Investigating the Optimal Psychological State for Peak Performance in Australian Elite Athletes
Journal of Applied Sport Psychology
Abstract
The aim of this study was to investigate the optimal psychological state for peak performance in Australian elite athletes. World championship and Olympic athletes (n = 17) and coaches (n = 6) from rowing, swimming, and diving were interviewed about the psychological states that contribute to peak performance. Results indicated that peak performance is characterized by the automatic execution of performance. A proposed model for the optimal psychological state identifies self-regulation, control, and trust as processes that assist athletes to transition from experiencing a diversity of psychological factors during competition to the automatic psychological state of peak performance.
... For athletes to achieve peak performance when the stakes are high, confidence is an invaluable asset [21][22][23][24][25]. ...
... Frequently referred to as coping, regulation of thoughts, emotions, and arousal to manage exceedingly demanding situations, is central to positive performance outcomes [25,[28][29][30]. Through self-reflection and self-awareness of their strengths and limitations [21], elite athletes develop regulation competencies to achieve the right combination of conditions to support automatic skill execution [25]. ...
... Frequently referred to as coping, regulation of thoughts, emotions, and arousal to manage exceedingly demanding situations, is central to positive performance outcomes [25,[28][29][30]. Through self-reflection and self-awareness of their strengths and limitations [21], elite athletes develop regulation competencies to achieve the right combination of conditions to support automatic skill execution [25]. Stress appraisal and perception of control over a situation can impact the type of coping used by athletes [31]. ...
Objective
The skills of coping with stress and pressure within emergency medicine are conveyed informally and inconsistently throughout residency training. This study aims to identify key psychological competencies used by elite athletes in high-pressure situations, which can be integrated into a formal curriculum to support emergency medicine residents’ performance in high acuity settings.
Design
We conducted a scoping review spanning 20 years to identify the relevant psychological competencies used by elite athletes (Olympic or World level) to perform under pressure. We used controlled vocabulary to search within Medline, PsycInfo and SportDiscuss databases. A standardized charting method was used by the team of four authors to extract relevant data.
Results
The scoping review identified 18 relevant articles, including 707 athletes from 49 different sports and 11 countries, 64 data items were extracted, and 6 main themes were identified. The main psychological competencies included the ability to sustain a high degree of motivation and confidence, to successfully regulate thoughts, emotions and arousal levels, and to maintain resilience in the face of adversity.
Conclusion
We used the main psychological competencies identified from our scoping review to develop a hypothesis generated framework to guide the integration of performance psychology principles into future emergency medicine residency programs.
... Sports Psychology has emerged as a crucial component in understanding and enhancing athletic performance in competitive sports. Anderson et al. (2014) considered its significance, highlighting its role as a cornerstone in achieving success in sports. Within this multifaceted field, researchers have delved into various psychological characteristics deemed essential for athletes striving for excellence. ...
... Sports psychology plays a crucial role in understanding and optimizing athletic performance, particularly in competitive sports settings. Resilience, work effort, and mindfulness are recognized as important psychological factors that contribute to athletes' ability to cope with challenges and attain success (Anderson et al., 2014). In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of Mindfulness-Acceptance-Commitment (MAC) group counseling on resilience among professional football players, building upon the existing literature that underscores the importance of these psychological constructs in sports performance (Gardner and Moore, 2012). ...
... There has been less research on proficiency and psychology in dance than in other fields. Studies that do consider psychological aspects are often limited to exploring specific dance genres (Twitchett et al., 2009;Flower, 2016;Flower, 2019), and studies that examine technical and holistically psychological aspects are sorely lacking (Anderson et al., 2014;Franklin, 2018). Furthermore, the time before and after a dancer performs on stage is also a significant factor influencing dance performance, but the literature is sparse. ...
... Professional dancers all emphasize the importance of consistent and sufficient repetitive practice. According to them, the right amount and duration of practice is the foundation for a successful performance, and it is also the basis for dancers to be psychologically stable and have faith in themselves before going on stage (Anderson et al., 2014). In addition, during the practice process, they use cognitive methods such as image training, selfassessment, and concentration to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of practice, analyze and understand the characters in the work, and try to empathize with them to enhance artistic perfection. ...
