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The Effects of Hypnosis on Flow States and Three-Point Shooting Performance in Bastketball Players

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This study examined the effects of hypnosis on flow states and three-point shooting performance in 5 collegiate basketball players. The investigation utilized an ideographic single-subject multiple baselines across subjects design combined with a procedure that monitors the internal experience of the participants (Wollman, 1986). The method of intervention utilized in this study involved relaxation, imagery, hypnotic induction, hypnotic regression, and trigger control procedures. The results indicated that all five participants increased both their mean basketball three-point shooting performance and their mean flow scores from baseline to intervention. There were no overlapping data points between the baseline and intervention for either performance or flow state. Additionally, each participant indicated that they had felt the intervention was useful in keeping them confident, relaxed, and calm. These results support the hypothesis that a hypnosis intervention can improve three-point shooting performance in basketball players and increase feelings and cognitions that are associated with flow.
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The effects of hypnosis on flow states and three-point shooting
performance in basketball players.
Item type Article
Authors Pates, John; Cummings, Andrew J.; Maynard, Ian
Citation 16, 1-15.
Publisher Taylor and francis
Journal The sports psychologist
Downloaded 4-Dec-2017 17:10:28
1
The Effects of Hypnosis on Flow States
and Three-Point Shooting Performance
in Bastketball Players
John Pates, Andy Cummings, and Ian Maynard
Sheffield Hallam University
This study examined the effects of hypnosis on flow states and three-point
shooting performance in 5 collegiate basketball players. The investigation uti-
lized an ideographic single-subject multiple baselines across subjects design
combined with a procedure that monitors the internal experience of the par-
ticipants (Wollman, 1986). The method of intervention utilized in this study
involved relaxation, imagery, hypnotic induction, hypnotic regression, and
trigger control procedures. The results indicated that all five participants in-
creased both their mean basketball three-point shooting performance and their
mean flow scores from baseline to intervention. There were no overlapping
data points between the baseline and intervention for either performance or
flow state. Additionally, each participant indicated that they had felt the inter-
vention was useful in keeping them confident, relaxed, and calm. These re-
sults support the hypothesis that a hypnosis intervention can improve three-
point shooting performance in basketball players and increase feelings and
cognitions that are associated with flow.
High levels of athletic performance are frequently attributed to the experi-
ence of a mental state described by Csikszentmihalyi (1975) as flow. Evidence
supporting this attribution comes mainly from phenomenological reports of ath-
letes in qualitative studies (e.g., Jackson, 1992). Although quantitative research
investigations of mental states are rare, measures of mental states in elite perform-
ers have been obtained using electrocortical techniques that track changes in ner-
vous system activity in real time during performance. Interestingly, electrocortical
data obtained from riflery (Hatfield, Landers, & Ray, 1984), archery shooting
(Salazar, Landers, Petruzzello, Han, Crews, & Kubitz, 1990; Wang & Landers,
1986), golf putting (Crews & Landers, 1993), weight lifting (Gannon, Landers,
Kubitz, Salazar, & Petruzzello, 1992) and karate (Collins, Powell, & Davies, 1990)
The Sport Psychologist, 2002, 16, 1-15
© 2002 Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
John Pates is with the Centre for Sport and Exercise Science, Sheffield Hallam Uni-
versity, Collegiate Hall, Collegiate Cresent Campus, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S10 2BP.
E-mail: <J.Pates@shu.ac.uk>. Andy Cummings ; Ian Maynard is with
2 Pates, Cummings, and Maynard
show similar results, that is, an asymmetrical distribution of cognitive function in
the cerebral hemispheres during performance. Specifically, the general findings of
this research agree a shift from left-hemisphere to right-hemisphere processing
during performance.
While the validity of this work has been questioned on methodological
grounds (see Lawton, Hung, Saarela, & Hatfield, 1998), the results are compatible
with the description of peak performance states presented by Gallwey (1974) and
Unestahl, (1986). Specifically, both Gallwey (1974) and Unesthal (1986) defined
a peak performance as a hemisphere shift, that is, an activation of the right hemi-
sphere and a corresponding deactivation of the left hemisphere of the brain. Gallwey
(1974) and Unestahl (1986) have also argued that because high levels of perfor-
mance are generally identified with right hemisphere dominance, then a shift in
consciousness from the left hemisphere (dominant mode) to the right hemisphere
(alternative mode) will give better access to functions which are important for
good athletic performance.
