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Psychological Characteristics and Their Development in Olympic Champions
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
Abstract and Figures
This study was designed to examine psychological characteristics and their development in Olympic champions. Ten U.S. Olympic champions (winners of 32 Olympic medals) were interviewed, as were one of their coaches ( n = 10), and a parent, guardian, or significant other ( n = 10). A battery of psychological inventories was also administered to the athletes. It was found that the athletes were characterized by: (a) the ability to cope with and control anxiety; (b) confidence; (c) mental toughness/resiliency; (d) sport intelligence; (e) the ability to focus and block out distractions; (f) competitiveness; (g) a hard-work ethic; (h) the ability to set and achieve goals; (i) coachability; (j) high levels of dispositional hope; (k) optimism; and (l) adaptive perfectionism. Results also revealed that a number of individuals and institutions influenced the athletes' psychological development including the community, family, the individual himself or herself, non-sport personnel, sport environment personnel, and the sport process. Coach and family influences were particularly important. Ways in which these sources influenced the athletes were both direct, like teaching or emphasizing certain psychological lessons, and indirect, involving modeling or unintentionally creating certain psychological environments. Psychological characteristic findings verified current sport psychological research on psychological characteristics associated with peak performance (Williams & Krane, 2001). They also suggest that adaptive perfectionism, dispositional hope, and high levels of optimism are new variables to consider. Results are also discussed relative to Bloom's (1985), Côtè's (1999) and Csikzentmihalyi, Rathunde, Whalen, and Wong's (1993) talent development research. Practical implications focus on implementing parenting and coaching practices related to the development of psychological characteristics associated with athletic success.
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... Understanding that negative thoughts in sports do not uniformly impact performance might assist players in dissociating from these ideas. Studies demonstrate that affirmations in athletics enhance the management of negative thoughts and improve performance (Galli and Gonzalez 2015;Gould et al. 2002). The use of affirmations and their visualization by athletes may be ascribed to their will to surmount unfavorable ideas. ...
A variety of factors impact athletic performance, with psychological states being particularly important. Among these, rumination, defined as persistent, recurrent negative thoughts, appears as a key barrier to obtaining peak performance. Effectively controlling these ruminative thoughts is critical for athletes’ physiological and psychological well-being, as well as the longevity of their athletic careers. The purpose of this study is to investigate how athletes cope with ruminative ideas. The study used Q methodology, which combines qualitative and quantitative research methodologies, to select 30 athletes who had experienced negative experiences during their careers. Participants were chosen using a snowball sampling approach. Principal component analysis was used to identify relevant variables in participant replies and produce Z scores. The study identified five key coping mechanisms used by athletes to control ruminative thoughts: cognitive, belief-based, social, physical, and behavioral techniques. In-depth interviews shed light on the reasoning behind these tactics and their perceived success in reducing negative thoughts. Understanding and treating ruminative thoughts with these diverse types of coping mechanisms can significantly improve sports performance. By combining cognitive, belief-based, social, physical, and behavioral techniques, athletes may protect their psychological well-being while also improving their overall performance.
... One psychological factor that is critical to supporting success is mental toughness (Quinn & Cavanaugh, 2017;Solomon, 2015). Mental toughness is defined as an athlete's ability to stay focused, calm, and think positively in the face of pressure during competition (Gould, 2002). According to Gucciardi (2010), mental toughness is a combination of attitudes, behaviors, and emotions that enables athletes to overcome the obstacles, difficulties, and pressures they face. ...
Introduction: Psychological aspects are gaining popularity in sport as athletes strive for success. One psychological factor that is critical to supporting success is mental toughness. Mental toughness is defined as an athlete's ability to stay focused, calm, and think positively in the face of pressure during competition Objective: This study explore research related to mental toughness from 1985-2024 Methodology: This study aims to map research trends on mental toughness in athletes through bibliometric analysis using data from the Scopus database. Analysis was conducted using R software (Bibliometrix) and VOSviewer to explore publication trends, author collaborations, dominant keywords, and emerging research themes. Results: The results reveal that mental toughness is a growing topic, with publication peaks in 2024. The research is dominated by developed countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, and leading institutions like the University of Basel and Curtin University. Key researchers, such as Gucciardi D.F., significantly contributed to establishing the theoretical framework of mental toughness. The main themes identified include mental toughness in male athletes, focusing on psychological aspects such as motivation and resilience. Additionally, specific themes such as burnout, perfectionism, and sports injuries are identified as emerging areas of research Conclusions: This study provides comprehensive insights into trends and key focuses in mental toughness studies and opens opportunities to explore underrepresented populations, develop effective interventions, and expand research scope in the future.
