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Full-Text Articles in Psychology of Movement

The Ripple Effect: ‘Training The Trainer’ On The Impact Of Body Image Through A Dance/Movement Therapy Technique, Marina Gearhart May 2021

The Ripple Effect: ‘Training The Trainer’ On The Impact Of Body Image Through A Dance/Movement Therapy Technique, Marina Gearhart

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

This thesis describes the capstone project which was a psychoeducation and experiential workshop for fitness trainers. The workshop investigated the impact trainers’ work may have on the body image of their clients through a dance/movement therapy (DMT) technique. The aim was to enhance the trainers’ sensitivity around body image issues of their clients and to create a space for vulnerable movement conversation that may in turn lead to better mental health advocacy for their clients within the scope of ethical practice. The participants of the workshop were six white female identifying trainers ranging from 24 to 35 years of age. …


Narrative Inquiry: Life Experiences Of Elite Athletes, Sarah Elizabeth Brown May 2021

Narrative Inquiry: Life Experiences Of Elite Athletes, Sarah Elizabeth Brown

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Elite athletes face numerous personal and professional pressures and high-stress experiences; however, there is a gap in the literature connecting identity development with these life experiences. Using narrative inquiry analysis with six emerging adult athletes competing at professional and Olympic levels, this study identified self-narratives they created from life experiences within the context of sport and analyzed when these meanings were formed. Athletes described experiences causing great psychological disturbances as a normal risk within their sport and needing to regulate or compartmentalize their emotions to get through those experiences. Participants discussed various roles they play within their team but lacked …


Meeting Point: Partner Dancing As Couple's Therapy, Rami Eckhaus Mar 2019

Meeting Point: Partner Dancing As Couple's Therapy, Rami Eckhaus

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This dissertation research explored the experience of partner dancing as a therapeutic process that reflects upon the dynamics and interactions of couples who are in the process of couple's therapy. The research also aimed to gain insight on the ways in which the experience of partner dancing can support these couples' therapeutic processes. Partner dancing is a dance-form that is based on the interaction between two individuals. Such interaction requires the dancing couples to communicate on many levels that may uncover layers of their relational dynamics. In this research, five couples who were undergoing couple's therapy were asked to participate …


The Effect Of Descriptive Norms On Resistance Exercise Self-Efficacy In College-Aged Females 2016, Justin Kompf May 2016

The Effect Of Descriptive Norms On Resistance Exercise Self-Efficacy In College-Aged Females 2016, Justin Kompf

Master's Theses

Resistance training is a form of physical activity that provides substantial health benefits. Despite these widespread benefits, participation in resistance training is considerably low, particularly among females. To engage in a skill-related activity such as resistance training, individuals need to have confidence in their abilities. Self-efficacy is a cognitive construct that is used to describe situation-specific self-confidence. Descriptive norms are a type of social norm that describes the behavior of others. Descriptive norms have been useful in positively changing health related behaviors. The exact mechanism of how descriptive norms alter behavior is unknown. However, it has been show in research …


Assessing Mental Skill And Technique Use In Applied Interventions: Recognizing And Minimizing Threats To The Psychometric Properties Of The Tops, Charlottee Woodcock, Joan L. Duda, Jennifer Cumming, Lee-Ann Sharp, Mark J. G. Holland Jan 2012

Assessing Mental Skill And Technique Use In Applied Interventions: Recognizing And Minimizing Threats To The Psychometric Properties Of The Tops, Charlottee Woodcock, Joan L. Duda, Jennifer Cumming, Lee-Ann Sharp, Mark J. G. Holland

Jennifer Cumming

Drawing from the experiences of the authors in developing, conducting, and evaluating sport psychology interventions, several considerations are highlighted and recommendations offered for effective psychometric assessment. Using the Test of Performance Strategies (TOPS; Thomas, Murphy, & Hardy, 1999) as a working example, opportunities for bias to undermine a measure’s validity and reliability are discussed with reference to a respondent’s four cognitive processes: (a) comprehension, (b) retrieval, (c) decision-making, and (d) response generation. Further threats to an instrument’s psychometric properties are highlighted in the form of demand characteristics athletes perceive in the environment. With these concerns in mind, several recommendations are …


Further Validation And Development Of The Movement Imagery Questionnaire, Sarah E. Williams, Jennifer Cumming, Nikos Ntoumanis, Sanna M. Nordin-Bates, Richard Ramsey, Craig Hall Jan 2012

