Psychological momentum shapes athletes’ affordances (original) (raw)
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Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
For motor tasks that require fine-tuning, such as adjusting the applied force according to the distance to the target, as required for driving and putting in golf, it is important to develop a high degree of sensitivity of one's movement-produced feedback. In previous research focusing on mental representation in golf, this ability to control distance has been called “a sense of distance”. In particular, this study focused on three skills: motor control of the putter head, perception of the impact force, and prediction of the ball's travel distance. However, the relationship between the motor control of the putter head and the error of the outcome estimation is yet to be clarified. The purpose of the present study is two-fold: first, to clarify whether kinematic variation of putter head is correlated with error in estimating the outcome and, second, to quantitatively evaluate the performer's sensations of good and poor performance generated by the ball's impact, for ...
Taking a Swing at Sport Psychology: A case study of an athlete participating in Golf
Objective: To show that describing and structuring an athlete's subjective experiences can be instrumental in better understanding the elements contributing to and deterring from optimal performance. Design: A single case study. ABSTRACT: This project is the result of research done in the field of Sport Psychology as part of the author's post graduate studies. The author has participated in various types of sport in her life but found golf to be the most challenging, not only from a skills perspective but specifically from a psychological perspective. In no other sport has she experienced her emotions and unconscious world to become so obvious and transparent, and have such an influence on her performance, as in golf. When her studies called for a research project in sport psychology, she saw that as the perfect opportunity to explore the inner workings of the pro-golfer and find out if top players shared her experiences and how they mitigated the challenges posed by this mystical game. This project summarizes and integrates recent empirical and theoretical research on sustained performance and performance enhancement in sport and draws comparisons between these findings and the impressions of a pro golfer actively participating in golf. The need to view performance as a multi-faceted construct made up of cognitive, psychological and physiological aspects was emphasized as well as the importance of understanding the theories behind these factors. Influences on performance enhancement and detraction were separated into two categories, namely internal and external. The theoretical contributions, research into and intervention strategies relating to these elements were identified and discussed. It should be noted that there is no finite list of elements influencing performance in sport; the elements discussed were chosen to explore some of the elements identified by the research participant involved in the case study. It was concluded that the professional golfer makes use of similar practices as is evident and recorded in academic studies in the field and has experienced similar feelings as the author but has managed to mitigate the influence of it on his game by employing various mental and bio-mechanical methods on a regular basis. The author was particularly fascinated by the research participant's recollections of play while in flow state and feel that more research in this field would benefit the understanding of this furtive state which could potentially enable the attainment of flow state more easily and therefore potentially enhance performance in all spheres of life – not just sport.
Perceived distance during golf putting
Human Movement Science, 2013
This study examined the effect of anxiety states on the relationship between golf-putting distance and performance in an environment requiring high movement accuracy. Twenty-three amateur golfers attempted 15 putts at each of three putting distances, 1.25, 1.50, and 1.75 m, under conditions characterized by both control demands and pressure. All attempts were recorded, and kinematic features were analyzed. Under conditions involving an audience and a monetary reward, the mean score on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Y-1 and the mean heart rate increased by 14 points and 11 bpm, respectively. We grouped participants on an a posteriori basis using the median split. The backswing of high-anxiety performers shortened, the downswing speed declined, and the relative time to peak club-head velocity changed when putting under pressure from 1.25 m. In contrast, no change in backswing or relative time to peak velocity was observed in lowanxiety performers, although impact velocity increased under this condition. These results indicate that the degree to which both low-and high-anxiety golfers were anxious about failure affected motor control at the 1.25-m distance, suggesting that a distortion in perceived distance may result from the interaction between putting distance and anxiety related to failure during golf putting.
