The relationship between visual attention and expertise in sports

ObjectivesGiven the prevalence of misperception and failed perception, particularly in attention-demanding team sports, surprisingly few studies have explored whether experts in team sports differ from other athletes and from non-athletes in their basic attention abilities.MethodIn this study, we examined group differences between experts in team handball (n = 40), athletes from non-team sports (n = 40), and novice athletes (n = 40) using a battery of three attention tasks: a functional field of view task, a multiple-object tracking task, and an inattentional blindness task.ResultsPerformance on the three attention tasks was largely independent, with no significant correlations among the tasks. Team sports experts showed no better performance on the basic attention tasks than did athletes from non-teams sports or novice athletes.ConclusionsThe finding that all basic attention tasks are largely independent provides preliminary support for the idea that attentional breadth, tracking performance, and inattentional blindness are distinct attentional processes. Our results demonstrate that sports expertise effects are unrelated to basic differences in attention—expertise does not appear to produce differences in basic attention and basic differences in attention do not appear to predict eventual expertise. Further experiments could focus on the ways in which more specific attentional strategies and processes contribute to sports performance.     

The complex problem-solving competence of team coaches

ObjectivesThe complexity and dynamics of team sports places high information-processing demands on coaches. They can meet these demands by applying either domain-specific or domain-unspecific problem-solving strategies.MethodThe first phase of this study used a domain-unspecific computer-simulated scenario (“heating oil company” [Hasselmann, D., & Strauss, B. (1993). Herausforderung Komplexität: Baustein 1 (HEIZÖLHANDEL) [The challenge of complexity: Building block 1 (heating oil company)]. Hamburg, Germany: Windmühle]) to measure domain-unspecific complex problem-solving strategies in 38 top-league coaches (first or second German national league in team handball or basketball) and 43 local-league coaches.ResultsResults showed that top-league coaches exhibited better problem-solving performance than lower-league coaches in an unspecific domain. The second phase recorded the real-life coaching behavior of some of these coaches 6 months later during competitions and analyzed the content of their utterances. The main findings were that top-league coaches (n=14) made fewer utterances in competitions, but gave relatively more concrete instructions compared with lower-league coaches (n=13). Top-league coaches also criticized and motivated their players more frequently during play. Comparing intervention behavior across the two settings (computer-simulated scenario vs. competition) disclosed some general problem-solving strategies (e.g., number of motivating utterances, strength of interventions).ConclusionIt is concluded that the achievement of sports coaches depends at least in part on their domain-general, complex problem-solving competence.     

360°-multiple object tracking in team sport athletes: Reliability and relationship to visuospatial cognitive functions

IntroductionIn team sports, the ability to visually track the movements of teammates and opponents simultaneously is a critical aspect of success. In sports psychology, this ability can be examined with the help of the multiple object tracking paradigm. The current study investigated the relationship between task performance in a novel 360°-multiple object tracking task and visuospatial cognitive functions as well as the reliability of the task.MethodsIn a sample of 153 team sport athletes the relationships between performance in the 360°-multiple object tracking task and performance in a spatial attention task, a spatial working memory task, and a fluid intelligence task at a first time of measurement were investigated. Additionally, at a second time of measurement the test-retest reliability of the 360°-multiple object tracking task was measured over a six-week interval in a subsample of 65 athletes.ResultsThe expected significant correlations between the performance in the 360°-multiple object tracking task and the tasks measuring spatial attention and working memory were observed. Test-retest reliability analysis indicated a good reliability of the procedure.ConclusionsThe results of this study demonstrate that the novel 360°-multiple object tracking task allows the reliable assessment of visuospatial cognitive performance of athletes in a dynamic 360°-environment.     

The optimal number of alternatives at a choice point with travel time considered

The problem of optimal design is considered for tasks that can be represented as n choice points with a_i alternatives per choice point. Examples are mazes or multiple choice tests. Some fixed time t′ elapses between choice points, say traveling from one to the other or reading a question, and additional time t is spent considering each alternative at the choice point. For fixed total time, the goal is to find the optimum number of choice points and the optimum number of alternatives at each choice point. In general, the longer the time spent between choice points, the greater the optimum number of alternatives at each point.     

