Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1999. / Title from title page screen, viewed July 18, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Laura E. Berk (chair), Paul T. Shallaert, Jayne E. Bucy, Matthew S. Hesson-McInnis, Mark E. Swerdlik. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 97-126) and abstract. Also available in print.

The purpose of this integrated review of literature was to explore the relationship between and among females in abusive relationships, self-esteem, and positive self-talk. Various models are discussed that provide possible explanations in the understanding of the complex social and psychological nature of cyclic abuse. These models are: learned helplessness, psychological entrapment, self-verification theory, and feminist theory. It is suggested that positive self-talk statements used by the female survivor as a basis for cognitive restructuring can act as a self-esteem building technique, thus promoting healthier cognitions over time. Furthermore, it is argued that self-esteem enhancement can assist females in developing strengths necessary to abandon abusive relationships. In summary, a review of the literature suggests that self-esteem is an important construct in understanding how individuals evaluate and ultimately determine their own sense of competency, self-worth, and success.

Self-construal (SC) refers to the way people perceive their identities in relation to self and others (Markus & Kitayama, 1991b). It has been found in the literature to influence thinking, decision-making, and preferences (e.g., Sung, Choi, & Tinkham, 2012) which suggests that a person's SC may affect her/his preference on psychological interventions. However, no empirical studies can be located that examined this relationship. The study examined the effects of independent SC, interdependent SC, general autonomy (GA), and sport autonomy (SA) on athletes' preferences and desire to use the interventions in the future, especially how these relations might vary as a function of the type of intervention. It was hypothesized that the relationship between each of the predictors and preference for and desire to use intervention would be moderated by the type of intervention received. Four hundred and thirty-one current and former athletes were recruited to participate in this study. Participants completed a questionnaire that measured SC, GA, and SA and were then randomly assigned to receive one of two self-talk interventions, representing either a self- or other-focused intervention. Participants were asked to rate their preference for and desire to use the given intervention in the future. Results found positive significant relationships with all predictors and intervention preference, in both self- and other-focused groups. Initial hierarchical multiple and logistic regression analyses did not support a significant moderation effect of intervention type on the relationships between the independent and dependent variables. However, a post-hoc analysis that conducted a hierarchical multiple regression with participants separated by gender found a significant moderation effect of intervention type on the relationship between independent SC and preference for intervention for females only. Additional post-hoc analyses were conducted to replicate Sung et al.'s (2012) analysis procedures in which the SC continuous variables were transformed into categorical ones, and a 2x2 ANOVA and Pearson chi-square analyses were conducted. Post-hoc analyses revealed significant interaction effects of intervention type and participants' dominant self-construal type on their desire to use intervention. Limitations, implications for counseling/consulting, and future research directions are discussed.

Le dialogue interne (D-I) est une aptitude mentale de plus en plus utilisée chez les athlètes de haut niveau mais peu étudiée dans les sports d’équipes. Son impact mérite d’être évalué dans des contextes d’équipe durant de réelles compétitions puisque le dialogue interne de l'athlète dans un sport collectif peut influencer certaines habiletés mentales telles la prise de décisions tactiques et la focalisation sur les stimuli appropriés. Ainsi, cette étude a bénéficié de la participation de 10 joueurs de hockey élites mâles âgés de 16 à 20 ans pour examiner les effets de deux traitements distincts de D-I, un axé sur la motivation et l’autre sur l’instruction. Dans cette analyse portant sur l’efficacité des sujets à accomplir des tâches de tactique collective (effet sur processus de décision) pendant des joutes de saison régulière, tous les athlètes semblent avoir amélioré leurs performances. Généralement, le groupe s’adonnant au traitement de D-I d’instruction a largement dépassé les pourcentages de réussite de celui du D-I de motivation. Cependant, les athlètes du groupe de D-I de motivation ont eu plus de succès que prévu. Il appert aussi que le traitement de D-I d’instruction ait été plus difficile à assimiler à court terme que le traitement de motivation, mais son impact positif apparaît avoir stagné moins rapidement. Les joueurs plus expérimentés n’ont pas affiché une meilleure progression dans leurs prises de décisions comparativement aux moins expérimentés. Le D-I de motivation semble avoir eu plus d’effet que celui d’instruction lorsqu’utilisé en période de fatigue et de stress. / Self-talk (S-T) is a mental skill which is used more and more by elite athletes but there is a lack of research on its effect in team sports. Its impact deserves to be evaluated as much during team contexts and real competitions as it does in individual sports because self-talk can affect a team sport athlete's ability to perform mental skills such as good tactical decision-making and focusing on the proper stimuli. Therefore, with the participation of 10 elite hockey players varying from 16 to 20 years old, this study examines the effect of two distinct self-talk treatments, a motivational one and an instructional one. The analysis, evaluating the efficiency of the subjects' ability to accomplish collective tactics (effect on decision process) during the regular season games, has shown that all athletes showed some improvement in their performances. Generally, the group associated with the instructional self-talk treatment has proven to be considerably more effective in decision-making than the motivational group. However, the athletes from the motivational self-talk group generated better results than expected. It seems also that, in the short term, the instructional self-talk treatment was more difficult to assimilate than the motivational one but its positive impact appears to have lasted longer. Furthermore, the more experienced players did not display a better progression in their decision process compared to the less experienced ones. Also, motivational self-talk appears to have produced better effects than the instructional one when used during periods of fatigue and stress.

