Development and preliminary validation of the mindfulness inventory for sport

ObjectivesDespite the increasing prevalence of mindfulness-based interventions in sport, no context-specific instrument currently exists to measure mindfulness in sport. The Mindfulness Inventory for Sport (MIS) was devised using a three-stage approach, to measure one's ability to: (1) be aware of disruptive stimuli and their associated internal reactions; (2) adopt a non-judgmental attitude towards these stimuli and reactions; and (3) quickly refocus attention on goal-related cues.MethodIn stage 1, a pool of items was developed and assessed by six experts in the areas of mindfulness and instrument validation. In stage 2, exploratory factor analyses with data collected from undergraduate student-athletes (N = 370) resulted in a three-factor, 19-item version of the instrument. In stage 3, confirmatory analyses using structural equation modelling were conducted with a sample of elite athletes (N = 343).Results and conclusionA final 15-item three-factor version displayed an acceptable model fit, with little evidence of invariance demonstrated across sport type and partial invariance across gender. In addition, the subscales of the MIS displayed significant correlations with conceptually-related variables such as flow, worry, concentration disruption, and perfectionism.     

Profile of high-performing college soccer teams: An exploratory multi-level analysis

ObjectiveTo determine the profile of high-performing college soccer teams through the use of exploratory hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) based on a socio-cognitive approach.DesignA correlational design was employed in this study. The sample consisted of 340 college soccer players of both genders (178 female and 162 male), representing 17 different teams (8 female and 9 male) ranked in the top-32 of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).MethodsNumerous demographic and soccer-related variables represented level-1 in the HLM model. Group Environment Questionnaire and Team Assessment Diagnostic Measure were entered as level-2 variables, representing cohesion and team mental models, respectively. Perceived performance potential (PPP) served as the dependent variable. Objective performance scores were correlated with PPP, attesting a moderate to high-level of criterion related validity (r = .78).ResultsThe final model suggested that: (a) International athletes perceive their performance lower than others, (b) different field positions share different covariance coefficients with PPP, and (c) perception of social cohesion from a group, rather than individual, standpoint is positively associated with perceptions of team performance.ConclusionsHigh performing teams have clearly defined task-related and team-related goals. Accordingly, social rather than task related factors may represent a competitive edge, further energizing the interactions and performance of top-ranked teams. International athletes perceive team performance lower than locals, perhaps due to differences in preferred game-style and acculturation experiences. Players from different field positions (i.e., goalkeepers, defensive, and offensive players) relate differently to team performance in college soccer.     

Attentional Capture in Younger and Older Adults

The present study was designed to examine age-related differences in attentional capture. In the first experiment, participants identified targets defined either by an abrupt onset or by color difference. Prior to the presentation of the targets, onset or color cues were presented. It was found that color cues, but not onset cues, captured attention for color targets for both younger and older adults. It was also found, however, that onset and color cues captured attention for onset targets for both age groups. Moreover, while both types of cues yielded equivalent attentional capture effects with the younger adults, onset cues yielded greater effects for the older adults. The second experiment, using only younger adults, replicated the pattern of results found with the younger adults in the first experiment. The findings from these two experiments provide only partial support for the contingent involuntary orienting hypothesis, which suggests that only cues that share critical features with targets will capture attention. Moreover, the results also indicate that there are age-related differences in attentionalcapture.     

Ego depletion,attentional control,and decision making in sport

ObjectivesAthletes differ at staying focused on performance and avoiding distraction. Drawing on the strength model of self-control we investigated whether athletes do not only differ inter-individually in their disposition of staying focused and avoiding distraction but also intra-individually in their situational availability of focused attention.Design/methodIn the present experiment we hypothesized that basketball players (N = 40) who have sufficient self-control resources will perform relatively better on a computer based decision making task under distraction conditions compared to a group who's self-control resources have been depleted in a prior task requiring self-control.ResultsThe results are in line with the strength model of self-control by demonstrating that an athlete's capability to focus attention relies on the situational availability of self-control strength.ConclusionsThe current results indicate that having sufficient self-control strength in interference rich sport settings is likely to be beneficial for decision making.     

