This study explored elite female adolescent swimmers' perceptions of the motivational influences of their coaches, parents, and peers using qualitative methods. Nine elite female swimmers (aged 13--15 years) participated in two semi-structured interviews that were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. Data was gathered and analyzed according to Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (Smith & Osborn, 2003). Six categories emerged including: individual factors, and assistance, informational, esteem, emotional, and network support. Results indicated girls' interpretations and unique, salient aspects of social support types provided by coaches, parents, and peers. Findings are related to past self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985) motivational research. In particular, swimmers social support experiences were uniquely linked to their perceptions of competence, autonomy, relatedness, and motivation in elite competitive swimming. Findings support main SDT tenets and offer new insights into the important and differential social support influences in sport.

The purpose of the present study is to extend past outcome-dependent models of Sport Competition Anxiety (SCA) to include attribution theory as an appraisal process of past performance outcome. It was hypothesized that unstable causal attributions for past unexpected performances would lead to uncertain expectations of future performance and subsequent SCA. Sixty-three male subjects were assessed for initial expectations of how they would perform in a cycling task, i.e., high and low, in which each subject received false feedback about his performance (success or failure). After completing the task, subjects completed questionnaires assessing the discrepancy between expected and actual outcome, attributions for past performance (Causal Dimension Scale), expectation for future performance, and the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 which measures state cognitive and somatic anxiety and state self-confidence. Contrary to predictions, results indicated that attribution did not mediate SCA, but rather attributions were made systematically in response to success and failure and not unexpected outcome. However, path analysis carried out on a modified model of SCA that includes outcome and expectations of future performance, indicated that somatic anxiety and state self-confidence are mediated by expectation of future success. The findings are discussed in terms of attribution theory and other cognitive constructs (e.g., self-schemata and efficacy expectations) that might have an impact on attributional patterns that lead to performance expectations and SCA. It is noted that because only male subjects were used, generalizability to female competitors may not be appropriate due to differences in sport socialization. / Department of Psychological Science

The purpose of-this investigation was to determine the effects of cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal on performance on a pre-determined motor task, and the application of the catastrophe model of anxiety and performance to women's field hockey. There were six subjects (three in group 1 and three in group 2). Cognitive and somatic anxiety values were measured before and after a one day competition using the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory2. Performance was evaluated before and after the one day competition using the motor task: shooting on goal. The data were analyzed using the ANOVA-Repeated Measures and thedifference among treatment conditions. It was apparent that physiological arousal, and the associated somatic anxiety, were not detrimental to performance on the pre-determined motor task when cognitive anxiety was low. However, when cognitive anxiety was high, performance on the pre-determined motor task was associated with catastrophic effects. / School of Physical Education

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between task and ego goal orientation and ZOF. The subjects consisted of interscholastic athletes of the men's varsity and junior varsity baseball, men's track and field, and women's track and field teams from a local Midwestern high school. By providing a more concise zone of optimal function (ZOF) by breaking down the zone into three components: psychological, physiological, and competitive (evaluated by the Sport Participation Questionnaire) the athletes may be able to manipulate their ZOF by using the characteristics of their task and ego orientation (evaluated by the TEOSQ). The data was analyzed by doing a series of factor analyses and multiple regressions. After finding four significant factors (two separate psychological, one physiological, one competitive) a multiple regression was employed to determine the relationship between the factors and task and ego orientaXon.Nearly significant was the regression with ego-oriented athletes and the thinking construct which consisted of items 16-18 of the Sport Participation Questionnaire. Also, significant were relationships of the task or ego score and the demographic findings. / School of Physical Education

