asiasta Oerstrœmin kanssa. Sitä
vastoin hän kysyi, millä tavalla ylioppilaat tulisivat suhtautumaan
kutsuntoihin tänä keväänä. Sanoin, etten voisi antaa mitään varmoja
tietoja siitä, mutta arvelin, että suurin osa jäisi pois. Keskustelu koski
muuten muita asioita.

Toukokuun 4 päivänä saapui erottamiskirjelmä sijaiskanslerille ja

seuraavana päivänä vastaanotin minä sen virallisesti. Se oli laadittu
sopimuksen mukaisesti. Kansleri oli hyväksi nähnyt karkoittaa joukon
erityisesti mainittuja ylioppilaita yliopiston oppilaitoksista kuudeksi
kuukaudeksi, toukokuun 14 päivästä lukien, kuitenkin niin, että
erottaminen ei merkinnyt karkoitusta kaupungista, ja oli rehtorille
myönnetty yksityisissä tapauksissa määrätä toinen aika erottamisen
alkamiselle. Suurin osa erottamisajasta sattuisi siis loma-ajaksi.

Tämä määräys naulattiin yliopiston ilmoitustaululle sekä kehoitus

niille, joita se koski, saapua yliopiston kansliaan saamaan lähempiä
tietoja. Sitä paitsi kutsuin minä yksitellen muutamia ylioppilaita, joita
karkoitusmääräys koski, kansliaan ja otin heiltä sen tunnustuksen,
että he olivat saaneet tiedon määräyksestä. He näyttivät yleensä
olevan tyytyväisiä siihen, että niin helpolla olivat päässeet asiasta, ja
olivat taipuvaisia alistumaan määräyksiin. Ainoastaan yksi teki
vastaväitteitä ja viittasi siihen, että hän mahdollisesti ei taipuisi
erottamismääräykseen. Muuten lienee tuskin kukaan karkoitetuista
varsinaisesti joutunut asiasta kärsimään, sen vuoksi että seuraavan
syksyn valvonta kohdistui vain viralliseen lukukausi-
ilmoittautumiseen.

Toukokuun 11 päivänä panivat ylioppilaat toimeen mielipiteen

ilmauksen. Konsistorin kokouksen aikana saapui eräs lähetystö
kansliaan, joka pyysi päästä sen puheille. Siihen kuului 7 henkeä,
yksi kustakin osakunnasta. Eräs heistä, maisteri H. Gummerus, luki
minulle osoitetun kirjelmän, jossa suuri joukko ylioppilaita lausui
vastalauseensa erottamisrangaistuksia vastaan ja että ylioppilaat
tunsivat itsensä solidaarisiksi rangaistujen toveriensa kanssa, sekä
ettei rauha palaisi nuorison keskuuteen, ennenkuin
erottamismääräys oli kumottu. He pyysivät, että minä saattaisin
kanslerin tietoon, mitä he siten olivat lausuneet. Minä sanoin
vastaanottavani kirjelmän, mutta että minun täytyi punnita,
esittäisinkö heidän lausuntonsa kanslerille ja missä muodossa sen
tekisin. Lähetystö sanoi, että sillä oli mukanansa kirjelmä myöskin
konsistorille. Minä ilmoitin, että konsistori ei voinut virallisesti ottaa
kirjelmää käsiteltäväksi, mutta minä lupasin kokouksen loputtua
lukea sen sille, jos joku jäsenistä niin halusi, mikä myöskin tapahtui.
Lähetystö ilmoitti esiintyvänsä 250:n ylioppilaan puolesta, jotka olivat
kokoontuneet eteiseen ja käytäviin. Lähetystö ilmoitti heille minun
vastaukseni, mutta he jäivät paikalle siksi kunnes kokous 1 1/2
tuntia myöhemmin päättyi. Kun he olivat saaneet tietää, että
kirjelmä oli luettu, marssivat he pois hiljaa ja rauhallisesti. Minulle
tuli tämä mielenosoitus aivan odottamatta, mutta nähtävästi ei
kaikille konsistorin jäsenille. Kaikille kaupungissa oleville ylioppilaille
oli lähetetty yksityinen kutsu saapua kokoukseen uusmaalaisen
osakunnan talolle, ja sieltä oli lähdetty yliopistolle.

