Implicit Theories of Mental Skills Abilities in Collegiate Athletes

We aimed at studying athletes' mental skills-related implicit beliefs and their susceptibility to changes. Collegiate athletes (n = 68) responded to the Theories of Mental Skills scale to determine their implicit beliefs of mental skills abilities within sport. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of two manipulation articles and complete a mental skills task. Following the manipulation, participants' beliefs were reassessed to determine changes from pre- to postmanipulation. The results revealed that implicit beliefs could be manipulated, shedding light on the malleability of implicit beliefs. The findings provide information on the nature of athletes' perceptions of mental skills.     

Identifying and preventing disordered eating among athletes: Perceptions of track and field coaches

ObjectiveThis study aimed to identify the strategies employed by coaches when identifying disordered eating (DE) among track and field athletes.DesignThis was a qualitative study and an inductive thematic analysis was conducted.MethodSemi structured interviews were conducted with eleven track and field coaches, with experience of coaching at national and international level. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysis was conducted.ResultsTrack and field coaches reported using physical, social and performance indicators to identify disordered eating in their athletes. Coaches also monitored their athletes' eating attitudes and behaviors. Weight loss (both observed and objectively monitored) was considered to be a key indicator of disordered eating. Coaches placed a high level of importance on weight for performance, and an “ideal” female athlete body. Previous experiences of detecting disordered eating and a close relationship with the athlete facilitated the identification of disordered eating. Athlete secrecy and masking behaviors, difficulties in communication and coaches' stereotypical beliefs were found to complicate the identification process.ConclusionsThis study highlights the need for additional information, advice and guidance for track and field coaches to improve their knowledge and confidence in identifying disordered eating among their athletes.     

When change-oriented feedback enhances motivation,well-being and performance: A look at autonomy-supportive feedback in sport

ObjectivesChange-oriented feedback (aka negative feedback) serves two important functions: it motivates athletes and guides them towards performance improvement. However, it can also lead to negative consequences such as anxiety or a decrease in athletes' self-esteem and in the quality of the coach–athlete relationship. We propose that change-oriented feedback quality is key in predicting athletes' reaction to this type of feedback. Based on SDT, we further suggest that a high quality change-oriented feedback must be autonomy-supportive. To test this hypothesis, we first define and measure an autonomy-supportive change-oriented feedback. We then investigate the relative impact of change-oriented feedback's quantity and quality on athletes' phenomenological experiences and performance.MethodIn total, 340 athletes and 58 coaches participated in this study. Coaches and athletes filled out a questionnaire after a training session. HLM analyses were used to take into consideration the hierarchical structure of the data.ResultsHLM analyses first show that an autonomy-supportive change-oriented feedback is empathic, accompanied by choices of solutions, based on clear and attainable objectives known to athletes, avoids person-related statements, is paired with tips, and given in a considerate tone of voice. Results also show that feedback quality predicts athletes' outcomes above and beyond feedback quantity and coaches' other autonomy-supportive behaviours.ConclusionResults are discussed in light of their contribution to self-determination theory, the feedback literature and the improvement of coaches' training.     

Improving the future by considering the past: The impact of upward counterfactual reflection and implicit beliefs on negotiation performance

Reflecting on previous experiences and considering how things could have been better (upward counterfactual reflection) is central to learning. While researchers have identified a number of situational antecedents to upward counterfactual generation, less is known about individual differences in counterfactual reflection. We address this gap by considering how implicit beliefs regarding the fixedness or malleability of basic characteristics influence counterfactual generation. In a negotiation context, we show that individuals who believe that negotiation ability is changeable are more likely to consider how things could have been better following a negotiation experience compared to individuals who believe that negotiation ability is fixed. We further demonstrate the impact of upward counterfactual reflection on learning and performance: Negotiators who hold malleable beliefs are better able to discover creative agreements that benefit both parties in a negotiation, and these performance differences are mediated by upward counterfactual generation.     

