Soccer experts (N = 18), novices (N = 16), and children who are physically awkward (N = 18), were studied for differences in self-regulatory forethought and self-reflection processes during a soccer kicking task. The participants (age range 12--14 years) were questioned regarding goals, strategy choice, and self-efficacy, as well as self-reflection attributions and feelings of self-satisfaction as they practiced the task. Among the significant results, children who are physically awkward possessed less soccer kicking knowledge and displayed lower self-efficacy after success than experts and novices. They also set less specific goals, selected less rhythm/timing strategies following failure, and attributed less to rhythm/timing and practice following success than experts. In comparison to novices, children who are physically awkward showed no differences in goals and strategy prior to the task but in terms of strategy after failure and attributions after success they had less "I don't know" strategy answers and practice attributions. There was no significant difference among the three groups in self-satisfaction.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of self-efficacy on attentional deployment in a coincidence timing (CT) task. / Hypotheses stating that high self-efficacy would incur less performance error than low self-efficacy and that increasing task difficulty, or stimulus speed, would increase CT error as a result of decreased reserve attentional capacity were tested. MANOVA procedures were used to compare CT error scores over three experimental conditions, two levels of task condition (single/dual) and two speeds (15/25 mph). Alpha was set at the.10 probability level for all statistical comparisons. / As predicted, the positive feedback group reported significantly higher levels of self-efficacy than did the control and negative feedback groups, who were statistically similar in self-efficacy. Less variable, absolute, and total error was incurred by positive feedback than by the negative and no feedback treatments. A significant difference between the negative and no feedback groups was also noted in reserve attentional capacity.

Children's participation and motives in sport relative to their perceived athletic competence were investigated. One hundred and sixty-three grade 5 and 6 children from a suburban elementary school completed questionnaires designed to assess perceived athletic competence (PAC), sport participation, and participant motives. The sample, when divided into groups by level of sport involvement, revealed that participants at the higher levels had greater PAC than those at the lowest level. Boys and girls did not differ significantly in PAC. The children rated fun and skill/fitness as the most important motives for their participation in sport. When divided on the basis of PAC scores, the top one third of the sample scored significantly higher on all seven motives for participation in sport than the lower one third. Discriminant function analyses revealed that motives of challenge/team atmosphere and skill/fitness best differentiated the high from the low PAC groups. Girls participated to relax and have fun while boys may have been motivated to participate for the challenge and the team atmosphere. The results are interpreted in terms of school and community sport program development.

This study investigated the effects of relaxation training administered under various conditions on putting a golf ball. It was hypothesized that relaxation training would produce significant differences in putting performance among all groups according to the various conditions under which it was administered. The four conditions tested were Competition Set, Non-Competition Set, Mental Practice Set, and practice with an Enhanced Target Set. Thirty-eight subjects were divided by sex, then randomly assigned to one of the four groups, so that each sex was evenly distributed for all groups. The subjects' putting skill was assessed during a pre-test. This consisted of putting a golf ball five times under one of the previously mentioned conditions. After a period of relaxation training was implemented, a comparable post-test was administered. Results indicated relaxation training had an effect in a non-competitive setting from pre-test to post-test. Subjects in the remaining three conditions failed to display a significant level of improvement. A questionnaire administered at the end of the study revealed that a significantly greater than chance number of subjects believed relaxation training to be helpful in putting a golf ball, in addition to being useful in other areas of everyday life.

This study examined Hanin's (1980) zone of optimal functioning (ZOF) theory. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether being in or out of a ZOF could be used to predict performance of 19 female and 16 male varsity college swimmers. Determining ZOFs required a two part strategy. In part one, subjects retrospectively revealed optimal anxiety using the SAI and CSAI-2 anxiety inventories. Standard deviations from this portion of the study were used to determine the size of individual ZOFs. Each swimmer was assigned SAI, cognitive, somatic, and selfconfidence ZOFs. In part two, swimmers rated level of anxiety prior to competition. Pre-competition anxiety scores were compared to individual ZOFs to determine if swimmers were within or outside their ZOFs prior to performance. A performance score of 1 was assigned to swimmers whose competition time was better than their mean time for previous competition, while a score of 0 was assigned to those swimmers whose performance time was worsethan their mean time for previous competition. Tetrachoric correlations were computed to determine the magnitude of relationship between location about ZOF and subsequent performance score. Results indicated that being within SAI and somatic ZOFs were related to above average performance for male swimmers. A somatic-cognitive interaction was also significant for male swimmers. No significant relationships were identified for female swimmers possibly due to questionable reliability and validity of anxiety responses for females. It was concluded that data for male swimmers supported ZOF theory. / School of Physical Education

