The article “The Beneficial Effects of Anticipating Anxiety –Related Symptoms: An investigation of Paradoxical-Success Imagery in the Laboratory” was written by Derek de la Pena in 2009. The author wrote the article in bid to provide an understanding on how anxiety affected performance in sports and methods that can be used to ensure that one is able to concentrate and not be destructed by the stress that comes with anticipating a high performance. For an individual to succeed in a situation that is very competitive a person will have to be able to stay focused, their self-esteem should remain high, and they should always remain optimistic. In mental skills training imagery is used to reduce symptoms of anxiety in competitive situations (de la Peña, 2009). Some researchers have, however, pointed out that it is more beneficial for athletes reframe their understanding of anxiety from debilitative perspective to a facilitative aspect rather than learning strategies of anxiety reduction.
Ironic consequences are achieved when an individual attempts to control a particular preconceived thought (Soetens, Braet, Dejonckheere and Roets, 2006). According to various studies, it has shown that when a person tries to eliminate some ideas, it will only increase the emotions that a person does not want to experience. In sports accepting the feelings related to anxiety in the competition will reduce the intensity impact of maladaptive rebound an accepting measure more efficient in facilitating a performance than trying to control the emotion (Soetens, Braet, Dejonckheere and Roets, 2006). According to the ironic process theory, an attempt to impede a symptom like the one related to competitive anxiety is viewed as being ironic because in some situation when there is an attempt to remove it will increase the possibility of the symptom taking place (Wegner, 1997). For reactant individuals, it is best that they use paradoxical imagery because they act in a manner that is contrary to what they are told in a bid to maintain their freedom. High reactant athletes have higher self-confidence and lower somatic anxiety when they intentionally image themselves being nervous before performing, unlike their low reactant participants. For paradoxical imagery to be productive in sport, there must be the incorporation of success into the imagery script.
Purpose and Primary Hypothesis
The objective of the research was to show the benefits of anticipating stress and how paradoxical imagery strategy can be used to eliminate these feelings. The primary hypothesis is that participants who imagined feeling anxious while they were confident and composed during a competition that gave them some level of stress would perform as well as those who imagined being relaxed as they performed confidently and effectively (Szentagotai, 2006). In the primary hypothesis, it was expected that moderate levels of anxiety could not cause maladaptive ironic rebound with arousal control imagery as it would be very insufficient. Paradoxical success imagery coupled up with arousal control imagery would perform more consistently and effectively unlike the use of pre-performance routine without the application of imagery (Szentagotai, 2006). The secondary hypothesis is that a higher degree of anxiety would be achieved as a result of a pressure situation during a performance. It claimed that PSI participants would perform better during stress conditions.
The ACI participants were expected to have a low result as the PSI outperformed and maintained their performance. The tertiary hypothesis involved self-confidence whereby there was an argument that self-esteem would be enhanced there was an application of general mastery imagery (Wilson and Murrell, 2004). The last hypothesis was concerned with anxiety. It argued that when the intensity was high, there would be significant levels of stress experienced during the stressful phase when compared to conditions marked by low levels of stress. The participants involved in this study were forty male undergraduate students who were part of sport and fitness classes from large institutions located in the southeastern (Wilson and Murrell, 2004). The participants were aged between eighteen to thirty-seven years.
Methods
The research was conducted through a golf experience, and they used a questionnaire based on pre-experiment demographic that would identify any golf handicap. The low handicapped golfers already had a pre-performance behavior, which would be impossible to overcome while the high handicappers would not be proficient in regards to chipping task (de la Peña, 2009). It was the primary determinant of who would participate in the study. The individuals were also asked if they used any imagery, and the ones who used it before a performance was not qualified to be part of the study. The study also used the vividness of movement imaginary questionnaire to select the participants. It assessed the ability of a participant to develop an image (Thomas, Maynard and Hanton, 2007). The participants were supposed to hit a golf ball using a basic sand wedge from a platform and ensure that the ball stopped near the center of green that had been created. The distance of the next shot was changed continuously with every shot taken, and it would prevent the participants from being conversant with the same length.