Reciprocal relationships between contextual and situational motivation in a sport setting

ObjectiveThe purpose of this investigation was to test the hypothesized reciprocal top-down (TD) and bottom-up (BU) relationships between motivation at one given level and motivation at the next adjacent level in Vallerand's [1997, Toward a hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 271–360). New York: Academic Press] Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. These postulates were examined in two studies, whereby the dynamic interplay between motivation toward a specific life domain (i.e., contextual) and the motivation experienced during a specific point in time (i.e., situational) was examined.Method and ResultsIn Study 1, a sample of collegiate basketball players (N=162) were followed during two games at a pre-season tournament. Reciprocal TD and BU effects between athletes’ contextual motivation toward their sport and the situational motivation they experienced during their games were expected. The influence of situational factors such as perceptions of personal and team performance on situational motivation was also examined. Results from path analyses provided support for our hypotheses. Study 2 (N=150) replicated the findings of Study 1 which followed athletes during an entire basketball season. Reciprocal TD and BU effects between athletes’ contextual motivation toward their sport and the situational motivation they experienced during games of each half of the season were observed. Moreover, contextual motivation assessed at the end of the season predicted athletes’ sustained interest in their sport. Results from Study 2, also provided support for the mediating role of psychological need satisfaction on the relationship between situational factors such as perceptions of personal and team performance on athletes’ situational motivation experienced during games.ConclusionImplications for intrinsic/extrinsic motivation theory and research in the sports domain are discussed.     

The moral disengagement in doping scale

Statement of problemThe use of banned substances to enhance performance occurs in sport. Therefore, developing valid and reliable instruments that can predict likelihood to use banned substances is important.MethodWe conducted three studies. In Study 1, football players (N = 506) and athletes from a variety of team sports (N = 398) completed the Moral Disengagement in Doping Scale (MDDS). In Study 2, team sport athletes (N = 232) completed the MDDS and questionnaires measuring moral disengagement in sport, doping attitudes, moral identity, antisocial sport behavior, situational doping temptation, and task and ego goal orientations. A week later, a subsample (n = 102) completed the MDDS and indicated their likelihood to use a banned substance in a hypothetical situation. In Study 3, athletes (N = 201) from a variety of individual sports completed the MDDS and indicated their likelihood to use a banned substance in a hypothetical situation.ResultsThe results of Study 1 showed that a one-factor model fitted the data well, and the scale had measurement invariance across males and females. In Study 2, we provided evidence for convergent, concurrent, discriminant, and predictive validity, as well as test-rest reliability, of the scale. In Study 3, doping moral disengagement was positively related with reported likelihood and temptation to use a banned substance. The scale exhibited very good internal consistency across the three studies.ConclusionsIn conclusion, the MDDS can be used to measure moral disengagement in doping in team and individual sports.     

Slow and fast chess performance across three expert levels

ObjectivesSlow and fast thinking are crucial for human decision making in several domains of human activity including sports. These cognitive processes are remarkable in the intellectually demanding sport of chess. Slow and fast thinking underlie chess performance. However, the relative influence of each process has elicited controversial findings. Moreover, individual differences in chess skill are likely to moderate the integration of both processes.DesignThe simultaneous change over six time points in slow and fast chess performance was analyzed with a cross-domain latent curve model (LCM).MethodArchival data from an extensive group of chess players (n = 32,173) were included in these analyses at untitled, intermediate, and advanced levels of expertise. Intercept and slope latent factors of growth were specified and correlated for both processes.ResultsThere were remarkable differences in the change in slow and fast performance regarding the three expert levels, and in the concurrent interrelationship of both processes. The interdependence between both processes was more robust for the advanced than for the untitled and intermediate players.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that a better integration of slow and fast performance is produced at higher levels of expertise.     

Empathic accuracy in coach–athlete dyads who participate in team and individual sports

ObjectiveThe purpose of the present study was to investigate the empathic accuracy of coach–athlete dyads participating in team and individual sports.MethodAn adaptation of Ickes's [2001. Measuring empathic accuracy. In J. A. Hall & F. J. Bernieri (Eds.), Interpersonal sensitivity (pp. 219–242). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates] unstructured dyadic interaction paradigm was used to assess the empathic accuracy of 40 coach–athlete dyads. Accordingly, each dyad was filmed during a training session. The dyad members viewed selected video footage that displayed discrete interactions that had naturally occurred during that session. Dyad members reported what they remembered thinking/feeling while making inferences about what their partner's thought/felt at each point. Empathic accuracy was estimated by comparing self-reports and inferences.ResultsThe results indicted that accuracy for coaches in individual sports was higher than coaches in team sports. Shared cognitive focus also differed between team and individual sports, and fully mediated the effect of sport-type on coach empathic accuracy. Moreover, coaches whose training sessions were longer demonstrated increased empathic accuracy. No differences were found for athletes.ConclusionsThe results suggest that the dynamics of the interaction between a coach and an athlete play a key role in how accurately they perceive each other.     