Factors impacting carded athlete's readiness for dual careers

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to explore factors impacting New Zealand carded athletes' ability to engage in careers outside their elite sport involvement.Design and MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 carded athletes from eight different sporting codes, followed by inductive analysis of emerging key themes. Modified realist tales were then created from each of these narratives to create a detailed and thorough account of athletes' individual and collective experiences within the carding programme.ResultsAthletes acknowledged that despite the support on offer as part of the New Zealand Academy of Sport's carded athlete programme, they were still restricted in their ability to undertake careers alongside their elite sport involvement. In particular lifestyle conflicts, career stage and the sport environment were all seen to impact athlete readiness to adopt dual careers, with many athletes feeling unable, or actively discouraged from undertaking activities outside of their sport requirements.ConclusionsThis study highlights the need to ensure career assistance programmes actively support and encourage athletes to achieve both personal and athletic success, as well as educate coaches and officials of the benefits of athletes developing interests away from the elite sport environment. Such changes will not only begin to fulfil the sporting potential of gifted athletes, but also achieve the carding system's goal of developing well-rounded individuals who actively engage in dual careers across their sport participation.     

“Women easily feel that they have lost a year if they don’t ski faster”: Finnish ski coaches’ discursive constructions of gendered dual career pathways

ObjectivesEarlier qualitative researchers studying athletes’ dual careers (DCs) have shown that sociocultural discourses on gender are ingrained in DC policies and practices, creating gender inequalities and hierarchies. In this study, we aimed to extend this body of research by examining how Finnish elite youth ski coaches discursively construct athletes’ education and gender in their talk and coaching practices. Similarly, we examined how coaches’ beliefs about athletes' holistic development are interlinked with broader sociocultural discourses on gender.DesignQualitative study.MethodsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 10 Finnish ski coaches (seven male, three female) aged 25–62 years (M = 38.5), and then analyzed the data using reflexive thematic analysis, interpreted through a feminist poststructuralist lens.FindingsCoaches’ discursive practices regarding education depended on their athletes' ages. For athletes in secondary education, the coaches predominantly drew on DC discourses that emphasized the compatibility of sports and education, but for athletes transitioning to senior-level sports, they drew on dominant performance discourses, believing that athletes at the senior level should prioritize their sports. Moreover, coaches discursively constructed athletic development as especially important for female athletes, who were perceived as less capable of excelling in sports and therefore needing to invest in multiple careers.ConclusionsBy drawing on gender stereotypes and binary understandings of gender, the coaches discursively reproduced gender hierarchies and unequal power relations in sports. These gendered discourses influence athletes' DC aspirations and the gendering of DC pathways.     

An integrative analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in sport

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to propose a motivational sequence that integrates much of the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation literature in sport. The proposed motivational sequence: “Social Factors → Psychological Mediators → Types of Motivation → Consequences” is in line with self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan. 1985. 1991) and the Hierarchical model of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Vallerand, 1997). Using the sequence, it is first shown that the motivational impact of social factors inherent in sport, such as competition/cooperation, success/failure, and coaches' behaviors toward athletes, takes place through their influence on athletes' perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (i.e., the psychological mediators). Second, recent results are provided with respect to a new multidimensional measure (i.e., the Sport Motivation Scale; Pelletier et al., 1995) to assess the different types of athletes' motives. Third, we review findings that suggest that such sport motives lead to various consequences for the athlete e.g.     

