Lew Hardy

The relative impact of cognitive anxiety and self-confidence upon sport performance: a meta-analysis.

This meta-analysis (k = 48) investigated two relationships in competitive sport: (1) state cognitive anxiety with performance and (2) state self-confidence with performance. The cognitive anxiety mean effect size was r = −0.10 (P <0.05). The self-confidence mean effect size was r = 0.24 (P <0.001). A paired-samples t-test revealed that the magnitude of the self-confidence mean effect size was significantly greater than that of the cognitive anxiety mean effect size. The moderator variables for the cognitive anxiety-performance relationship were sex and standard of competition. The mean effect size for men (r = −0.22) was significantly greater than the mean effect size for women (r = −0.03). The mean effect size for high-standard competition (r = −0.27) was significantly greater than that for comparatively low-standard competition (r = −0.06). The significant moderator variables for the self-confidence-performance relationship were sex, standard of competition and measurement. The mean effect size for men (r = 0.29) was significantly greater than that for women (r = 0.04) and the mean effect size for high-standard competition (r = 0.33) was significantly greater than that for low-standard competition (r = 0.16). The mean effect size derived from studies employing the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (r = 0.19) was significantly smaller than the mean effect size derived from studies using other measures of self-confidence (r = 0.38). Measurement issues are discussed and future research directions are offered in light of the results.

Test of performance strategies: Development and preliminary validation of a comprehensive measure of athletes' psychological skills

We report the initial stages of validation of the 64-item Test of Performance Strategies, a self-report instrument designed to measure the psychological skills and strategies used by athletes in competition and during practice. Data were obtained from a sample of 472 athletes competing across a range of performance standards in a wide variety of sports. Exploratory factor analyses of their responses produced eight competition strategy subscales and eight practice strategy subscales, each consisting of four items. Internal consistencies of the subscales ranged from 0.66 to 0.81 (x = 0.75). Correlations among strategies were examined within and between performance contexts. Subgroups defined by age, sex and current standard of performance in sport differed significantly in their psychological skills and strategies.

The exercise motivations inventory: Preliminary development and validity of a measure of individuals' reasons for participation in regular physical exercise

Abstract This paper describes the development of the Exercise Motivations Inventory (EMI), a 44-item, multidimensional instrument designed to test theoretically derived predictions concerning the influences of personal exercise on goals exercise participation. Items were generated from responses to an open-ended questionnaire and from an examination of the literature on exercise adherence. A 71-item version of the EMI was completed by 249 regular exercisers. Principal components analysis with equamax rotation yielded 12 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0, accounting for 69.4% of the total variance. The factors were labelled Stress Management, Weight Management, Re-creation, Social Recognition, Enjoyment, Appearance, Personal Development, Affiliation, Ill-Health Avoidance, Competition, Fitness, and Health Pressures. The internal consistency of the 12 subscales was generally acceptable with Cronbachs alpha reliability coefficients ranging from 0.63 to 0.90. Test-retest reliability coefficients over a 4 to 5 week period ranged from 0.59 to 0.88. None of the subscales appear to suffer from a social desirability response bias, as evidenced by weak, non-significant correlations with the short form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Preliminary evidence for the discriminative and construct validity of the EMI is presented.

A Case Study of Organizational Stress in Elite Sport

This paper is an investigation of organizational stress in elite athletes. Fifteen elite athletes from the UK were interviewed with regard to potential sources of organizational stress in preparation for major international competitions. Four main organizational stress issues were examined: environmental issues, personal issues, leadership issues, and team issues. The main environmental issues that were revealed were: selection, the training environment, and finances. The main personal issues were: nutrition, injury, and goals and expectations. The main leadership issues revealed were: coaches, and coaching styles. The main team issues were: team atmosphere, support network, roles, and communication. The results are presented largely in the form of direct quotes to convey the intricate nature of the issues. The results are discussed in terms of the important practical and theoretical implications of organizational stress in elite sport, particularly for those researchers and practitioners who wish to gain a better understanding of elite performers as they prepare for major international competitions. Also, some possible strategies for coping with organizational stress in elite sport are discussed.

On the Factorial and Construct Validity of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory: Conceptual and Operational Concerns

The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) has been gaining acceptance in the sport and exercise domain since the publication of research by McAuley, Duncan, and Tammen (1989) and McAuley, Wraith, and Duncan (1991), which reported confirmatory support for the factorial validity of a hierarchical model of intrinsic motivation. Authors of the present study argue that the results of these studies did not conclusively support the hierarchical model and that the model did not accurately reflect the tenets of cognitive evaluation theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) from which the IMI is drawn. It is also argued that a measure of perceived locus of causality is required to model intrinsic motivation properly. The development of a perceived locus of causality for exercise scale is described, and alternative models, in which perceived competence and perceived locus of causality are held to have causal influences on intrinsic motivation, are compared with an oblique confirmatory factor analytic model in which the constructs are held at the same conceptual level. Structural equation modeling showed support for a causal model in which perceived locus of causality mediates the effects of perceived competence on pressure-tension, interest-enjoyment, and effort-importance. It is argued that conceptual and operational problems with the IMI, as currently used, should be addressed before it becomes established as the instrument of choice for assessing levels of intrinsic motivation.

