Stephanie J. Hanrahan

Elite athletes: why does the 'fire' burn so brightly?

Background and Purpose: What drives some athletes to achieve at the highest level whilst other athletes fail to achieve their physical potential? Why does the ‘fire’ burn so brightly for some elite athletes and not for others? A good understanding of an athlete’s motivation is critical to a coach designing an appropriate motivational climate to realize an athlete’s physical talent. This paper examines the motivational processes of elite athletes within the framework of three major social-cognitive theories of motivation. Method: Participants were five male and five female elite track and field athletes from Australia who had finished in the top ten at either the Olympic Games and/or the World Championships in the last six years. Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews. Results and Discussion: Inductive analyses revealed several major themes associated with the motivational processes of elite athletes: (a) they were highly driven by personal goals and achievement, (b) they had strong self-belief, and (c) track and field was central to their lives. The findings are discussed in light of recent social-cognitive theories of motivation, namely, self-determination theory, the hierarchical model of motivation, and achievement goal theory. Self-determined forms of motivation characterised the elite athletes in this study and, consistent with social-cognitive theories of motivation, it is suggested that goal accomplishment enhances perceptions of competence and consequently promotes self-determined forms of motivation.

Success/Failure Bias in Attributions Across Involvement Categories in Sport

Studies addressing success/failure biases in attributions for sport performance have produced equivocal results. The traditional hypothesis that success will be internalized and failure externalized has been supported in some studies but not in others. A few investigations have indicated that winners do, however, make more stable and controllable attributions than losers. This study examined the generality of this effect among II 0 players, coaches, and spectators in recreational basketball competitions. Results indicated that winning outcomes were indeed attributed to more stable and controllable causes than losing outcomes. These findings were consistent across all categories of involvement (players, coaches, spectators) and were not affected by outcome margin (game close, game not close). Discussion focuses on the operation of situational norms in sport that may have contributed to these effects.

Gender, level of participation, and type of sport: Differences in achievement goal orientation and attributional style

Findings regarding gender differences in achievement goal orientations and attributional style have been somewhat inconsistent. One possible explanation for varied findings is that potentially confounding variables such as level of participation and type of sport have not been considered. Athletes (108 males and 164 females) from team and individual sports, competing at recreational and competitive levels, completed the Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire, the Sport Attributional Style Scale, and a demographic questionnaire. Athletes competing in individual sports had a higher ego orientation than those from team sports, and females scored higher in task orientation than males. Individual sport athletes made more internal, stable, and global, and less externally controllable attributions for positive events, and more internal attributions for negative events than team sport athletes. Competitive female athletes made less global attributions for positive events than did recreational female athletes. This difference was not observed in male athletes. Competitive individual, but not team, athletes made less global attributions than recreational individual athletes. The significant interactions regarding globality suggest that the tradition in sport psychology attribution research to focus solely on internality, stability, and controllability may be inadequate. From an applied perspective, sport psychologists and coaches may find it beneficial to target individual sport athletes and males for interventions designed to enhance task orientation. Similarly, team sport athletes may be appropriate as a focus for attribution retraining programs.

Measurement of achievement orientations: Psychometric measures, gender, and sport differences

Four scales that have been used to measure achievement orientations were administered to 399 Australian adult competitive athletes. The Competitive Orientation Inventory (COI), the Sport Orientation Questionnaire (SOQ), the Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ), and the Task and Ego Orienta-tion in Sport Questionnaire (TEOSQ) were completed in counterbalanced or-der. Results showed that the COI is unrelated to the other three measures. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that only the TEOSQ data adequately fit its hypothesized model. Gender differences were found but with no consis-tent pattern with prior research. Track and field athletes were found to have significantly higher task orientations than the competitors from other sports. The findings indicate that the TEOSQ is the better instrument for measuring achievement orientations. In addition, future research should investigate the impact of the structure of sports on the development of achievement orientations.

