ORIGINAL PAPER
Impact of selected cognitive abilities on the level of offensive and defensive skills in female basketball players: a pilot study
1
Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, Wroclaw, Poland
2
Department of Physical Education and Sport, Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia
Submission date: 2025-10-15
Acceptance date: 2026-01-27
Online publication date: 2026-03-02
Corresponding author
Dawid Koźlenia
Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, I. J. Paderewskiego 35, 51-612 Wroclaw, Poland
Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, I. J. Paderewskiego 35, 51-612 Wroclaw, Poland
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Purpose:
This study aimed to examine the relationship between cognitive predispositions and decision-making in offensive and defensive basketball players’ behaviours.
Methods:
The sample consisted of 13 adult competitive female basketball players who represented the university sports club. Participants took two tests from the Vienna Test System (VTS). The Cognitrone (COG/S4) test was used to assess concentration performance. Reactive stress tolerance and the ability to respond under complex stimulation conditions were measured by the Determination Test (DT/S1). Decision-making in basketball players’ behaviours was assessed during offensive and defensive skills.
Results:
Attention and stress resistance correlated positively with better offensive and defensive performance (r = –0.14 to –0.41). Perception and vigilance fatigue correlated with worse agility (r = 0.10–0.46). Impulsivity negatively correlated with decision-making times (r = –0.40). Hypervigilance correlated positively with offensive (r = 0.18–0.19) and negatively with defensive (r = –0.34 to –0.51) tasks. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed that offensive tasks clustered with cognitive factors: attention, hypervigilance, and stress tolerance in first subgroup, and offensive performance, agility, and perceptual fatigue in second subgroup. Defensive tasks showed a similar clustering pattern, with cognitive dispositions clustered separately from performance-related measures. Defensive tasks showed similar clustering. Regression analysis revealed that perceptual fatigue influenced defensive tasks (β = 0.46–0.45) stronger than offensive tasks (β = 0.33–0.13).
Conclusions:
Cognitive predispositions such as attention, stress resistance, and hypervigilance impact basketball performance, but these relationships vary between offensive and defensive tasks. The results of this study underscore the importance of cognitive endurance in high-pressure sports scenarios. The unexplained relationships between tasks suggest the presence of other unexamined factors, warranting further investigation.
This study aimed to examine the relationship between cognitive predispositions and decision-making in offensive and defensive basketball players’ behaviours.
Methods:
The sample consisted of 13 adult competitive female basketball players who represented the university sports club. Participants took two tests from the Vienna Test System (VTS). The Cognitrone (COG/S4) test was used to assess concentration performance. Reactive stress tolerance and the ability to respond under complex stimulation conditions were measured by the Determination Test (DT/S1). Decision-making in basketball players’ behaviours was assessed during offensive and defensive skills.
Results:
Attention and stress resistance correlated positively with better offensive and defensive performance (r = –0.14 to –0.41). Perception and vigilance fatigue correlated with worse agility (r = 0.10–0.46). Impulsivity negatively correlated with decision-making times (r = –0.40). Hypervigilance correlated positively with offensive (r = 0.18–0.19) and negatively with defensive (r = –0.34 to –0.51) tasks. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed that offensive tasks clustered with cognitive factors: attention, hypervigilance, and stress tolerance in first subgroup, and offensive performance, agility, and perceptual fatigue in second subgroup. Defensive tasks showed a similar clustering pattern, with cognitive dispositions clustered separately from performance-related measures. Defensive tasks showed similar clustering. Regression analysis revealed that perceptual fatigue influenced defensive tasks (β = 0.46–0.45) stronger than offensive tasks (β = 0.33–0.13).
Conclusions:
Cognitive predispositions such as attention, stress resistance, and hypervigilance impact basketball performance, but these relationships vary between offensive and defensive tasks. The results of this study underscore the importance of cognitive endurance in high-pressure sports scenarios. The unexplained relationships between tasks suggest the presence of other unexamined factors, warranting further investigation.
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