Theoretical explanations of hypnotic phenomena suggest hypnosis may fa-
cilitate the hemispheric shift process. For example, Crawford and Gruzelier’s (1992)
neuropsychophysiological model proposed that during hypnosis, individuals enter
an altered state of awareness during which they undergo a shift in cognitive and
physiological activity from an analytical, sequential type of processing to a more
holistic and imaginal mode. Such a shift underpins a reduction in generalized real-
ity testing (Shor, 1959) and an increase in dissociative experiences during hypno-
sis. The notion that hypnosis facilitates a shift from an analytical to a holistic style
of thinking was based on a number of early psycho-physiological studies showing
electroencephalogram (EEG) activity shifts from the left to the right hemisphere
during hypnosis (e.g., Graham & Pernicano, 1979; Gur & Gur, 1974; Morgan,
Macdonald, & Hilgard, 1974).
Since this time, a number of more methodologically sound studies have been
carried out, with results largely supporting the laterality hypothesis. A study by
Gruzelier, Hancock, and Maggs (1991), for example, showed that during hypno-
sis, participants with high and low susceptibility to hypnotic procedures (high and
low susceptibles) could be reliably distinguished on the basis of generalized delta,
theta and alpha activity predominantly in the right hemisphere. In another study
using a signal-detection paradigm, McCormack and Gruzelier (1993) found that
high but not low susceptible participants showed a significant left-field (i.e., right
hemisphere) visual processing improvement during hypnosis. Also cited in sup-
port of the holistic-shift hypothesis, a study by Crawford and Allen (1983) found
that high susceptible participants improvement on a visual memory discrimination
task was accompanied by reports of a shift from a detail-oriented to a holistic
processing strategy. More recent studies by Gruzelier et al. (1991) and Gruzelier
and Warren (1993) have provided further support by showing that high susceptibles
display a decrease in verbal memory performance, a task shown to preferentially
involve the left hemisphere, during hypnosis.
On the basis of this body of research, it is plausible to suggest that hypnosis
may assist purposeful hemispheric shifts that are conducive to performance. That
is, hypnotic training may increase personal control over flow, which may in turn
enhance performance. Pates, Maynard, and Westbury (in press) provided some
evidence to support this interpretation when they utilized an idiographic single-
subject replication-reversal (ABA) design to analyze the effects of a hypnosis
Hypnosis, Flow, and Three-Point Shooting Performance 3
intervention on set and jump shooting performance in basketball players. Their
results indicated that hypnosis was a highly effective tool for improving basketball
shooting accuracy and that cognitions normally associated with peak performance
states (Privette, 1983) and successful athletic performance may be accessed dur-
ing performance using hypnotic techniques.
One of the fundamental features of the approach of Pates et al. (in press),
which clearly differentiates this work from previous research, was the use of trig-
ger control techniques. Triggers are words, sounds, images, or a natural part of a
routine that one can do or think about in order to induce a response usually ob-
tained during the induction phase of the hypnotic procedure. Unestahl (1983, 1986)
has implied that sport psychologists may use two types of triggers for applied
work. The first are natural triggers which are usually part of a normal routine
(e.g.,. holding the basketball) while the second are artificial triggers, which do not
form part of a normal routine (e.g., a piece of music).
A second important feature of the approach used by Pates et al. (in press)
was hypnotic regression. This technique invites the athlete to relive an earlier life
experience of their optimal performance with no conscious awareness of any fu-
ture realities beyond the time frame being experienced. It utilizes a complete dis-
sociation from any other reference to the present and as a result of the change in
perception, the rekindling of the participants’ experiences tend to be more kines-
thetic and emotive (Hammond, 1990). During the regression phase of their inter-
vention, Pates and his associates (in press) found they were able to condition posi-
tive emotions associated with basketball players’ ideal performance state to a trigger
that would allow access to an optimal performance experience during a future
event.The current study attempted to extend the work of Pates et al. (in press) by
evaluating the effectiveness of a hypnosis intervention in facilitating flow states
and performance accuracy in basketball three-point shooting. It was expected that
during hypnosis, the player’s best performance could be conditioned to a natural
trigger. It was then hypothesized that after conditioning, players using the natural
trigger would experience more intense states of flow and achieve improved accu-
racy in the performance of a three-point shooting task.