Konsistorin kokouksessa samana päivänä oli vapaaherra Wrede

pöytäkirjaan liittänyt kirjallisen lausunnon erottamisrangaistusten
johdosta, jonka paitsi häntä oli allekirjoittanut 7 konsistorin jäsentä.
Tämä pöytäkirjanliite oli lähimpänä aiheena niihin vaikeuksiin, jotka
kesän kuluessa kohtasivat yliopistoa sen kautta, että muutamia
yliopiston opettajia karkoitettiin maasta, ja jotka muodostavat
erityisen luvun näiden raskaiden aikojen historiassa. Mutta samassa
kokouksessa tehtiin ehdotus toimenpiteeksi konsistorin puolelta,
josta tuloksena sitten oli, että yksimielisesti päätettiin lähettää
kanslerille kirjelmä, joka koski erottamiskysymystä. Asia oli esillä
kokouksissa toukokuun 19 ja 31 päivänä. Ensinmainitussa
tilaisuudessa annoin minä seikkaperäisen selonteon
suhtautumisestani erottamiskysymykseen ja niistä näkökohdista,
jotka olivat olleet pyrintöjeni ohjeina. Virkatoverieni puolelta ei oltu
tehty mitään muistutuksia kantaani vastaan, mutta minä halusin
avonaisella selityksellä estää kaiken väärinkäsityksen. Samalla
tahdoin erikoisesti huomauttaa kuinka arkaluontoinen asemani tähän
asiaan nähden oli, lähinnä siksi, että kanslerinvirasto oli täyttänyt ne
vaatimukset ja toivomukset, jotka olin ilmituonut
erottamispäätöksestä. Tämän vuoksi katsoin oikeimmaksi, — ja siitä
olivat virkatoverit yhtä mieltä kanssani — että en virallisesti ottaisi
osaa asian käsittelyyn. Tavalla tai toisella osoittaisin kuitenkin
solidaarisuuteni konsistorin kanssa. Mielipiteet siitä, kuinka sopiva
keino kirjelmän lähettäminen kanslerille olisi, olivat aluksi erilaisia,
mutta onnistuttiin lopulta saamaan kirjelmälle sellainen muoto, että
konsistori yksimielisesti voi yhtyä siihen. Päätös tapahtui toukokuun
31 päivän kokouksessa ja virallisesti toimi silloin vararehtori, A.
Donner, puheenjohtajana. Konsistorin yksimielistä esiintymistä, jonka
hyväksi minä koetin kaikin tavoin toimia, täytyy minun pitää suurena
voittona silloisissa olosuhteissa. Mielipiteenilmausta, katsoen
vallitsevaan mielialaan, ei voinut välttää. Erimielisyys konsistorin
jäsenten kesken olisi ollut hyvin kiusallinen ja arveluttava ja olisi sillä
ollut kauaskantavia seurauksia opiskelevaan nuorisoon nähden,
johon hajaannus ja vierovan mielen politiikka oli syvälle juurtunut.
Kirjelmä lähetettiin sijaiskanslerille ja sitä seurasi minun rehtorina
kirjoittamani erityinen lausunto, jossa minä vakuutin oikeiksi ne
asiat, jotka konsistori oli tuonut esille, ja yhdyin kirjelmässä
esitettyihin näkökantoihin. Sekä konsistorin että minun kirjelmäni
jätti sijaiskansleri henkilökohtaisesti venäläisenä käännöksenä
Plehwelle, mutta Plehwen toivomuksesta ne otettiin takaisin. Asian
myöhempi kehitys kuuluu toiseen lukuun.

Berendtsille olin kirjeessä ilmoittanut ylioppilasten

mielenosoituksesta toukokuun 11 päivänä sekä selittänyt sitä kantaa,
jota ylioppilaat olivat tahtoneet ilmaista. Minä olin antanut
toimenpiteeni jäädä tähän yksityiseen tiedonantoon, koska asia
virallisen kirjelmän kautta olisi saanut suuremman kantavuuden kuin
toivottavaa oli. Oliko Berendts esittänyt tiedonantoni Plehwelle, siitä
en saanut varmaa tietoa, sillä hän ei kirjoittanut siitä mitään ja jätti
vähän aikaa sen jälkeen Pietarin, mutta asia tuli kyllä — ja
todennäköisesti tätä tietä — Plehwen tietoon. Alkuperäinen
aikomukseni oli kirjoittaa käsikirje Oerstrœmille tästä asiasta, mutta
sain tietää, että hän juuri silloin oli matkalla. Kun Danielson kerran,
kesäkuun 4 päivänä, kävi Bobrikoffin luona, kävi selville, että tämä ei
näyttänyt kiinnittävän suurtakaan huomiota ylioppilasten
mielenosoitukseen, mutta hän oli hyvin ärtynyt siitä, että mainittu
sanelu konsistorin pöytäkirjaan oli tehty. Siitä toisessa yhteydessä.

Selkkaus uusmaalaisen osakunnan kanssa 1903—1904.

Sellaisina levottomuutta täynnä olevina aikoina, jolloin minä hoidin

rehtorintointa, ei rehtorin asema suinkaan ollut helppo, varsinkaan
kun ylhäältä päin asetettiin vaatimuksia ja alhaalta päin nousi
toivomuksia, jotka pohjaltaan olivat mahdottomia yhdistää. Niinhyvin
yksityiset ylioppilaat, joutuessaan vaikeuksiin poliittisista syistä, kuin
akateeminen nuoriso kokonaisuudessaan, olivat lähellä sydäntäni,
mutta ristiriitoja oli mahdoton kokonaan välttää. Yksi vakavimpia
vaikeuksia oli se, mikä syntyi uusmaalaisen osakunnan kanssa
syksyllä 1903 ja keväällä 1904. Alkuperäiset syyt ristiriitaan eivät
itsessään olleet varsin merkittäviä, mutta sen seuraukset tulivat
vakaviksi, mikä ei suinkaan ole harvinainen ilmiö hermostuneina
aikoina.

