Search

The purpose of this programme of research was to investigate the existence and development of shared understanding between football dyads through quantitative and qualitative research methods. Research has considered the importance of shared understanding between team members (Williamson and Cox 2014, Gershgoren et al. 2016) but rarely dyads within teams (i.e. Blickensderfer et al. 2010). Study One attempted to establish the existence of shared understanding between twenty football dyads. Study Two explored the levels of shared understanding displayed by forty-five defensive football dyads in game situations that had either a clear correct course of action or when there was no clear correct course of action. Through an interview-based approach, Study Three investigated potential factors that could contribute to the development of shared understanding between football dyads, based on the suggestions of twelve football players. Through these different methods, the three studies have provided evidence to support the existence and development of shared understanding between football dyads. The main findings of the thesis (a) shared understanding exists between dyads who have experience performing together, (b) when dyads are in a situation where there is a clear and correct option available, they are more likely to choose the same option based on their own individual experience, (c) when dyads are in a situation where there is no clear and correct option available, they are more likely to pick the same option based on their experience performing together, (d) experience performing together, having an efficient relationship with their partner, effective communication methods between one another and the role of the coach facilitated the development of shared understanding between dyads and (e) these factors facilitate an effective shared mental model between dyads.

The major theme of the current thesis was the definition, measurement, and development of perfectionism in elite junior sport. The first purpose was to examine the psychometric properties associated with Hewitt and Flett’s (1991) Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS-HF) when complete by a sample of elite junior athletes. In study one, a confirmatory factor analysis failed to support the original structure of 45-item MPS-HF. Subsequent exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a more parsimonious 15-item factor structure representing self-oriented (SOP), socially prescribed (SPP), and other-oriented perfectionism (OOP). Having established a reconstituted version of the MPS-HF, a second purpose of the research programme was to consider the origins of perfectionism in elite junior athletes using a cross-sectional design. Initially, in study two a social learning model was supported, with 18%-26% of variance in athletes’ perfectionism predicted by parents’ perfectionism. Building upon this finding in study three, a structural equation model revealed that parenting styles, including empathy and psychological control, mediated the parent-athletic child SPP relationship. In study four, a significant pathway emerged between parents’ achievement goals and athletes’ dispositional perfectionism, offering support for a social expectations model of perfectionism development. Specifically, parents’ task and ego orientations were positively associated with athletes’ SOP. In contrast, athletes’ SPP was predicted by parents’ ego orientation. Study four also demonstrated the nature and form of motivational regulation associated with athletes’ SOP and SPP. That is, a pathway emerged between athletes’ SPP and controlled forms of regulation, while athletes’ SOP was correlated with self-determined and controlled motivation. Finally, in study five, the coach-created motivational climate accounted for approximately 19% of variance in athletes’ perfectionistic cognitions, highlighting the role of additional social agents in the development of athletes’ perfectionism. The results of this research programme contribute to existing knowledge of perfectionism by forwarding reliable measures of SOP and SPP for employment in sport, and revealing a complex array of pathways that underpin the development of perfectionism in elite junior athletes. Ultimately, by preventing the occurrence of such pathways, athletic children may be protected from the perils of perfectionism.

This study investigates the psychology of risk taking, and in particular the personality profiles associated with different physical risk taking behaviours. It was hypothesised that there may be three fundamental approaches to risk: 'Risk avoiders' avoid activities they perceive to contain risk, 'risk reducers' participate in high risk activities in spite of the risks involved, and 'risk optimisers' who are motivated by the exposure to risk. An appropriate measure of subjective risk assessments was not identified in the existing literature, and the 27-item Physical Risk Assessment Inventory (PRAI) psychometric measure was therefore developed. After initial piloting the PRAI was administered to 407 subjects. Subsequent analyses revealed that two oblique factors accounted for much of the variance in physical risk assessments, and these were initially identified as "Sports" and "Health" factors. A wide ranging test battery (including the EPQ-R and selected scales of the ZKPQ) was th en administered to 113 subjects, and further analyses suggested that high risk sports and health risk behaviours were associated with independent psychological profiles. Health risk behaviours were associated with an "Antisocial" factor that was identified by high social and physical risk propensity, Sensation Seeking and Psychoticism. The participation in high risk sports loaded on a second "Venturesomeness" factor that was associated with high confidence, physical risk propensity, Sensation Seeking, peer behaviours and being male. A third "Physical Risk Assessment" factor was associated with high physical risk assessments, being female, and low Addiction scores. Multiple regression analyses suggested that 38% of health risk behaviours, and 60% of sports risk behaviours could be predicted by the variables included in this study. Convergent qualitative data provides additional support for the validity of thes fore appears to be limited to the role of Sensation Seeking and physical risk optimisation.