The role of coaches' passion and athletes' motivation in the prediction of change-oriented feedback quality and quantity

ObjectivesThe provision of an autonomy-supportive change-oriented feedback has been identified as a crucial coaching behaviour that is beneficial for athletes' phenomenological experience and performance. Based on past research that focused on the determinants of other autonomy-supportive coaching behaviours, the present study investigates coaches' passion toward coaching and coaches' perceptions of their athletes' motivation as potential determinants of the quality (i.e., the extent to which it is autonomy-supportive) and quantity of the change-oriented feedback that coaches provide.DesignQuantitative cross-sectional study using a dyadic approach.MethodsIn total, 280 athletes and 48 coaches participated in this study. Coaches and athletes both filled out a questionnaire after a training session. Coaches reported their passion and evaluated their athletes' motivation, whereas the provision of feedback was assessed by athletes. HLM analyses were used to take into consideration the hierarchical structure of the data.ResultsHLM analyses showed that only obsessive passion was a significant predictor of change-oriented feedback quality. The more coaches reported having an obsessive passion toward coaching, the less their change-oriented feedback was autonomy supportive. Results pertaining to feedback quantity showed that the more coaches were obsessively passionate and the more they perceived their athletes as being motivated, the more they gave change-oriented feedback. In contrast, when controlling for athletes' age and gender, the more coaches were harmoniously passionate, the less change-oriented feedback they tended to give.ConclusionsResults are discussed in light of their contribution to the passion, self-fulfilling prophecies and feedback literature.     

Coping rarely takes place in a social vacuum: Exploring antecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping in coach-athlete relationships

ObjectivesDespite widespread acceptance that coping is an interpersonal phenomenon, sport psychology research has focused largely on athletes' and coaches’ ways of coping individually. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore coping from an interpersonal perspective (i.e., dyadic coping) in coach-athlete relationships.Methodology and methodsAntecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping were discussed with five coach-athlete dyads. We conducted individual interviews with athletes and coaches and then one interview with each coach-athlete dyad. Interviews were analyzed using dyadic analysis and composite vignettes were created to present the data. Methodological rigor was enhanced by focusing on credibility, resonance, rich rigor, significant contribution, and meaningful coherence.ResultsFive themes were identified. These represented the essence of dyadic coping (theme: the essence of dyadic coping), antecedents of dyadic coping (themes: lock and key fit, friendship and trust, communication of the stressor), and outcomes of dyadic coping (theme: protection and support). The first theme captures coaches' and athletes’ understanding of dyadic coping. The antecedent themes represent the factors that were necessary for dyadic coping to occur. Protection and support relates to the positive nurturing environment that was discussed as an outcome of dyadic coping.ConclusionThe results extend published research by exploring antecedents and outcomes of dyadic coping in sport. The findings highlight that dyadic coping was prevalent in coach-athlete relationships when various antecedents (lock and key fit, friendship and trust, communication of the stressor) existed. Protection and support were pertinent outcomes of dyadic coping that contributed to personal and relationship growth.     

“The ripples are big”: Storying the impact of doping in sport beyond the sanctioned athlete

ObjectiveThe purpose of this paper was to extend current doping research efforts by shifting the focus away from a doping-user perspective to examine the experiences of elite athletes that have been personally affected by other athletes' doping behaviours.DesignThis research works within the interpretive paradigm, adopting relativist ontology and transactional/subjectivist epistemology.MethodConversational interviews were conducted with ‘competitive’ (N = 2) and ‘retired’ (N = 2) elite Track and Field athletes from multiple countries. In order to communicate the findings in a way that captures the complexity of the issue, whilst also appealing to the athletes this issue affects, creative non-fiction stories were used to present the findings.ResultsTwo stories were created; one incorporating the ‘competitive’ athletes' experiences and one presenting the ‘retired’ athletes' accounts. The stories detail financial, emotional, and relational implications stemming from others' use of performance enhancing drugs. Critically, the impact is not ephemeral; the retired athletes detailed the long-term implications of their experiences. Meanwhile, the competitive athletes suggest that given the current state of sport, they regularly have to defend their status as ‘clean athletes’. Thus, the ripples of doping in sport appear to be far reaching and enduring.ConclusionsIncorporating a novel mode of knowledge production within the doping literature, the stories presented here demonstrate elite athletes' candid accounts of being impacted by others’ doping behaviours in sport. This study also emphasises the value of adopting novel and creative approaches to data collection and representation within the field of doping research.     

