Cooper Crewes
Research Mentor(s): Michael Mignano
Mentor Department: Movement Science
Authors: Cooper Crewes, Michael Mignano
Session: Session 5 (2:00pm – 2:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 39
Abstract
There are hundreds of words, concepts, and phrases in the medical and psychology dictionaries with the prefix “self.” The American Psychological Association (2023) defines self as “the totality of the individual, consisting of all characteristic attributes, conscious and unconscious, mental and physical.” In the field of sport psychology, many self term concepts, theories, or models have been utilized from psychological and sociological perspectives. Therefore, the purpose of the current study is to conduct a scoping review of the literature on the self within sport psychology. Using a search protocol, the research team will conduct systematic searches, screen and select studies for inclusion, critically appraise the articles, and extract and synthesize the data for analysis. Preliminary findings consist of key concepts such as self-concept, self-confidence, self-efficacy, self-evaluation, self-identity, self-monitoring and self-talk. These findings can be used to frame key concepts and theories related to the self in sport research. Additionally, the identification of knowledge gaps can assist in developing research lines and providing practical implications for sport and exercise psychology professionals. Experimentally, self-management is a particular interesting mental mechanism that varies by population. For example, in a sports and exercise context, Special Olympic athletes may utilize different mental mechanisms than what is typically found in published literature. The current project will review published literature regarding Special Olympic athletes self-management mechanisms used in sports and exercise employing semi-structured interviews to gauge their use of self-management mechanisms. Finally, at the conclusion of this study we will use published literature to compare and contrast mechanisms commonly used in neurotypical athletes, in an effort to determine if any differences exist between the two groups. My proposed project will examine firstly, the mechanisms of self-management Special Olympic athletes use, and secondly, if any differences exist between Special Olympic athletes and neurotypical athletes.