The aim of this study is to identify and classify the different attributes that contribute to peak performance among professional dancers, and to understand how these attributes change over time. We conducted an analysis using inductive content analysis on open-ended survey data collected from 42 formally trained professional dancers. Additionally, we analyzed interview data from seven professional dancers who demonstrated outstanding achievements in the field among the survey participants. The main themes that emerged were related to various temporal events of peak performance experience: pre-stage, on-stage, and post-stage. During the on-stage, peak performance was perceived by both internal and external factors. During the pre-stage, emphasis was placed on technical, cognitive, and artistic strategies during practice, whereas just before going on the stage, attention shifted to psychological and physical strategies. During the post-stage, dancers reported immediate changes in their psychological and physical states following the peak performance experience, and thereafter, the peak performance experience was noted to influence psychological, technical, and cognitive aspects. These findings provide valuable insights into the key characteristics that emerge throughout a series of peak performance experiences and are consistent with previous research.
... In addition to this, concentration played an important role in mediating the relationship between performance and well-being. Concentration refers to an individual's mental ability to block unwanted distractions while focusing one's attention on achieving a given task 33,44,75 . Athletes with strong concentration excel in competitions by enhancing focus, blocking past performance-related thoughts, reducing stress, and maintaining well-being 37,77,78 . ...
... Our study highlights the vital role of a protective factor in sports excellence, athletic success, and wellbeing [33][34][35]44,65,70 . Despite proposals in the 1990s about mental energy's impact on player performance, empirical reports remain limited. ...
In the realm of high-performance sports, athletes often prioritize success at the expense of their well-being. Consequently, sports psychology researchers are now focusing on creating psychological profiles for athletes that can forecast their performance while safeguarding their overall well-being. A recent development in this field is the concept of athletic mental energy (AME), which has been associated with both sporting success and positive emotions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore if AME in athletes can mediate this directly observed relationship between performance and psychological well-being. For stronger predictive validity these relationships were examined across two studies with each involving distinct sets of participants engaged in various sports disciplines, including football, cricket, basketball, archery, and more. The self-report measures of sports performance, athletic mental energy (AME), and psychological well-being (PWB) were administered post-competition on the local, regional, state, national, international, and professional level athletes of age 18 and above. Our study found that both, the affective and cognitive components of AME mediated the athletes’ performance and psychological well–being relationship. Interestingly, the study found no significant gender differences in AME and PWB scores. While family structures didn’t yield significant variations in AME scores, there were some descriptive distinctions in PWB scores across different family structures. Our research offers preliminary evidence suggesting that AME can play a pivotal role in preserving athletes’ psychological well-being following competitive events.
... Many outstanding athletes are famous not only for their extraordinary skills but also for their psychological state during competition 2 . Many researchers have reported that the optimal psychological elements of calmness, concentration, confidence, and an insatiable desire to win are key components to athletic success 3,4,5 . ...
... In the AMES, the emotional factors of vigor, tirelessness, and calmness seem to be very meaningful for elite athletes 3,7,8,9 . The other important components of the AMES are confidence, motivation, and concentration, which are cognitive in nature. ...
This study aimed to translate and to validate the Athletic Mental Energy Scale (AMES) into Thai version. In study 1, we investigated the content validity by inviting 15 participants (sport/ language experts= 5; athletes=10) to examine the appropriateness of the content of a translated AMES-Thai. In study 2, the sample included 572 Thai student-athletes from University teams in Thailand (62.8% men and 37.2% women) who participate in various sports, both individual and team, and have a mean age of 19.7 years. Moreover, we examined the factorial structure and reliability of the AMES-Thai using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and reliability analysis. In study 3, the sample included 442 Thai student-athletes from university teams in Thailand; we investigated the convergent and discriminant validity via correlations among the AMES-Thai and athletes' stress, positive state of mind, and burnout. AMES-Thai had a moderate-to-high positive correlation with athletic mentality, reflecting the convergence validity of the Thai version of the AMES as having factors from the same structure as the original version. Results showed that the 6-factor, 18-item AMES-Thai had adequate validity and reliability. We recommend that Thai scholars and sports professionals use the AMES-Thai for future research and practice.
... The results of our study showed that 87.5% of the swimmers in the 400 m and 800 m finals had an average CVs greater than 0.5% relative to their heats, and when gender was taken into account, the change in CVs was more pronounced in female performance than in male performance, consistent with the findings of Nikkolaids & Knechtle (2017) (29). Taken together, at least 73.8% of the swimmers who had the potential to reach the finals and 26.2% of the swimmers who were failures may have been hindered by a lack of effective goal orientation or an inability to automatically execute performance under the pressure of international competition, and therefore were unable to achieve peak performance (30,31). ...