“You’re only as good as your weakest link”: Implicit theories of golf ability

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to examine the antecedents, specificity, and ceiling effects of golfers’ implicit theories of sport ability.

Design

The present study employs a qualitative research design. A constructivist grounded theory methodology was adopted.

Method

Participants (N = 8) were asked to describe their conceptions of golf ability. All responses were recorded, transcribed, and the data were analyzed through a series of iterations, which led to the identification of three dimensions that constitute golfers’ beliefs about ability.

Results

The three dimensions were: acquirable ability, stable ability, and developing natural attributes. Categories within these dimensions offer initial evidence for the role of social agents and the inherent culture of golf in shaping co-existing beliefs in relation to sport ability. Beliefs with regards to ceiling effects of ability are reported, with one theme proposing a ceiling to sport ability, and a contrasting category exemplifying the belief that there is always room for improvement.

Conclusions

The present study contributes to the field by offering initial evidence for the antecedents, specificity, and ceiling effects of golfers’ conceptions of their sport ability. Implications, both theoretical in terms of future research, and practical with regards to practitioners’ role in educating athletes and cultivating an environment conducive to the perception that sport ability is acquirable, are offered.     

Exploring emotions as social phenomena among Canadian varsity athletes

ObjectivesAthletes are constantly engaging with teammates, coaches, and opponents, and rather than treating emotions as manifested in the individual as is often the case, psychological analyses need to treat emotions as social and relational. The purpose of this research was to explore athletes' accounts of emotions as social phenomena in sport using qualitative inquiry methods.MethodFourteen Canadian varsity athletes (7 males, 7 females, age range: 18–26 years) from a variety of sports participated in two semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using inductive coding, categorization, micro-analysis, and abduction (Mayan, 2009; Strauss & Corbin, 1998).ResultsAthletes reported individual and shared stressors that led to individual, group-based, and collective emotions, and they also reported emotional conflict when they simultaneously experienced individual and group-based or collective emotions. Emotional expressions were perceived to impact team functioning and performance, communicated team values, served affiliative functions among teammates, and prompted communal coping to deal with stressors as a team. Factors which appeared to influence athletes' emotions included athlete identity, teammate relationships, leaders and coaches, and social norms for emotion expression.ConclusionsOur study extends previous research by examining emotions as social phenomena among athletes from a variety of sports, and by elaborating on the role of athletes' social identity with regard to their emotional experiences in sport.     

A season-long examination of the intervention tone of coach–athlete interactions and athlete development in youth sport

ObjectivesCoaches are a primary influence on athletes' development in youth sport (Horn, 2008). However, the intervention tone of coaches' behaviour has not been directly observed. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between the intervention tone exhibited by youth sport coaches and athletes' individual developmental trajectories over the course of a season.DesignShort-term longitudinal study with behavioural observation.MethodFifty-five athletes and their coaches from five youth volleyball teams were observed at three time points, and the intervention tone of interactive behaviour was systematically coded and organized by coach–athlete dyad. Athletes completed measures of the 4C's of athlete development (competence, confidence, connection, character) at each time point, which were used to create individualized developmental trajectories. Person-centred analyses were used to examine associations between athletes' developmental trajectories and their unique interactive experiences with their coach.ResultsCluster analysis revealed the presence of three distinct clusters based on athletes' developmental trajectories: 1) high and increasing, 2) low and decreasing, and 3) moderate and maintaining, with athletes from each team distributed across clusters. Analysis of dyadic interaction profiles revealed significant differences in interactive behaviour between clusters.ConclusionsResults suggest that differences in coach–athlete interactive experiences are associated with different developmental trajectories over the course of a season, even for athletes working with the same coach, highlighting the individualized nature of coaches' influence on young athletes. Practical implications for coaches include a critical awareness of their unique interactive relationship with each athlete independently, as well as the importance of fostering these relationships with regard to young people as more than just athletes.     

