Application of the Facial Feedback Hypothesis to Endurance Performance: Does Frowning Modulate Perception of Effort?

Objectives: People frown during strenuous exercise. Research on the facial feedback hypothesis raises the intriguing

therefore play a causal role in endurance performance. This study examined whether intentionally frowning

exhaustion. This study also examined the effects of frowning on affective states experienced during performance

Design: A randomised, controlled, crossover experimental design was used to compare (within-subjects) the effects

Methods: Ten recreational endurance athletes performed cycling time-to-exhaustion tests in three conditions. In a

condition, participants pressed their thumb against the ergometer handlebar throughout the test. Electromyography

of effort and exercise-related affect were measured throughout the time-to-exhaustion test, and positive and

Results: Intentionally frowning did not affect perception of effort, affective states experienced while cycling or after

Conclusions: Frowning may not modulate perception of effort or affective responses during endurance exercise to

findings suggest that interventions that target the expression of a frown would be unlikely to offer an efficacious

method of improving endurance performance.