Introduction:
This study aims to analyze the competitive performance and pacing strategies (PS) of medalists and non-medalists in different rounds of the 400 m and 800 m freestyle at the World Swimming Championships.
Method:
The 2017-2024 World Swimming Championships and 161 elite swimmers were selected. First, intra-athlete coefficients of variability (CVs) were evaluated using linear mixed effects modeling and changes in competitive performance (Δ); second, descriptive statistics of position lap time; finally, a computer algorithm was used to obtain PS, then a two-way ANOVA was performed.
Result:
(i) The PS was effective in 87.5% of the swimmers in the finals compared to the heats (CVs > 0.5%), but 73.8% of the males and 86.8% of the females showed an improvement in performance prior to the finals (Δ < 0); (ii) Gold medalists had an average position no lower than the top 2 and established themselves in the top 3 positions more than 90% of the time, aiming to remain in the top 3 until the final 100 m if they were to win a medal; (iii) The female swimmers in 400 m were more in the heats utilize the inverted-J (race velocity change curve profile as inverted-J), men for the fast-start-even, in the final, female remain the inverted-J, men change to the U-shaped (race velocity change curve profile as U-shaped), and in the 800 m, the swimmers were unified adopt the U-shaped.
Discussion:
The elite swimmers who qualified for the finals performed better in the heats and semifinals because their PS were more effective. Others, however, did not have a chance to reach the finals because their PS efficiency was lower, and their competitive performance improved less or even regressed.
... La condición física, así como las habilidades motoras específicas del deporte y los aspectos técnicos y tácticos, se identifican comúnmente como elementos clave en el rendimiento deportivo de un individuo [26]. Asimismo, para abordar los diversos retos que presenta el entorno deportivo competitivo y lograr el éxito en el desempeño, las habilidades psicológicas y los procesos de autorregulación son factores esenciales que configuran el éxito deportivo, interactuando así con las características físicas, técnicas y tácticas del deportista [2,35]. De esta manera, en situaciones donde las características físicas y técnicas de los atletas son similares, y considerando que el deporte de alto rendimiento se caracteriza por la exigencia de que un atleta alcance su capacidad máxima, incluso bajo niveles elevados de presión [11], el éxito o fracaso en el encuentro deportivo dependerá de las capacidades y fortalezas psicológicas del deportista, tales como la autoconfianza, la habilidad para afrontar y regular la ansiedad competitiva, la inteligencia y la capacidad para tolerar la incomodidad e incertidumbre inherentes a la competencia [5,21]. ...
La fortaleza mental se define como el conjunto de recursos psicológicos que capacitan al atleta para persistir frente a desafíos, errores y fracasos, permitiendo generar altos niveles de desempeño a pesar de los desafíos inherentes a la competencia. Objetivo: el presente estudio tiene como objetivo principal profundizar en el estado actual del constructo de fortaleza mental y su relación con la intolerancia a la incertidumbre en futbolistas profesionales. Materiales y método: se trabajó con una muestra de 121 futbolistas masculinos de entre 18 y 40 años (M = 24.38, DE = 5.36), pertenecientes a las primeras categorías del fútbol argentino. Resultados: se encontró una correlación negativa entre la fortaleza mental y la intolerancia a la incertidumbre. Además, se observó que jugadores mayores y más experimentados exhibieron niveles más altos de fortaleza mental y menor intolerancia a la incertidumbre. Los resultados sugieren la versatilidad de la fortaleza mental, resaltando la importancia de considerar aspectos psicológicos en el entrenamiento y desarrollo futbolístico.
... Physical problems due to stress [34] and depression (Risch et al., 2009). Additionally, the stress that develops from the athletes' past record of unsatisfactory performance can appear through pain, discomfort, and performance anxiety, all of which can impact a player's well-being and e ciency of performance (Smith, 1986; Williamson and Thompson, 2006; Cruder et al., and being totally immersed in the tasks and frequently identi ed experiences of ow during the optimum performance (Anderson et al., 2014) [2]. Also, Roberts (2012) estimated that the majority of studies in sport psychology display the relevance of motivation in athletes for peak performance. ...
