Bursting onto the big stage: Presenting at an international conference for the first time

Attending a prestigious international conference and contributing to proceedings by delivering a poster or oral presentation is an excellent opportunity for sport and exercise psychology students to gain valuable experience and meet people from different parts of the world. In this article, we will focus on presenting at an international conference for the first time. An international conference presents different challenges compared to annual national and regional conferences. It will often be held in another country, and may be organised once every four years. There are likely to be a larger number of delegates, a broader variety of topics, and usually an array of established names amongst the list of attendees and presenters. Additionally, for presenters who are not native English speakers, the perceived language barrier may instil feelings of discomfort. In this article, we will discuss our experiences of presenting at the 2007 FEPSAC conference in Halkidiki, Greece, highlighting the lessons we have learned and how others can benefit from our reflections on the event

Reflections on the accreditation process: Advice for in-training practitioners

As professional and public interest in sport and exercise psychology continues to grow, so too the number of students enrolling on sport and exercise psychology courses is on the increase. As a result, the number of graduates looking to embark on a period of supervised experience within this domain is also expected to rise. The importance of practitioner training cannot be understated. It is intended to provide a standardised route to attaining accepted levels of competence in relation to knowledge, skills, and professional conduct. The accreditation process also doubles as a safeguard designed to ensure that the public can identify and are therefore protected from individuals practicing sport and exercise psychology who have not met accepted standards of professional competence. Given the necessity for such a process of training and accreditation, it is imperative that in-training practitioners are offered appropriate levels of information and support to ensure they are able to satisfy the specific criteria outlined by the relevant accreditation guidelines. Following the recent approval of the Society’s Stage 2 qualification in sport and exercise psychology, this article aims to provide current and aspiring in-training practitioners with helpful tips and advice regarding the accreditation process, outlining some of the key considerations that will help individuals successfully navigate the various obstacles they must overcome

Psychological strategies to resist slowing down or stopping during endurance activity: An expert opinion paper

Within this paper, we provide an expert opinion on five evidence-based psychological strategies that could help endurance participants overcome slowing down and stopping during performance: goal setting, motivational self-talk, relaxation, distraction, and pacing. We argue that these strategies are well-suited for delivery as brief-contact, educational interventions that could be accessible to large numbers of participants who do not have access to a sport and exercise psychologist. These interventions could be delivered using websites, online videos, workshops, or magazine articles. We propose a novel use for implementation intentions (i.e. if-then planning) to develop endurance participants’ conditional knowledge of when to use specific strategies. In addition, although research evidence suggests that these psychological strategies may be efficacious for overcoming thoughts of slowing down or stopping, there are important limitations in the research evidence. In particular, there is a dearth of ecologically valid, field-based effectiveness studies. Finally, we consider situations where attempts to resist slowing down or stopping during endurance activity may not be advisable. Scenarios include when there is an increased likelihood of injury, or when environmental conditions increase the risk of life-threatening event

Psychological strategies to resist slowing down or stopping during endurance activity: An expert opinion paper

Within this paper, we provide an expert opinion on five evidence-based psychological strategies that could help endurance participants overcome slowing down and stopping during performance: goal setting, motivational self-talk, relaxation, distraction, and pacing. We argue that these strategies are well-suited for delivery as brief-contact, educational interventions that could be accessible to large numbers of participants who do not have access to a sport and exercise psychologist. These interventions could be delivered using websites, online videos, workshops, or magazine articles. We propose a novel use for implementation intentions (i.e., if-then planning) to develop endurance participants’ conditional knowledge of when to use specific strategies. In addition, although research evidence suggests that these psychological strategies may be efficacious for overcoming thoughts of slowing down or stopping, there are important limitations in the research evidence. In particular, there is a dearth of ecologically valid, field-based effectiveness studies. Finally, we consider situations where attempts to resist slowing down or stopping during endurance activity may not be advisable. Scenarios include when there is an increased likelihood of injury, or when environmental conditions increase the risk of life-threatening events

“I must do this!”: A latent profile analysis approach to understanding the role of irrational beliefs and motivation regulation in mental and physical health

In the research concerning rational emotive behaviour therapy (REBT) in sport and exercise, irrational beliefs are proposed as a risk factor for health. Concurrent to this, researchers have also indicated that autonomous and controlled motivation, as proposed in organismic integration theory could, together with irrational beliefs, determine individual health. However, research is yet to align irrational beliefs and motivation, and explore how this alignment relates to mental health. The present two study paper identifies individual subgroups, drawn from data concerning irrational beliefs, motivation, and health (psychological distress, and physical health), in a sample of exercisers (study 1) and student athletes (study 2). We examined the latent profile structure of irrational beliefs and motivation, and how these latent profiles relate to psychological distress (studies 1 and 2), and physical health (study 2). Results indicate a two class profile whereby class 1 is characterised by high irrational beliefs, low self-determined motivation, and poor health outcomes. Class 2 is characterised by low irrational beliefs, high self-determined motivation, and better health outcomes. The findings are discussed in relation to the theoretical implications for REBT and organismic integration theory, and the practical implications for key stakeholders in the health of exercise participants and athletes