... Some researchers defined MT as a stable trait that enables athletes to confront and handle all kinds of physical, mental, and emotional pressures in order to achieve optimal performance (Gucciardi et al., 2009). In a study involving ten Olympians, they reported mental toughness is one of the highest ranked psychological characteristics that determine at successful performance (Gould et al., 2002). Specifically, it is ofen used to describe a broad term that reflects the ability of an athlete to cope effectively with training and competition demands in an effort to remain resilient (Bull et al., 2005), (Connaughton et al., 2008), (Fourie & Potgieter, 2001), (Jones et al., 2007), (Thelwell et al., 2005). ...
The purpose is to compare the levels of mental toughness between combat and non-combat athletes. Those athletes have taken part in the all India inter university tournament. A total of 60 players are part of the all India inter university tournament. The age of the subjects were ranging from 18-25 years. Among the 60 subjects, there are 30 combat athlete (judo, wrestling & taekwondo) and 30 non-combat athletes (volleyball, swimming & badminton). Comparison was made between combat and non-combat athletes. Psychological performance inventory (James E. Loehr 1982) was administered. The questionnaire consists of 42 statements. These 42 statements are further divided into 7 sub-scales namely; Self confidence, Negative energy control, Attention control, Visual/ imaginary control, Positive energy control, Attitude control and Motivation which were designed to measure factors that reflect mental toughness of sports athlete. Descriptive statistics were computed for all measures. The data obtained were analyzed with the help of statistical software (SPSS 22 version). The mean, standard deviation along with independent t test were computed to check the differences between samples mean of Combat and Non-Combat Athletes. The level of statistical significance was set at 0.05 levels. Based on the analysis it was observed that there was a significant difference between combat and non-combat athletes as the p-value is less than 0.05 in all the factors except negative energy control and attention control the p-value was greater than 0.05. and in terms of other factors ; positive energy control, attitude control, visual imaginary, motivation, self control there were having significance differences.
... Positive communication nurtures bonds between coaches and athletes boosts motivation levels and leads to performance results (Smith et al., 2007;Vella et al., 2011). Conversely feedback delivered with emotions can trigger heightened anxiety levels, self-esteem levels and impede an athletes' progress (Gould et al., 2002). Consistently using language or negative attitudes in communication can form a negative pattern that persists over time. ...
This article investigates into the combined impact of stress and the use of discipline, in youth racket sports like badminton, tennis, squash and table tennis. It sheds light on how pressures, often underestimated or misjudged can build up over time significantly impacting an athlete’s performance and overall well-being. The article identifies the progression from stress to mental health issues that can leave lasting psychological scars. Furthermore, it touches upon how criticism from coaches or parents can worsen these issues potentially leading to feelings of anxiety, burnout or depression. The article stresses the significance of detection, communication and bring awareness proactive support for mental health to prevent lasting harm and promote healthier growth, in athletes.
... In addition, it is debatable whether mental toughness is equally important in every sport. It should be taken into account that physical factors may be more dominant in some sports (Hodge, 2018;Gould, Dieffenbach, & Moffett, 2002). Therefore, the generalization of the findings may be limited. ...
The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of athletes' mental endurance on their learning and success in individual and team sports. As a method, this compilation study was carried out by scanning the existing literature on mental endurance and examining experimental and observational studies conducted in different sports branches. The literature search was conducted using academic databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO. In the studies reviewed, the effects of techniques such as visualization, cognitive-behavioral therapy, mindfulness and physical exercise on athletes were discussed. The findings reveal that mental toughness plays a critical role in improving the performance of athletes and is especially important in ensuring focus, motivation and performance sustainability during stressful moments. Visualization has helped athletes cope with stress by visualizing success, while cognitive-behavioral therapy has been effective in combating negative thoughts. Mindfulness, on the other hand, has increased athletes' ability to live in the moment and maintain mental freshness. In team sports, mental toughness has been observed to strengthen team collaboration and collective performance, as well as improve team members' ability to cope with stress. As a result, improving mental toughness contributes to the long-term success of athletes by increasing not only their physical performance but also their psychological resilience
... This involves identifying various risk factors associated with sports-related injuries, which can be categorized into external and internal factors. External factors include aspects like the type of activity and environmental conditions, while internal factors encompass physiological and psychological elements [5] . To date, numerous studies have delved into the influence of physical and biomechanical factors on athletes' injury susceptibility. ...