This study was designed to investigate the potential differences In the level of developmental maturity among three groups of college students (athletes, former athletes, and nonathletes). An additional Inquiry was conducted to examine variations by sex within groups of athletes.The Student Developmental Task Inventory-2 (SDTI-2) was selected as the dependent measure for developmental maturity, and three research hypotheses were tested:1) Athletes will demonstrate the lowest levels of developmental maturity, with the former athletes at an Intermediate level, and the nonathletes having thehighest levels.2) Male athletes in revenue-producing sports (football and basketball) will score lower on measured levels of developmental maturity than males Innonrevenue-producing sports.3) Female athletes will be more advanced In developmental maturity than male athletes.The SDTI-2 was administered to 281 college students. A research survey obtaining objective data and subjective accounts regarding sport participation was administered as a means of categorizing the students Into the groups for comparison.Combined adjusted mean scores on Tasks One, Two, and Three of the SDTI-2 were used to examine hypothesis 1. The overall adjusted group means did not support hypothesis 1.Data from the SDTI-2 were analyzed by a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) which supported hypothesis 2 (f = 2.77, p<.04). Athletes in nonrevenue-producing sports were more advanced on Task One (Developing Autonomy) than athletes in revenue-producing sports.Data from the SDTI-2 were also analyzed by a MANOVA to test hypothesis 3. Results of the analysis demonstrated a statistically significant difference between male and female athletes (f = 7.41, p<.01). Female athletes were more advanced on Task Three (Developing Mature Interpersonal Relationships). Male and female athletes were further differentiated In terms of two subtasks. Females were more advanced In "Mature Relationships With Peers," and males were more advanced In "Appropriate Educational Plans.'These data denote that differences exist among the collegiate athletic population. The major implication being that the collegiate athletic population is variegated, demonstrating differing assets and needs regarding developmental task achievement. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Summaries in Afrikaans and English / Die primere doel van hierdie ondersoek was om vas te stel hoe belangrik dit is dat 'n komponent sportsielkunde ingesluit word in die opleidingsprogram van vakonderwysers. Ten einde hierdie doel te bereik, is 'n teoretiese sowel as 'n empiriese ondersoek uitgevoer. Tydens die teoretiese ondersoek is verskillende aspekte van die sportsielkunde ontleed, waarin die rol van die vakonderwyser telkens toegelig is. Tydens die empiriese ondersoek (waaraan 134 vakonderwysers wat sport afrig en 235 sportleerlinge deelgeneem het) is aangetoon dat: Ongeveer 82% van die vakonderwysers wat sport afrig, opleiding in afrigtingstegnieke ontvang het, maar slegs 16% het opleiding in sportsielkunde ontvang. • Vakonderwysers daarvan oortuig is dat sportsielkunde ingesluit moet word in die opleidingsprogram van vakonderwysers. • Dit vir sportleerlinge baie belangrik is dat sportmanne en -vroue vertroud moet wees met bepaalde aspekte van sportsielkunde en dat hulle afrigters kennis moet dra van sportsielkunde. 'n Aspek soos motivering in sport baie belangrik geag word deur onderwysers sowel as sportleerlinge, terwyl angs in sport en aggressie in sport heelwat laer op die ranglys verskyn. / It was the primary aim of this investigation to establish how important it is that a component of sport psychology be included in the training programme of subject teachers. In order to achieve this goal, a theoretical as well as an empirical investigation were conducted. During the literature study, different aspects of sport psychology were analyzed and the role of the teacher was highlighted in each instance. During the empirical study ( in which 134 subject teachers and 235 sport pupils participated) it was indicated that; Approximately 82% of the subject teachers coaching sport, had received training in coaching techniques, but only 16% had received training in sport psychology. Subject teachers are convinced that sport psychology should be included in the training programme of subject teachers. Pupils participating in sport regard it as very important that sportsmen and - women should be acquainted with certain aspects of sport psychology and that their coaches should bear knowledge of sport psychology. An aspect such as motivation in sport is regarded as being very important by teachers and sport pupils, while anxiety in sport and aggression in sport appear much lower on the rating scale. / Educational Studies / M.Ed. (met spesialisering in Voorligting)

M.A. / This study was conducted to ascertain whether there is a significant relationship between an internal locus of control orientation and elite sport performance. The question can be asked if Springbok athletes have a more internal locus of control orientation than provincial athletes and athletes in training and whether provincial athletes have a more internal locus of control than athletes in training. The term locus of control refers to the amount of control a person believes he has over the things that happen to him. A person that regards himself as someone with control over his environment and circumstances is termed a person with a internal locus of control. What happens to him and the reward he gets is dependent on his own behaviour. There are persons, on the other hand, that believe that what happens to them in their sport careers is the result of external circumstances: luck, chance or what others do to them. These persons believe that they do not have any control over what happens to them and therefore are called persons with an external locus of control. It is believed that locus of control can influence performance positively or negatively. This study tries to give answers on whether or not elite athletes have an internal locus of control. Sixty athlete's of age 16 and older were selected and divided into three groups. The first group are athletes that compete on international level, while the second group consists of athletes that compete on provincial level. The third group consists of athletes that are in training and represent athletes that perform well on school-level as well as members of sport clubs. The instrument used to test the athletes was the Internal-External Locus of Control Scale of J.B. Rotter (1966). The results confirms that elite athletes operate within an internal locus of control framework. Although not statistically significant, it seems as if athletes that compete on international level function more in an internal locus of control framework. It appears as if there is a certain interaction between top level performers and an internal locus of control.

M.Phil. / Sports vision has been a part of sport for a long time, probably since an athlete was first told to: ‘keep his eye on the ball’. It is only recently that athletes are beginning to realize the advantages of using their eyes to their full potential, and the difference it can make in an athlete’s performance. This is more prevalent today, where athletes can become instant hero’s and earn huge salaries. For a number of years specific instruments were used to test specific visual skills and norms were calculated for these skills. A few questions arises though when the norms for these visual skills are carefully studied. The purpose of this study was to evaluate previous norms and to develop norms and protocols for sports vision evaluations. Various visual skills were examined and previously used results evaluated. Key performance indicators in the evaluation of an athletes, as well as the cornerstones of sport vision were also discussed. Only elite athletes were used in this study. / Prof. J.T. Ferreira