Haste makes waste,but not for all: The speed-accuracy trade-off does not apply to neurotics

ObjectivesTo examine if neurotics are the exception to the speed-accuracy rule and in fact are more accurate when making faster decisions.DesignThe study employed a laboratory-based, cross-sectional design.MethodOne hundred and ninety-six elite young cricketers completed measures of neuroticism before performing a cricket-specific computer-based decision-making task.ResultsNeuroticism significantly moderated the relationship between decision-making time and decision-making accuracy such that decreases in response time were associated with improvements in decision-making accuracy for individuals with high levels of neuroticism. Conversely, decreases in response time were associated with decrements in accuracy for individuals with low levels of neuroticism.ConclusionsThe study presents the first data that confirm that speed accuracy trade-offs do not occur across all individuals; individuals with high levels of neuroticism benefit from making faster decisions.     

Sport Psychology Foundations,Organizations, and Related Resources

SUMMARY

The purpose of this article is to introduce psychologists and counselors who work in schools to the field of applied sport psychology. We begin with a brief history of how applied sport psychology developed in North America and other parts of the world. Landmark events such as the development of conferences, professional organizations and scholarly publications are described. This is followed by a discussion of the breadth of services that are typically provided by sport psychologists. The third section examines some of the current issues related to the training of sport psychologists. The final section introduces the reader to organizations, journals, texts, and on-line resources so they may learn more about the theory, research, and practice of Sport psychology.     

Wind Power Planning Controversies and the Construction of ‘Expert’ and ‘Lay’ Knowledges

UK and Scottish planning policies include commitments to reflect the views of the public. However, this case study of one planning application for a wind farm in rural Scotland highlights the limited role played by lay knowledge within planning processes. The planning application process had two separate stages which structured the roles of lay and expert knowledge differently. Local objectors were able to influence the early planning application stage. However, this resulted in an appeals process (public inquiry) which was beyond the influence of lay people, and within which lay knowledge played only a marginal role. The early planning application stage enabled a wider range of knowledges to be relevant, perhaps even allowing lay knowledge to sideline expert knowledge. Within the inquiry such roles were reversed. Witnesses who could not back up their evidence with ‘reliable’ data or scientific reasoning were discredited as illegitimate and as having little to contribute to the inquiry process. Thus the inquiry constructed boundaries between expert and lay knowledge, in ways which diminished the role that lay knowledge might play. Whilst the construction of expert knowledge at the public inquiry played a central role in marginalising lay knowledge, it was central to all sides of the argument; the role of expert knowledge was reinforced by both the opposition group and the developers. Therefore, it is not only policy-makers and planning officials, but also lay people who act as though expert and lay knowledge can be clearly distinguished from one another.     

One-year retention of general and sequence-specific skills in a probabilistic,serial reaction time task

Procedural skills such as riding a bicycle and playing a musical instrument play a central role in daily life. Such skills are learned gradually and are retained throughout life. The present study investigated 1-year retention of procedural skill in a version of the widely used serial reaction time task (SRTT) in young and older motor-skill experts and older controls in two experiments. The young experts were college-age piano and action video-game players, and the older experts were piano players. Previous studies have reported sequence-specific skill retention in the SRTT as long as 2 weeks but not at 1 year. Results indicated that both young and older experts and older non-experts revealed sequence-specific skill retention after 1 year with some evidence that general motor skill was retained as well. These findings are consistent with theoretical accounts of procedural skill learning such as the procedural reinstatement theory as well as with previous studies of retention of other motor skills.     

The Development of Expertise: Animal Models?

There is a continuing debate in the psychological literature between researchers who lean more toward learning theories of expertise development and those who lean more toward talent theories. However, the development of human expertise has not been open to direct experimental methods and will probably continue to elude experimentalists in the future. A promising alternative to direct experimental methods is to use nonhuman animal models, a possibility that researchers in expertise seem to have overlooked. However, there are studies in the animal behavior literature that address the development of nonhuman animal expertise without specifically referring to the topic as expertise. In the present study, the author discusses two nonhuman animal examples of expertise development that have been researched by ethologists. Nonhuman animal expertise development, unlike human expertise development, is subject to direct experimentation. The author thus recommends that researchers use nonhuman animals in their studies of expertise.     

Influence of Experience on Postural Control: Effect of Expertise in Gymnastics

The authors investigated how expertise in motor skills that require fine postural control, such as gymnastics, influences postural regulation. Gymnasts and nongymnasts performed a postural stabilization task after anterior-posterior destabilization while looking at a target in front of them. The authors recorded and analyzed the center of pressure and the ankle, knee, and hip displacements. Gymnasts were able to react rapidly after destabilization to decrease their center of pressure and the angular movements. Moreover, they used their knees to stabilize posture, whereas the nongymnasts used their hips. These findings suggest that specific postural experience modifies the ability to coordinate and regulate posture. The authors discuss these results from an ecological perspective.