Syfte och frågeställningar: Denna studie har granskat begreppet mental tuffhet och dess roll i sporten baseboll. Syftet var att, genom en kvantitativ och kvalitativ metod, undersöka hur fyra unga svenska pitchers reflekterar över de egenskaper, färdigheter och verktyg associerade till mental tuffhet för att skapa en ökad förståelse i unga pitchers mentala förmåga. Detta genomförs som den första svenska idrottspsykologiska studien i sitt slag. Hur upplever unga basebollspelare olika aspekter av de innefattande egenskaper och färdigheter som omfattar mental tuffhet? Besitter unga basebollspelare som håller en jämn prestationsnivå under match även en högre grad av mental tuffhet? Metod: Studien består av en kvalitativ och kvantitativ metod där ett urval av fyra pitchers först statistiskt har observerats under match för att sen intervjuas med en semistrukturerad intervjumetod. Statistikinsamling genomfördes med syftet att kvantitativt granska deras prestation under match sett till lyckade och misslyckade kast. Efter varje match har testpersonerna intervjuats med utgångspunkt från matchens statistik samt fyra idrottspsykologiska teman; självförtroende, motivation, idrottspsykologiska verktyg och målsättning. Denna metodtriangulering har använts för att granska hur de hanterar mentalt tuffa situationer i match. Resultat: Ett antal faktorer framkom i studiens analys som relaterade till mental tuffhet: fysiska och mentala förberedelser, den fysiska förmågan, fokusering/refokusering, viljan att bli bättre samt att hantera motgång. Även ett antal påverkande faktorer framkom: utbildning, lagkamrater/omgivning, yttre krav och externa distraktioner. Slutsats: Generellt framkom mental tuffhet som ett brett och komplext begrepp kopplat till många olika idrottspsykologiska faktorer. Kopplingar mellan self-efficacy och mental tuffhet har gjorts då testpersonerna beskrev prestationsbaserade självförtroende i sin tro på sin egen fysiska och tekniska förmåga, samt motivation i sin fysiska utveckling. Det framkom även att resultatets påverkande faktorer spelade en stor roll i hur de senare kände mental tuffhet i match. Nyckelord: Baseboll, pitchers, mental tuffhet, self-efficacy, självförtroende, motivation, visualisering, självprat, målsättning

[Truncated abstract] Collective efficacy (CE) has been consistently shown to contribute to team performance by improving motivation, perseverance, group goals, and expectancy in teams (Bandura, 2000; Feltz & Lirgg, 2001). Having high confidence in one's team is proposed to increase the expectancy for success, thereby increasing motivation, persistence and effort, which in turn, increases overall performance (Bandura, 1997). A series of studies were conducted to examine predictors of self and collective efficacy in semi-professional soccer. In addition, within two of these studies, the effect of pivotal hypothetical injuries on players' and coaches' perceptions of CE were also examined. In the first and second studies, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was utilized in order to examine simultaneous player and team level predictors of efficacy perceptions. Data were obtained from semi-professional male soccer players (N = 139, mean age = 23, SD = 4.43 yrs) from nine teams in Western Australia. Participants completed the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ), the revised Perceived Motivational Climate in Sport Questionnaire-2 (PMCSQ-2) as well as measures of self-talk, self-efficacy (SE), and CE created for this study. HLM analyses indicated CE was significantly and positively associated with SE and significantly and negatively associated with perceptions of a performance-oriented motivational climate. Significant positive associations of SE were positive self-talk and average number of minutes played each game. Negative correlates of SE were a performance-oriented motivational climate and number of years played. The results illustrate the important cross-level influences of player and team level variables on SE and CE perceptions. Overall, the findings provide support for the propositions of the influence of sources of efficacy information and broaden the existing work on efficacy and motivational climate in sport. ... Future research on team processes following injury that may moderate the injury efficacy relationship may include, the effect of team leaders in an attempt to motivate the team and the verbal and non-verbal strategies of coaches. The present studies contribute to the existing body of knowledge concerning efficacy theory. Specifically, within this series of studies, individual and team level predictors of SE and CE among elite sport participants were examined. A performance-oriented motivational climate was negatively associated with CE perceptions, while players with elevated levels of SE had teams with elevated levels of CE. SE was positively associated with positive self-talk, and negatively correlated with a performance-oriented motivational climate. Further, the effects of player injury on CE perceptions also represent a valuable contribution to efficacy theory. Prior to the current studies, no researchers have studied the influence of athlete absence due to injury on CE.

