Stress and cognitive functioning in sport

This paper considers the relationship between stress and cognitive functioning and discusses some of the concepts and methods that may be adopted to examine the relationship between stress and sports performance. It considers only that literature that may be relevant to, or furthers, the understanding of sports performance under competitive stress. One of the most popular approaches has been to explain the relationship in terms of the unidimensional inverted‐U hypothesis. The validity of this approach to explaining sports performances in specific situations is discussed and it is generally concluded that the inverted‐U hypothesis is too vague and simplistic. The discussion considers multidimensional approaches and discusses the suitability and implications of some more recent and more complex models of stress and performance which are now available in the psychological literature. It is concluded that the relationship between stress and sports performance is an extremely complex one and involves the interaction between the nature of the stressor, the cognitive demands of the task being performed and the psychological characteristics of the individuals performing it.     

The relationship between the use of kinaesthetic imagery and different visual imagery perspectives

In two studies, we examined the strength of relationship between internal and external visual imagery with kinaesthetic imagery. In Study 1, 56 participants completed the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire and the Movement Imagery Questionnaire. Pearson's product-moment correlations failed to reveal a significant correlation between external visual imagery and kinaesthetic imagery. However, the correlation between internal visual imagery and kinaesthetic imagery approached significance. In Study 2, the instructional set of the Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire was changed to make the participant the 'agent' of the external visual perspective images rather than somebody else. Sixty-four participants completed the two questionnaires. The results indicated a significant correlation between external visual imagery and kinaesthetic imagery (r = 0.60, P < 0.01). However, the correlation between internal visual imagery and kinaesthetic imagery was non-significant (r = 0.23, P > 0.01). The results are discussed in relation to who is the agent of the image and the processes that may underlie kinaesthetic imagery. The implications for researchers trying to establish the functional, behavioural and neurological differences within, and across, imagery modalities are considered.     

Sources of stress, burnout and intention to terminate among rugby union referees

We examined sources of stress, burnout and intention to terminate among rugby union referees. Questionnaires were returned by 682 of 1175 referees (58%) from Wales, Scotland and England. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed four correlated sources of stress factors (performance concerns, time pressure, interpersonal conflict and fear of physical harm), which accounted for 49.6% of the variance. Referees believed the first three factors to be mildly related to their stress. They believed fear of physical harm to be unrelated to their stress. A structural model hypothesizing that time pressure and interpersonal conflict predict burnout, and that age and burnout predict intention to terminate refereeing, fit the observed data. The goodness-of-fit index for this model was 0.96. Our results and those of other studies indicate that interpersonal conflict and time pressure are common sources of stress for sport officials and are frequently related to their burnout experiences. Also, age and burnout are frequently, although only marginally, related to intention to terminate.     

Injury rehabilitation: a goal-setting intervention study

The study examined the effects of a 5-week goal-setting intervention on athletes' rehabilitation adherence, self-efficacy, treatment efficacy, and the psychological response variables: dispirited and reorganization. Participants were matched across six variables and randomly assigned to one of three groups: goal-setting intervention, social support control, and control. The results confirmed some of the hypothesized effects of the goal-setting intervention: (a) athlete self-report of adherence showed the goal-setting group adhered significantly more to the rehabilitation program than the other two groups; (b) the goal-setting intervention resulted in significant group differences for self-efficacy (the goal-setting group having the highest level of self-efficacy); and (c) there was a significant increase across time for reorganization and decrease across time for dispirited (between specific time phases).     

Test of performances 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.