Concussion is a common form of brain injury, especially amongst sports players of all age groups. ImPACT is a valid and reliable measure of a variety of cognitive functions commonly affected by such injuries, which allows for objective return-to-play decision making (Iverson, Lovell, & Collins, 2003). However, studies show that the transfer of such tests from one ethnic group to another without appropriate standardization is highly problematic (Ardila, 1995). Thus, the relative absence of South African normative data for the ImPACT 3.0 programme is an issue for concern. Consequently, this study aimed to establish norms for semi-rural Xhosa-speaking schoolboys with an advantaged education (ages 14, 16 and 18) for the ImPACT 3.0 programme as administered in English. Administrative and linguistic difficulties that were experienced by individuals during completion of the battery were also identified. Finally, the study included a comparison of the percentile scores of this sample to the USA norms for boys of a similar age group. Subtests scores were generated for 70 schoolboys and the data were then subjected to statistical analysis. A significant difference between English proficiency of the Grade 8 and Grade 12 boys was found. This indicates the importance of including an English proficiency test with the ImPACT battery when assessing such populations. No other significant differences were found between these age group samples. Although this requires further investigation, the comparison of the USA and SA percentiles suggests the use of local norms for this population. South African boys in this study consistently scored lower than the USA sample. Finally, it is recommended that symptom selfreports should be verbally investigated with each boy after testing, given indications of comprehension problems. In closing, limitations and future possible studies are discussed.

No description available.

Text in Afrikaans / The main objective of this investigative study was to determine the motivational strategies of sport coaches within the South African context. The theoretical investigation indicated that the setting of goals and feedback seem to be the two most popular methods used by sport coaches to motivate their athletes. Different motivational theories, as well as the possible role of these theories within the sporting realm, were addressed. For the empirical investigation the motivational theories elucidated in the theoretical investigation, were used as point of departure . A factor analysis of the gathered data gave rise to the emergence of four motivational strategies, namely reward, winning, a cognitive approach and self-confidence. An ANOVA procedure led to the following findings: Sport coaches show meaningful differences in their accentuation of these motivational strategies based on types of sport, gender and whether they have received formal training in Sport Psychology or not. No meaningful differences were found when institutions, qualifications and experience as sport coach were considered as variables. / Psychology / M. Sc. (Psychology)

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of South Africa, 2002.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Considering the growing poverty and unemployment in South Africa, there is clearly an urgent need for development, particularly among the historically disadvantaged communities where the level of inequality is the highest. Sport has been viewed by a number of scholars as a possible vehicle for developing communities. In this regard, involvement in sport and exercise has been linked to psychological wellbeing, capacity building and skills development among adolescents, which leads to the empowerment of individuals. This study investigates the functioning of a Sport Development Academy, which uses canoeing as a mechanism to improve the quality of lives of people living in a rural community in The Valley of a Thousand Hills in Kwa-Zulu Natal. This qualitative investigation targeted a group of seven young men, between the ages of nineteen and twenty-nine years old, who were interviewed in order to examine their lived experiences as a result of participating in the Academy and the extent to which the Academy impacted positively on their lives. The Positive Youth Development Paradigm, Bronfenbrenner’s Eco-Systems Theory and the Athlete-Coach relationship view, was used as a lens through which the research findings were examined. The Athletes in the Academy learnt a number of values and skills such as hard work, determination and respect. They became involved in pro-social behaviors as opposed to anti-social behaviors due to their participation in the sport development programme. This participation resulted in the gaining of social capital which can lead to upward social mobility. The capacity of these athletes has also been improved. These above factors improve the psychological wellbeing of the individuals and equip them with essential values and skills that make them more employable. The research findings suggest that the involvement of the seven young men in the Academy produced a number of positive impacts. Therefore, the results of the research indicate that sport can be used, to a certain extent, as a vehicle through which development can occur. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Groeiende armoede en werkloosheid in Suid-Afrika dui dat daar duidelik 'n dringende behoefte vir ontwikkeling, veral onder die voorheen-benadeelde gemeenskappe is waar die vlak van ongelykheid die hoogste is. Sommige navorsers sien sport as 'n moontlike voertuig vir die ontwikkeling van hierdie gemeenskappe. In hierdie verband word betrokkenheid in sport en oefening gekoppel aan sielkundige welstand, kapasiteitsbou en die ontwikkeling van vaardighede onder tieners wat lei tot die bemagtiging van individue. Hierdie studie ondersoek die funksionering van 'n sportakademie wat gebruik maak van die sport kanovaart as 'n meganisme om die gehalte van die lewens van mense te verbeter wat woon in die landelike gemeenskap van die Vallei van 'n Duisend Heuwels in Kwa -Zulu Natal. Hierdie kwalitatiewe ondersoek van 'n groep van sewe jong mans, tussen die ouderdomme van negentien en nege-en-twintig jaar oud, het bestaan uit onderhoude wat gevoer is om hul ondervindinge te ondersoek as 'n gevolg van hul deelname aan die Akademie en die mate waarin dit ‘n positiewe impak op hul lewens gehad het. Die Positiewe Jeugontwikkeling Paradigma, Bronfenbrenner se Ekosisteemtoerie en die atleet - afrigter verhouding is gebruik as 'n lens waardeur die bevindinge ondersoek is. Die atlete in die Akademie het 'n aantal waardes en vaardighede aangeleer soos harde werk, deursettingsvermoë en respek. Hulle het betrokke geraak in pro-sosiale gedrag in teenstelling met anti-sosiale gedrag as gevolg van hul deelname in die ontwikkelingsprogram. Dit het gelei tot die toename van hul sosiale kapitaal wat gelei het tot groter sosiale mobiliteit. Die kapasiteit van hierdie atlete is ook verbeter. Die bogenoemde faktore het gelei tot die verbetering van hul sielkundige welstand en om hulle toe te rus met noodsaaklike waardes en vaardighede om hulle meer geskik te maak vir toekomstige loopbane. Die navorsing dui verder daarop dat die betrokkenheid van die sewe jong mans in die Akademie 'n aantal positiewe invloede tot gevolg het. Die resultate van die navorsing dui dus daarop dat sport tot ‘n sekere mate gebruik kan word as 'n middel waardeur ontwikkeling kan plaasvind.

