The Effect of a Brief-Mindfulness Intervention on Psychophysiological Exertion and Flow-State Among Sedentary Adults.

Mindfulness-acceptance commitment interventions in sport and exercise contexts have been helpful to increasing a positive psycho-physiological state among competitive athletes and recreational exercise participants. In the current study, we sought to extend research in this area by identifying the effect of a brief-mindfulness intervention on psychophysiological functioning among healthy but sedentary young adults. Our mixed gender sample (n = 42) of inactive individuals performed a brief cycling task without training (control condition) followed by task completion with brief mindfulness training (15-minute audio engagement with mindfulness techniques and specific present moment 'anchors'). We found that participants self-reported more accurate ratings of perceived exertion (i.e., self-ratings better matched actual physiological indices of exertion) following the mindfulness intervention, suggesting that mindfulness techniques can increase bodily awareness. Better body awareness may be useful to helping sedentary participants appreciate physiological changes experienced through exercise. The mindfulness manipulation also increased participants' absorption into the activity, suggesting greater attentiveness to the exercise task with less distraction from irrelevant external and internal cues. In sum, mindfulness may be a complementary psychological training tool for inactive, sedentary young adults attempting to re-engage with exercise. We provide recommendations for future research.

Competitive Performance Effects of Psychological Skill Training for Youth Swimmers.

This study assessed the effect of two different psychological methods of skills training-self-talk and goal setting-on the swimming performance of youth swimmers. We allocated a convenience sample of club and county level youth swimmers (N = 49; Mage = 10.8, SD = 1.25) to one of the three groups: self-talk, goal setting, or a control group engaged in no systematic psychological method of skills training. The groups were balanced in terms of competitive performance ability, age, and gender. Participants in the experimental conditions (self-talk and goal setting) completed a 5-week psychological skills intervention program and were measured on pre- and post-200-m swimming time in competition. After controlling for level of engagement in the program, analysis of covariance revealed a significant omnibus effect (p = .006, ηp2 = .20) with post hoc pairwise comparisons using magnitude-based statistics demonstrating that goal setting had a small positive effect compared with self-talk (η2 = .40; ± 0.45). Both self-talk (η2 = .50; ±0.48) and goal setting (η2 = .71; ±0.4) showed a small and moderate positive effect, respectively, relative to the control group. A social validation check confirmed that the swimmers found the intervention to be relevant, beneficial, and meaningful for improving performance. Psychological skills training may be effective in improving youth swimming performance; specific mechanisms underlying these benefits need further exploration.

Self-concept organisation and mental toughness in sport.

The present study examines the relationship between individual differences in evaluative self-organisation and mental toughness in sport, proposing that motivation and emotional resiliency (facets of mental toughness) stem from differences in core self. A cross-sectional assessment of 105 athletes competing at a range of performance levels took part in an online study including measures of self-reported mental toughness (Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire; Sheard, M., Golby, J., & van Wersch, A. (2009). Progress towards construct validation of the Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 25(3), 186-193. doi:10.1027/1015-5759.25.3.186) and self-organisation (self-descriptive attribute task; Showers, C. J. (2002). Integration and compartmentalisation: A model of self-structure and self-change. In D. Cervone & W. Mischel (Eds.), Advances in personality science (pp. 271-291). New York, NY: Guilford Press). As predicted, global mental toughness was associated with self-concept positivity, which was particularly high in individuals with positive-integrative self-organisation (individuals who distribute positive and negative self-attributes evenly across multiple selves). Specifically, positive integration was associated with constancy (commitment to goal achievement despite obstacles and the potential for failure), which extends presumably from positive integratives' emotional stability and drive to resolve negative self-beliefs.

Exploring the organizational effect of prenatal testosterone upon the sporting brain.

The 2D:4D ratio is a putative marker for prenatal testosterone and has the potential to explain variations in sport performance. To date there has been little research into the association between sporting performance, digit ratio and psychological variables. This study examined the relationship between 2D:4D and mental toughness, optimism, goal orientations, aggression, coping style and their association with sporting achievement. A post facto design was adopted. Participants consisted of an opportunity sample of 122 sports people: male (n =60) and female (n = 62) from a university in North East England. Following informed consent, a Vernier Caliper was used to measure digit ratio hand scans. Participants completed self-reports measures including, the Alternative Psychological Performance Inventory (Golby et al., 2008), Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire (Sheard et al., 2009), Life Orientation Test-Revised (Scheier et al., 1994), Buss-Perry aggression (Buss-Perry, 1992) and 30 item coping style questionnaire (Joseph et al., 1995). MANOVA revealed significant gender differences in 2D:4D with males demonstrating lower ratios (Manning, 2002). The 2D:4D was found to differentiate eleven of the seventeen measured variables, including mental toughness scores (p < 0.001) and varying levels of sporting achievement i.e. international/national, regional and school levels (p< 0.001). Specifically, this difference was significant when comparing the highest (international/national) and lowest (leisure/school) groups. Perhaps there is a threshold for prenatal testosterone's influence upon sporting ability. Further research is necessary to examine the subtle differences between competitors involved in different achievement levels. It is proposed that high prenatal levels of testosterone may contribute to the development of increased mental toughness, optimism, ego/task goal orientations in individuals, and hence aptitude towards sport. Findings lend support for the tentative claim that mental toughness may be partially biologically predetermined. Theoretical and practical implications are considered, along with limitations of the current study. Key pointsIncreased prenatal testosterone exposure was associated with successful sport performance. There is a need to further consider psychological aspects related to sport performance and their potential relationship with 2D:4D.Mental toughness variables, optimism, goal orientation, hostility and coping style are related to levels of 2:4D.Perhaps with further substantiation, 2D:4D could provide a supporting objective measure, to complement existing psychometric instruments.