Further Validation And Development Of The Movement Imagery Questionnaire, Sarah E. Williams, Jennifer Cumming, Nikos Ntoumanis, Sanna M. Nordin-Bates, Richard Ramsey, Craig Hall

Jennifer Cumming

This research validated and extended the Movement Imagery Questionnaire- Revised (MIQ-R; Hall & Martin, 1997). Study 1 (N = 400) examined the MIQ-R’s factor structure via multitrait-multimethod confirmatory factor analysis. The questionnaire was then modified in Study 2 (N = 370) to separately assess the ease of imaging external visual imagery and internal visual imagery, as well as kinesthetic imagery (termed the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3; MIQ-3). Both Studies 1 and 2 found that a correlated-traits correlated-uniqueness model provided the best fit to the data, while displaying gender invariance and no significant differences in latent mean scores across gender. Study 3 …


Can Self-Esteem Protect Against The Deleterious Consequences Of Self-Objectification For Mood And Body Satisfaction In Physically Active Female University Students?, Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Nikos Ntoumanis, Jennifer Cumming, Kimberley J. Bartholomew, Gemma Pearce Apr 2011

Can Self-Esteem Protect Against The Deleterious Consequences Of Self-Objectification For Mood And Body Satisfaction In Physically Active Female University Students?, Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Nikos Ntoumanis, Jennifer Cumming, Kimberley J. Bartholomew, Gemma Pearce

Jennifer Cumming

Using objectification theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997), this study tested the interaction between self-objectification, appearance evaluation, and self-esteem in predicting body satisfaction and mood states. Participants (N = 93) were physically active female university students. State self-objectification was manipulated by participants wearing tight revealing exercise attire (experimental condition) or baggy exercise clothes (control condition). Significant interactions emerged predicting depression, anger, fatness, and satisfaction with body shape and size. For participants in the self-objectification condition who had low (as opposed to high) appearance evaluation, low self-esteem was associated with high depression, anger, and fatness and low satisfaction with body shape and …


Imagining Yourself Dancing To Perfection? Correlates Of Perfectionism Among Ballet And Contemporary Dancers, Sanna M. Nordin-Bates, Jennifer Cumming, Danielle Aways, Lucinda Sharp Jan 2011

Imagining Yourself Dancing To Perfection? Correlates Of Perfectionism Among Ballet And Contemporary Dancers, Sanna M. Nordin-Bates, Jennifer Cumming, Danielle Aways, Lucinda Sharp

Jennifer Cumming

The present study investigated perfectionism prevalence and its relationship to imagery and performance anxiety. Two hundred and fifty (N = 250) elite students (66.4% female; Mage = 19.19, SD = 2.66) studying mainly classical ballet or contemporary dance in England, Canada, and Australia completed questionnaires assessing perfectionism, imagery, and performance anxiety. Cluster analysis revealed three distinct cohorts: dancers with perfectionistic tendencies (40.59% of the sample), dancers with moderate perfectionistic tendencies (44.35%), and dancers with no perfectionistic tendencies (15.06%). Notably, these labels are data driven and relative; only eight dancers reported high absolute scores. Dancers with perfectionistic tendencies experienced more debilitative …


Measuring Athlete Imagery Ability: The Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire, Sarah E. Williams, Jennifer Cumming Jan 2011

Measuring Athlete Imagery Ability: The Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire, Sarah E. Williams, Jennifer Cumming

Jennifer Cumming

This research aimed to develop and provide initial validation of the Sport Imagery Ability Questionnaire (SIAQ). The SIAQ assesses athletes’ ease of imaging different types of imagery content. Following an extensive pilot study, 375 athletes completed a 20-item SIAQ in Study 1. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 4-factor model assessing skill, strategy, goal, and affect imagery ability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) established this 4-factor structure in Study 2 (N = 363 athletes). In Study 3 (N = 438 athletes), additional items were added to create a fifth mastery imagery subscale that was confirmed through CFA. Study 4 (N = 220 …


Psychological Qualities Of Elite Adolescent Rugby Players: Parents, Coaches, And Sport Administration Staff Perceptions And Supporting Roles, Charlotte Woodcock, Mark J. G. Holland, Joan L. Duda, Jennifer Cumming Jan 2011

Psychological Qualities Of Elite Adolescent Rugby Players: Parents, Coaches, And Sport Administration Staff Perceptions And Supporting Roles, Charlotte Woodcock, Mark J. G. Holland, Joan L. Duda, Jennifer Cumming