The link between children's sport participation and self-esteem: Exploring the mediating role of sport self-concept

Background and PurposeSport participation is positively associated with indices of adjustment, such as self-esteem, among adolescent participants. Less is known about the processes through which younger children benefit from their sport participation. The purpose of this investigation was to test whether children's sport self-concept mediated the longitudinal associations between time spent in individual- and team-oriented organized sport activities and later self-esteem.MethodsWe used four waves of data from the Childhood and Beyond Study collected from three cohorts of elementary school-aged children (N = 987), their parents, and their teachers.ResultsFindings indicated that children who spent more time in team sports, but not time in individual sports, reported higher sport self-concept, which, in turn, was associated with higher self-esteem than their peers. Multi-group analyses suggested that these relations did not vary across gender, sport ability, sport importance beliefs, or peer acceptance.ConclusionsStudy results suggested that the relations between time spent in sports and children's sport self-concept depends, in part, on whether the time was spent in team or individual sports. This investigation highlighted the value of examining mediating processes so as to better explicate the association between time in sports and self-esteem.     

The TRAMS: The Team-Referent Attributions Measure in Sport

ObjectivesTo provide initial evidence for the construct, concurrent, and predictive validity of the Team-Referent Attributions Measure in Sport (the TRAMS).DesignCross-sectional in Studies 1 and 2, and multiple time points in Study 3.MethodStudy 1 required participants (N = 500) to complete the TRAMS for their “least successful” and “most successful” performances in the preceding three months. In Study 2, after performance, participants (N = 515) completed the TRAMS and the Causal Dimension Scale for Teams (CDS-T; Greenlees et al., 2005). Study 3 required participants (N = 165) to complete a measure of pre-competition collective-efficacy prior to performance (Day 1, Time 1), the TRAMS following performance (Day 1, Time 2), and a measure of subsequent collective-efficacy prior to subsequent performance (Day 7–9, Time 3).ResultsStudy 1 supported the factor structure of the TRAMS across least successful and most successful conditions. Study 2 provided further support for the factor structure of the TRAMS, together with evidence of concurrent validity with subscales of the CDS-T. Study 3 revealed, following team defeat, interactions between controllability and generalisability dimensions: Controllability had a significant effect upon subsequent collective-efficacy when causes of team defeat were also perceived to generalise across situations and/or across teams. Following team victory, stable attributions were positively associated with subsequent collective-efficacy.ConclusionsThis article provides initial evidence for the validity of the TRAMS and demonstrates for team-referent attributions the theoretical advantages of examining a broader conceptualisation of generalisability attributions and interactive effects of attributions.     

Self-efficacy,mental models and team adaptation: A first approach on football and futsal refereeing

ObjectiveWithin the football and futsal refereeing context, even though referees work within teams, there is very little research considering the implications of team dynamics. In response, this study starts to address this gap in the literature by investigating the moderating effect of mental models on the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and perceptions of team adaptation within the exciting context of professional and national football and futsal refereeing.DesignWe obtained online questionnaires from 339 active football and futsal referees within the National and Professional league at two distinct points (April and May) within the football season.ResultsSelf-efficacy beliefs were positively associated with perceptions of team adaptation (only for football referees). Mental models were positively associated with team adaptation. Likewise, the moderation between mental models and self-efficacy beliefs was positively associated with perceptions of team adaptation. However, such an effect was only significant at the futsal referees’ level.ConclusionThis study emphasises the importance of mental models for team adaptation and the importance of self-efficacy beliefs in predicting perceptions of team adaptation. We hope that this study represents the first step in a greater appreciation of the salience of team dynamics and their impact on football and futsal referees’ performance and that future research can build upon our work.     

Giving everything for athletic success! – Sports-specific risk acceptance of elite adolescent athletes

ObjectivesGood health is the basic foundation for peak performance in elite sports, yet athletes are often conflicted between protecting their health for the sake of being able to compete and risking their health in the form of potential injuries to achieve even higher levels of performance. Adolescent athletes, who are in a sensitive phase of development, are especially prone to negative consequences like injuries or illnesses due to risky behaviors. In an effort to prevent lasting damage, the present study aims to identify groups of athletes who are particularly willing to take risks and the possible determinants of athletes' risk acceptance.Design and methodIn our German Young Olympic Athletes' Lifestyle and Health Management (GOAL) Study, we examined 1138 German national squad members, aged 14–18, representing all Olympic sports. Classification tree analyses enabled us to detect determinants of high and low risk groups concerning sports-specific psychosocial and physical risk acceptance.ResultsWe found several high risk groups. In general, the degree of inclusion in the elite sports system correlates positively with risk acceptance. Athletes who are extremely willing to take physical risks attached high importance to their sports environment and minor importance to their non-sports environment (n = 94; 8%). Athletes who are perfectionists and very focused on their performance were particularly willing to accept physical (n = 142; 13%) and social risks (n = 75; 7%).ConclusionBy identifying extreme groups with an especially high or low willingness to take risks and the determinants of these groups, we can give a more precise picture of elite adolescent athletes' risk acceptance.     

