An examination of self-regulatory cognitive-behavioural strategies of Australian elite and non-elite competitive male swimmers

Abstract

he purpose of this study was to ascertain differences in the psychological characteristics and behavioural T tendencies of elite ( n = 77) and non-elite ( n = 48) competitive male swimmers aged 17 to 22 years. Subjects completed a 100-item survey, the contents of which was based on Kirschenbaum and Wittrock's (1 984) five-stage self-regulation model. Results of a MANOVA indicated that elites and non-elites differed on two of the five components of the self-regulation model, namely, Commitment and Execution. Stepwise discriminant function analysis indicated that elites, in contrast to their less skilled peers, used selfregulation strategies more frequently on selected cognitive and behavioural strategies. The results support previous research that reflects more common use of self-regulation by elite athletes. In particular, this study confirmed the use of the self-regulation model as a valid approach for profiling the psychological characteristics and behavioural tendencies of elite and non-elite athletes.

Pacing Strategy in Schoolchildren Differs with Age and Cognitive Development

“…The cognitive basis of pacing has been previously acknowledged conceming anticipating exercise demand (3,11,22,37), judging time and distance (7,22,23,29,30,36), and choosing an appropriate strategy (1,4,7,15,29,33), but our study is the first to show an explicit link with intellectual development. What constitutes appropriate pacing has been the focus of much debate (1,4,14,15,22,33,39) with exercise duration being one of the detennining factors in the strategy used (14). Whatever approach to pacing is deployed, the formulation of a strategy seems to be regulated by mechanisms in the brain (4,11,22,36,37), which our fmdings have shown to develop dtiring childhood concurrently with improved intellectual capacity.…”

“…What constitutes appropriate pacing has been the focus of much debate (1,4,14,15,22,33,39) with exercise duration being one of the detennining factors in the strategy used (14). Whatever approach to pacing is deployed, the formulation of a strategy seems to be regulated by mechanisms in the brain (4,11,22,36,37), which our fmdings have shown to develop dtiring childhood concurrently with improved intellectual capacity. Our results, albeit derived from cross-sectional data, help to corroborate previous suggestions ( 12,31 ) that athletes leam the performance template very early on, perhaps even during childhood.…”

Differences in self-regulatory skills among talented athletes: The significance of competitive level and type of sport

“…swimmers and judokas) and those playing team sports (e.g. field hockey and volleyball; Anshel, 1995;Helsen, Starkes, & Hodges, 1998;Highlen & Bennet, 1983), we also focused our investigation on possible differences between types of sports. Previous research has suggested that selfregulation is particularly relevant in individual sports in which the surroundings remain relatively stable during performance (Anshel, 1995;Elferink-Gemser et al, 2008;Highlen & Bennet, 1983), and in which many hours are spent in training and competition.…”

The Self-Regulatory and Task-Specific Strategies of Elite-Level Amateur Golfers in Tournament Preparation

“…Self-regulated athletes proactively approach activities, meaning they show personal initiative and perseverance (Zimmerman, 2006). Thus, selfregulation is particularly relevant in individual sports such as golf, in which many hours are spent in training and competition (Anshel, 1995;Elferink-Gemser, Visscher, & Lemmink, 2008).…”

“…Self-regulated athletes proactively approach activities, meaning they show personal initiative and perseverance (Zimmerman, 2006). Thus, selfregulation is particularly relevant in individual sports such as golf, in which many hours are spent in training and competition (Anshel, 1995;Elferink-Gemser, Visscher, & Lemmink, 2008).For the purpose of this study, we used Zimmerman's definition in which self-regulation is the degree to which athletes are metacognitively, motivationally, and behaviourally involved in their own learning or performance (Zimmerman, 1986(Zimmerman, , 2006. Specifically, we focused on metacognition, which is the awareness of one's own thinking, and consists of planning, selfmonitoring, and reflection (Ertmer & Newby, 1996;).…”