Jennifer Cumming

The aim of the current study was to extend previous research by Holland and colleagues (2010) into the required psychological qualities of young talented rugby players by considering the perceptions and supportive role of influential others. Perceptions of players’ parents (n = 17), coaches (n = 7), and sport administration staff (SAS; n = 2) were explored through focus group discussions. Findings show that these influential others considered the same 11 higher order themes for psychological qualities previously identified as desirable by players. Their views on how they assisted in developing these player psychological qualities were classified into three higher-order …


The Nature Of Motivation: A Question Of ‘Why?’, Eleanor J. Quested, Jennifer Cumming, Joan L. Duda Jan 2010

The Nature Of Motivation: A Question Of ‘Why?’, Eleanor J. Quested, Jennifer Cumming, Joan L. Duda

Jennifer Cumming

No abstract provided.


Mental Qualities And Employed Mental Techniques Of Young Elite Team Sport Athletes, Mark J.G. Holland, Charlotte Woodcock, Jennifer Cumming, Joan L. Duda Jan 2010

Mental Qualities And Employed Mental Techniques Of Young Elite Team Sport Athletes, Mark J.G. Holland, Charlotte Woodcock, Jennifer Cumming, Joan L. Duda

Jennifer Cumming

Research on the psychological characteristics of elite performers has primarily focused on Olympic and World champions; however, the mental attributes of young developing and talented athletes have received less attention. Addressing this, the current study had two aims: (a) to examine the perceptions held by youth athletes regarding the mental qualities they need to facilitate their development and (b) to investigate the mental techniques used by these athletes. Forty-three male youth rugby players participated in a series of focus groups. Inductive content analysis revealed 11 categories of psychological qualities, including enjoyment, responsibility, adaptability, squad spirit, self-aware learner, determination, confidence, optimal …


The Use Of Imagery To Manipulate Challenge And Threat Appraisal States In Athletes, Sarah E. Williams, Jennifer Cumming, George M. Balanos Jan 2010

The Use Of Imagery To Manipulate Challenge And Threat Appraisal States In Athletes, Sarah E. Williams, Jennifer Cumming, George M. Balanos

Jennifer Cumming

The present study investigated whether imagery could manipulate athletes’ appraisal of stress-evoking situations (i.e., challenge or threat) and whether psychological and cardiovascular responses and interpretations varied according to cognitive appraisal of three imagery scripts: challenge, neutral, and threat. Twenty athletes (Mage = 20.85; SD = 1.76; 10 female, 10 male) imaged each script while heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output were obtained using Doppler echocardiography. State anxiety and self-confidence were assessed following each script using the Immediate Anxiety Measures Scale. During the imagery, a significant increase in heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output occurred for the challenge and …


Mental Imagery And Basketball: A Comparison Of Cognitive-Specific And Flow Imagery, Evan Welo May 2009

Mental Imagery And Basketball: A Comparison Of Cognitive-Specific And Flow Imagery, Evan Welo

Psychology Honors Projects

Flow is a psychological state that is associated with optimal performance. Sports such as basketball are conducive to an individual experiencing flow because they have rules that structure and focus attention. Past research indicates that sports related mental imagery practice improves athletic performance; however few studies to date have systematically included the characteristics of flow in their sports mental imagery interventions. The present study compared the efficacy of a ―flow‖ and a standard basketball mental imagery intervention at improving performance on a basketball-shooting task. No significant differences were found between groups, but both reported increases in flow experiences.


Not Scaring Yourself Silly: Effectively Managing Your Stage Fright, Jennifer Cumming Jan 2009

Not Scaring Yourself Silly: Effectively Managing Your Stage Fright, Jennifer Cumming

Jennifer Cumming

It is the moment you have been looking forward to for weeks with equal amounts of dread and excitement. Your preparation has gone well, but you wonder if you have done everything you can to be ready and are concerned you will make a mistake. As you wait backstage, you hear the audience taking their seats and the eager buzz of anticipation. Your fellow dancers are going through their last minute preparations and the nervous tension is building around you. Standing in your costume, you worry that your body is responding in the usual ways: your heart is beating faster …


Self-Reported Psychological States And Physiological Responses To Different Types Of Motivational General Imagery, Jennifer Cumming, Tom Olphin, Michelle Law Jan 2007

Self-Reported Psychological States And Physiological Responses To Different Types Of Motivational General Imagery, Jennifer Cumming, Tom Olphin, Michelle Law

