Motor Behavior

Validation of the Persian Version of the Mental Training Questionnaire in Sport

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Sohila Shahbazi 1
Farhad Nazari 2
Jalal Dehghanizade 3

1 Ph.D. Student in Motor Behavior, Urmia University, Iran

2 Ph.D. Student in Sport Management, Urmia University, Iran

3 Assistant Professor of Motor Behavior, Urmia University. Urmia, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22089/mbj.2019.7514.1809
Abstract
The present study aimed to investigate the validity and reliability of the Persian version of the mental training questionnaire in sport. The research method is applied and development tools which the method of data collection was field research. For this purpose, 242 athletes of various sports have completed the questionnaire of Behnke et al (2017). Confirmatory factor analysis based on structural equation modeling was used to determine the structural validity, and the internal consistency and concurrent reliability of the questionnaire were assessed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The results showed that the three-factor structure of mental skills (fundamental, performance and interpersonal skills) and the two-factor structure of mental techniques (mental imagery and self-talk) have a good fit. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was more than 0.7 for the whole questionnaire and five components, which shows the internal consistency of the questionnaire. Thus, can be used from mental training questionnaire in sport for evaluating mental training in Iranian athletes.

Keywords

Structural Validity
Reliability
Mental Training
Questionnaire
Sport

Subjects

  1. Hardy L, Roberts R, Thomas PR, Murphy SM. Test of performance strategies (TOPS): Instrument refinement using confirmatory factor analysis. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2010;11(1):27-35.
  2. SPORT ST. Mental skills training in sport. Handbook of sport psychology. 2007 Oct 5:287.
  3. Behnke M, Tomczak M, Kaczmarek LD, Komar M, Gracz J. The sport mental training questionnaire: Development and validation. Curr Psychol. 2019 15;38(2):504-16.
  4. Lutz A, Slagter HA, Rawlings NB, Francis AD, Greischar LL, Davidson RJ. Mental training enhances attentional stability: neural and behavioral evidence. J Neurosci. 2009;29(42):13418-27.
  5. Slagter HA, Davidson RJ, Lutz A. Mental training as a tool in the neuroscientific study of brain and cognitive plasticity. Front Hum Neurosci. 2011;5:14-7.
  6. Mahon BZ, Caramazza A. A critical look at the embodied cognition hypothesis and a new proposal for grounding conceptual content. J Physiol Paris. 2008;102(1-3):       59-70.
  7. Schmidt RA, Bjork RA. New conceptualizations of practice: Common principles in three paradigms suggest new concepts for training. Psychol Sci. 1992;3(4):207-18.
  8. Hatzigeorgiadis A, Galanis E, Zourbanos N, Theodorakis Y. Self-talk and competitive sport performance. J Appl Sport Psychol. 2014;26(1):82-95.
  9. Gentili R, Han CE, Schweighofer N, Papaxanthis C. Motor learning without doing: trial-by-trial improvement in motor performance during mental training. J Neurophysiol. 2010;104(2):774-83.
  10. Thelwell R, Greenlees I, Weston N. (2010). Examining the use of psychological skills throughout soccer performance. J Sport Behav. 2010;33:109–27.
  11. Hatzigeorgiadis A, Zourbanos N, Goltsios C, Theodorakis Y. Investigating the functions of self-talk: The effects of motivational self-talk on self-efficacy and performance in young tennis players. Sport Psychol. 2008;22(4):458-71.
  12. Wohldmann EL, Healy AF, Bourne Jr LE. Pushing the limits of imagination: mental practice for learning sequences. J Exp Psychol Learn Mem Cogn. 2007;33(1):254-9.
  13. Schmidt R, Lee T. Motor Learning and Performance 5th Edition: From Principles to Application. Human Kinetics; 2013 Nov 6.
  14. Linden CA, Uhley JE, Smith D, Bush MA. The effects of mental practice on walking balance in an elderly population. OTJR (Thorofare N J). 1989;9(3):155-69.
  15. Hall CR, Rodgers WM, Barr KA. The use of imagery by athletes in selected sports. Sport Psychol. 1990;4(1):1-10.
  16. Jackson PL, Lafleur MF, Malouin F, Richards CL, Doyon J. Functional cerebral reorganization following motor sequence learning through mental practice with motor imagery. Neuroimage. 2003;20(2):1171-80.
  17. Isbel BD, Lagopoulos J, Hermens DF, Summers MJ. Mental training affects electrophysiological markers of attention resource allocation in healthy older adults. Neurosci Lett. 2019;698:186-91.
  18. Gentili R, Cahouet V, Ballay Y, Papaxanthis C. Inertial properties of the arm are accurately predicted during motor imagery. Behav Brain Res. 2004;155(2):231-9.
