Test of performance strategies: Development and preliminary validation of a comprehensive measure of athletes' psychological skills

Abstract

We report the initial stages of validation of the 64-item Test of Performance Strategies, a self-report instrument designed to measure the psychological skills and strategies used by athletes in competition and during practice. Data were obtained from a sample of 472 athletes competing across a range of performance standards in a wide variety of sports. Exploratory factor analyses of their responses produced eight competition strategy subscales and eight practice strategy subscales, each consisting of four items. Internal consistencies of the subscales ranged from 0.66 to 0.81 (x = 0.75). Correlations among strategies were examined within and between performance contexts. Subgroups defined by age, sex and current standard of performance in sport differed significantly in their psychological skills and strategies.

Advanced Psychological Strategies and Anxiety Responses in Sport

“…Thirtythree elite athletes were contacted and informed of the nature of the study. Second, considering that advanced strategies often consist of, among other things, basic psychological skills, the 33 potential participants were screened for goal-setting, imagery, relaxation, and self-talk use by completing the respective subscales from the TOPS inventory (Thomas et al, 1999). Consistent with previous research (Wadey & Hanton, in press), a criterion score of 15 was set for all four subscales to establish high usage.…”

“…Participants rated the frequency of each item on a scale anchored by 1 (never) to 5 (always), with overall usage scores ranging from 4 to 20. Cronbach's alpha coefficients of .78 for goalsetting, .79 for imagery, 80 for self-talk, and .80 for relaxation have been reported (Thomas et al, 1999).…”

“…The Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS; Thomas, Murphy, & Hardy, 1999) is a self-report instrument designed to measure the psychological skills and strategies used by athletes in competition and during practice. The measure is comprised of eight competition subscales and eight practice subscales, each consisting of four items.…”

Achievement goals and motivational responses in tennis: Does the context matter?

“…The psychological skills of goal setting, self-talk, and attentional control were assessed using the relevant scale items from the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS; Thomas et al, 1999). In the TOPS, attentional control is included only as a subscale in the training context.…”

“…Three psychological skills widely used in sport are goal setting, self-talk, and attentional control (Thomas, Murphy, & Hardy, 1999). These psychological skills are regarded by coaches as important skills in tennis which is the sport on which we focus in this study (Gould, Medbery, Damarjian, & Laurer, 1999).…”