Ristiriidan aiheena oli kaksi yksityistä tapausta niiden monien

poliittisten selkkausten joukossa viranomaisten kanssa, joita silloin
sattui ja joihin ylioppilaat olivat sekaantuneet. Toinen koski ylioppilas
O. Rosenqvistia, toinen ylioppilas kreivi Creutzia.
 Edellisen asia oli sangen yksinkertainen. Rosenqvist [Rosenqvist
tuli sittemmin Helsingin ruotsalaisen kauppaopiston johtajaksi ja
hänet murhattiin punaisessa kapinassa 1918.] oli toukokuussa 1903
vangittu, koska hän oli antanut rahasumman eräälle henkilölle, joka
oli agiteerannut asevelvollisuuskutsuntoja vastaan. Hän oli
poliisitutkinnossa myöntänyt syytöksen oikeaksi. Minun onnistui
kuitenkin saada hänet vapaaksi. Käytyään minun luonani, jolloin hän
kahden kesken uskoi minulle erinäisiä asioita ja sanoi ehdottomasti
haluavansa välttää enempää tutkintoa, katosi hän Helsingistä ja
onnistui pääsemään Ruotsin puolelle. Kansleri, jolle oli ilmoitettu
asiasta, määräsi, että Rosenqvist poistettaisiin ylioppilasmatrikkelista.
Että kansleri tällöin meni yli virkavaltansa, on varmaa, kun ei ollut
olemassa mitään tutkintoa eikä tuomiota, eivätkä
yliopistoviranomaiset olleet esittäneet sellaista toimenpidettä, mutta
minä päätin kuitenkin olla saattamatta aikaan ristiriitaa kanslerin
kanssa, koska asialla tässä tapauksessa ei ollut käytännöllistä
merkitystä. Rosenqvist oli tahallisesti välttänyt saapua
tuomioistuimen eteen. Hän oli lähtenyt Sveitsiin tieteellisiä opintoja
varten eikä palaisi pitkään aikaan kotimaahan, niin että hänelle ei
merkinnyt mitään, oliko hän muodollisesti ylioppilas vai ei. Hän halusi
itse, että sillä hetkellä oltaisiin hiljaa hänestä, ei hänen itsensä
vuoksi, vaan muista syistä. Uusmaalainen osakunta otti kuitenkin
asian käsiteltäväkseen ja pyysi rehtoria ryhtymään toimenpiteisiin
sen "oikeudenloukkauksen" ja vääryyden korjaamiseksi, joka tässä
kohden oli Rosenqvistia vastaan tapahtunut. En kuitenkaan tehnyt
asian hyväksi muuta kuin esitin osakunnan pyynnön sijaiskanslerille.
Siihen asia jäi, siksi kunnes minä syksyllä 1904, kun oli tullut
edullisemmat olot, tein esityksen, että Rosenqvist otettaisiin
uudelleen yliopiston kirjoihin, johon v.t. kansleri suostui. Että ei
mitään tärkeämpää heti oltu tehty uusmaalaisen osakunnan pyynnön
johdosta, tuli tämän keskuudessa syytöksen aiheeksi
yliopistoviranomaisia kohtaan. Rosenqvistin asia kummitteli koko,
syksyn, mutta tyytymättömyys oli rakenteeltaan liian teoreettista
saavuttaaksensa erikoista merkitystä. Rosenqvist itse lausui kirjeessä
kiitollisuutensa minun suhtautumisestani ja toimistani hänen
asiassansa.

Paljoa vakavamman oikeudenloukkauksen sisälsivät toimenpiteet

ylioppilas, kreivi C.G. Creutzia vastaan. Tämä tuli syyskuun 23
päivänä 1903 minun luokseni ja ilmoitti, että hän oli saanut käskyn
seitsemän päivän kuluessa poistua maasta. Hänen isänsä,
maatilanomistaja Pernajassa, oli edellisenä päivänä saanut samoin
kuuluvan käskyn. Mitään muuta syytä karkoitukseensa, kuin että hän
oli isänsä poika, ei nuori kreivi Creutz tietänyt. Isä oli pyytänyt
oikeuden itselleen ja lapsilleen muuttaa maasta, ja tähän
hakemukseen oli H. Majesteettinsa hiljakkoin suostunut.

Minä menin tämän johdosta viipymättä v.t. kuvernöörin,

lääninsihteeri Reinbottin luokse. Hän vakuutti karkoitusmääräyksen
oikeaksi, ja että se oli annettu kenraalikuvernöörin käskystä. Nuoren
Creutzin ilmoitettiin olleen isällensä avullisena poliittisessa
kiihoitustoiminnassa. Minä huomautin, että tällä väitteellä ei voinut
olla mitään merkitystä, koska mies oli vasta 20-vuotias, ja että olisi
kohtuutonta karkoittaa alaikäistä henkilöä. Reinbott näytti
hämmästyvän, kun hän sai kuulla, että Creutz oli niin nuori ja lisäksi
ylioppilas, ja minä sain sen käsityksen, että tässä oli tapahtunut
erehdys. Rehtorina ollen sanoin olevani pakotettu vaatimaan, että
toimenpide peruutettaisiin. Reinbott pyysi minua kääntymään
salaneuvos Deutrichin puoleen, joka hoiti kenraalikuvernöörinvirkaa.
V.t. kansleri Oerstrœm oli silloin kaupungissa ja minä lähetin hänelle
asian johdosta kirjeen, jossa vetosin häneen ja ilmoitin aikomukseni
käydä Deutrichin luona pyytääkseni häntä peruuttamaan
karkoitusmääräyksen tai sallimaan, että sen toimeenpanoa
lykättäisiin, siksi kunnes kansleri olisi antanut määräyksen asiasta.
Vähän sen jälkeen kuin Oerstrœm oli saanut kirjeeni kävi Danielson
hänen luonansa ja puhui samaan suuntaan. Oerstrœm oli hyvin
taipuvainen puhumaan asian hyväksi Deutrichille, ennenkuin hän
saman päivän iltana palaisi Pietariin. Minä menin asemalle
saadakseni Oerstrœmiltä tietää, mitä hän oli voinut tehdä, ja tapasin
sekä hänet että Deutrichin, molemmat jonkun verran iloisella tuulella
senaattorien järjestämän päivällisen jälkeen. Hän sanoi, ettei hän
voinut asialle mitään, koska Creutz oli ollut "innokas agitaattori" eikä
enää ollut Suomen alamainen. Kun minä tein vastaväitteitä
alamaisuusasiaan nähden, selitti Oerstrœm, että senaatin jäsenet
yhtyivät tähän selitykseen. Asian niin ollen ei hän sanonut voivansa
mitään tehdä. Seuraavana päivänä kävin Deutrichin luona, mutta
sain saman tiedon. Hän lupasi kuitenkin kirjoittaa Bobrikoffille, mutta
hän ei voisi saada vastausta ennen sitä päivää, jolloin Creutzin piti
lähteä. Minä ehdotin sähkösanomaa, mutta Deutrich koetti estää
sitä. Hän ryömi muuten koko ajan Bobrikofiin selän taakse.