Driving and sustaining culture change in professional sport performance teams: A grounded theory

ObjectivesAs part of the recent upsurge of work on management and organizational factors in elite sports teams, researchers have focused on the team management-led creation and regulation of high performing cultures. The purpose of this study was to therefore add to a recently developed model of culture change best practice in Olympic sports teams, as led and perceived by incoming performance directors, and conceptualize culture change best practice in professional sports teams, as led and perceived by incoming team managers.Design and methodA pragmatic research philosophy and corresponding grounded theory methodology were used to generate a practically-meaningful model of this culture change process from the perspective of UK-based professional team managers.ResultsPerceived best practice in team manager-led culture change was found to involve a finite phase of initial evaluation, planning, and impact adjoined to the enduring management of a holistic, integrated, and dynamic social system. With the former process acting as the catalyst for successful change, this model revealed that optimal change was felt to primarily rely on the constant acquisition, negotiation, and alignment of internal and external stakeholder perceptions.ConclusionsBased on the model's principles, the optimization of professional team culture is defined by a manager's initial actions and never definitively achieved but rather constantly constructed and re-constructed in complex social and power dynamics. Beyond providing a conceptual backdrop for continued research in this area, the model is also a tool on which the practice of professional team managers and their supporting sport psychologists can be based.     

Intrinsic motivation and individual deliberate practice are reciprocally related: Evidence from a longitudinal study of adolescent team sport athletes

ObjectiveThere is limited understanding of how sport motivation is associated with deliberate practice in youth team sport athletes. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine prospective associations between intrinsic motivation and individual deliberate practice in specializing team sport athletes.DesignLongitudinal.MethodEstonian adolescent team sport athletes (N = 163; M_age – 13.6 years at the beginning of study) completed the Sport Motivation Scale and training diary across a 12-month period.ResultsBoth individual deliberate practice and intrinsic motivation increased over the 1-year period. Greater baseline intrinsic motivation predicted subsequent individual deliberate practice and greater initial individual deliberate practice predicted greater subsequent intrinsic motivation. The bidirectional relationship between athletes intrinsic motivation and individual deliberate practice were replicated across both time lags.ConclusionThe findings have significant implications for the importance placed on intrinsic motivation as a means of increasing of individual deliberate practice as well being an important outcome variable in specializing team sport athletes.     

“Get it out the way. The wait's killing me.” hastening and hiding during soccer penalty kicks

ObjectivesIt has been suggested that hastening and hiding—rushing through penalty preparation and not looking at the goal when preparing the penalty kick—are associated with negative penalty taking performance. In the present study, we investigated how opposing players perceived these nonverbal behaviors, how they affect outcome expectations, and how they affect the behavior of opposing goalkeepers.DesignThe present study employs an experimental research design (Experiment 1: 2 (gaze behavior) × 3 (preparation time) design; Experiment 2: 2 (gaze behavior) × 2 (preparation time) design).MethodWe examined the perception of nonverbal hastening and hiding behavior using the point-light technique during the soccer penalty kick among goalkeepers (Experiment 1a; n = 20), and among outfield soccer players (Experiment 1b; n = 29). Furthermore, we analyzed how these respective penalty preparation strategies influenced the behavior of high-level goalkeepers (n = 12) under in situ conditions (Experiment 2).ResultsThe results from Experiment 1 demonstrated that penalty takers showing hastening and hiding behaviors are perceived more negatively by both soccer goalkeepers and outfield players: (i) they are considered to possess less positive attributes, (ii) to have less accuracy in their penalties, and (iii) likely to perform less well in penalty situations. Experiment 2 provided first evidence that goalkeepers initiate their movement later following the observation of hastening and hiding behaviors during the penalty preparation.ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate the importance of investigating nonverbal behavior in sports as these have a major impact on impression formation, expected performance, and actual behavior of opposing players in the soccer penalty situation.     