The study was designed to determine the relationship between the psychological constructs of "fear of failure (FOF)" and "fear of success (FOS)" and motor performance in badminton. Forty-three males and fifty-one females in beginning badminton classes were administered the FOF and FOS scales, followed by three independent skills tests and a round-robin singles tournament. Conclusions were that FOF and FOS are two separate performance motives; FOF appears to be the dominant motive for females; both FOF and FOS are related to motor performance in face-to-face competition, while only FOS is related to performance in isolated skills.

The purpose of this study was to examine the factorial validity and measurement equivalence of the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS; Thomas, Murphy, & Hardy, 1999); the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS; Smith, Smoll, & Schultz, 1990); and the Golf Performance Survey (GPS; Thomas & Over, 1994) across age groups in a representative sample of amateur golfers. Based on archival data, participants comprising this study were 649 younger adult (n = 237) and older adult (n = 412) amateur golfers who played in the Dupont World Amateur Golf Championship in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The participants completed a set of questionnaires including psychological skills and strategies (e.g., self-talk, goal setting, imagery, etc.) used during competition, sport-specific competitive trait anxiety, and psychomotor skills and involvement in golf. Results demonstrated that the original factor structure of the TOPS competition subscale, the SAS, and the GPS, did not adequately fit the data among this sample of younger and older adult amateur golfers. Further exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses established evidence of factorial validity with the TOPS competition subscale, SAS, and the GPS with both younger and older adult amateur golfers. Configural, metric, scalar, and strict measurement invariance were identified in relation to the TOPS competition subscale, SAS, and the GPS across age cross-group comparisons. In general, the analyses demonstrated support that the TOPS competition subscale, SAS, and the GPS can be utilized with confidence with older adult amateur golfers, as well as conducting group comparisons with younger adult amateur golfers. The findings from this study have several future research directions and practical implications for structuring effective interventions with older adult amateur athletes.

