Anticipation Effects on Landing Error Scoring System Performance: Highlighting the Influence of Athletic Status and Sex

Authors

Heather E. Hinton, California State University - San BernardinoFollow
Melanie D. Hernandez, California State University - San BernardinoFollow
Warren O. Forbes, California State University - San BernardinoFollow

Abstract

Removing the element of anticipation has previously shown to lead to worse performance on the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) field test. It is unknown if sex or athletic status contributes to this phenomenon. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of sex and athletic status on LESS performance with and without the element of anticipation. METHODS: Twenty-six participants performed five anticipated and five unanticipated trials of the LESS. For the anticipated LESS trials, participants were given specific instructions to perform a drop jump task, similar to the standard LESS assessment. Unanticipated LESS trials consisted of participants performing a series of drop jumps and cutting maneuvers in a randomized order in reaction to a light stimulus. All trials were performed off a 30cm platform and were recorded by two iPads, one in the sagittal plane and one in the frontal plane. Two separate two-way mixed ANOVAs were used for statistical analyses. One two-way mixed ANOVA was used to compare LESS scores in the anticipated and unanticipated LESS trials between males and females and another was used to compare LESS scores in the anticipated and unanticipated LESS trials between athletes and recreationally trained individuals. RESULTS: There were no significant between group differences or interactions between males and females nor between athletes and recreationally trained participants (p > .05). Across all groups, participants had significantly greater LESS scores for the unanticipated trials compared to the anticipated trials (p < .05). CONCLUSION: Worse performance on the unanticipated LESS trials was consistent across each group. This highlights the need for practitioners to address the influence of anticipation during LESS assessments regardless of sex or athletic status.

Recommended Citation

Hinton, Heather E.; Hernandez, Melanie D.; and Forbes, Warren O. (2025) "Anticipation Effects on Landing Error Scoring System Performance: Highlighting the Influence of Athletic Status and Sex," International Journal of Exercise Science: Conference Proceedings: Vol. 14: Iss. 5, Article 91.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/ijesab/vol14/iss5/91