Effects of mental-skills training on collegiate divers' performance and perception of success.

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with nine divers at a Division III college matched for age, experience level, sex, and skill level, to investigate the effect of mental-skills training on divers’ overall performance and perception of success. The athletes were part of a study where in addition to their diving practices they were exposed to training in three different psychological skills: goal setting, self-talk, and visualization. Program effectiveness was evaluated through two different measures, anxiety and performance. The mental-skills measures consisted of pre and post results on (a) the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS), (b) the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT-A), and (c) the Trait Sport Confidence Inventory (TSCI). The performance measures consisted of (a) the athletes recorded scores for each meet, and (b) the Questionnaire A: The Athlete’s Perceptions of Quality of Performance during Practice.