Iltapäivällä sain kreivi Creutzilta jäljennöksen

karkoitusmääräyksestä, jossa hänen sanotaan olevan "vahingollinen
maan valtiolliselle järjestykselle ja yleiselle rauhalle". Karkoitukseen
nähden vedottiin erääseen toukokuun 26 päivänä 1903 annetun
asetuksen pykälään, joka koski "muukalaisten karkoittamista Venäjän
valtakunnan alueelta". Kävi selvästi esille keskustelusta Deutrichin
kanssa, että oli tahdottu kostaa kreivi Creutzille ja hänen
perheellensä, koska hän tahtoi muuttaa maasta ja siten saada
lapsensa vapaiksi asevelvollisuudesta tekemällä heistä Ruotsin
alamaisia.
 Käännyin sitten senaattori Enebergin puoleen, johon Oerstrœm oli
vedonnut, kysymyksellä, kuinka Creutzin alamaisuuden laita oli. Hän
selitti, että tämän Suomen alamaisuus ei suinkaan ollut lakannut sen
kautta, että hän oli saanut luvan muuttaa maasta. H. Majesteettinsa
päätöksessä oli nimenomaan, että Creutzin on "kolmen kuukauden
kuluessa tästä tiedon saatuansa, jos hän tahtoo tätä etua
hyväksensä käyttää, muutettava Suomesta, saaden vapautuksen
alamaisuuden velvollisuuksistansa". Oli siis selvää, että
karkoittaminen oli tehty kokonaan väärillä edellytyksillä. Minusta
tuntui kuitenkin turhalta uudelleen käydä Deutrichin luona. Creutzin
pakollista matkaa, jonka piti tapahtua syyskuun 26 päivänä, ei
kuitenkaan oltu saatu peruutetuksi. Sitävastoin katsoin, että minun
täytyi selvittää v.t. kuvernöörille, että oli tapahtunut erehdys, kun
Creutzia ei oltu pidetty Suomen kansalaisena. Reinbott näytti olevan
hämillään. Kuinka kevytmielisesti käsiteltiin lakia ja oikeutta, käy
selville tämän, lääninsihteerin lausunnosta minulle, että erehdys
helposti voitaisiin korjata siten, että karkoitusmääräykseen
muutettaisiin asetus ja pykälä!

Syyskuun 25 päivänä oli uusmaalaisella osakunnalla ylimääräinen

kokous, jossa karkoitusta pohdittiin ja osakunta sai kuraattorin
kautta tiedonannon siitä, mitä asiassa oli tehty. Osakunta päätti
kirjeellisesti minulta pyytää, että ryhtyisin toimenpiteisiin
karkoitusmääräyksen peruuttamiseksi ja asian ajamiseksi. Kirjelmän
jätti minulle seuraavana aamuna 8-miehinen lähetystö, jota
kuraattori johti. Kirjelmässä sanottiin toimenpiteen Creutzia vastaan
olevan "ei ainoastaan oikeuden ja ihmisyyden kieltämistä, vaan
myöskin ylioppilasten tulevan kansalaisoikeuden polkemista". "Se
hämmennys ja levottomuus, joka on vallannut mielet uusmaalaisessa
osakunnassa, ei tule", sanottiin kirjelmässä, "häviämään, ennenkuin
vallalla oleva oikeusturvattomuuden tunne on poistettu". Minä
sanoin, että tämä asia oli hämmästyttänyt minua yhtä paljon kuin
nuorisoakin, ja että aioin edelleenkin tehdä, mitä minun voimassani
oli.

Syyskuun 29 päivänä lähetin asiasta kirjelmän sijaiskanslerille.

Mainitsin siinä, että turhaan olin vedonnut v.t. kuvernööriin ja v.t.
kenraalikuvernööriin ja tein selväksi, että Creutz edelleen oli Suomen
alamainen ja että hänen siten pitäisi olla maan lain ja viranomaisten
suojassa. Mitä siihen todistettuun väitteeseen tulee, että Creutz olisi
harjoittanut poliittisesti kiihoittavaa toimintaa, huomautin minä, että
hän ei ollut vielä täysi-ikäinen, ja että hänellä, luotettavien
todistusten mukaan, ei ollenkaan ollut sitä luonnonlaatua ja niitä
ominaisuuksia, jotka edes olisivat tehneet otaksuttavaksi, että hän
olisi voinut tehdä jotakin sellaista, joka voisi vahingoittaa maan
valtiollista järjestystä ja yleistä rauhaa. Mutta siviilihallinnon
määräyksestä, joka perustui siihen väärään käsitykseen, että hän oli
vieras tässä maassa, oli häneltä riistetty se turva, jota hänen
opiskelevana oli oikeus nauttia, ja hänet oli väkivaltaisesti pakotettu
keskeyttämään opintonsa. Kirjelmässä mainittiin ylioppilasten
vetoaminen minuun, jonka yhteydessä lausuin: "Minä ymmärrän
täysin sen levottomuuden, joka vallitsee nuorison mielissä tämän
tapauksen johdosta, ja minun on pakko ajatella niin, että sen
keskuudessa yhä leviävä oikeusturvattomuuden tunne todellisena
vaarana uhkaa laillisen järjestyksen häiritsemätöntä ylläpitoa
yliopistossa." Velvollisuuteni mukaan vetosin kansleriin ja pyysin,
että kyseessäoleva määräys kumottaisiin ja että Creutz siten
esteettömästi saisi harjoittaa opintoja yliopistossa, johon hänellä oli
sama oikeus kuin jokaisella muulla ylioppilaalla, ainakin siksi kunnes
hän oli lakannut olemasta Suomen alamainen. "Sellainen toimenpide
kanslerin puolelta", sanottiin kirjelmässä, "ei ainoastaan poistaisi sitä
vääryyttä, joka oli kohdannut yksityistä ylioppilasta, vaan myöskin
akateeminen nuoriso tulisi huomaamaan, että se edelleen niinkuin
tähänkin asti voi yliopiston viranomaisilta odottaa saavansa
oikeudellista turvaa ja apua". Sijaiskansleri lähetti kirjelmän
kanslerille, ja sitä seurasi hänen oma, samaan suuntaan menevä
lausuntonsa.

