Variations in mental skill patterns over levels of expertise

In the initial development of the OMSAT-3 (Durand-Bush et al., 2001), the instrument was administered to over 200 national and international experienced Canadian athletes (Figure 14.1). The results from the sport psychology literature and common sense were confirmed. Just as would be expected with international athletes as compared to the national level ones, their mental skill levels paralleled their advanced physical skills, and the scores were statistically higher for the international than for the national group on 10 of the 12 mental skills.

The variable of stress control was particularly intriguing given the findings in the other OMSAT-3 studies, which included only high level, international athletes competing in Iran.

The significant dimensions which marked the Iranian studies (Salmela et al., 2009) compared to the Durand-Bush et al. (2001) study were that all of the Iranian athletes who were assessed were already performing at the international level. However, those who were selected for the Asian Games differed from the non-selected athletes on the OMSAT-3, but only on two scales, i.e., those for stress control and refocusing. These scales significantly differentiated between the two groups and relaxation skill differences approached significant levels. The reduction in the number of scales which differentiated between the groups of international athletes seems logical. As Durand-Bush et al. (2001) pointed out, higher scores on the three foundation skills of goal-setting, self-confidence and commitment were central to exceptional performance in all sports. All members of this sample reported high levels on these three

FIGURE 14.1 Profiles of Canadian national and international level athletes on the OMSAT-3 scales. The ‘*’ represents statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) between the groups (Salmela et al., 2009)

Goal-setting Self- confidence Stress control Fear control Activation Focusing Refocusing Mental practice Competition planningImagery

Relaxation

Mental skill development and variations in gymnasts 129

foundation scales, with values greater than those reported by Durand-Bush et al. (2001) for Canadian national and international athletes (Figure 14.1).

In the second phase, the Iranian medallists were found to be different from the non-medallists on the single scale of stress control (Salmela et al., 2009). This again revealed that there was a consistent hierarchy of mental skill scores across levels of expertise which paralleled their sport performance levels. The present sample of athletes demonstrated the evolution from the 10 OMSAT-3 scale differences reported in the Durand-Bush et al. (2001) study, in which only two scales of stress control and refocusing for the selected and non-selected international Iranians, and then only one, stress reactions, differentiated between the medallists and non-medallists. These interactions between expertise and mental skill levels are unprecedented in the mental skills literature (Figure 14.3).

What was of particular interest was the consistency of the findings between the two comparisons, with stress control, acting in a fixed trait-like manner, while refocusing showed significant learning over a 10 month training period, and stress reactions showed no improve-ments with mental training, and acted in a stable manner (Fournier et al., 2005). What was most striking was the fact that stress reactions and refocusing were consistent among the most highly correlated scales in both the Durand-Bush et al. (2001) study with international and national Canadian athletes and the present study for Iranian international athletes, for both the selected and non-selected athletes. The reasons for these associations are as yet unclear, but it is interesting that the levels of stress reactions for both the Fournier et al. (2005) and the Salmela et al. (2009) studies were also the lowest of all of the OMSAT-3 scale values, and were most resistant to mental training.

One conceptual explanatory hypothesis might be the following: the trait-like nature of the stress reactions and their lowest rankings appeared to be unchanged after mental training. It could be that the elite athletes either persevered to improve this dimension with extended

FIGURE 14.2 Mean OMSAT-3 scores for Iranian athletes selected and non-selected for the 2006 Asian Games. The ‘*’ indicates statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between the groups (Salmela et al., 2009)

Goal-setting Self- confidence Stress control Fear control Activation Focusing Refocusing Mental practice Competition planningImagery

Relaxation

Commitment

Psychosomatic skills Cognitive skills

∗ ∗

130 John H. Salmela

practice, or were born with greater mental toughness or resistance to stress. The high level of learning of the refocusing skills partially reinforced the persistence of the differences of the stress reactions between the two groups in both Iranian studies. All selected and non-selected athletes did not differ on the three foundation skills of goal-setting, self-confidence and com-mitment, perhaps due to their high levels of expertise, which also validated their international athletic status, as was predicted in the OMSAT-3 model (Durand-Bush et al., 2001).

Of particular interest was that the five Iranian coaches who had daily contact with these athletes were also asked to rank the importance of the same mental skills of their athletes, based upon their perceptions of the players’ strengths and weaknesses. Significant discrepan-cies were found between the rankings of the athletes and those of the coaches. The coaches perceived athletes to be skilled at maintaining focus and self-confidence, while these athletes perceived just the opposite. Coaches viewed their players as poor at controlling their emotions and tension, while the athletes reported themselves as being proficient in these skills.

6.6

Non-medallist Medallist

6.4 6.2 6 5.8 5.6 5.4

Mean scores

5.2 5 4.8 4.6 4.4 4.2 4

Foundation skills

Goal-setting Self- confidence Stress control Fear control Activation Focusing Refocusing Mental practice Competition planningImagery

Relaxation

Commitment

Psychosomatic skills Cognitive skills

∗

FIGURE 14.3 Mean OMSAT-3 scores for Iranian medallists and non-medallists in the 2006 Asian Games. The ‘*’ indicates statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) between the groups (Salmela et al., 2009)

14.5 Conclusion

Mental skills have been shown to be better predictors of sport performance, compared to fixed, innate psychological parameters, such as personality tests or IQ. The OMSAT-3 was developed to assess a variety of mental skills, which were shown in the sport psychology literature to be essential for expert performance. The essential ingredient was that these skills could be taught and learned by developing athletes and coaches, sometimes with the help of a mental trainer.

Mental skill development and variations in gymnasts 131

The basic elements were the foundation skills, without which expertise in gymnas-tics, or any other domains in sport, science or music, would be impossible. These three skills included goal-setting, or having high expectations for potential achievements.

The second category included psychosomatic or emotional skills, such as stress and fear control, relaxation and activation, some of which would be used to different degrees in training and competition. The third category was cognitive or thinking skills, which included imagery, mental practice, focusing, refocusing, and competition planning.

All of these mental skills were tested in athletes of different levels, and some skills differentiated successful athletes at different performance levels and medallists from non-medallists at international competitions (Durand-Bush et al., 2001; Durand-Bush

& Salmela, 2002; Salmela et al., 2009).