In this study, a natural trigger was used instead of an artificial trigger be-
cause the researchers wanted to demonstrate the effects of a trigger that requires
no conscious control. A single-subject multiple baselines across subjects design
was deemed the most appropriate method to study the effects of the intervention
because it allowed the analysis of an intervention that cannot be withdrawn or
turned off (Hrycaiko & Martin, 1996). Based on the recommendations of Wollman
(1986) and other researchers who have utilized single-subject designs (e.g.,. Lerner,
Ostrow, Yura, & Etzel, 1996; Swain & Jones, 1995), the present study also applied
a procedure that monitored both flow states and the internal experience of each
player.
Method
Participants
The participants were 5 members of a male University basketball squad located in
the north of England. All participants were aged between 19 and 23 years with a
mean age of 20.2 years (SD = 1.6). The participants were regular starting five
4 Pates, Cummings, and Maynard
players with at least 7 years of competitive basketball experience. None of the
players had previous experience with hypnosis training methods. Prior to the study,
the participants were informed of the nature and extent of the investigation, and all
agreed to participate.
Experimental Design
A single-subject multiple baselines across individuals design was implemented to
examine the effects of a hypnosis intervention on flow states and three-point shoot-
ing performance. This type of design allows participants to serve as their own
source of control for the experiment (Barlow & Hersen, 1984; Hrycaiko & Martin,
1996). This format was also most appropriate because it facilitates the analysis of
the effects of an intervention that could not by nature be withdrawn from the par-
ticipants due to the use of natural trigger control techniques (Barlow & Hersen,
1984). The design required the observation of baseline performance and a treat-
ment phase for each of the participants with the length of baseline increased for
each succeeding player used in the analysis. The intervention was introduced when
a stable baseline or a trend in the opposite direction of the change anticipated
became apparent for each of the participants. A sequential application of the treat-
ment (hypnosis intervention) was applied until all participants received the inter-
vention.
Dependent Variables
Three-Point Shooting. Three-point shooting was selected as a criterion
task because participants were familiar with the technique, and it reflected an im-
portant component of their performance. The task required the participants to run
from the left to the right hand side of the court, stopping to shoot outside of the
basketball three-point arc approximately level with the free throw shooting line
until a total of 10 three-point shots were performed. The experimenter recorded
each three-point attempt using the following scoring system: 1 for the ball hitting
the backboard then hitting the rim and coming out, or the ball hitting the backboard
and coming out, or a complete miss (air-ball); 2 for the ball hitting the rim and
coming out; 3 for the ball hitting the backboard and then going in; 4 for the ball
hitting the rim and then going in; and 5 for a clean basket (swish). Performance
was measured by summing the scores for 10 attempts.
The reliability of the performance observations was assessed by comparing
the judgments of two independent observers, simultaneously measuring the target
behavior. The reliability assessment took place prior to the study and resulted in a
correlation of 1.00 for the scores of the two independent observers.
Flow Analysis. In addition to the performance data, information on the
frequency and intensity of flow experience was assessed using the Flow State Scale
questionnaire developed by Jackson and Marsh (1996). This 36-item instrument
provides a quantitative measure of the nine dimensions of flow outlined by
Csikszentmihalyi (1990). The dimensions measured by this instrument are chal-
lenge-skill balance, action-awareness merging, clear goals, unambiguous feedback,
concentration on task at hand, sense of control, loss of self-consciousness, trans-
formation of time, and autotelic experience. The internal consistency estimate for
the nine FSS scales were alpha M = .83. For the purpose of this investigation, a
single global FSS score was collected from the 5 participants after each of the 11
trials. A global measure of flow was preferred in this investigation because of
Hypnosis, Flow, and Three-Point Shooting Performance 5
Jackson’s (1999) contention that single factor approaches tend to reveal incom-
plete information about the total flow experience. Alphas for the nine FSS scales
range from .72 to .91 (Jackson, Kimiecik, Ford, & Marsh, 1998).