This study explored the lived experiences of sports retirement among elite, action sport athletes. This study examined participants’ retirement experiences, their well-being post-retirement, and recommendations participants had for current athletes about retirement. Interviews were conducted remotely with four participants. Participants identified as Caucasian, in the 25–38 age range, had been involved with their sport competitively for 17.75 years, and had been retired for 3.37 years. Data was collected and analyzed utilizing Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Participants’ experiences during retirement illustrated a significant disruption in their lives and the way they lived. This disruption was characterized by significant grief and distress, followed by a prolonged existential crisis and lack of meaning. Given their level of sport involvement and intensity, athletes struggled to relate with others who had typical social development. As a result, participants felt alone and misunderstood, which compounded their grief, loss, and overall existential crisis. Participants navigated their new lifestyles that were characterized by agency over what they wanted to portray and disclose to others and increasingly living by their values. As participants stepped into their new lives, they had accepted themselves more, were more present, and had an increased sense of well-being. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and Ohio Link ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu/etd).

Ice hockey goaltending is a physically and mentally challenging task within a complex sport. Although goaltending has been shown to contribute more to team success outcomes than any other ice hockey position, goalies are often misunderstood and either under or improperly coached. As a result, goaltenders, coaches, parents, and hockey organizations alike express a need for deeper understanding of the position, especially its mental aspects. Motivation has long been considered a foundational factor for athletic success and continues to be recognized as essential for athlete performance and overall well-being. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze fundamental psychosocial aspects of goaltending by measuring basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS), self-determined motivation, and assess how these factors relate to performance. North American and international ice hockey goaltenders (N = 180) ages 18 and older completed a survey measuring participant characteristics, social factors (i.e., number of parents who played hockey and frequency of goalie coaching received), BPNS, motivation, perceived success, and performance. For each measure, descriptive statistics, exploratory factory analysis, and Cronbach’s alpha tested for reliability and validity within the context of goaltending. Differences in key study variables were assessed across gender, level of play, starting status (i.e., starter, second string, third string), and number of parents who played hockey. Multiple regressions measured the degree to which social factors, BPNS, motivation, and other covariates predicted goaltender perceived success and performance. Results indicate that, while elite goaltender BPNS, autonomous motivation, and perceived success levels were high, so too were their controlled motivation and amotivation. BPNS and motivation types differed significantly across level of play and starting status, where professionals and starting goalies demonstrated most optimal psychological and performance outcomes while college and second-string goalies scored lowest. Additionally, social influences such as number of parents who had played hockey negatively associated with psychological and performance constructs, while, conversely, frequency of goalie coaching associated positively. Congruent with SDT, autonomy and relatedness positively predicted autonomous motivation, and competence negatively predicted amotivation. Surprisingly, however, autonomy predicted (nearing significance) an increase in controlled motivation. Finally, social variables, BPNS, and motivation types predicted performance as measured by games played and recent game performance but not by goals against average nor save percentage. In conclusion, autonomous supportive coaching provides a viable framework for applying the tenants of SDT to sports and, more specifically, ice hockey goaltending. Study findings inform the hockey community how to better support goaltender development within psychosocial contexts and will guide goalie coach education efforts.