Aims: This study aims to examine the epidemiology of bodybuilding injuries among amateur bodybuilders and explore the association between mental aspects, sleep quality, and other potential factors with such injuries. Method and Materials We conducted a internet-based survey gathering data from 320 amateur bodybuilders. These data were about personal characteristics, practice routines, Mental Aspect (obsessive passion and exercise motivation), sleep quality, and injuries over the preceding six months. The descriptive analysis and logistic regression were applied to analyze collected data. Findings: The findings revealed that 170 participants (53.8%) of participants had experienced at least one injury, predominantly affecting the knee and shoulder 61 participants (19%), and the finger/wrist 33 participant (13%). Obsessive passion, sleep quality, and being male were significant risk factors for these injuries. Obsessive passion had an Odds Ratio (OR) of 1.65, sleep quality an OR of 1.07, and male sex an OR of 2.11. Conclusion: The present study revealed the multifactorial nature of bodybuilding injuries, emphasizing the importance of considering mental aspects and sleep quality in injury prevention and management strategies for bodybuilders.
... For instance, research suggests that heightened anxiety before a competition is correlated with increased pain sensitivity, leading to potential decrements in performance (Sen Cermikli, 2021). Conversely, some studies indicate that experienced athletes may develop psychological resilience that enables them to regulate anxiety and manage pain more effectively, thereby sustaining high performance levels under pressure (Raglin, 1992;Gould et al., 2002;Mosewich et al., 2013;Sarkar & Fletcher, 2014). ...
Türkiye Büyük Kadınlar Güreş Şampiyonası gibi ulusal bir müsabaka öncesinde sporcuların kaygılarının ağrı eşikleri üzerindeki olası etkilerini analiz etmek önemlidir. Çalışmamızın hipotezi, güreş gibi fiziksel ve psikolojik baskının yoğun olduğu bir sporda müsabaka öncesi kaygı ve ağrı düzeylerini belirleyerek kaygının ağrı toleransı üzerindeki etkisini araştırmaktır. Çalışma, şampiyonaya katılan spor bilimleri fakültesi mezunu ya da öğrencisi olan 30 gönüllü kadın güreşçi üzerinde yürütülmüştür. Katılımcılar farklı sıkletlerden ve farklı deneyim seviyelerinden seçilmiştir. Katılımcıların vücut kompozisyonu verileri Tanita 418 BC cihazı ile biyoelektrik empedans kullanılarak belirlenmiştir. Katılımcılara müsabaka ile ilgili kaygılarını ölçmek için Kaygı Derecelendirme Ölçeği (ARS) verilmiştir. Verilerin analizinde yüzde (%), frekans, ortalama ve bağımsız değişkenin bağımlı değişken üzerindeki etkisini belirlemek için basit doğrusal regresyon analizi kullanılmıştır. Katılımcıların yaşı 20,32±2,21 yıl olarak bildirilmiştir. Katılımcıların anksiyete puan ortalaması 34,35±5,62'dir. Çalışma sonuçlarına göre, toplam anksiyete puanının katılımcıların oksiput sağ ve sol oksipital ağrı eşikleri üzerinde etkisi yoktur (p>0,05). Çalışma sonucunda anksiyete dışında ağrı eşiğini etkileyebilecek diğer faktörlerin modele dahil edilmemiş olması ve bireysel farklılıklardan kaynaklanabileceği düşünülmektedir. Ayrıca taekwondo ve güreş gibi fiziksel ve zihinsel dayanıklılığın yüksek olduğu sporlarda sporcuların kaygı düzeylerini yönetmeleri başarıyı artırmak için kritik bir strateji olarak görülebilir. Sporcuların müsabaka öncesi kaygılarını yönetmek için spor psikologları tarafından geliştirilecek kaygı yönetimi ve stres azaltma tekniklerinin önemi ortaya çıkmaktadır. Sporcuların bireysel farklılıklarını dikkate alarak kişiye özel psikolojik destek stratejileri oluşturmak, kaygının performans üzerindeki olumsuz etkilerini azaltabilir.
