The effectiveness of individualized mental training program on attention styles, competitive trait anxiety and performance of female softball players

While many studies have examined the effects of mental training programs on anxiety and concentration as they pertain to performance, none have examined the effects simultaneously as they relate to performance. Few studies have examined mental training programs, especially individualized mental imagery scripts, as they relate to the athlete's attentional profile and level of trait anxiety. The purpose of this study was to determine if a mental training program alters attentional profiles and trait anxiety. Additionally, this study determined if a mental training program had a transfer effect on performance. The following null hypotheses were examined: 1) There would not be a significant difference in attentional profiles before or after a mental training program; 2) there would not be a significant difference in trait anxiety scores before or after a mental training program; 3) there would not be a significant difference in an athlete's performance before or after a mental training program. The subjects (N = 20) in this study were comprised of Ball State University Women's Softball members. The age range of the subjects was between 18 and 23. The instruments used in this study were the Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Styles Self-Assessment (TAIS-SA) (Nideffer, 1980) for attentional styles and the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) (Martens, 1977) for competitive traitanxiety. Batting performance was recorded by the investigator as the subjects took batting practice (from a pitching machine) during the normal course of practice. Each subject was given a log sheet and was asked to keep a record of the number of times she used the mental training program per week. This study was a pretest, posttest design, and dependent t-tests (p < .05) were calculated for the six subscales of the TAIS, the SCAT, and performance. There was a statistically significant difference from the pretest to the posttest on the levels of anxiety as measured by the SCAT and on hitting performance. While all scores on the six subscales of the TAIS-SA changed, they were not statistically significant.School of Physical EducationThesis (M.S.