Treatment: The Hypnosis Intervention
The training of the participants in hypnosis took place immediately after the comple-
tion of the final trial of baseline testing and was divided into three stages. The first
author who had successfully completed extensive training in a variety of hypnosis
techniques delivered the intervention. In the first stage of the intervention, partici-
pants were encouraged to sit in a comfortable position and then were asked to
focus on their breathing. Specifically, they were instructed to breathe deeply and
to release air slowly while counting backwards from the number ten. They were
then given a 15-min session involving progressive muscular relaxation (PMR).
The technique originally pioneered by Jacobson (1938) involved the basketball
players tensing and relaxing parts of their body while deeply inhaling. Sugges-
tions asking the participants to contrast the differences between the tense and the
relaxed muscles were also given.
The second stage embodied an Ericksonian hypnosis technique known as a
staircase induction (Hammond, 1990). The staircase induction consisted of a jour-
ney, one step at a time, down a flight of twenty stairs. As the participants took the
journey, they were told to see each stair in front of them and feel the stair under
their feet. At the bottom of the stairs, they were told they would see a door, and
beyond the door they would see a room with a comfortable chair. The participants
were then asked to sit down in the chair and focus on a small cinema screen on
which appeared a relaxing scene. At this point, the participants were instructed to
direct their attention to situations that were associated with relaxation, for example,
the images of a warm comfortable beach or the sensation of floating in water.
Throughout this stage, suggestions were given to reinforce both the experience of
the PMR and the deep breathing technique.
In the third stage, suggestions were given to help the participants regress and
remember a polysensory experience of their best competitive performance. Spe-
cifically, they were asked to include visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory,
and memory of their best performance from an internal perspective. When a memory
was accessed, a trigger was then introduced so an association was developed be-
tween the trigger and the variables responsible for the optimal performance. The
trigger used was the basketball. The participants were then told to see themselves
rising from the chair and proceed out of the door and up the staircase. As they
ascended the staircase, they were instructed to come out of trance and feel re-
freshed and alert. After waking from trance, they were asked to access the ideal
performance state using the trigger. Training was considered complete when the
participants reported that emotions normally associated with their optimal perfor-
mance could be experienced when they remembered the trigger (basketball).
Intervention Procedure
The hypnotic intervention was administered to the players in a small, quiet, and
comfortable room on the college campus and lasted approximately one hour. The
training was composed of four stages: Stage 1-relaxation, Stage 2-hypnotic induc-
tion, Stage 3-hypnotic regression, and Stage 4-trigger control. After the training,
6 Pates, Cummings, and Maynard
participants were asked to commit themselves to practice the techniques by play-
ing a 40-min audio tape recording of the live session everyday over a seven day
interval between the baseline and intervention phase of the study. In total, the
players were given one live session and seven audio tape sessions before the inter-
vention phase. To ensure participants had listened to the audio tape recording, the
players were contacted daily and asked to listen to the audio tape in a quiet room in
the presence of an experimenter. The quality of the participants’ experience was
assessed by examining the thoughts, feelings, and cognitions immediately after
each session.
Following this training, the players began the intervention phase of the de-
sign. The players were instructed to imagine the trigger (basketball) each time
they attempted a shot. After each performance trial, flow and the internal experi-
ence of each player was assessed using the FSS and Practical Assessment Ques-
tionnaire. It should be noted that during this stage, players were not under hypno-
sis; instead, they were merely using the trigger conditioned to the way they felt
during their ideal performance.
Procedural Reliability Assessment
To ensure that participants received the same information throughout the study, a
number of strategies were employed. For instance, some of the sessions including
a familiarization session prior to the first data collection were conducted in a group.
The sessions were delivered in a standardized protocol: (a) perform progressive
muscle relaxation, (b) perform mental imagery relaxation, (c) perform staircase
hypnosis induction, (d) perform hypnotic regression technique, (e) condition trig-
ger to a flow experience, (f) have participants access their ideal performance state
utilizing the trigger, (g) have participants complete the FSS questionnaire, (h) to
reinforce training give participants an audio tape recording of the hypnosis ses-
sion, (i) contact participants daily to check that they have played the audio tape
recording of the training, (j) check that the audio tapes have been retrieved before
the beginning of the second baseline, (k) ask if there are any questions, (l) copy
questions down and answer them, and (m) check understanding with participants.