In high performance sports there is a persistent need to succeed for sport players that prioritises performance even at the cost of the player’s well-being. Therefore, researchers in the field of sports psychology are now interested in developing athlete’s psychological profiles that can predict the player’s performance while maintaining the optimal level of their well-being. On the other hand, Athletic Mental Energy (AME) has been recently associated with success in sports and positive emotions. Therefore, our study aimed to explore the role of AME in athletes’ competitive performance and well-being relationships. Since underperformance in elite sports can lead to future performance related anxieties and other psychological disturbances in athletes, our study aimed to investigate if AME in athletes can mediate this directly observed relationship between performance and well-being. The practical implications of this research will enable the sport professionals to develop interventions specifically aimed at enhancing player’s mental energy post-competition to prevent any psychological disturbance that may be raised from the performance and promote players well-being. For stronger predictive validity these relationships were examined across two studies with two different set of participants (Study1 = 50; Study2 = 100), (Study 1 = Male 50%; team-sport 62%; Study 2 = Male 50%; team-sport 78%) from different sport branches (football, cricket, basketball, archery, etc). The self-report measures of sports performance (Arnold, Fletcher, Daniels, 2017), the Athletic Mental Energy Scale (AMES; Lu et al., 2018) [34], and the Psychological Well-Being (PWB) Scale (Ryff et al., 2007; Ryff, 1989) were administered post-competition on the local (study1 = 2%; study2 = 21%), regional (study1 = 4%; study2 = 16%), state (study1 = 28%; study2 = 18%), national (study 1 = 48%; study 2 = 40%), international (study1 = 10%; study2 = 2%), and professional level (study1 = 8%; study2 = 3%) sport-performers of age 18≥. The analysis for both descriptive and inferential statistics was made in the SPSS version 23 and the significance level (α) was set as p < 0.05. Our study found that both, the affective and cognitive components of AME mediated the athletes’ performance and psychological well–being relationship. Finally, the study found no significant gender differences in AME and PWB scores. Moreover, no statistical group differences in family structures were found in scores of AME but some descriptive differences in scores of PWB were found across different family structures. Our results provide preliminary evidence that AME can act as a facilitator in maintaining the players’ well-being after competitive encounters. Study implications and future directions are discussed.
This study delved into the well-being of 300 college athletes in the Davao Region, focusing on the interplay of Athletic Mental Energy (AME), Athlete Satisfaction (AS), and Sports Engagement (SE). The study adopted a stratified sampling approach, selecting participants from key state institutions, providing context-specific insights into the college athlete experience. Carried out in state colleges, including Davao Occidental and Davao del Sur, the research employed a population sample of 43 student-athletes for pilot testing, utilizing meticulously validated questionnaires with expert input. Findings showed a moderate AME level coupled with high athlete satisfaction and robust sports engagement. Correlation analyses unveiled positive connections among AME, AS, and SE, while regression analysis underscored AS as a partial mediator in the AME-SE relationship. Aligned with Engagement Theory and Locke's Range of Affect Theory, the study accentuated the intertwined nature of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral facets in athlete engagement. Practical implications encompassed the integration of mental resilience programs and the enhancement of leadership and coaching training. The study's outcomes contributed to a nuanced understanding of and avenues for optimizing the holistic development and satisfaction of college athletes. Furthermore, the research aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Good Health and Well-being), emphasizing the imperative of holistic well-being in educational settings.
Article visualizations:
</p
Our aim in the present study was to test the efficacy of a 13-week, 19-session psychological intervention program on young soccer players’ competitive anxiety and their sport psychological profiles. Participants were 37 players in the under-15 age category, of which 18 players formed the experimental group ( M age = 14.67 years, SD = .48) and 19 players formed the control group ( Mage = 14.23 years, SD = .42); this was a quasi-experimental design without random assignment to groups. We had all participants complete the Psychological Inventory of Sport Performance (IPED), the Questionnaire of Psychological Characteristics of Sport Performance (CPRD), and the Competition State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2) before and after the intervention. Results indicated positive effects for the intervention group (but not the control group) on stress control and motivation dimensions of the CPRD, cognitive anxiety and self-confidence on the CSAI-2, and self-confidence and attentional control on the IPED. These results suggest that psychological training for athletes contributes to their improved psychological skills, providing them tools to better adapt to the competitive environment.
Can psychologists help performers in sport, business, and the performing arts achieve peak performances more often and with greater consistency? Sport psychologists have taken the lead in researching peak performance in an attempt to answer this question. This article focuses on optimal experiences in sport and ways in which the author works with athletes to help them achieve peak performances. Peak performance in sport is overviewed, the application of two models related to the preparation for peak performance in sport are discussed, and applied sport psychology experiential knowledge is shared. Implications for practice for psychologists considering work in this area are also considered.