Lokakuun alussa jätti minulle ylioppilaskunnan puheenjohtaja 359

jäsenen allekirjoittaman pyynnön, että ylioppilaskunta kutsuttaisiin
kokoon keskustelemaan niihin toimenpiteisiin mahdollisesti olisi
ryhdyttävä sen johdosta, että yksi sen jäsenistä oli karkoitettu
maasta. Mielipiteeni oli se, että minun täytyi hylätä tämä pyyntö, niin
hyvin muodollisista syistä kuin siksi, että yliopistoviranomaiset
Helsingissä jo olivat ryhtyneet kaikkiin niihin toimenpiteisiin, jotka
voivat tulla kysymykseen, ja koska niiden vaikutusta pikemmin olisi
vahingoittanut kuin hyödyttänyt ylioppilaskunnan kollektiivinen
esiintyminen. Mutta koska pyynnön oli esittänyt hyvin suuri osa
ylioppilaskunnan jäseniä, tuntui minusta sopivalta, että
ylioppilaskunta kutsuttaisiin kokoon saamaan tiedon siitä, mitä
asiassa oli tehty. Kokous oli lokakuun 12 päivänä, jolloin
puheenjohtaja luki kirjoittamani kirjelmän. Siinä tehtiin selkoa siitä
mitä oli tehty ja tehtiin selväksi, miksi asiaa ei mielestäni pitäisi
käsitellä yleisessä ylioppilaskokouksessa. Kokouksen meno oli
rauhallinen, vaikka mieliala vasemmalla sivustalla, puheenjohtajan
ilmoituksen mukaan, oli jonkun verran hermostunut. Tälle
kohdistettuun kysymykseen, oliko ja millä tavalla, hän tehnyt
vastaväitteitä kieltoni perusteluja vastaan, ei vastattu, ja kokous
hajoitettiin ilman että keskustelua asiasta oli tapahtunut.

Danielson oli kuitenkin Oerstrœmiltä saanut sen tiedonannon, ettei

tämä tahtonut sekaantua Creutzin asiaan, koska
kenraalikuvernöörillä oli "oikeus karkoittaa maasta niin hyvin
suomalaisia kuin ulkomaalaisia". Ainoa muodottomuus, jonka
arveltiin asiassa tapahtuneen, oli se, että rehtorille ei oltu tehty
virallista ilmoitusta asiasta, mikä laiminlyönti samalla kertaa post
festum korjattiin. Karkoittamiskysymyksessä ei siis enää mitään voitu
tehdä.

Lokakuun 24 päivänä tuli aivan odottamatta sijaiskanslerille

kirjelmä kanslerilta siitä, että hän "kenraalikuvernööriltä saapuneen
ilmoituksen mukaisesti ylioppilas, kreivi Creutzin sangen
moitittavasta käyttäytymisestä Pernajan pitäjässä ja nojautuen
kaikkien korkeimpaan valtuutukseen oli huomannut hänen hoitoonsa
uskotun yliopiston arvon vaativan", että Creutz erotettaisiin
yliopistosta. Ei ollut mitään syytä salata asiaa. Se tuli sen vuoksi pian
tunnetuksi ja herätti paljon katkeraa mielipahaa, erittäinkin
uusmaalaisessa osakunnassa. Neuvoteltuani sijaiskanslerin kanssa
päätin minä tämän määräyksen johdosta lähettää hänelle kirjelmän
kanslerille edelleen toimitettavaksi.

Kanslerin määräys oli pahentanut asiaa ja saattanut rehtorin

kiusalliseen asemaan. Kenraalikuvernööri tahtoi ilmeisesti saada
aikaan selkkauksen yliopiston kanssa tai sen piirissä. Kirjelmäni oli
senvuoksi sangen ankara. Siinä huomautettiin, että toimenpide
sisälsi loukkaavan vääryyden Creutzia kohtaan ja että sitä ei voitu
nuorisolle selittää, vielä vähemmän puolustaa. Sijaiskansleri matkusti
Pietariin ja vei mukanaan kirjelmän saksalaisena käännöksenä. Hän
jätti sen Oerstrœmille, joka tarkkaavasti luki sen. Danielson selitti
asiaa lähemmin ja huomautti, että Creutz tämän toimenpiteen kautta
oli joutunut kärsimään uuden ja entistä ankaramman rangaistuksen.
Oerstrœm vastasi, ettei se ollut tarkoitus, ja suostui siihen, että
entinen kirjelmä peruutettaisiin ja sen sijaan kirjoitettaisiin uusi. Pari
päivää myöhemmin saapui tämä uusi kirjelmä, joka kuului
seuraavasti: "Sitten kuin H. Ylh. Suomen kenraalikuvernööri hänelle
kaikkein armollisimmasti suodun väliaikaisen vallan nojalla on
karkoittanut K.A. Yliopiston oppilaan, C.G. Creutzin, olen minä
nähnyt asiaan kuuluvaksi, että mainittu Creutz pyyhitään yliopiston
matrikkelista, josta, j.n.e." Edellinen kirjelmä, johon virallisesti emme
olleet puuttuneet, peruutettiin. Tällä oli voitettu ainakin se, että se
mikä Creutzin erottamistoimenpiteessä oli ollut kiusallista, oli poissa.
Se ei enää luonteeltaan ollut rangaistustoimenpide, vaan ainoastaan
johdonmukainen seuraus siitä, että hän häikäilemättömästi oli
maasta karkoitettu. Koko tämä asian vaihe merkitsi kanslerin
peräytymistä. Eräillä tahoilla — missä pääasiana pidettiin sitä
muodollista laittomuutta, joka tapahtui siinä että Creutzin nimi
poistettaisiin yliopiston matrikkelista — ei kuitenkaan tahdottu
tunnustaa, että kanslerin uusi määräys oli mikään voitto.