In this study, I combine my background in actor training with the athletics training methods of Scott Sonnon to consider ways to introduce psychophysical stress into the training of beginning acting students. I contend that the incremental introduction of stress into the learning process allows beginning acting students to better retain newly learned skills.To examine this contention I taught a section of the Acting Principles course in the Theatre department at Bowling Green State University in the fall of 2013. This course was designed using Sonnon’s Three Dimensional Performance Pyramid, which is a pedagogical model for learning new skills and training attributes while stress testing those skills and attributes. I taught introductory elements of Stanislavskian acting, but combined it with specific stress management tools, and with regular stress testing throughout the semester.I then analyze the practical work through a mix of personal observation and data analysis. Students completed tests at three points during the semester. Some of these tests checked their understanding of the course content and their personal experience of the acting process. The other tests were personality tests. Each of these personality tests was intended to measure one of sport psychologist Roland Carlstedt’s three Primary Higher Order factors for performance under stress: Absorption, Neuroticism, and Repressive Coping.I found much to recommend this approach. I discuss ways in which student’s understanding and acting work improved over the course of the semester. I reflect on the range of student responses in detail. Further, I learned many lessons about this type of research and the application of scientific research in the acting classroom. I also spend significant time reflecting on this process and considering ways to best approach research that bridges the performing arts and the humanities.

Dance is formed from the interactions between the choreographer and the dancers that occur during the workshop and rehearsal phase of the dance making process. The choreographer's art is brought to life not solely through the creation of the choreography, but through the interpretation of the choreography in the bodies of the dancers. Thus, the time spent coaching dancers is an important piece of the choreographer's work. Artists have written about the value of dancers in their work, and educators provide theories about training dancers in the classroom, but little has been written about practical methods for the professional choreographer to engage their dancers throughout the creative process. The importance of facilitating engagement during the dance making process is illustrated in this dissertation by the author's application of methods used in sports psychology with dancers in the choreographic project, "Players of the Ring", which was performed at the University of New Mexico in February 2014. When choreographers make engagement in the work a priority for dancers by building a community, fostering a positive team environment and encouraging motivation they make possible a more successful performance of their work by invested dancers.

The purpose of this study was to describe the coaching style and leader behavior preferences of softball players. The Leadership Scale for Sports (LSS; Chelladurai & Saleh, 1980) was administered to Division I college softball players and professional softball players from the National Professional Fastpitch league (NPF). Sixty-four softball players completed the Leadership Scale for Sport questionnaire (preference version), 52 Division I college softball players and 12 professional softball players from the NPF. Descriptive statistics revealed that softball players prefer Training and Instruction, Democratic Behavior, and Positive Feedback; players did not prefer Autocratic Behavior or Social Support. Follow-up univariate ANOVAs indicated that Autocratic Behavior was significantly different for Division I college softball players and professional softball players. Pairwise comparisons showed professional softball players significantly preferred Autocratic Behavior to Division I softball players; however, no statistical significance was found when examining coaching style preferences with relation to age and years of experience. Two one-way ANOVAs followed the trend that professional softball players preferred autocratic coaching behavior while Division I college softball players preferred democratic coaching behavior. Thus, female softball players, overall, prefer a democratic coaching style, training and instruction, and positive feedback; however, professional softball athletes significantly prefer autocratic coaching behaviors while Division I college players do not prefer autocratic coaching styles. Age and years of experience were not statistically significant when determining coaching preference, however, a power analysis is needed to reveal the optimal sample size to establish significance.

Imagery is widely used in performance enhancement in sport. Music is also used to enhance sports performance. In this thesis, I examined the role of relaxing and arousing music during imagery on subsequent sports performance in three linked studies.

The purpose of the present study was to validate the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale (PALMS). This included examining the internal consistency and criterion validity of the PALMS, as well as testing the proposed model of PALMS subscales in a confirmatory factor analysis. This study also looked at the various reasons people nominate for engaging in physical activities. A community sample of 202 volunteer participants, 120 males and 82 females, aged 18 to 71 years, was recruited from various organizations, clubs, and leisure centres. The participants represented different forms of physical activity namely, Australian Football League (AFL), gym-based exercise, tae kwon do, tennis, and yoga. Results indicate that the PALMS has a robust factor structure (CMIN/DF = 2.22; NFI = 0.95; CFI = 0.97; RMSEA = 0.078). The PALMS also demonstrated good internal consistency with a Cronbach’s alpha (α) of 0.79. The α values for the PALMS subscales ranged from .80 to .99. In terms of criterion validity, Spearman’s rho (rs) indicated a strong positive correlation between the REMM and the PALMS (rs = .9). The correlations between each PALMS sub-scale and the corresponding sub-scale on the validated REMM were also high and varied from .76 to .95.

