Lori Dithurbide

Collective efficacy or team outcome confidence? Development and validation of the Observational Collective Efficacy Scale for Sports (OCESS).

Motivational research over the past decade has provided ample evidence for the existence of two distinct motivational systems. Implicit motives are affect-based needs and have been found to predict spontaneous behavioral trends over time. Explicit motives in contrast represent cognitively based self-attributes and are preferably linked to choices. The present research examines the differentiating and predictive value of the implicit vs. explicit achievement motives for team sports performances. German students (N = 42) completed a measure of the implicit (Operant Motive Test) and the explicit achievement motive (Achievement Motive Scale-Sport). Choosing a goal distance is significantly predicted by the explicit achievement motive measure. By contrast, repeated performances in a team tournament are significantly predicted by the indirect measure. Results are in line with findings showing that implicit and explicit motive measures are associated with different classes of behavior.It has been argued that representative tasks are needed to understand the processes by which experts overcome their less skilled counterparts. Little is known, however, about the essential characteristics of these tasks. In this study we identified the degree to which a laboratory-based task of decision making in cricket batting represented in-situ performance. The in-situ task required skilled batters to play against a bowler across a range of delivery lengths. Skilled batsmen produced a transitional pattern of foot movements with front foot responses being dominant for balls landing 0 – 6m from the wicket and back foot responses for balls landing 8 – 14m from the wicket. In the laboratory-based task, the same batsmen viewed video footage of the same bowlers. Again, skilled batsmen responded with similar patterns of foot movement transitions. Novice batsmen produced a generic forward movement in response to all deliveries. We conclude that for decision making about delivery length, the laboratory-based task has a high degree of fidelity and reliability. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to the importance of establishing the necessary degree of fidelity of representative task designs in order to study perception and action more accurately.In this study the specific foci were as follows: (1) to identify profiles of athletes in the junior-to-senior transition (JST) based on their personal characteristics (athletic identity, self-estee ...The present research sheds light on the importance of physical activity with regards to self-concept in Spanish adolescents and considers physical exercise, family and academic variables. An explanatory and relational study was conducted. A total of 2,134 teenagers aged between 15 and 18 years old participated in the study. A descriptive and relational analysis by means of the ANOVA Test was also undertaken. The results obtained are discussed here taking into account the relevant specialised literature. It was found that two thirds of the students sampled did exercise regularly, team sports being the most popular. These learners presented a high degree of self-concept, particularly for the social and family dimensions. It can also be concluded from this study that better physical condition and appearance are related to sport engagement, and that physical activity is related to improved self image and to fostering social and family relationships.Previous research has shown that skilled football goalkeepers effectively utilised individualised visual search patterns to gather anticipatory cues from a penalty taker. Deceptive cues employed by a penalty taker induced lower save rates. However, it is unclear if goalkeeper visual search (percentage viewing time of areas of interest) differed between deceptive and non-deceptive conditions. This study investigated the effectiveness of using fake visual cues by the penalty taker, and corresponding visual search behaviours. Nine skilled goalkeepers simulated saves of 15 deceptive and 15 non-deceptive 2000ms clips by moving their hands left or right. Deception involved kicker’s gaze direction and approach angle. Deceptive trials had a lower percentage save rate. When two deceptive cues were combined, performance was further impaired. Available data for four participants showed individualised visual search patterns. In conclusion, using deceptive cues by a penalty taker is effective and individualised visual search behaviour was present.

Examining the Influence of Team-Referent Causal Attributions and Team Performance on Collective Efficacy: A Multilevel Analysis

This study examined the relationship between team-referent attributions, team performance, and collective efficacy beliefs in recreational sport teams. A total of 248 recreational volleyball players from 45 different coed teams participated in the study. Participants completed a subjective performance measure and the Causal Dimension Scale for Teams directly following a match and then completed the Collective Efficacy Questionnaire for Sports prior to their subsequent game. Using hierarchical linear modeling, it was found that both objective and subjective measures of performance positively predicted collective efficacy at the team level. In addition, stability negatively predicted collective efficacy beliefs; however, this relationship was moderated by objective performance.

Experience modulates motor imagery-based brain activity

Whether or not brain activation during motor imagery (MI), the mental rehearsal of movement, is modulated by experience (i.e. skilled performance, achieved through long‐term practice) remains unclear. Specifically, MI is generally associated with diffuse activation patterns that closely resemble novice physical performance, which may be attributable to a lack of experience with the task being imagined vs. being a distinguishing feature of MI. We sought to examine how experience modulates brain activity driven via MI, implementing a within‐ and between‐group design to manipulate experience across tasks as well as expertise of the participants. Two groups of ‘experts’ (basketball/volleyball athletes) and ‘novices’ (recreational controls) underwent magnetoencephalography (MEG) while performing MI of four multi‐articular tasks, selected to ensure that the degree of experience that participants had with each task varied. Source‐level analysis was applied to MEG data and linear mixed effects modelling was conducted to examine task‐related changes in activity. Within‐ and between‐group comparisons were completed post hoc and difference maps were plotted. Brain activation patterns observed during MI of tasks for which participants had a low degree of experience were more widespread and bilateral (i.e. within‐groups), with limited differences observed during MI of tasks for which participants had similar experience (i.e. between‐groups). Thus, we show that brain activity during MI is modulated by experience; specifically, that novice performance is associated with the additional recruitment of regions across both hemispheres. Future investigations of the neural correlates of MI should consider prior experience when selecting the task to be performed.

Sport and Recreation Are Associated with Happiness across Countries.

Purpose: Preliminary findings suggest sport participation is positively associated with happiness. However, it is unknown if this association is universal and how sport compares to other leisure activities in terms of an association with happiness. This study had 3 objectives: (a) to test if sport membership is associated with happiness, (b) to test if this relationship is universal, and (c) to compare sport membership to other leisure activities. Method: Hierarchal Bernoulli modeling was used to analyze the 6th wave (2014) of the World Values Survey (nSs = 67,736, ncountries = 48). The critical variables included measures of membership in different leisure activities (e.g., sport membership) and self-reported happiness. Results: Even when controlling for known covariates such as perceived health, those who report sport/recreation membership are more likely to report being happy compared with non-sport members (OR = 1.38; 95% CI [1.24, 1.53]). Being a member of a sport organization had a greater association with happiness than did being a member of other leisure activities. Follow-up analyses suggested that this association is nearly universal. Conclusions: This study offers initial evidence that sport membership elicits happiness across many different societies. Although the causal direction remains unclear, this study establishes a positive association between happiness and sport membership. Future research should target the mechanism(s) of this effect, which we hypothesize are meaningful social relations.

An investigation into the Dunning–Kruger effect in sport coaching

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a robust finding whereby individuals’ perceptions of their abilities differ significantly from objective assessments of ability. This effect has been found in a variety of tasks; however, there is a need for more research with respect to real-life competencies. The current study examined the Dunning–Kruger effect in coaches. Ninety-four high school volleyball coaches completed the teaching technique and strategy scales of the Coaching Efficacy Scale and an assessment of coaching ability. The results showed that, when split into quartiles based on ability, coaches in the lowest quartile had significantly higher efficacy than ability (t(24) = 3.61, p < .001), whereas those in the highest quartile had significantly lower efficacy than ability (t(25) = −4.78, p < .001). These results support the generalisability of the Dunning–Kruger effect. Implications with respect to the context of coaching are discussed.