Verification that all aspects of the standardized protocol were consistently applied
was obtained from an observer.
The internal experience of each player was monitored by asking each par-
ticipant to complete a questionnaire after each testing trial. This information per-
mitted on-going assessment of the quality of the participant’s feelings, thoughts
and cognitions across the baseline and treatment sessions. The data were analyzed
by comparing the comments obtained in the baseline sessions to the comments
obtained during the intervention phase of the experiment.
Practical Assessment Questionnaire
In order to provide information about the effectiveness of the intervention, each of
the participants completed a practical assessment questionnaire adapted from Kazdin
(1992) and Kendall, Hrycaiko, Martin, and Kendall (1990). The participants were
asked the following questions: How did you feel during the performance? What
were you thinking during the performance? Were there any outside thoughts dis-
tracting you? Did you experience any problems? Were you satisfied with the re-
sults following the intervention? Were the procedures acceptable to you? What
Hypnosis, Flow, and Three-Point Shooting Performance 7
was the effect of the intervention? What were your general beliefs about your
performance? How much effort did you put into today’s performance?
Following the completion of the study, the participants were given a social
validation questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to provide information
concerning the importance of the study and the effectiveness of the intervention.
Specifically, the participants were asked the following questions: (a) Did you per-
ceive the three-point shooting task to be important? (b) Were the procedures of the
study acceptable? (c) Are you satisfied with the results? (see Hrycaiko & Martin,
1996).
Treatment of Data
The performance scores obtained from the participants were plotted according to
the accuracy of their attempts. Via visual inspection of the data, the researchers
used the following criteria to establish the occurrence of an experimental effect:
(a) when baseline performance was stable or in the direction opposite to that pre-
dicted for the effects of the treatment, (b) the greater the number of times that an
effect was replicated both within and across participants, (c) the fewer the number
of overlapping data points between baseline and treatment phases, (d) the sooner
the effect occurs following the introduction of the treatment, and (e) the larger the
size of the effect in comparison to baseline (Hrycaiko & Martin, 1996). An effect
was considered to have occurred when at least one of the criteria has been reached
(Barlow & Hersen, 1984).
Results
Three-Point Shooting Performance Data
The three-point shooting performance data for each participant is presented in
Figure 1. For each of the five participants, the hypnosis intervention led to an
increase in performance accuracy, with Participant 2 displaying the largest im-
provement. This finding suggests that the hypnosis intervention consistently im-
proved three-point shooting performance.
Specifically, Participant 1 improved from a mean of 30 during the first baseline
to a mean of 36 during the intervention phase, the smallest improvement in perfor-
mance accuracy. The effect of the intervention was immediate with no overlap-
ping data points between the baseline phase and the intervention phase.
Upon receiving the intervention, Participants 2, 3, 4, and 5 also experienced
an immediate performance effect with no overlapping data points between the
baseline and the intervention phase. Specifically, Participant 2 increased from a
mean of 29 during the baseline to a mean of 39 during the intervention phase,
Participant 3 from 31 to 39, Participant 4 from 27 to 35, and Participant 5 from 28
to 36.The results of the flow data for each participant are presented in Figure 2.
For all five participants, the hypnosis intervention led to an increase in flow scores.
This finding suggests that the hypnosis intervention increased the intensity of each
participant’s experience of flow. Specifically, Participant 1 improved from a mean
flow score of 130 during the baseline to a mean of 144 during the intervention. The
effect of the intervention was immediate with no overlapping data points between
the baseline phase and the intervention phase.
8 Pates, Cummings, and Maynard
Figure 1 — Performance accuracy for each participant on each trial.
Hypnosis, Flow, and Three-Point Shooting Performance 9
Figure 2 — Flow scores for each participant on each trial.
10 Pates, Cummings, and Maynard
Participants 2, 3, 4, and 5 also experienced immediate intervention effects
with no overlapping data points. Specifically, Participant 2 increased from a mean
of 147 during the baseline to a mean of 164 during the intervention phase, Partici-
pant 3 from 119 to 171, Participant 4 from 114 to142, and Participant 5 from 134
to 155.