Uusmaalaisen osakunnan kuraattori ei ollut odottanut virallista

ilmoitusta rehtorilta Creutzin erottamisesta yliopistosta, vaan oli
ensimmäisen kirjelmän johdosta ottanut kysymyksen esille
osakunnassa, joka päätti lähettää asiasta kirjelmän rehtorille. Se tuli
minulle lokakuun 30 päivänä ja sisälsi ojentelevan esityksen siitä,
miten yliopiston täkäläisten viranomaisten pitäisi suhtautua
vallitsevaan sortojärjestelmään, sekä lausui sen toivomuksen, "että
yliopistoviranomaiset, jos he, antamatta yliopistolle mahdollisesti
koituvain seurausten ratkaisevasti vaikuttaa menettelyynsä,
kieltäytyvät millään tavalla olemasta mukana ylioppilas Creutzin
rankaisemisessa, tässä asiassa voivat olla vakuutettuja uusmaalaisen
osakunnan täydestä myötätunnosta". Mietittyäni asiaa päätin minä
lähettää kirjelmän takaisin osakunnalle, ja kirjoitin samalla yksityisen
kirjeen kuraattori Estlanderille, jossa lausuin, että minä ainoastaan
siten, etten virallisesti puuttunut kirjelmään, voin pelastaa
osakunnan ajattelemattomuudesta johtuneen toimenpiteen
seurauksista. Minä huomautin, ettei ollut sopivaa, että
ylioppilasosakunta siten ryhtyi arvostelemaan rehtorin ja
sijaiskanslerin suhtautumista ylemmän viranomaisen määräykseen.

Samalla kertaa kuin uusmaalaisessa osakunnassa päätettiin

kääntyä rehtorin puoleen, päätettiin myöskin lähettää kirjelmä muille
osakunnille, jossa selostettiin Rosenqvistin ja Creutzin tapaukset ja
lausuttiin samaa kuin minulle osoitetussa kirjelmässä. Muille
osakunnille annettiin se kehoitus että, jos ne "yhtyivät siihen
ajatukseen, joka oli määrännyt uusmaalaisen osakunnan;
toimintatavan, ne saattaisivat tämän käsityksensä
yliopistoviranomaisten tietoon". Kaksi osakuntaa, savo-karjalainen ja
pohjalainen, ottivat kysymyksen käsiteltäväksi, ennenkuin minä sain
tiedon asiasta. Muiden osakuntien inspehtoreja kehoitettiin pitämään
huolta siitä, että asiaa ei otettaisi viralliseen käsittelyyn pöytäkirjaan
merkittäväksi, ja niin tehtiinkin. Ei myöskään kahden ensinmainitun
osakunnan pöytäkirjaan otettu uusmaalaisen osakunnan kehoitusta.
Pohjalainen osakunta päätti, senjälkeen kuin se minulta oli saanut
täydellisen selonteon niistä tapauksista, joihin uusmaalaisen
osakunnan kirjelmässä vedottiin, lähettää kirjelmän takaisin
uusmaalaiselle osakunnalle ja sen sijaan kääntyä rehtorin puoleen ja
lausua osakunnan huolen niitä uhkaavista kurinpitorangaistuksista,
jotka olivat jääneet pois kutsunnoista.

Uusmaalaisessa osakunnassa herätti minun asiaan puuttumiseni

pitkän keskustelun. Estlander poistui, koska minä olin tehnyt hänet
vastuunalaiseksi toimenpiteestä. Inspehtori, professori Chydenius,
antoi, sen mukaan kuin hän minulle ilmoitti, ankaran nuhteen
osakunnalle ja koetti tehdä selväksi, että se oli mennyt
toimintavaltansa yli. Osa jäsenistä tahtoi, että osakunta vastaisi
jokaisesta kirjelmän sanasta ja pysyisi päätöksessään. Toiset
arvelivat, että osakunta oli menetellyt ajattelemattomasti ja että sen
avoimesti pitäisi se tunnustaa, toiset taas, että rehtori oli
väärinkäsittänyt kirjelmän, koska osakunta vain oli tahtonut viitata
siihen, että, jos yliopistoviranomaiset katsoivat sen ajan tulleen,
jolloin yliopisto saattoi antautua seurauksiltaan vakaviinkin
taisteluihin, niin he voisivat odottaa saavansa osakunnan
kannatuksen puolellensa. Valittiin toimikunta, ja kysymys otettiin
käsiteltäväksi seuraavassa kokouksessa. Pitkien keskustelujen
jälkeen päätti osakunta inspehtorinsa kautta antaa minulle
selityksensä, että oli tapahtunut väärinkäsitys, että osakunta "ei ollut
tahtonut lausunnollaan vaikuttaa mitään rehtorin virkatoimiin, joiden
määrääjänä se oli tiennyt jokaisessa tapauksessa olleen ainoastaan
Herra Rehtorin omantunnon ja hänen oman käsityksensä
virkavelvollisuudestansa", vaan oli tahtonut esille tuoda, "mitkä
ajatukset ja tunteet uusmaalaisen opiskelevan nuorison keskuudessa
tähän kysymykseen nähden olivat vallinneet, sekä ennen kaikkea,
että tämän nuorison toivo oli se, että ne seikat, jotka saattoivat
uhata sen rauhallista yliopistollista opiskelua ja esiintyä civis Creutzin
asiaa järjestettäessä tahi muita samantapaisia tulevaisuudessa, eivät
millään ratkaisevalla tavalla pääsisi vaikuttamaan
yliopistoviranomaisten toimiin". Minä sanoin olevani tyytyväinen
tähän selitykseen. Se osoitti osakunnan hyvää tahtoa järjestää
ajattelemattoman teon seuraukset. Tällaisissa tapauksissa ei voinut
vaatia liian paljon nuorisolta, varsinkin kun, kuten tässä tapauksessa,
täytyi tuntea kunnioitusta ja myötätuntoa sen esiintymisen
perusmotiivia kohtaan. Minä olin toivonut, että asia tähän loppuisi,
mutta niin ei ikävä kyllä käynyt.