Measurement of transformational leadership and its relationship with team cohesion and performance level

The present study explored the construct validity of a Differentiated Transformational Leadership Inventory and its relationship with team cohesion and performance level. Three hundred and nine club standard ultimate Frisbee players in the United Kingdom (mean age = 24.30 years, SD = 3.90) completed an adapted version of Hardy, Arthur, Jones, Shariff, Munnoch, Isaacs, and Allsopp et al.s (in press) Differentiated Transformational Leadership Inventory and the Group Environment Questionnaire (Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985). Confirmatory factor analysis revealed evidence for the factorial and discriminant validity of the leadership inventory. Furthermore, results demonstrated that the leadership behaviors of fostering acceptance of group goals and promoting team work, high performance expectations, and individual consideration significantly predicted task cohesion; and fostering acceptance of group goals and promoting teamwork significantly predicted social cohesion. Performance level moderated these relationships. These results are discussed with reference to the conceptualization and measurement of transformational leadership, and how coaches’ leadership behaviors may influence cohesion depending on the level of athletes’ performance.

State anxiety and motor performance: Testing the conscious processing hypothesis

Previous research has argued that skills acquired explicitly are more likely to fail under stressful conditions than skills that have been learned implicitly.The present study addressed an alternative explanation for the robustness under stress of implicit task performance. As implicit learners acquired the skill of golf putting while generating random letters, it is possible that they became desensitized to self-generated verbalizations and thus immune to the effects of competitive anxiety. We tested this interpretation while controlling for a further rival hypothesis generated by Eysencks Processing Efficiency Theory. Wealso examined the effect of increased state anxiety on the kinematic processes underlying performance breakdowns. For task performance, we found evidence that partially supported the conscious processing hypothesis, while the results of the kinematic analysis of the putting stroke were equivocal. Analysis of self-reported effort scores provided partial support for processing efficiency theory.

The coleman roberts griffith address: Three myths about applied consultancy work

Abstract Three recommendations that are commonly made in the applied sport psychology literature are discussed. These three recommendations are : 1) cognitive anxiety is always detrimental to performance and should therefore be reduced whenever possible; 2) outcome goals and ego orientations have a detrimental effect on a number performance-related variables. so that performers should be encouraged to set performance rather than outcome goals; 3) internal visual imagery is more beneficial to performance than external visual imagery. so performers should always be encouraged to use visual imagery from an internal perspective. For each of these recommendations. empirical and experiential evidence is presented which challenges the recommendation. Alternative refinements to the recommendations are discussed.

Types of Imagery Associated with Sport Confidence in Netball Players of Varying Skill Levels

Abstract Martin, Moritz, and Halls (1999) applied mental imagery model was developed to provide an organizational framework to guide future imagery usage research and application. The present study explores 2 aspects of the applied model: the relationship between imagery type and confidence, and 2 possible moderating variables, skill level of the athlete and sport type. One hundred and twenty-three female county netball players participated in the study; 55 from a low standard county and 68 from a high standard county. Participants were administered the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ). One week later, at a county netball match, the State Sport Confidence Inventory (SSCI) was administered. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that in the lower standard sample, mastery imagery and imagery related to strategies of the game accounted for a significant proportion of the variance in sport confidence. Additionally, imagery related to the emotions of playing predicted confidence negatively. With the higher standard sample, goal achievement oriented imagery was the only significant predictor of variance in confidence. The results are discussed in relation to the pertinence of, and function that, different imagery types have for performers.

Do resources bolster coping and does coping buffer stress? An organizational study with longitudinal aspect and control for negative affectivity.

Psychiatric workers facing redeployment completed questionnaire measures of stressors, resources (locus of control and perceived social support), coping, well-being, and negative affectivity, at baseline (N = 109) and 1 year later (loss of 7 participants). Regression analyses of the baseline data suggested that as stressors increased, so did avoidance coping, but less so for those high in internality or perceived social support. Problem-focused coping was bolstered by internality and emotion-focused coping by perceived social support. Other regression analyses, with a longitudinal aspect, suggested that stressors had a deleterious effect on well-being. Problem- and emotion-focused coping had beneficial effects, whereas avoidance coping had a (delayed) deleterious effect. These effects of coping were predominantly main and not buffering effects.