Syfte och frågeställningar: Syftet i den här studien har varit att undersöka hur fysiologiska och upplevelsebaserade variabler skiljer sig vid känd, okänd och oväntad arbetstid samt i förhållande till mentala färdigheter. För att uppnå syftet undersöktes följande frågor. Hur påverkas fysiologiska och upplevelsebaserade variabler vid känd, okänd och oväntad arbetstid? Vilket samband finns det mellan mentala färdigheter och de fysiologiska respektive upplevelsebaserade variablerna? Metod: Avsikten är att upprepa tidigare studier men med nya parametrar. Testpersonerna var uthållighetstränade (57,1 ml/kg/min ±3,7SD) män med en medelålder på 37 år (±3,8SD). Vid tre olika testtillfällen utförde testpersonerna (n=7) tre olika test. Vid alla testtillfällen sprang testpersonerna på löpband i 20 minuter med en hastighet som motsvarade 80 % av maximalt syreupptag. Vid test A fick testpersonerna veta att de skulle springa i 20 minuter. Vid test B fick testpersonerna veta att de skulle springa i 10 minuter, men i den tionde minuten fick testpersonerna veta att de skulle springa ytterligare10 minuter. Vid test C fick testpersonerna ingen information om hur lång tid de skulle springa, men i den tjugonde minuten fick testpersonerna veta att testet avslutades efter totalt 20 minuter. Resultat: Inga signifikanta skillnader i de fysiologiska variablerna mellan test A, B och C har kunnat fastställdes. Det finns dock en tendens att syreupptaget var lägre i test B än test A och C (p<0,10). Testresultaten visar att syreupptaget sjönk mellan minut 19 och 20 i test C. De upplevelsebaserade variablerna visade inte heller på signifikanta skillnader mellan olika tester, men uppskattad ansträngning verkade vara lägre i intervallet minut 14-19 i test B jämfört med test A och C, samt att syreupptaget också här sjönk för test C mellan minut 19 och 20. Sambanden mellan de fysiologiska samt upplevelsebaserade variablerna och de mentala färdigheterna resulterade i ett signifikant lägre syreupptag (p<0,05) i test B i förhållande till test C. Vid hög self-efficacy och högt mental toughness poäng, samt ett mer stabilt känslomässigt förlopp vid hög poäng på cognitive reappraisal. Testpersonernas användning av self-talk verkade vara test specifik då mängden positivt self-talk ökade från test A till B till C oavsett viken ordning testerna utfördes. Slutsats: Studien visar motstridiga resultat jämfört med tidigare refererade studier. Det finns ett samband mellan de fysiologiska och upplevelsebaserade variablerna, typ av test och mentala färdigheter. Sambandet är dock otydligt och bör undersökas noggrannare.

This project explores the means of self-efficacy development in competitive athletes. The theoretical part of the project will include sport motivation, performance and most importantly the application of a psychological concept of self-efficacy in individual sports. Additionally, it will discuss various self-efficacy measurements and enhancement techniques in athletes. The empirical part of the project will include qualitative research which aims to explore the level of self-efficacy in modern gymnasts and verify particular techniques of self-efficacy enhancement in their training. Keywords Self-efficacy; Sport Psychology; Motivation to Sport; Imagery; Self-talk; Goal setting

No description available.

In a study of psychological well-being, the researcher attempted to address the challenge of preventing mental illness and promoting mental health using an educational psychological perspective based on Unisa's Relations Theory. According to Relations Theory, humans are understood by the relationships they form. The intra-psychic interaction of the components of the intra-psychic structure (I/ego, self, identity and self-concept) is responsible for people's behaviour, with the essences (attachment of meaning, involvement, experience and self-actualising) and the prerequisites (the forming of relations , the life-world and climate) forming the basis of the structure. The researcher developed and administered a questionnaire on psychological well-being and conducted interviews, and on the basis of the findings reports that psychological well-being from an educational psychological perspective consists of a healthy and positive ego and self, clearly defined identities, positive thoughts and feelings, involvement in the life world, a positive and realistic self-concept and constructive self-talk, and self-realisation. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (Guidance and Counselling)