Sen mukaan kuin Danielson marraskuun lopulla oli saanut tietää,

olivat osakuntien toimenpiteet Creutzin asiassa tulleet
kenraalikuvernöörin tietoon, ja tämä aikoi tehdä siitä suuren asian
yliopistoa vastaan, mikä luultavasti alun pitäen oli kuulunut hänen
tarkoituksiinsa. Hän katsoi saaneensa uuden todistuksen siitä, että
osakunnat, joihin hän lähinnä tahtoi päästä käsiksi, olivat valtiollisia
seuroja, jotka olivat yliopistoviranomaisten suojeluksen alaisia.
Kenraalikuvernöörin välitön sekaantuminen estettiin, mutta
Danielsonin mielipide oli, että asiaa näissä olosuhteissa ei voitu
muitta mutkitta sivuuttaa, ja hän vaati minulta lähempää selontekoa
siitä, mitä oli tapahtunut. Neuvoteltuani inspehtorien kanssa lähetin
minä seikkaperäisen selonteon sekä sen mukana uusmaalaisen
osakunnan inspehtorilta minulle tulleen kirjelmän sekä jäljennöksen
muille osakunnille osoitetusta kirjelmästä. Yksityisesti kehoitin minä
sijaiskansleria, ettei hän tapahtuman johdosta ryhtyisi toimenpiteisiin
kuraattori Estlanderia tai uusmaalaista osakuntaa vastaan. Jos hän
jotakin tekisi, saattaisi se vain uudelleen tunteet kuohuksiin. Hän
taipuikin siihen, mutta päätti kuitenkin itse puhua Estlanderin kanssa
asiasta. Tämä keskustelu oli, niinkuin minä pelkäsin, uusien
selkkausten alkuna.

Keskustelu oli tammikuun 22 päivänä 1904, ja sijaiskanslerin

tarkoituksena oli siten saada kyseessäoleva asia lopullisesti
päättymään. Danielson oli toivonut Estlanderin myöntävän, että
osakunnan esiintyminen oli ollut muodotonta, ja että hän lupaisi
pitää huolta siitä, että vastedes sellaista vältettäisiin. Kun Danielson
kysyi, kieltäytyi kuitenkin Estlander antamasta suullista vastausta tai
ryhtymästä mihinkään suulliseen selontekoon, ja sitäkin vähemmän
sitoutumasta mihinkään vastaisuuden varalta. Asian niin ollen katsoi
Danielson olevansa pakotettu keskeyttämään keskustelun ja
kehoittamaan Estlander ja seuraavan päivän kuluessa jättämään
eronpyyntönsä kuraattorintoimesta. Muussa tapauksessa katsoi
sijaiskansleri olevansa pakotettu ryhtymään toimenpiteisiin hänen
erottamisekseen.
 Minä kutsuin Estlanderin luokseni seuraavana päivänä ja
keskustelin pitkästi hänen kanssaan toivoen voivani taivuttaa häntä
sovinnolliseen selvittelyyn, mutta hän ei voinut ymmärtää, että
hänen esiintymistänsä vastaan sijaiskansleria kohtaan olisi mitään
muistutettavaa, eikä hän myöskään tahtonut suostua pyytämään
eroa kuraattorintoimesta. Wrede, jonka kanssa olin neuvotellut,
kirjoitti minulle ja pyysi minua koettamaan taivuttaa Danielsonia
siihen, että hän antaisi syyttää Estlanderia konsistorin edessä
mieluummin kuin että itse erottaisi hänet, lähinnä ajatellen sitä, millä
tavalla nuoriso suhtautuisi asiaan. Illalla oli sijaiskanslerilla
neuvottelu minun ja inspehtori Chydeniuksen kanssa. Asian
jättäminen konsistorin käsiteltäväksi oli kysymyksen alaisena, mutta
minä puolestani en voinut ehdottomasti olla asian puolella, koska
sellaisesta oikeusjutusta, joka täytyi pitää avoimin ovin, julkisuuteen
tulisi seikkoja ja asianhaaroja, jotka saattoivat käydä arveluttaviksi
osakuntalaitokselle ja yliopistolle. Eivät kenraalikuvernööri eikä
kansleri olisi voineet pysytellä toimettomina. Sijaiskansleri suostui
kuitenkin siihen, että Estlanderille vielä annettaisiin tilaisuus antaa
tarvittavia selityksiä, ennenkuin mihinkään ryhdyttäisiin.