  19. Courtine G, Papaxanthis C, Gentili R Pozzo T. Gait-dependent motor memory facilitation in covert movement execution. Cogn Brain Res. 2004;22(1):67-75.
  20. Ehrsson HH, Geyer S, Naito E. Imagery of voluntary movement of fingers, toes, and tongue activates corresponding body-part-specific motor representations. J Neurophysiol. 2003;90(5):3304-16.
  21. Papaxanthis C, Pozzo T, Kasprinski R, Berthoz A. Comparison of actual and imagined execution of whole-body movements after a long exposure to microgravity. Neurosci Lett. 2003;339(1):41-4.
  22. Loehr J. Mental toughness training for sports: Achieving athletic excellence. Lexington, MA: Plume; 1982.
  23. Bull SJ, Albinson JG, Shambrook CJ. The mental game plan: Getting psyched for sport. Sports Dynamics. Astbourne, UK; 1996.
  24. Snauwaert E. A psychometric evaluation of Bull’s mental skills questionnaire: A study on Flemish athletes. Proceedings of the 10th World Congress of Sport Psychology; 2001 May 28- June 2; Skiathos, Greece.
  25.  Durand-Bush N, Salmela JH, Green-Demers I. The Ottawa mental skills assessment tool (OMSAT-3*). Sport Psychol. 2001;15(1):1-9.
  26. Golby J, Sheard M, Van Wersch A. Evaluating the factor structure of the psychological performance inventory. Percept Mot Skills. 2007;105(1):309-25.
  27. Zourbanos N, Hatzigeorgiadis A, Chroni S, Theodorakis Y, Papaioannou A. Automatic self-talk questionnaire for sports (ASTQS): Development and preliminary validation of a measure identifying the structure of athletes’ self-talk. Sport Psychol. 2009;23(2):233-51.
  28. Williams SE, Cumming J. Measuring athlete imagery ability: The sport imagery ability questionnaire. J Sport Exerc Psychol. 2011;33(3):416-40.
  29. Lee D, Jang C, Park HJ. Neurofeedback learning for mental practice rather than repetitive practice improves neural pattern consistency and functional network efficiency in the subsequent mental motor execution. NeuroImage. 2019;188:680-93.
  30. Mundfrom DJ, Shaw DG, Ke TL. Minimum sample size recommendations for conducting factor analyses. Int J Test. 2005;5(2):159-68.
  31. Gould D, Dieffenbach K, Moffett A. Psychological characteristics and their development in Olympic champions. J Appl Sport Psychol. 2002;14(3):172-204.
  32. Thomas PR, Murphy SM, Hardy LE. Test of performance strategies: Development and preliminary validation of a comprehensive measure of athletes' psychological skills. J Sports Sci. 1999;17(9):697-711.
  33. Tutko TA, Lyon LP, Ogilvie BC. Athletic motivation inventory. San Jose, CA: Institute for the Study of Athletic Motivation; 1969. p. 17-25.
  34. Roberts P, Priest H, Traynor M. Reliability and validity in research. Nurs Stand. 2006;20(44): 41-6.
  35. Knackstedt P. Optimal timing of a PETTLEP mental imagery intervention on a dart throwing task. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; 2011. Available from: http://library.uncg.edu/.
  36. Birrer D, Morgan G. Psychological skills training as a way to enhance an athlete's performance in high‐intensity sports. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2010;20:78-87.
  37. Van Raalte JL, Vincent A, Brewer BW. Self-talk: Review and sport-specific model. Psychol Sport Exerc. 2016;22:139-48.
  38. Edwards DJ, Steyn BJ. Establishment of norms for the Bull's Mental Skills Questionnaire in South African university students: An exploratory study. African Afr J Phys Health Educ Recreat Dance. 2011;17(3):526-34.
  39. Desmurget M, Sirigu A. A parietal-premotor network for movement intention and motor awareness. Trends Cogn Sci. 2009;13(10):411-9.
  40. Sirigu A, Duhamel JR, Cohen L, Pillon B, Dubois B, Agid Y. The mental representation of hand movements after parietal cortex damage. Science. 1996;273(5281):1564-8.
  41. Miall RC, Christensen LO, Cain O, Stanley J. Disruption of state estimation in the human lateral cerebellum. PLoS Biol. 2007;5(11):316.
  42. Cortese A, Amano K, Koizumi A, Lau H, Kawato M. Decoded fMRI neurofeedback can induce bidirectional confidence changes within single participants. NeuroImage. 2017;149:323-37.
  43. Grush R. The emulation theory of representation: Motor control, imagery, and perception. Behav Brain Sci. 2004;27(3):377-96.
  44. Decety J, Jeannerod M, Prablanc C. The timing of mentally represented actions. Behav Brain Res. 1989;34(1-2):35-42.
  45. Munzert J, Lorey B, Zentgraf K. Cognitive motor processes: The role of motor imagery in the study of motor representations. Brain Res Rev. 2009;60(2):306-26.
Motor Behavior
Volume 12, Issue 40
Summer 2020
Pages 121-144

  • Receive Date 29 May 2019
  • Revise Date 10 December 2019
  • Accept Date 23 December 2019

Home

Reviewers

Submit Manuscript

Publication Ethics

news

Journal Metrics

Contact Us