Practical Assessment Data
Upon completing the study, each of the participants was asked to respond to a
social validation questionnaire. All participants indicated that during the interven-
tion phase, they had felt more relaxed, calm, composed, in control, and confident
when compared to the baseline phase. For example, participant 1 indicated that
during the intervention phase, he had felt more relaxed and confident and his shoot-
ing was more controlled and had a rhythm: “Shooting was easy . . . I could not
miss . . . I could will the ball to go where I wanted it to go, this made me feel
confident and great. I had my rhythm and it was really fun.” Moreover, he reported
that he had no thoughts about his technique and had high levels of concentration,
“I thought of nothing . . . I had complete concentration.”
Additionally, Participant 2 also indicated he had experienced reduced con-
cerns about performing: “My shot was automatic. . . . I forgot about technique and
just relied upon my increased confidence.” Similar verbal reports were provided
by Participant 3: “My mind went blank and everything became automatic. . . . I
just knew the shots were going to go in.” It should be noted that all participants
reported that they sustained substantial effort throughout the trials and had be-
lieved that the intervention had made them more consistent three-point shooters.
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of hypnosis on three-point
shooting performance and flow in basketball players. The results of this study
indicate that a hypnosis intervention consisting of relaxation, imagery, hypnotic
induction, hypnotic regression, and trigger control techniques were effective at
enhancing basketball three-point shooting performance. This finding supports pre-
vious research that found hypnosis to be a highly effective tool for improving
athletic performance (Baer, 1980; Pates et al., in press; Schreiber, 1991; Unestahl,
1975, 1986).
The results also support the contention that flow, which is usually associated
with successful athletic performance, may be accessed using hypnotic regression
and trigger control techniques. The results are clearly relevant to sport psychology
practitioners because they suggest hypnotic training may increase personal control
over flow and performance.
Perhaps the most important feature of hypnotic training is that once condi-
tioning has taken place, processes important for optimal performance no longer
need to be consciously controlled. This may lead to more attentional resources
being available to the athlete, which may improve performance and allow flow to
occur more often. Support for this conjecture comes from Masters (1992), who
explicitly indicated that conscious control of a motor task disrupts automatic task
processing and impairs performance. Clearly, the unconscious feature of hypnotic
interventions is of value from an applied perspective as it provides the sport
Hypnosis, Flow, and Three-Point Shooting Performance 11
psychologist with a tool that does not constitute a conscious left hemisphere dis-
traction for the performer.
Unfortunately, the mechanism by which hypnotic interventions increase per-
formance, and the experience of flow is not known. However, it is possible that
hypnosis facilitates a shift from an analytical to a holistic style of thinking, which
gives access to processes that are important for athletic performance (Crawford &
Gruzelier, 1992). Alternatively, the effect hypnotic interventions have on flow and
performance may be best explained by Norman and Shallice’s (1986) cognitive
model of behavioral control, which appears in the literature on cognitive psychol-
ogy and neuropsychology.
The Norman and Shallice (1986) model proposes that the cognitive system
is comprised of a large, distributed set of specialized processing systems under the
guidance of a two-tiered cognitive control system. In routine situations, behaviors
may be controlled exclusively by the operation of low-level cognitive control struc-
tures or schemata. These structures or schemata are triggered by cues in the inter-
nal and external environment in accordance with a contention scheduling mecha-
nism, which operates automatically without consuming attentional resources. This
low level of control is considered to be an automatic process, requiring neither
attention, awareness, nor volition for its operation.
According to Woody and Bowers (1994), hypnosis represents one situation
where the supervisory system of control is inhibited, leading to the hypnotized
individual’s overreliance on situational cues for determining subsequent behavior.
The resulting behaviors may then be perceived as occurring automatically and
involuntary, because they have not been performed under conscious control (Woody
& Bowers, 1994). This view has recently become particularly influential within
contemporary hypnosis research underpinning the dissociated control theory view
of Bowers (1992).