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There is no abstract available for this thesis. / School of Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of mood lability on anticipation timing performance. The influence of gender and stimulus speed on timing error was also analysed. Spectral analysis was used to quantify frequency of mood change. The within-subjects standard deviation was calculated as a measure of intensity of mood change. Thirty-eight physical education students (18 men; M = 23.8 yrs, SD = 2.1 and 20 women; M = 20.4 yrs, SD = 1.6) participated in this study. Mood changes were measured along the Pleasantness and Energetic dimensions of the Affect Grid. Performance was assessed using the Bassin Anticipation Timer. It was hypothesized that: the fast mood changers would incur greater timing errors than the slow mood changers, men would perform with less error than women, and stimulus speed would have a significant influence on timing error. / Mixed factorial ANOVAs with repeated measures on the last factor were utilized to compare mean timing error scores: constant error, absolute error, variable error, and total error, over two levels of frequency of mood change (fast/slow) and intensity of mood change (high/low) groups, two levels of gender (men/women) and four levels of stimulus speed (5/10/15/25 mph). Alpha was set at the.05 significance level for all statistical comparisons. Results showed that intensity of mood change had a significant influence on anticipation timing performance, frequency of mood change factor did not have a significant effect on timing error, men performed with less variability than women and stimulus speed had a significant influence on anticipation timing. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) results, showed that women scored lower on the negative mood states than men. Total mood disturbance for both men and women showed no significant relationship to the timing error scores.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of mental practice on the shooting accuracy performance of male water polo players at three skill levels. Thirty-six right handed athletes from the Quebec League, assigned by experienced coaches to novice, intermediate and elite groups according to their overall water polo playing ability, served as subjects. They were tested on shooting accuracy by the average score of ten shots in the beginning of the study, after a two-week mental practice treatment, and after a one-week break with no treatment. / A 3 way ANOVA with repeated measures on the last factor was conducted on the shooting accuracy scores. Those who received the mental practice program had significantly higher post-treatment scores than their control group counterparts who had received a relaxation training program during the treatment period. As noted above, the experimental group improved significantly from Pre to Post1 test-time, and there was no change in performance between the two Post-tests. There was no significant difference in shooting performance between Intermediate and Elite skill groups but both of them scored significantly better than the Novice group.

This study examined the relationship of amateur golfers' perceptions of their perceived physical self-efficacy to their performances on the golf course. Ninety-one amateur golfers completed two questionnaires and a participant profile. The perception of their physical ability in general was measured by the Physical Self-Efficacy Scale, and the Perceived Golf Ability Questionnaire was developed to assess their perceptions of golfing self-efficacy. Respondents were asked to play 15 consecutive golf games and record their scores on an especially designed detailed scorecard. The participants' data were divided into five levels of performance based on their handicap indexes. It was hypothesized that players having greater skills (low handicap indexes) would have higher general perceived physical self-efficacy, than those having lesser skills (high handicap indexes). It was also hypothesized that the more golf-specific self-efficacy measure would be a better predictor of performance on the golf course. ANOVA and hierarchical regression analyses were employed to determine the predictive values of the two measures of perceived physical self-efficacy of actual golf performance. The general physical self-efficacy measure did not predict performance whereas the more golf-specific measure was a significant predictor of performance on the golf course. The ability of specific items of the golf self-efficacy measure to predict performance of various shots in golf was also examined.

Background: Very few studies have examined the demands of prolonged batting on physical, psychophysical and performance responses. Objective: The purpose of this study was therefore to determine the physiological and perceptual responses of batsmen scoring a simulated One Day International century. Furthermore, the impact that these responses had on batting performance were also measured. Methods: Seventeen male cricketers currently playing for Rhodes University or the country districts side, performed a simulated bating innings (BATEX©), typical of scoring a One Day international century. The BATEX© protocol consisted of six, five over stages (21 minutes each), with each stage matched to a specific phase of play where batsmen were encouraged to bat with the mindset of that phase. During stages one, three and five players ran at a “self-selected cruise pace” whereas during stages two, four and six players were required to run at maximum speed. At set intervals, selected physiological, perceptual and performance measures were recorded. Results: Most physiological responses increased and decreased accordingly with the low and high intensity stages with the exception of respiratory exchange ratio and core temperature responses. Mean physiological responses however, showed a progressive rise over time. Central ratings of perceived exertion increased as a function of intensity and duration. Sprint times got slower as the protocol progressed, while accuracy (impact accuracy) improved significantly (p<0.05) after stage one and then stabilised for the remainder of the protocol. Conclusion: The simulated batting protocol significantly impacted the physiological and perceptual responses over time. This was due to both the intensity and the duration of the work-bout. Furthermore, the increased physiological load placed on the batsmen significantly impacted the physical performance of the batsmen. An increase in sprint times (players getting slower) towards the end of the protocol may indicate the presence of physical fatigue. This physical fatigue did not however seem to impact the batsmen cognitively as accuracy improved after the first stage and then remained constant over time.