Psychological determinants of whole-body endurance performance

Background: No literature reviews have systematically identified and evaluated research on the psychological determinants of endurance performance, and sport psychology performance-enhancement guidelines for endurance sports are not founded on a systematic appraisal of endurance-specific research. Objective: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify practical psychological interventions that improve endurance performance and to identify additional psychological factors that affect endurance performance. Additional objectives were to evaluate the research practices of included studies, to suggest theoretical and applied implications, and to guide future research. Methods: Electronic databases, forward-citation searches, and manual searches of reference lists were used to locate relevant studies. Peer-reviewed studies were included when they chose an experimental or quasi-experimental research design, a psychological manipulation, endurance performance as the dependent variable, and athletes or physically-active, healthy adults as participants. Results: Consistent support was found for using imagery, self-talk, and goal setting to improve endurance performance, but it is unclear whether learning multiple psychological skills is more beneficial than learning one psychological skill. The results also demonstrated that mental fatigue undermines endurance performance, and verbal encouragement and head-to-head competition can have a beneficial effect. Interventions that influenced perception of effort consistently affected endurance performance. Conclusions: Psychological skills training could benefit an endurance athlete. Researchers are encouraged to compare different practical psychological interventions, to examine the effects of these interventions for athletes in competition, and to include a placebo control condition or an alternative control treatment. Researchers are also encouraged to explore additional psychological factors that could have a negative effect on endurance performance. Future research should include psychological mediating variables and moderating variables. Implications for theoretical explanations of endurance performance and evidence-based practice are described

Expectancy of success, subjective task-value, and message frame in the appraisal of value-promoting messages made prior to a high-stakes examination

© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Previous research has examined how subjective task-value and expectancy of success influence the appraisal of value-promoting messages used by teachers prior to high-stakes examinations. The aim of this study was to examine whether message-frame (gain or loss-framed messages) also influences the appraisal of value-promoting messages. Two hundred and fifty-two participants in Years 12 and 13 read vignettes of fictional students who were high or low in subjective-task value, and expectancy of success, and asked to imagine how that student would appraise either a gain or loss-framed message. A challenge appraisal followed vignettes with high subjective task-value and high expectancy of success whereas a threat appraisal followed vignettes with high subjective task-value and low expectancy of success. A loss-framed message resulted in a stronger threat appraisal, and a gain-framed message in a greater disregarding appraisal for the vignette with high subjective task-value and high expectancy of success. Value-promoting messages can be appraised in different ways depending on combinations of intrapersonal (subjective task-value and expectancy of success) and interpersonal (message-frame) influences. © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrech

Building a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive drivers of performance under pressure: An international multi-panel Delphi study

IntroductionThe ability to perform optimally under pressure is critical across many occupations, including the military, first responders, and competitive sport. Despite recognition that such performance depends on a range of cognitive factors, how common these factors are across performance domains remains unclear. The current study sought to integrate existing knowledge in the performance field in the form of a transdisciplinary expert consensus on the cognitive mechanisms that underlie performance under pressure.MethodsInternational experts were recruited from four performance domains [(i) Defense; (ii) Competitive Sport; (iii) Civilian High-stakes; and (iv) Performance Neuroscience]. Experts rated constructs from the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework (and several expert-suggested constructs) across successive rounds, until all constructs reached consensus for inclusion or were eliminated. Finally, included constructs were ranked for their relative importance.ResultsSixty-eight experts completed the first Delphi round, with 94% of experts retained by the end of the Delphi process. The following 10 constructs reached consensus across all four panels (in order of overall ranking): (1) Attention; (2) Cognitive Control—Performance Monitoring; (3) Arousal and Regulatory Systems—Arousal; (4) Cognitive Control—Goal Selection, Updating, Representation, and Maintenance; (5) Cognitive Control—Response Selection and Inhibition/Suppression; (6) Working memory—Flexible Updating; (7) Working memory—Active Maintenance; (8) Perception and Understanding of Self—Self-knowledge; (9) Working memory—Interference Control, and (10) Expert-suggested—Shifting.DiscussionOur results identify a set of transdisciplinary neuroscience-informed constructs, validated through expert consensus. This expert consensus is critical to standardizing cognitive assessment and informing mechanism-targeted interventions in the broader field of human performance optimization

The sources of self-efficacy in experienced and competitive endurance athletes

Endurance athletes draw on several sources of self-efficacy, but there is a limited understanding of what information within these sources specifically contributes towards self-efficacy. An increased understanding and awareness of the sources of self-efficacy for endurance performance would allow the design and delivery of more effective self-efficacy interventions. The aim of the current study was to identify sources of self-efficacy specific to the endurance sport domain. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve experienced competitive endurance athletes who had been competing in their endurance sport for an average of 12.2 \ub1 6.25 years. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using deductive thematic analysis. Past performance experiences, physiological states, social/verbal persuasions and emotional states were generated as initial themes. Within these themes, six sub-themes were identified: cumulative experiences, challenge and adversity, physical familiarity, social support, self-talk, and doubt and worry. Our results indicate that endurance athletes make use of several sources of self-efficacy in the formation and maintenance of their self-efficacy beliefs. Specifically, the culmination of experiences, experiences of overcoming challenge and adversity, and a sense of physical familiarity appeared to key sources in the endurance sport domain. \ua9 2018, \ua9 2018 International Society of Sport Psychology