Jennifer Cumming

The aim of the present study was to examine self-reported psychological states and physiological responses (heart rate) experienced during different motivational general imagery scenarios. Forty competitive athletes wore a standard heart rate monitor and imaged five scripts (mastery, coping, anxiety, psyching up, and relaxation). Following each script, they reported their state anxiety and self-confidence. A significant increase in heart rate from baseline to imagery was found for the anxiety, psyching-up, and coping imagery scripts. Furthermore, the intensity of cognitive and somatic anxiety was greater and perceived as being more debilitative following the anxiety imagery script. The findings support Lang’s (1977, …


Examining The Direction Of Imagery And Self-Talk On Dart-Throwing Performance And Self Efficacy, Jennifer Cumming, Sanna M. Nordin, Robin Horton, Scott Reynolds Jan 2006

Examining The Direction Of Imagery And Self-Talk On Dart-Throwing Performance And Self Efficacy, Jennifer Cumming, Sanna M. Nordin, Robin Horton, Scott Reynolds

Jennifer Cumming

The study investigated the impact of varying combinations of facilitative and debilitative imagery and self-talk (ST) on self-effi cacy and performance of a dart-throwing task. Participants (N = 95) were allocated to 1 of 5 groups: (a) facilitative imagery/facilitative ST, (b) facilitative imagery/debilitative ST, (c) debilitative imagery/facilitative ST, (d) debilitative imagery/debilitative ST, or (e) control. Mixed-design ANOVAs revealed that performance, but not self-effi - cacy, changed over time as a function of the assigned experimental condition. Participants in the debilitative imagery/debilitative ST condition worsened their performance, and participants in the facilitative imagery/facilitative ST condition achieved better scores. These fi ndings …


More Than Meets The Eye: Investigating Imagery Type, Direction, And Outcome, Sanna Nordin, Jennifer Cumming Jan 2005

More Than Meets The Eye: Investigating Imagery Type, Direction, And Outcome, Sanna Nordin, Jennifer Cumming

Jennifer Cumming

The effects of imagery direction on self-efficacy and performance in a dart throwing task were examined. Two imagery types were investigated: skill-based cognitive specific (CS) and confidence-based motivational general-mastery (MG-M). Seventy-five novice dart throwers were randomly allocated to one of three conditions: (a) facilitative imagery, (b) debilitative imagery, or (c) control. After 2 imagery interventions, the debilitative imagery group rated their self-efficacy significantly lower than the facilitative group and performed significantly worse than either the facilitative group or the control group. Efficacy ratings remained constant across trials for the facilitative group, but decreased significantly for both the control group and …


Professional Dancers Describe Their Imagery: Where, When, What, Why, And How, Sanna M. Nordin, Jennifer Cumming Jan 2005

Professional Dancers Describe Their Imagery: Where, When, What, Why, And How, Sanna M. Nordin, Jennifer Cumming

Jennifer Cumming

In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 male and female professional dancers from several dance forms. Interviews were primarily based in the 4 Ws framework (Munroe, Giacobbi, Jr., Hall, & Weinberg, 2000), which meant exploring Where, When, Why, and What dancers image. A dimension describing How the dancers employed imagery also emerged. What refers to imagery content, and emerged from two categories: Imagery Types and Imagery Characteristics. Why represents the reason an image is employed and emerged from five categories: Cognitive Reasons, Motivational Reasons, Artistic Reasons, Healing Reasons, and No reason – Triggered Imagery. There were also large individual differences …


Athletes' Use Of Imagery In The Off-Season, Jennifer Cumming, Craig Hall Jan 2002

Athletes' Use Of Imagery In The Off-Season, Jennifer Cumming, Craig Hall

Jennifer Cumming

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of competitive level on an athletes’ use of imagery in the off-season, and to examine whether their use of imagery was related to their physical and technical preparation. Three hundred and twenty-four regional, provincial, and national level athletes were recruited to participate in this study from 10 different sports. Participants were asked to complete a modified version of the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ; Hall, Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998) that was designed to reflect an athletes’ use of imagery in the off-season. MANOVAs indicated that competitive level differences existed in …


The Cognitive And Motivational Effects Of Imagery Training: A Matter Of Perspective, Jennifer L. Cumming, Diane M. Ste-Marie Jan 2001

The Cognitive And Motivational Effects Of Imagery Training: A Matter Of Perspective, Jennifer L. Cumming, Diane M. Ste-Marie

Jennifer Cumming

No abstract provided.