The progressive integration of Canadian indigenous culture within a sport psychology bicultural research team

Abstract Within the sport psychology community there is a growing interest regarding how to engage in culturally sensitive (and also relevant) research. A research collaboration among Laurentian University and Wikwemikong Unceded Indian Reserve is reflected through indigenous strategies relevant in the intended community, including negotiation and consensus building, talking circles, culturally relevant analyses, active co‐authoring, and overarching considerations that support de‐colonization. Within this report we have shared our progressive integration of Wikwemikongs cultural practices in successive multicultural projects. We have also proposed how, from our regional experiences in Near Northern Ontario (Canada), collaborators from other marginalized and mainstream communities might begin engaging in reflective bicultural sport psychology research while developing long‐standing positive relations

Acceptance as a process variable in relation to catastrophizing in multidisciplinary pain treatment

The underlying processes of change that contribute to the effectiveness of multidisciplinary pain treatment require clarification. Previous research has found support for pain acceptance as a process variable in acceptance‐based treatment. Preliminary findings indicate that pain acceptance may also be a process variable in traditional cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). The aim of this study was to investigate the role of pain acceptance as a process variable in CBT relative to two empirically supported process variables, namely catastrophizing and pain intensity.

Efficacy, affect, and teams: Is momentum a misnomer?

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to test the predictions of the multidimensional model of momentum (Taylor & Demick, 1994) regarding the elusive psychological momentum‐performance relationship. Team‐efficacy and affect were examined as mediators of perceived psychological momentum. Teams were assigned to either a repeated success or repeated failure condition in which success or failure was manipulated by having participants compete against a comparison score to either constantly win the competition or constantly lose the competition. Each team performed three, 30‐ball, competitive volleyball trials. Task specific team‐efficacy, affect, and perceived psychological momentum were assessed prior to each trial and responded to success and failure as expected by the model. The results demonstrated the initiation of the momentum chain but indicated that performance did not significantly increase in response to continued success. Further, experiencing negative psychological momentum led to an increase in performance in a manner similar to the construct of negative facilitation (Cornelius, Silva, Conroy, & Peterson, 1997).

Psychological Skills Training for Competitive Wheelchair and Amputee Athletes

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a mental skills training program for athletes with physical disabilities. A group of six internationally competitive wheelchair and amputee athletes participated in a mental skills training program which was developed on the basis of their self-reported psychological skills. The program included goal setting, controlling arousal levels, developing concentration and attention skills, imagery, self-talk, self-confidence, competition preparation, and controlling problem situations. Taking into account changes in knowledge and use of the various skills, the mental skills sessions on imagery, positive self-talk, and controlling problem situations had the greatest impact on the subjects from a purely quantitative point of view. On a qualitative basis, it was found that abdominal breathing exercises provided concentration and relaxation benefits for athletes with no use of abdominal muscles, that personalised progressive muscular relaxation tapes ma...

The Development of Cross-Cultural Relations With a Canadian Aboriginal Community Through Sport Research

When sport psychology researchers from the mainstream work with people from marginalized cultures, they can be challenged by cultural differences as well as mistrust. For this article, researchers born in mainstream North America partnered with Canadian Aboriginal community members. The coauthors have worked together for 5 years. What follows is our story of how positive cross-cultural relations developed in stages and how we modified our focus from solely academic dissemination to a project that adheres more closely with the American Psychological Associations multicultural guidelines. Recommendations are offered for those interested in developing reflexive cultural sport psychology research while building positive cross-cultural relations.

Validation of the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire-8 in an Australian Pain Clinic Sample

BackgroundRecently, an 8-item short-form version of the Chronic Pain Acceptance Questionnaire (CPAQ-8) was developed predominantly in an internet sample. Further investigation of the factor structure in a multidisciplinary pain clinic sample is required. Investigation of the concurrent validity of the CPAQ-8 after accounting for the effects of variables commonly measured in the pain clinic setting is also necessary.PurposeThis study examines the factor structure and concurrent validity of the CPAQ-8 in a sample of treatment-seeking patients who attended a multidisciplinary pain clinic.MethodsParticipants were 334 patients who attended an Australian multidisciplinary pain service. Participants completed the CPAQ, a demographic questionnaire, and measures of patient adjustment and functioning.ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis identified a two-factor 8-item model consisting of Activity Engagement and Pain Willingness factors (SRMR = 0.039, RMSEA = 0.063, CFI = 0.973, TLI = 0.960) was superior to both the CPAQ and CPAQ with an item removed. The CPAQ and CPAQ-8 total scores were highly correlated (r = 0.93). After accounting for pain intensity, the CPAQ-8 was a significant predictor of depression, anxiety, stress, and disability. The subscales of the CPAQ-8 were both unique contributors to depression and disability in regression analyses, after accounting for pain intensity and kinesiophobia, and after accounting for pain intensity and catastrophizing.ConclusionsThe CPAQ-8 has a sound factor structure and similar psychometric properties to the CPAQ; it may have clinical utility as a measure of pain acceptance in treatment-seeking, chronic pain patients.