Interestingly, Hargadon, Bowers, and Woody (1995) have suggested that the
ability to become intensely absorbed in a given experience is another situation by
which dissociated control might be induced. This suggests that any absorbing ac-
tivity such as participating in sport may inhibit the supervisory system of control,
leading to the athlete’s reliance on situation cues for determining behavior. Under
these nonanalytical conditions, an athlete’s perception of behavior may be altered
resulting in behavior that is best described as flow.
Flow states and hypnotic states may be perceived as similar because the
cognitive mechanisms that bring about their existence are the same. Evidence for
this view is provided by Unestahl (1983). Specifically, interviews conducted by
Unestahl (1983) with elite athletes after experiencing a peak performance indi-
cated that flow states and hypnotic states share many of the same qualities. Addi-
tionally, support for the association between hypnotic states and flow states has
come from other sources. For example, Grove and Lewis (1996) found partici-
pants high in hypnotic susceptibility reported higher levels of flow during exercise
than participants low in hypnotic susceptibility.
The dissociative control theory of hypnosis is still very much in the early
stages of its development, and researchers must be relatively cautious when at-
tempting to draw any firm conclusions regarding its use as an explanation of flow
as experienced by many athletes. However, it represents a plausible cognitive theory
explaining the hypnosis/flow/performance relationship. Furthermore, while retain-
ing its cognitive basis, it acknowledges that environmental factors play an impor-
tant role in the flow experience. Thus dissociative control theory accommodates
12 Pates, Cummings, and Maynard
Csikszentmihalyi’s (1975) model of the flow experience, which described flow as
the balance between skill (action capabilities) and challenge (action opportuni-
ties). Moreover, it is based on a model of behavioral control developed within
cognitive psychology and, on this basis, offers testable predictions with which to
assess its validity.
An important aspect of this study was that the single-subject multiple baselines
across subjects design enabled the experimenters to be more confident and that the
change in flow and performance scores were produced by the intervention and not
some other uncontrollable variable. Additionally, the qualitative data revealed that
during the intervention phase, the players were relaxed, confident, and calm. Two
of the participants also reported having more control and reduced concerns about
performing. These findings are entirely consistent with the research of Crawford,
Clarke, and Kitner-Triolo (1996); Damaser, Shor, and Orne (1963); Kihlstrom
(1985); Kirsch (1994); and Wadden and Anderton (1982), who have clearly dem-
onstrated the positive effects of hypnosis on emotions, thoughts, and perceptions.
A further worthwhile consideration revealed by the social validation questionnaire
within this study indicated that the participants would continue their use of the
hypnosis intervention.
There remains a possibility, of course, that the improvements in both perfor-
mance and flow scores are an artifact of participant and experimenter bias. Indeed,
neither the participants or experimenter were blind to the outcome, and so experi-
menter expectations or the demand characteristics of the experiment would affect
the results. There also remains an issue of a possible Hawthorne effect, the change
in performance that occurs merely as a function of being in an investigation (Drew,
1976). Scrutiny of performers in a single-subject experimental design might heighten
this effect. Drew (1976) observed, however, the effect tends to decline as the par-
ticipants become acclimatized so the extended length of the single-subject study
could aid in controlling this effect. A further weakness of this study is that the
experiment may not generalize to game situations. Indeed, during competitions, it
is rare to attempt three-point shots without the pressure of an opponent. Perform-
ing the task under experimental rather than competitive conditions further weak-
ens the ecological validity of our findings.
In summary, the present findings suggest that the intervention consisting of
relaxation, imagery, hypnotic induction, hypnotic regression, and triggers enhance
flow and three-point shooting performance. Also the evidence suggested that hyp-
nosis affects emotions, thoughts, and perceptions. Further study is required, how-
ever, if hypnotic interventions are to be accepted by the sports science community.
Specifically, more ecologically valid and group-based research methods would
contribute to the knowledge base.
Finally, the authors do not wish to promote the misuse or unethical use of
hypnosis interventions. We therefore recommend that sport psychologists who wish
to use these techniques acquire specialized training and education from mentors
with appropriate clinical qualifications and experience.
References
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Manuscript submitted: April 10, 2000
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... However, it is known that learning proper trance techniques can improve the performance of people working in flow, such as athletes [35,45]. Trainings like those used on basketball players [35] or similar to those, can also be used to help computer science students (or other learners of software engineering) with low capacity for entering and staying in flow. ...
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