Affect, Engagement and Reaction time in Swedish elite Athletes : A randomized control study regarding the effects of a Self-regulation training log
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Study designs: Randomized Controlled Trial, Clinical Trial
Abstract: Aim The study had the aim to increase knowledge of characteristics possessed by Swedish elite athletes. More specific the level of affect, athlete engagement and reaction time were investigated. A second aim was to test if a reflective training log based on principles from self-regulation could influence these variables. Questions part one: Baseline What are the level of affect, athlete engagement and reaction time in a sample of Swedish elite athletes? How strong are the correlations between these variables? Questions part two: Intervention Does a self-regulation training log effect athlete engagement, affect or reaction time in Swedish elite athletes? Is there a difference if the reflections are based on either personal strengths or weaknesses? How do the athletes perceive the use of a self-regulation training log? Method/Experiment design The general outline is a randomized controlled trial on a population of Swedish elite athletes using a baseline measurement and an intervention consisting of two experiments (EG1; EG2) and one placebo group (PG). Eligibility criteria for participants were a membership in Sport Campus Sweden (SCS). The data were collected in the participants own home or current location using correspondence by mail/e-mail and a web-based test platform provided by Hogrefe psykologiförlag. A simple 1:1:1 randomization was used for allocation. Only previously tested and validated measurements were used (PANAS; AEQ; CompACT simple RT). 40 athletes performed the baseline registration of reaction time and 32 persons participated in the measurements of affect and athlete engagement. 23 athletes completed all stages of the one month intervention including pre and post-tests. EG1 (reflections on personal weaknesses) N=6; EG2 (reflections on personal strengths) N=8; PG (writing down time spent by watching TV or by the computer as a placebo) N=9. Result Part 1 showed that Swedish elite athletes outperformed 91 % of a normative sample in reaction time. They were also more stable than 87 % of the norm. Correlation analysis show a strong significant correlation between positive affect and athlete engagement (0.74) (p=0.00). In Part 2 the training log intervention showed no significant results in affect, athlete engagement or reaction time. There were no differences if the reflections were based on personal strengths or weaknesses. In general the athletes perceived the self-regulation training log as rewarding and easy to use. Conclusions Swedish elite athletes have a superior reaction time compared to a normative sample and are also more stable in their reactions. They experience a high level of positive affect and athlete engagement and these variables are also strongly correlated. A self-regulation training log did not show any results on affect, athlete engagement or reaction time. The training log got positive feedback. Consequences of these findings are discussed.
Author: Cecilia Åkesdotter
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W34507809