The distance of the next shot was changed continuously with every shot taken, and it would prevent the participants from being conversant with the same length. The chipping platform was made movable because of the varying distances that were being used. The performance was measured through a mean radial error, which was the overall performance accuracy, and bivariate inaccuracy was the measure of variability. Self-confidence, somatic anxiety, and cognitive anxiety were measured through competitive state anxiety inventory (de la Peña, 2009). The participants were categorized into four conditions that are arousal control imagery, no imagery, paradoxical success imagery, and control.
Results and Discussion
At the end of the study participants anonymously answered five questions about social validity. There were no significant group differences that were recorded. All the groups showed that the anxiety measures were very high in the stages of pressure compared to the stages of the competition, and it promotes the idea of anxiety manipulation. The researchers noted that at some point the anxiety levels dropped pointing due to the participants adapting to the pressure situation (de la Peña, 2009). The study revealed that the interpretation of anxiety usually takes a while before it changes. The paradoxical success imagery requires more research to determine the needed time for imagery coaching before the changes take place when interpreting stress.
As a result of the performance phases having significant differences in the intensity of stress, it poses a challenge in interpreting symptoms during a performance in sports. The study developed that there is a need to establish cognitive approaches that build and enhance confidence during a stressful situation (de la Peña, 2009). The data showed that for a person to adapt to a newly acquired pre-performance routine, they would have to go through some trials. Two questions arose from the research the first one being whether each component was critical and if they were not, which once contributed the most to variances in performance. The second question was whether paradoxical imagery approaches were suited or not for people who have some specific personality traits like the individuals who are tuned to interpreting anxiety as debilitating (de la Peña, 2009).
Application
To have a successful performance in sports, one needs to be physically ready, which is achieved through constant practice. During practice, one should do it as if they are in a performance situation. The study also showed that one should always be mentally prepared when performing in sports. Being mentally ready will require one to apply visual imagery which has shown in the study that it is a useful performance enhancement method (Woolfolk, Parrish and Murphy, 1985). When a person is anxious to achieve the best it can result in poor concentration which in the end has an adverse effect on the overall outcome (Woolfolk, Parrish and Murphy, 1985). For instance, an individual who has doubting thoughts during a performance will not be successful because they are vulnerable to other potential distractions such as the people who are watching them.
The person will also be distracted by too much focus on how their body shifts or how they are executing their shot. The less a person gives in to distractions the better their performance will be. A person’s mind should be tranquil, and success will happen automatically. For a person to stop thoughts from distracting them, they will need to give their undivided attention to a specific visual cue. Finally, a person should make a point of evaluating themselves after every performance whereby they evaluate their effectiveness of the mechanics of their performance and their ability to adopt a pre-performance routine (Wilson and Murrell, 2004). The best way to stay relaxed and focused on competition is to use imagery.
References
de la Peña, D. (2009). The Beneficial Effects of Anticipating Anxiety-Related Symptoms: An Investigation of Paradoxical-Success Imagery in the Laboratory. Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, 4(1).
Soetens, B., Braet, C., Dejonckheere, P. J. N., " Roets, A. (2006). When suppression backfires: The ironic effects of suppressing eating-related thoughts. Journal of Health Psychology, 11, 655–668
Szentagotai, A.T. (2006). The paradoxical effects of suppressing anxious thoughts. Cognition, Brain, and Behavior, 4, 599-606.
Thomas, O., Maynard, I., " Hanton, S. (2007). Intervening with athletes during the time leading up to competition: Theory to practice II. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 19, 398-418.
Wegner, D.M. (1997). When the antidote is the poison: Ironic mental control processes, Psychological Science, 8, 148-150.
Wilson, K.G., " Murrell, A.R. (2004). Values work in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Setting a course for behavioral treatment. In S.C. Hayes, V.M. Follette, " M.M. Linehan (Eds.), Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition (pp. 120-151). New York: Guilford.
Woolfolk, R.L., Parrish, W., " Murphy, S.M. (1985). The effect of positive and negative imagery on motor skill performance. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 9, 235-241.