The purpose of this research was to investigate if various psychological wellbeing assessments can predict maximal strength performance and self-scored rating of perceived exertion (RPE) in the back squat. Fifty-eight resistance-trained males and females were recruited, and reported to the laboratory on one day. Subjects completed eight different scales and questionnaires before completing one-repetition maximum (1RM) testing of the squat, followed by two single-repetition sets at 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90% of 1RM, and a set to volitional fatigue at 70% of 1RM. Cognitive anxiety and hypersomnia were found to be positive and negative predictors (p<0.05), respectively, of 1RM performance. Further, self-confidence, grit, and perceived recovery status were significant negative predictors of RPE (p<0.05). Finally, PRS was discovered to be a positive predictor of subject-reported 1RM self-efficacy (b=0.39, t=3.14, p<0.01, R2=0.15). / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-08-22T12:15:59Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Alberto da Silva Santos.pdf: 1590368 bytes, checksum: 1dba0bcd5372902a89aed38ea4eca27c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-22T12:15:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Alberto da Silva Santos.pdf: 1590368 bytes, checksum: 1dba0bcd5372902a89aed38ea4eca27c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-05 / Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The objective of this study was to extend and apply classic procedures of Behavioral Sport Psychology to new sports contexts, the electronic sports. The so-called e-sports are sporting modalities that have had their growth propitiated by the technological development of computers and internet networks. Among these new electronic modalities are the League of Legends, a game of the MOBA category whose championships have been frequently cited in media and sports channels, which used to be devoted only to the broadcasting of news about traditional sports. Teams that compete at national and international level rely on technical support professionals specialized in sports performance; among these professionals there is also the Sport Psychologist. In an expanding field the variables previously present in the traditional sports environment are also found in the competitive electronic sports environment. Topics such as anxiety, concentration and other psychological aspects are seen as relevant to the good performance of cyber athletes. From the classic behavioral psychology procedures of the sport the self talk was the independent variable used in the procedure of this study. The research problem was to identify the effects of the isolated, self-chosen, selfchosen, participant-chosen use of the last hit of an electronic and complex MOBA game, represented by the League of Legends, by participants with beginner level of experience. Four amateur practitioners participated in the study, two submitted to the experimental variable (self talk) and two as control. In a variable interval reinforcement (VI) + Limited Hold scheme, the establishment of self-talk as a discriminative stimulus for the click-on-target response at the correct time produced some changes in the response of the participants who underwent the experimental condition, which merited an analysis more detailed. The results obtained contribute to the literature of an expanding area and can serve as a starting point for the development of interventions in the applied field; still allow to identify adjustments so that the use of self talk may be pertinent to the target behavior chosen. Verification of the correlation between verbal response and non-verbal response has shown that in complex situations with a given class of responses required at a very high frequency per minute, the use of continuous self-talk may not be helpful. However, its use in a more comprehensive and timely way can contribute to the planning of actions and the chaining of complex responses / O objetivo deste estudo foi estender e aplicar procedimentos clássicos da Psicologia Comportamental do Esporte a novos contextos esportivos, os esportes eletrônicos. Os chamados e-sports são modalidades esportivas que tiveram seu crescimento propiciado pelo desenvolvimento tecnológico de computadores e redes de internet. Dentre estas novas modalidades eletrônicas destaca-se o League of Legends, jogo da categoria MOBA cujo campeonatos têm sido frequentemente citados em mídia e canais esportivos, que antes se dedicavam somente à veiculação de notícias sobre esportes tradicionais. Os times que competem em nível nacional e internacional contam com profissionais de suporte técnico especializado no desempenho esportivo; dentre estes profissionais há também o Psicólogo do Esporte. Em um campo em expansão as variáveis antes presentes no ambiente dos esportes tradicionais também passam a ser encontrados no ambiente do esporte eletrônico competitivo. Temas como ansiedade, concentração e outros aspectos psicológicos são vistos como relevantes para o bom desempenho dos cyber atletas. Dos procedimentos clássicos da psicologia comportamental do esporte a autofala foi a variável independente utilizada no procedimento deste estudo. O problema de pesquisa foi identificar os efeitos do uso isolado de autofala instruída, escolhida pelo participante e aberta, na melhora de desempenho em abater personagens (last hit) de um jogo eletrônico e complexo do tipo MOBA, representado pelo League of Legends, por participantes com nível iniciante de experiência. Participaram do estudo quatro praticantes amadores, dois submetidos à variável experimental (autofala) e dois como controle. Em um esquema de reforçamento de intervalo variável (VI) + Limited Hold, o estabelecimento da autofala como estimulo discriminativo para a resposta de clicar no alvo no momento correto produziu algumas mudanças no responder dos participantes que foram submetidos à condição experimental, que mereceram uma análise mais detalhada. Os resultados obtidos contribuem para a literatura de uma área em expansão e podem servir como ponto de partida para o desenvolvimento de intervenções no campo aplicado; ainda permitem identificar ajustes para que a utilização da autofala possa ser pertinente ao comportamento alvo eleito. A verificação da correlação entre emissão da resposta verbal e da resposta não verbal demonstrou que em situações complexas, com determinada classe de respostas exigida numa frequência muita alta por minuto, o uso da autofala de modo contínuo pode não ser proveitoso. Porém, sua utilização de modo pontual e mais abrangente pode contribuir para o planejamento de ações e encadeamento de respostas complexas

Within the evolutionary framework of sexual selection and parental investment theory, the study employed four experiments to examine the effects of mating and parenting awareness on the perception and assessment of high risk sports. In Study 1, participants were exposed, in random order, five types of pictures---attractive female, regular female, attractive male, regular male, and award winning pictures. After the activation of each of these pictures, participants were asked to respond to pictures depicting high risk sport events. The reaction time to high risk sport events was shortest when men saw attractive female pictures. The same effect was not found in female participants viewing attractive male pictures. Study 2 used the same mating awareness manipulation (attractive female pictures versus other pictures) but also added parenting and child rearing pictures depicting pregnant women or young children with their mothers. The results showed that men's reaction time to high risk sports was shorter when exposed to attractive female pictures than other conditions and was longer when exposed to parenting-related pictures. Study 3 included socialsexual orientation as a covariate and results similar to Study 1 were obtained after controlling for the extraneous influence of socialsexual orientation. Study 4 focused on risk assessment in different domains including entertainment, financial investment, health and social risk. The results showed that men under-assessed risk in the entertainment domain when exposed to attractive female pictures than to award winning pictures. However, the same effect was not found with other risk domains. Overall, the findings support the evolutionary account of risk taking which is sexually selected male attribute as an ornament to attract mating partners and which is reduced when men shift from mating to parenting and child rearing concerns. One practical implication for controlling risk taking behaviors among adolescents is the knowledge that risk taking behavior may be more likely in mixed- than in single-gender social groups. / 李宏利. / Adviser: Lei Chang. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: 1923. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-118). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Li Hongli.