Effective Ways to Develop and Maintain Robust Sport-Confidence: Strategies Advocated by Sport Psychology Consultants

Abstract

26Based on recent evidence (Thomas, Lane, & Kingston, 2011), this study identified 10 27 strategies advocated by sport psychology consultants as effective at developing and by sport psychology consultants. 52Self-confidence is frequently cited as an important part of successful sport 53 performance and has been shown to influence behaviors, attitudes, and sporting attainment 54 (Cox, Shannon, McGuire, & McBride, 2010). The two theoretical frameworks that have 55 predominantly been used to study self-confidence in sport are self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 56 1977(Bandura, 56 , 1986(Bandura, 56 , 1997 and sport-confidence (cf. Vealey & Chase, 2008). 57Self-efficacy is defined as a judgment of one's ability to organize and execute specific 58 actions needed to produce a certain level of performance, and is considered to be a fluctuating 59 state rather than a fixed trait (Bandura, 1986). It is thought that efficacy beliefs influence 60 one's behaviors (i.e., actions), cognitions (i.e., thoughts), and affect (i.e., feelings) and are 61 predicted by six main sources of information (Maddux & Gosselin, 2003). These sources are 62 enactive mastery experiences (i.e., gaining belief from mastery and successful experiences), 63vicarious experiences (i.e., gaining belief from observing the successful experiences of 64 others), verbal persuasion (i.e., gaining belief from the support of significant others including 65 themselves), physiological and emotional states (i.e., gaining belief from associations made 66 between performance and our physiological arousal and emotions), and imaginal experiences 67 (i.e., referring to people gaining belief from imagining themselves, or others, behaving 68 successfully). While Bandura's (1977Bandura's ( , 1986Bandura's ( , 1997) theory of self-efficacy was not developed 69 specifically for the context of competitive sport, it made an important contribution to the 70 study of self-confidence in sport as it tended to be the focal theory underpinning suggested 71 strategies for designing confidence interventions for athletes (Vealey, 2001). 72In order to develop a framework that more appropriately captured the context of 73 competitive sport, Vealey, Hayashi, Garner-Holman, and Giacobbi (1998) built on self-74 efficacy theory to develop the theory of sport-confidence. This term was defined as an 75Develop and maintain robust sport-confidence 3 individual's belief in their ability to succeed in sport (Vealey, 1986(Vealey, , 2001 84Initial research exploring the sources from which athletes derive their confidence identified 85 mental/physical preparation, mastery, and demonstration of ability to be salient sources 86 (Vealey et al., 1998;Wilson, Sullivan, Myers, & Feltz, 2004). sources and types of confidence will influence athletes' sport-confidence levels, and will also 103 vary depending on the organizational culture of the sport. 104The most recent model of sport-confidence (Vealey & Chase, 2008) retains the 105 original nine sources of confidence and also includes...

Super-strengths in elite sport

“…In sport psychology, it has been suggested that our discipline has exemplified positive psychology for the last 25 years, through the study of athletic excellence (Gould, 2002). While it is recognized that this focus on excellence is apparent in some sport psychology research, specific strengths-based consultancy approaches/methods, and the potential benefits of adopting these have only -63 -recently been alluded to (i.e., Beaumont, Maynard, & Butt, 2015;Gordon & Gucciardi, 2011).…”

“…Moreover, many of the factors identified to be positively influenced via strengths-based approaches are relevant and desirable in a sporting context, including goal progress/attainment (Fluckiger & Grosse Holtforth, 2008;, psychological needs satisfaction , well-being (Govindji & Linley, 2007;, engagement and performance (CLC, 2002;Clifton & Harter, 2003). In sport psychology, it has been suggested that strengths-based approaches could potentially be used to aid development of athletes' mental toughness (Gordon & Gucciardi, 2011), robust sport confidence (Beaumont et al, 2015), and other psychological factors associated with optimal performance (Wagstaff & Leach, 2015). However, studies actually employing strengths-based interventions to assess the role or impact of this way of -36 -working are scarce, highlighting a significant gap in our knowledge and understanding of this area.…”

“…The predominant focus tends to be on working on weaknesses to improve performance (Park-Perin, 2010;Gordon, 2012). Yet, contemporary research in sport psychology has indicated that developing athletes' greatest strengths may be beneficial for enhancing their psychology and performance (Beaumont, Maynard, & Butt, 2015;Gordon, 2012;Gordon & Gucciardi, 2011). Although working to develop athletes' strengths has received anecdotal support from athletes and coaches in elite sport (e.g., Atherton, 2012;Rowbottom, 2011), applied strengths-based interventions are scarcely documented in the sport psychology literature.…”

“…In particular, researchers have suggested such approaches may be beneficial when aiming to develop athletes' mental toughness (Gordon & Gucciardi, 2011), robust sport confidence (Beaumont et al, 2015), and optimizing the psychological determinants of sport performance (Wagstaff & Leach, 2015). Beaumont et al's (2015) study included interviews -27 -with applied sport psychologists to gain understanding of how they build robust sport confidence.…”

“…Despite the reported potential for such approaches to be adopted when developing mental toughness (Gordon & Gucciardi, 2011), and robust sport confidence (Beaumont et al, 2015), this has received scant attention in the literature. This lack of research highlights a lack of knowledge and understanding of strengths-based approaches in sport psychology.…”