|
COPYRIGHT 2006 University of South Alabama
A number of studies have examined the value of psychological strategies in enhancing athletic performance. The studies have produced mixed evidence about the efficacy of popular methods such as goal-setting and visualizing good performance (Weinberg, 2002; Gould, Damarjian, & Greenleaf, 2002). Researchers have also studied the value of self-talk, often using the term to refer to self-instructions, as well as positive self-talk and other types of thoughts (e.g., Rogerson & Hrycaiko, 2002). Self-instructions, in a narrow sense, involve thinking what to do next or how to do it correctly. For instance, a baseball pitcher might think "bend" just before throwing a pitch; a tennis player might think "high toss" just before serving. Researchers often combine various methods with self-instructions in interventions (e.g., Kendall, Hrycaiko, Martin, & Kendall, 1990; Papaioannou, Ballon, Theodorakis, & Auwelle, 2004; Rogerson & Hrycaiko, 2002; Theodorakis, Chroni, Laprdis, Bebetsos, & Douma, 2001), so positive results do not necessarily mean that self-instructions alone are helpful. For instance, in a study of elite cross country skiers doing sprints, Rushall, Hall, Roux, Sasseville and Rushall (1988) found that asking the athletes to use self-instructions (mixed with self-exhortations) such as "feel really long and powerful," "full movement range," and "up-hill quick and grip" led to better performance than the athletes' usual thoughts.
However, some studies have examined the effects of self-instructions by themselves. In studying water polo performance tasks performed by novices, Hatzigeorgiadis, Theodorakis, and Zourbanos (2004) found that self-instructions ("ball-target") had a greater effect than positive self-talk on a precision task, but positive self-talk had a greater effect than self-instructions on a power task. The researchers concluded that self-instructions are more valuable for succeeding with a complex skill, while greater self-motivation is more valuable for succeeding in a straightforward task that requires mainly strength. Theodorakis, Weinberg, Natsis, Douma, and Kazakis (2000) studied in lab challenges soccer accuracy (with experienced players), badminton serving (with novices), sit ups, and knee extension and found that self-instructions were more effective than positive self-talk for free motor movements but not for strength or endurance tasks. The effective self-instructions for the two fine motor tasks, soccer passing and badminton serving, were "I see the target."
In golf, putting is a fine motor skill that requires two movements, a backswing and a forward swing. The findings of Hatzigeorgiadis et al. (2004) and Theodorakis et al. (2000) suggest that self-instructions involving focusing on a target would tend to improve performance. However, no studies have examined that possibility. The purpose of the present study was to test whether using self-instructions alone, with no other enhancement method included, would lead to improved putting performance. To increase the appeal and possibly the effects of the intervention, the golfers were given choices as to which self-instructions to use. To increase the likelihood that that results would generalize to real life competitive golf, the study took place as a putting tournament, with prizes for winners of each of four age groups.
Method
Participants
The participants included 77 men and 23 women recruited from two golf courses in Sydney, Australia....
Read the full article for free courtesy of your local library.
|
Bookmark this article
Print this article
Link to this article
Email this article
Digg It!
Add to del.icio.us
RSS