Pre- to Post-Season Changes in the Intrinsic Motivation of First Year College Athletes: Relationships with Coaching Behavior and Scholarship Status

This study examined whether the intrinsic motivation levels of first-year college athletes changed from pre- to post-season as a function of their scholarship status or their perceptions of their coaches' behavior. Division I college athletes ( N = 72) completed questionnaires assessing their intrinsic motivation at the beginning and end of their first year of participation. They also reported their scholarship status and their perceptions of their coaches' behaviors over the season. Contrary to predictions, results revealed that neither scholarship status nor time affected the athletes' level of intrinsic motivation. Strong support for the relationship between athletes' perceptions of their coaches' behavior and changes in athletes' level of intrinsic motivation over the season, however, emerged. Increases in athletes' level of intrinsic motivation were associated with athletes' perceptions that their coaches exhibited high frequencies of training and instruction behavior, and low frequencies of autocratic behavior and social support. Results are discussed in relation to cognitive evaluation theory and previous research on intrinsic motivation.     

Why Drug Testing in Elite Sport Does Not Work: Perceptual Deterrence Theory and the Role of Personal Moral Beliefs1

Performance‐enhancing drug use by elite athletes is a modern sporting and social concern. We applied a long‐overdue theoretical framework, perceptual deterrence, to predicting the banned drug‐use decisions of 116 elite Australian footballers and soccer players. The strongest influence on athletes' hypothetical decisions to use drugs was their personal moral beliefs and health concerns, each of which also mediated the relationship between drug testing and athletes' decisions to use banned substances. Drug testing had little influence on athletes' imagined drug use decisions, although there are athletes for whom legal sanctions are necessary. The results have important implications for the way in which authorities fund and frame future anti‐drug initiatives; particularly the relationship between drug testing and athletes' personal moral beliefs.     

Athletes' perceptions of multilevel changes related to competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

ObjectivesTaking into account the need for applied research on the most effective ways to prepare Olympians psychologically, the first purpose of this study was to gain more insight into the changes perceived by four athletes in view of their participation in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The second purpose of this study was to illustrate how using a holistic and dynamic approach to the identification of the perceptions of these athletes' Olympic experiences can provide information relevant for the provision of individual ASP support to these athletes.DesignUsing a prospective design athletes' perceptions of changes were gathered prior, during as well as after the Olympic Games.MethodsA combination of interview (pre and post Olympic Games) and self-reporting (during Olympic Games) was used to describe athletes' perceptions of changes occurring at athletic, psychological, psychosocial, academic/vocational level.ResultsResults confirmed in first instance athletes' perceptions of the multifaceted nature of their Olympic experience. In second instance, the use of a dynamic and holistic perspective allowed to identify that participants perceived (a) during the phase prior to the Olympic Games 14 changes at all four levels, (b) during the Olympic Games eight changes at three levels, and (c) during the phase after returning from the Olympic Games 11 changes having occurred at four levels.ConclusionsThis study showed the usefulness of using a dynamic and holistic perspective not only in order to identify athletes' perceptions of their Olympic experiences, but also to enhance ASP practitioners' knowledge on the needs for a holistic and dynamic ASP-support provision. In this way, the effectiveness and efficiency of ASP practitioners working with athletes preparing for, or competing at the Olympic Games could be enhanced.     

Athlete perspectives on the enablers and barriers to nutritional adherence in high-performance sport