A prospective multilevel examination of the relationship between cohesion and team performance in elite youth sport

The purpose of the current research was to (a) develop and establish the factor structure of the Czech and Slovak versions of the Youth Sport Environment Questionnaire (YSEQ; Eys, Loughead, Bray, & Carron, 2009) and (b) examine the relationship between team performance and cohesion with a sample of European elite youth sport teams. At time point one, with 352 elite youth athletes from 22 teams, support was obtained for a two factor structure underlying the YSEQ. Based on data collected at the second (N = 291) and third (N = 246) time points, multilevel analyses revealed that, when controlling for midseason cohesion, midseason team performance significantly and positively predicted task and social cohesion later in the season. Neither task nor social cohesion predicted team performance. In addition to adapting the YSEQ for use in a unique context, these findings reveal the nature of the cohesion-performance relationship in elite youth sport.     

When mistakes affecting one’s own group result in compensation: Evidence of a compensatory own goal effect

ObjectivesAlthough sports team members often value their teams highly, they sometimes make mistakes and thereby unintentionally put their teams at a disadvantage. Thus, they should be motivated to compensate for their mistake to resolve this discrepancy. To test this hypothesis, we studied whether professional soccer players compensate for their own goals by scoring regular goals in the same game (Study 1) and possible processes underlying such compensation efforts (Study 2).DesignIn Study 1, we compared how frequently prior own goal scorers scored a regular goal in the same game to (a) their expected goal scoring frequencies and (b) their probabilities to score a regular goal following a regular goal by the opposing team. In Study 2, we investigated four possible processes underlying the expected compensatory efforts.MethodWe analyzed all own goals from the first fifty years of the German Bundesliga (N = 889) and possible ensuing regular goals by the own goal scorer. Moreover, we surveyed amateur soccer players about four motives: group performance, individual performance, individual public image, and group public image.ResultsFollowing their own goals, professional soccer players are particularly likely to score regular goals in the same game (i.e., a compensatory own goal effect). Presumably, they primarily do so to secure a good group performance, but the other motives also play a role.ConclusionsGroup members who make highly visible mistakes are motivated to compensate for the disadvantage they caused. Presumably, they mainly do so to secure a good team performance.     

The applicability of self-regulation theories in sport: Goal adjustment capacities,stress appraisals,coping, and well-being among athletes

ObjectivesWe examined a model, informed by self-regulation theories from the health psychology literature, which included goal adjustment capacities, appraisals of challenge and threat, coping, and well-being.DesignProspective.MethodsTwo-hundred and twelve athletes from the United Kingdom (n = 147) or Australia (n = 65), who played team (n = 135) or individual sports (n = 77), and competed at international (n = 7), national (n = 11), county (n = 67), club (n = 84), or beginner (n = 43) levels participated in this study. Participants completed measures of goal adjustment capacities and stress appraisals two days before competing. Athletes also completed coping and well-being questionnaires within 3 h of their competition ending.ResultsThe way an athlete responded to an unattainable goal was associated with his or her well-being in the period leading up to and including the competition. Goal reengagement positively predicted well-being, whereas goal disengagement negatively predicted well-being. Further, goal reengagement was positively associated with challenge appraisals, which in turn was linked to task-oriented coping, and task-oriented coping positively associated with well-being.ConclusionWhen highly-valued goals become unattainable, consultants and coaches could encourage athletes to generate alternative approaches to achieve the same goal or help them develop a completely new goal in order to promote well-being among athletes.     

Development and validation of the Zurich Meeting Questionnaire (ZMQ)

Introduction and objectivesResearch highlights the importance of identifying and examining crucial meeting characteristics and procedures. Thus, the aim of the present research is to develop and validate the Zurich Meeting Questionnaire (ZMQ), an instrument that assesses meeting attendees’ perceptions of meeting design characteristics and task- and relational-oriented procedures during the meeting.MethodThree independent samples (n₁ = 474, n₂ = 464, n₃ = 311) were used to test the psychometric properties, factorial structure, criterion validity, and construct validity of the ZMQ.ResultsResults of confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the assumed two-dimensional structure of meeting procedures. Furthermore, the results provided criterion validity evidence regarding meeting satisfaction and perceived meeting effectiveness. Finally, the pattern of correlations with external variables (team climate inventory, psychological safety, and social desirability) provided initial evidence of construct validity.ConclusionThe ZMQ is a short and psychometrically sound measure of meeting design characteristics and procedures during meetings and is suitable for use in organizational research and the evaluation of meetings in practice.