The participation of youth in sports is pivotal for their holistic development, influencing physical health, mental well-being, and social skills. Parents play an indispensable role in this process by providing the necessary financial resources and emotional backing. Their involvement ensures that young people could engage in sports. The aim of the research is to comparatively analyse different parental support systems in youth sport and to establish aims of future research. Research methods: analysis of scientific articles (electronic scientific databases Web of Science Core Collection, Scopus), search keywords – “sport*” OR “youth-sport*” OR “young athlete*” AND “support*” OR “psychological need*” AND “family *” OR “parent*” OR “father*” OR “mother*”. The period covered by the research is from 1990 to 2022 and abstracts, conference proceedings, dissertations, book chapters, and articles published in non-peer-reviewed journals were excluded from the search. Main results of the research: the role of parents is considered very important in the athletic development of children and youth, providing emotional, financial, and social support. The research demonstrates that inadequate support from the state/community, coaches and society can hamper parents’ ability to effectively support their children and youth in sports.
It is known that at puberty the development of adolescents is very uneven, therefore, their physical abilities are also very diverse, which makes coaches think about the fact that in training groups of the same age, athletes can have different levels of both physical and psychological preparedness. In our opinion, it is very important to find a methodology that can be easily used by coaches to determine the level of puberty of athletes, to optimize the training process for youth athletes. The purpose of this literature review is: 1) to find out and compare different methods for determining the stages of sexual maturity, 2) adapt a method that can be applied in the training process for determining sexual maturity that can be easily practically applied to coaches to create appropriate, individualized training content and methodology for adolescent athletes. Material and methods. Analysis of sources of scientific literature. Results. After analysing several methods for determining the stage of maturity, we found out that all the methods found have limitations, therefore, after reviewing the literature, most often anthropometric measurements, or prediction of PHV in the long term may be practical in sport science studies, however, more accurate data on hormonal maturity are provided by blood test. Conclusions. After reviewing the scientific literature, in our opinion, it would be most successful for coaches to combine the method of blood tests with one of the somatic assessments to determine the stage of sexual maturity. In our opinion, it would be practical for coaches to apply non-invasive methods, but to include blood tests in the annual health examination of athletes, would provide a more accurate assessment of the stage of sexual maturity.
Identifying social and psychological influences affecting children’s attitudes about physical activity is an important step in understanding individual differences in children’s activity involvement. This study examined the influence of parental socialization and children’s psychological characteristics upon attraction to physical activity. Fourth-grade children (N=81) completed questionnaires assessing perceived physical competence and attraction to physical activity. Parents also completed questionnaires assessing their physical activity orientations and level of encouragement of their child’s physical activity. A proposed model linking four sets of social and psychological variables was tested through path analysis. The results generally supported the hypothesized model and suggested that parental physical activity orientations, parental encouragement levels, children’s gender, and children’s perceived physical competence are important influences upon children’s attraction to physical activity.
This study assessed the ability of coaches to estimate their athletes’ A-trait and A-state levels, examined variables influencing this ability, and attempted to identify what physical or behavioral cues coaches use in assessing the anxiety levels of their athletes. Collegiate cross-country coaches (N=126) and athletes served as subjects. Overall, the coaches were found to be inaccurate estimators of both levels, accounting for less than 8% of the variance. Multiple regression analyses also revealed that the coach’s age was a significant predictor of ability to assess an athlete’s A-trait level, and the size of the team affected a coach’s A-state estimating ability. Coaches of women’s teams were significantly more accurate than coaches of men’s teams in their estimates of A-trait and A-state levels. Finally, coaches rated changes in athletes’ communication levels and behavior patterns as the most important cues to look for when assessing anxiety levels.
This investigation employed Smith's (1996) model of performance-related anxiety to examine links between perfectionism, achievement goals, and the temporal patterning of multidimensional state anxiety in 119 high school runners. Instruments assessed achievement goals (Roberts & Balague, 1989), perfectionism (Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990), and multidimensional state anxiety (Martens, Burton, & Vealey, 1990) on 4 occasions prior to a cross-country meet. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that overall perfectionism was a consistent, significant predictor of cognitive anxiety. Perceived ability was a consistent predictor of confidence, and ego and task goals contributed to the prediction of cognitive anxiety and confidence, respectively. Concern over mistakes, doubts about action, and personal standards were consistent predictors of cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and confidence, respectively. The findings help further develop Smith's (1996) model and suggest that the appraisal process underlying multidimensional state anxiety is influenced by individual differences in a number of achievement-related constructs.