ObjectivesPoor adherence to nutritional guidance by athletes may compromise their health and performance. Enhancing adherence is therefore an important performance and welfare strategy. The aim of this study was to qualitatively explore the barriers and enablers of elite athletes' adherence to nutritional guidelines.DesignUnderpinned by our constructionist epistemological position and our relativist ontology, we conducted a qualitative study using focus groups.MethodsWe used the Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation Behaviour (COM-B) model and the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) to conduct focus group discussions with a purposive sample of 39 UK-based funded athletes (mean age = 23 ± 3.81), participating in either Olympic and Paralympic sport (n = 30) or professional sport (n = 9), who had access to a nutritionist. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.ResultsAthlete adherence to nutritional guidance was seasonal and included inadequate energy intakes and episodes of binge eating. Underpinning these behaviours, athletes' emotional barriers (motivation) are reinforced through their social interactions within the high-performance environment (opportunity) and athletes' training environment limits developmental opportunities for food planning (capability). However, a holistic-developmental approach by the sports nutritionists (opportunity) supports athlete wellbeing and nutritional adherence.ConclusionThese findings advance theoretical understanding of the barriers and enablers of nutritional adherence amongst elite-level athletes in high-performance sport and present a number of significant implications for athlete support personnel seeking to enhance performance in demanding sporting contexts. Drawing on the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW), recommendations include the need to 1) train and educate sports nutritionists in human behaviour, 2) update regulations for sports nutrition profession practice to acknowledge the skills required to support athletes' emotional wellbeing, 3), educate coaches on the sensitivity of body weight and composition and develop guidelines for monitoring athletes' body weight and composition in sport, 4) persuade influential leaders to develop culture guidelines that shift the performance-narrative of high-performance (i.e., environmental restructuring).     

Anger and perceived legitimacy of aggression in male Hong Kong Chinese athletes: Effects of type of sport and level of competition

ProblemThe vast majority of research examining the interplay between aggressive emotions, beliefs, behaviors, cognitions, and situational contingencies in competitive athletes has focused on Western populations and only select sports (e.g., ice hockey). Research involving Eastern, particularly Chinese, athletes is surprisingly sparse given the sheer size of these populations. Thus, this study examines the aggressive emotions, beliefs, behaviors, and cognitions, of competitive Chinese athletes.MethodSeveral measures related to aggression were distributed to a large sample (N = 471) of male athletes, representing four sports (basketball, rugby union, association football/soccer, and squash).ResultsHigher levels of anger and aggression tended to be associated with higher levels of play for rugby and low levels of play for contact (e.g., football, basketball) and individual sports (e.g., squash).ConclusionsThe results suggest that the experience of angry emotions and aggressive behaviors of Chinese athletes are similar to Western populations, but that sport psychology practitioners should be aware of some potentially important differences, such as the general tendency of Chinese athletes to disapprove of aggressive behavior.     

Psychological Characteristics and Their Development in Olympic Champions

This study was designed to examine psychological characteristics and their development in Olympic champions. Ten U.S. Olympic champions (winners of 32 Olympic medals) were interviewed, as were one of their coaches ( n = 10), and a parent, guardian, or significant other ( n = 10). A battery of psychological inventories was also administered to the athletes. It was found that the athletes were characterized by: (a) the ability to cope with and control anxiety; (b) confidence; (c) mental toughness/resiliency; (d) sport intelligence; (e) the ability to focus and block out distractions; (f) competitiveness; (g) a hard-work ethic; (h) the ability to set and achieve goals; (i) coachability; (j) high levels of dispositional hope; (k) optimism; and (l) adaptive perfectionism. Results also revealed that a number of individuals and institutions influenced the athletes' psychological development including the community, family, the individual himself or herself, non-sport personnel, sport environment personnel, and the sport process. Coach and family influences were particularly important. Ways in which these sources influenced the athletes were both direct, like teaching or emphasizing certain psychological lessons, and indirect, involving modeling or unintentionally creating certain psychological environments. Psychological characteristic findings verified current sport psychological research on psychological characteristics associated with peak performance (Williams & Krane, 2001). They also suggest that adaptive perfectionism, dispositional hope, and high levels of optimism are new variables to consider. Results are also discussed relative to Bloom's (1985), Côtè's (1999) and Csikzentmihalyi, Rathunde, Whalen, and Wong's (1993) talent development research. Practical implications focus on implementing parenting and coaching practices related to the development of psychological characteristics associated with athletic success.