Tämä jätti Chydeniukselle kirjelmän, joka sisälsi jonkunlaisen

selityksen niistä kysymyksistä, joihin hän oli kieltäytynyt vastaamasta
sijaiskanslerille, sekä antoi samalla Chydeniukselle luvan käyttää
kirjelmää niinkuin hän hyväksi näki. Chydenius lähetti kirjelmän
sijaiskanslerille, joka kuitenkin oli sitä mieltä, että Estlander sen
kautta vain oli pahentanut asemaansa. Tammikuun 25 päivänä tuli
sijaiskanslerilta kirje, jossa sanottiin, että hän "oli katsonut
tarpeelliseksi, että Estlander pidätettäisiin kuraattorintoimesta
toistaiseksi ja kunnes siitä toisin voitaisiin määrätä". Samalla
kehoitettiin minua ryhtymään tästä johtuviin toimenpiteisiin. Minä
ilmoitin virallisesti asiasta osakunnalle ja määräsin fil. kand. R.
Furuhjelmin väliaikaisesti ottamaan haltuunsa kuraattorin toimet.
Chydenius lupasi olla läsnä osakunnan kokouksessa samana iltana ja
pitää huolta siitä, että kaikki sujuisi rauhallisesti, vaikka hän oli
vakuutettu siitä, että katkeroituminen sijaiskansleria kohtaan oli
suuri. Osakunta päätti esittää minulle pyynnön, että minä pyytäisin
sijaiskanslerilta selitystä niistä syistä, jotka olivat aiheuttaneet hänen
toimenpiteensä.

Minä kävin tässä tarkoituksessa sijaiskanslerin luona, joka lupasi

seikkaperäisesti perustella, missä suhteessa hän oli katsonut
Estlanderin tehneen itsensä syypääksi saamaan nuhteen. Jotta asia
sujuisi rauhallisemmin, päätti hän, ettei hän erottaisi Estlanderia,
vaan pidättäisi hänet virantoimituksesta. Helmikuun 1 päivänä sain
sijaiskanslerin kirjelmän siitä, että kuraattori oli pidätetty
virantoimituksesta kolmeksi kuukaudeksi. Kirjelmässä selostettiin
seikkaperäisesti uusmaalaisen osakunnan ja Estlanderin toimintaa.
Toisille osakunnille lähetetty kirjelmä leimattiin yritykseksi "kiihoittaa
niitä tottelemattomuuteen v.t. kanslerin mahdollisia käskyjä
vastaan". Ottaen huomioon sen, että osakunta oli "esittänyt
anteeksipyynnön" rehtorille, ei sijaiskansleri tahtonut toimeenpanna
mitään tutkintoa asiassa. Kun sijaiskanslerin kirjelmä luettiin
osakunnan kokouksessa helmikuun 2 päivänä, jätti Estlander
kirjallisen lausunnon, joka koski eräitä kirjelmän kohtia, sekä luopui
kuraattorintoimesta. Osakunnan keskuudessa pääsi se käsitys
yleisesti vallalle, että se ei valitsisi v.t. kuraattoria, koska se sellaisen
vaalin kautta näytti tunnustavan oikeaksi sijaiskanslerin menettelyn.
Chydenius koetti kokouksessa selvittää käsitteitä, mutta hän sai sen
vaikutelman, että tahdottiin saada vaikea tilanne kärjistymään.

Asia pantiin pöydälle, mutta sitä seuraavassa kokouksessa

helmikuun 9 päivänä päätti osakunta olla valitsematta v.t.
kuraattoria. Osakunta katsoi että sillä vain oli oikeus mutta ei
velvollisuutta vaaliin. Osa kysymyksen käsittelyä varten asetetun
toimikunnan jäsenistä oli neuvotellut Wreden kanssa ja hän oli aivan
ehdottomasti neuvonut osakuntaa alistumaan ja ryhtymään vaaliin.
Inspehtorikin oli antanut samanlaisia kehoituksia, mutta turhaan. 12
päivänä sain Chydeniukselta kirjelmän osakunnan päätöksestä, sekä
sen tiedonannon, että hän inspehtorina ei ollut siihen yhtynyt. Hän
liitti mukaan myöskin sanotussa tilaisuudessa sanelemansa
lausunnon, jossa hän muun muassa sanoi, että osakunta ei laillisesti
saattaisi toimia ilman kuraattoria, sillä aikaa kuin Estlander oli
virantoimesta pidätettynä. Jos ei seuraavan kokouksen aikana
asianmukaisella tavalla toimeen määrätty henkilö olisi hoitamassa
kuraattorin tehtäviä, niin hänen mielestänsä oli pakko toistaiseksi
lakata inspehtorin toimestansa, josta myöskin olisi seurauksena se,
että osakunnan toiminta lakkaisi. Sitten kuin päätös oli tehty, oli
inspehtori pöytäkirjaan lausunut valittelunsa siitä, että osakunta oli
"laiminlyönyt sille kuuluvan kalliin oikeuden".

Neuvoteltuani inspehtorin kanssa määräsin minä heti osakunnan

entisen sihteerin, fil. kand. Eirik Hornborgin olemaan v.t. kuraattorina
huhtikuun 25 päivään saakka. Tämä kuitenkin ilmoitti kirjeessä, että
hän ei voinut ottaa vastaan tehtävää, "koska hän ei silloisten olojen
vallitessa voinut saada osaksensa sitä luottamusta, jota ilman
kuraattorintoimen hoitaminen oli aivan mahdotonta", jonka vuoksi
hän pyysi päästä vapaaksi tehtävästä. Minä kutsuin hänet luokseni ja
huomautin, että hän ei ollut esilletuonut muita syitä
vapauttamiseksensa kuin sellaisia, joita kuka jäsen tahansa saattoi
esittää. Hän ymmärsi tämän täydellisesti ja tunnusti, että hänen
velvollisuutensa oli ottaa vastaan kuraattorintoimi, mutta että
solidaarisuus hänen toveriensa kanssa pakotti häntä kieltäytymään.
Hän aikoi kuitenkin alistaa asian toveripiirin harkittavaksi. Helmikuun