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a new measure of mental toughness in sport. The role of mental toughness in sport has been characterized as key in assisting athletes to obtain success by optimizing practice, overcome failures, and develop the mental skills necessary to win (Norris, 1999). A literature review concluded with six concepts (hardiness, coping, self-efficacy, mindset, resilience, and optimism) being used to develop an 80-item instrument measuring mental toughness on a 5-point Likert scale (always-never). Athletes (N=359, 195 males, 164 females, mean age = 17.57, SD = 3.4) drawn from a variety of sports were administered the Inventory of Mental Toughness Factors in Sport (IMTF-S) during the spring of 2011. Item analysis and principal component analysis yielded a four-factor 48-item model with an overall reliability (Cronbach's alpha) score of .925. The mental toughness factors and corresponding reliability scores were labeled as follows: Identification (.933), Negation (.812), Determination (.765), and Motivation (.890). Test-retest reliability measures were also obtained on a sample of 25 athletes (r= .892). Concurrent validity was demonstrated (r= .798, p ≤ .001) by comparing a set of scores (N= 75) on the IMTF-S and the Psychological Performance Inventory (PPI; Loehr, 1986). Predictive validity was assessed by comparing means of three sample's scores with ratings of their respective coaches. One independent samples t-test on a high school boys lacrosse team (N=18) indicated that the IMTF-S may have predictive properties (p= .021), however two other samples (women's elite field hockey, N=19) and junior A ice hockey (N=24) revealed non-significant findings when coaches ratings were compared to athlete self-assessment. Finally, correlation analysis found no significant relationships between mental toughness and age or experience. The results of this study provide empirical evidence for the valid use of the IMTF-S in measuring mental toughness in athletes. Perhaps of greater importance is that this study bolsters the existing research on mental toughness and further promotes its identification and development in assisting athletes in overcoming high-pressured and adverse conditions in their sporting environments.

In recent years the NCAA has had problems with the delinquent behavior of collegiate athletes on and off the field. The ability to know what causes athletes to act out will help athletic programs and reputations. Psychological behaviors have been related to sports performance and behavior in prior studies In this study, we hypothesized that higher Emotional Intelligence in collegiate athletes, the ability to perceive, understand and manage one's emotions, will be related to lower acts of delinquent behavior on and off the field, as well as better performance during games. Study participants were Virginia Tech Soccer, Basketball, and Football male student athletes. We assessed emotional intelligence using the MSCEIT v.2.0 and also measured self report delinquent behavior and game statistics. None of our hypotheses were supported. A major reason for the lack of evidence to support our hypotheses may have been low statistical power and possible sampling biases.

As a basketball coach, and former athlete, the researcher observed a fluctuation in the performance of some athletes during anxiety producing competitive events. The researcher conducted a review of literature, and concluded that the use of a mental skill training programs might reduce the competitive anxiety levels of athletes. As a result, the purpose of this project was to determine if the implementation of a mental skills training program would lower the anxiety levels of five Division I female high school basketball athletes. Following the completion of the Mental Skills Training Program (MSTP), the competitive anxiety levels of four out of the five intervention athletes were lowered. When compared to a baseline figure, the results indicated that the five participating athletes had slightly lower competitive anxiety levels, then that of the norm, following the MSTP. Thus, the researcher concluded that the use of a mental skills training program may decrease competitive anxiety levels.

imagery is widely accepted by sport psychologists, coaches, and athlètes to be a useful psychological technique in the training of athlètes for excellence (1998; Janssen & Sheikh, 1994). If imagery training is to be maximally effective, practitioners need to establish an understanding ofthe athlètes' ability to image. achieve this, it is necessary to assess imagery ability in a reliable, valid, and comprehensive manner (Moran, 1993). As yet no multi-modal, multi-dimensional, sport spécifie test has been fully validated. The purpose of this thesis is to describe the development, reliability, and validation of an assessment tool for use in imagery research and training programs, the Sport Imagery Ability Measure (SIAM).