The dynamics of psychological momentum in sport: the role of ongoing history of performance patterns
Journal of sport & exercise psychology, 2010
Borrowing the dynamical systems perspective, two studies aimed to examine the potential properties of nonlinearity and history dependence of psychological momentum. Male regional-level table tennis players were asked to empathize with players in a very important contest by watching two video scenarios of a table tennis game in two separate sessions. The videos presented two inverted scenarios in which score gaps gradually increased or decreased. Competitive anxiety, selfconfidence (Study 1), and goal involvement states (Study 2) were measured before each point. Cognitive and somatic anxieties decreased linearly during the increasing scenario, but increased nonlinearly in the decreasing scenario. Mastery-avoidance goals decreased nonlinearly in the increasing scenario, increased nonlinearly in the decreasing scenario, and displayed a negative hysteresis pattern. These findings offer new insights into the dynamics of psychological momentum and suggest new avenues of research.
The present study examined the influence of momentum sequence (positive vs. negative) and environmental climate (hot-wet vs. neutral) on supporters’ (i.e., virtual observers’) reported levels of perceived psychological momentum (PM) during a simulated cycling competition. Participants supported one of two competing cyclists involved in a race that was displayed on a screen in a lecture hall. The race scenario was manipulated so that the supported cyclist appeared to undergo either a positive or negative momentum sequence. In addition, participants were either exposed to a hot-wet environmental climate or to a neutral environmental climate while observing the race scenario. According to the results, reported levels of PM were higher in the positive momentum sequence condition than in the negative momentum sequence condition, consistent with the notion that supporters’ PM is influenced by a positivity bias, and reported levels of PM were also found to be higher in the hot-wet climate condition than in the neutral climate condition, consistent with the notion that environmental climate is a contextual factor that influences PM through the operation of a causal augmenting mechanism.
Momentum in sport: A real or illusionary phenomenon for spectators
The purpose of the present exploratory study was to determine subjects' degree of agreement (or disagreement) in reporting their perceptions concerning the start and end of psychological momentum while watching an athletic competition. To achieve this goal, two experiments were conducted using an individual sport (tennis)and team sport basketball). After writing down their definition of psychological momentum, subjects watched a videotape of parts of a tennis match or basketball game. They were asked to complete a standard set of questions every time they felt that psychological momentum was either starting or stopping (the videotape was stopped during this time) which focused on the causes of momentum starters and breakers. Quantitative and qualitative analysis from both experiments revealed relatively low agreement among subjects concerning the specific points or events that started and ended momentum with agreement generally under 25 percent. In addition, results concerning the antecedents of psychological momentum indicated a wide variety of momentum starters and breakers with a combination of events rather than one event often perceived as the cause of momentum shifts. Finally, subjects' own definitions of momentum clustered around the theme of increased performance with accompanying emotional changes. Several limitations in the methodolgies used to study psychological momentum are discussed along with potential directions for future research
Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2015
Highlights Mixed-method data were collected from professional golfers' excellent performances Two distinct psychological states were reported to underlie these performances "Letting it happen" corresponded with the description and definition of flow "Making it happen" was more effortful and intense, and therefore different to flow Both states occurred through separate processes and goals, which are described Abstract Objectives: In this study we aimed to better understand the occurrence and experience of flow in elite golf. As flow is more likely to occur during peak performances, and for elite athletes, our objectives were to: (i) identify golfers who achieved exceptional performances (e.g., winning a professional tournament), and (ii) explore if and how they experienced flow within that performance. Design: Mixed-method multiple case study. Method: Participants were 10 professional golfers (M age = 30; SD = 9.9). Performance data and participant observations informed semi-structured interviews which took place as soon as possible after an excellent performance (M = 4 days). Data were interpreted inductively using within-case then cross-case analysis. Results: These golfers reported that they experienced two different psychological states during their excellent performances. These states were described as "letting it happen" which corresponded with the definition and description of flow, and "making it happen" which was more effortful and intense, involving a heightened awareness of the situation and therefore differing to flow. Both states occurred through different processes, and "letting it happen" was a relatively gradual build-up of confidence, whereas "making it happen" was a more sudden stepping-up of concentration and effort. Conclusion: These findings are discussed in relation to existing literature on flow and related optimal psychological states in sport. Recommendations are then made for future research into the experience and occurrence of both states reported in this study.