Incorporating the holistic development of the athlete into an applied sport psychology intervention has been addressed in the literature (e.g., Bond, 2002; Ravizza, 2002). How sport psychology consultants actually practice holistic sport psychology remains unclear. The purpose of this research was to provide a clarification as to what holistic sport psychology is and examine the beliefs, values, theoretical paradigms, and models of practice of holistic sport psychology consultants' professional philosophies (Poczwardowski, Sherman, & Ravizza, 2004). Qualitative interviews with five purposefully selected holistic sport psychology consultants were conducted. In general, holistic consulting can be interpreted to mean: (a) managing the psychological effects to the athlete's performance from nonsport domains; (b) developing the core individual beyond their athletic persona; and (c) recognizing the dynamic relationship between an athlete's thoughts, feelings, physiology, and behavior. The corresponding beliefs, values, theoretical paradigms, and models of practice of holistic consultants were also presented.
4 Changing Habits Institute Performance at oneʼs highest personal level is often accompanied by a palpable, yet enigmatic sensation that many athletes refer to as the zone. Competitive athletes regularly acknowledge that their top performances are dependent on achieving a zone state of performance. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) technologies were used in observing differing patterns of neural activation that occur among athletes during a hypnotically recalled zone-state performance of eight accomplished, competitive right-handed archers. These data were compared to each participantʼs respective fMRI data of a hypnotically assisted recall of a normal performance. Analysis of composite group data revealed signifi cant (p = 0.05) neural activation of zone performance (ZP) over normal performance (NP), suggesting that performance in a zone state involves identifi able characteristics of neural processing. Perhaps this investigation might stimulate additional, more creative research in identifying a psychophysiological indicator of the zone phe-nomenon that would provide adequate justifi cation for a training regimen providing a more reliable and sustained zone performance.
It has been over a decade since the mindfulness and acceptance-based practice models that were originally developed within the mainstream clinical psychology domain were first applied in the sport context in order to enhance the athletic performance and overall psychological and general well-being of competitive athletes. Since that time, as mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions gained empirical support for the treatment of a broad range of clinical syndromes and difficulties, numerous important theoretical and empirical developments have also added to the scientific base for these procedures with athletic clientele and have provided some empirical support for the use of these theoretical models and associated intervention procedures. Thus, the present article retraces the past 11 years to provide a comprehensive update on the state-of-the-science with respect to the use of mindfulness and acceptance-based interventions for the purpose of enhanced athletic performance. The article sequentially discusses the theoretical development of these procedures for use with athletic clientele, provides an overview of the empirical research in both basic and applied science with respect to mechanisms of action and intervention efficacy, and suggests future research directions that may aid in the evolution of this approach. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
The development and acceptance of any scientific discipline requires an ever-expanding and maturing empirical base. Yet despite vast scientific progress in allied domains of professional psychology, the field of sport psychology has remained fairly stagnant in its research progress and has overlooked major advances that could aid in the advancement of the discipline. This article discusses important issues related to the lack of efficacy of the traditional and long assumed “gold-standard” interventions for the enhancement of athletic performance, and compares the field’s empirical base to sister disciplines in psychology. Further, the lack of empirical studies examining rate of change, moderators of change, and mediators (mechanisms) of change is discussed, and suggestions are provided for a new research agenda in sport psychology that could expand its professional credibility and enhance its overall scientific development.
This study investigated relationships among peak performance, flow, goal orientation, and perceived ability in an attempt to ascertain possible conceptual bases to peak performance. Collegiate athletes (N=200) answered a questionnaire that assessed mastery and competitive goal orientations, perceived ability, flow, and experience in best and worst competitive performances. It was hypothesized that the psychological process of flow underlies peak performance and is associated with a mastery oriented focus and high perceived ability. These predicted relationships were supported by both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Analysis of athletes’ best performances indicated a total focus on performance, and other characteristics of flow were key to the perception of a superior state of functioning. In contrast, overconcern with the outcome, reflecting a competitive orientation, was often associated with athletes’ worst performances. These associations suggest that investigating positive performance states fr...
The concept of trust in performing complex automatic motor skills involves letting go of conscious controlling tendencies often learned during skill acquisition. Theories of motor control provide a framework for automatic selection and execution of movement sequences during skilled performance. Trust is viewed as a psychological skill in which the athlete releases conscious control over movements, thus allowing the automatic execution of the schema that have been developed through training. This paper defines and characterizes trust and its role in the performance of automatic sport skills, with the goal of suggesting a path for applied research concerning trust and sport skills performance.