Sport Psychology 3 2660

• Dependent variable


  The behaviour of the subjects in psychology
• Dependent variable in Coach Hume's project

  The girls' behaviour during practice
• Independent variable


  The treatment or intervention
• Independent variable in Coach Hume's study

  The element chart she had put up
• Four components of the reversal replication design

  1. Baseline phase

  2. Treatment phase

  3. Reversal to baseline phase

  4. Replication of treatment phase
• Baseline phase


  Sessions conducted with performance monitored without intervention
• Treatment phase


  Using the self-monitoring plus feedback page/chart
• Reversal to baseline phase

  Checking for uncontrolled variables
• Replication phase


  Applying the treatment plan again
• Internal validity


  The independent variable did in fact cause the observed changes in the dependent variable
• Sport example of internal validity


  • When the rider counted strides out loud, they had better distance with their jumps
• Factors that give confidence an effect has been observed

  • Last few baseline data points stable/opposite to predicted effect
  • Effect replicated multiple times
  • Few overlapping data points between baseline and treatment
  • Effect observed soon after treatment introduced
  • Large effect size
• A limitation of the reversal replication design is that it may be undesirable or impossible to obtain a reversal
• Sport example of limitation of reversal replication design


  • Once a volleyball player knows how to do an overhand serve, they won't go back to underhand serve
• Sport example of multiple-baseline design across people


  • Soccer player imagines stealing the ball 5 times a day, then does it in the game
• External validity


  When a finding can be generalized to other behaviours, individuals, settings, or treatments
• Sport example of external validity


  • Baseball players all improve their swing the same way
• Potential limitations of multiple-baseline design across people


  • Subjects might explain treatment or model desirable behaviour to others
  • Not always possible to find two+ subjects and additional observer
• Sport example of multiple-baseline design across behaviours

  • Rider works on keeping heels down, then works on keeping hands steady
• Limitations of multiple-baseline design across behaviours

  • Improvement in all categories when treatment applied to first behaviour
  • May not be possible to find two+ suitable behaviours or sufficient observers
• Sport example of multiple-baseline design across situations

  • Volleyball player works on follow through on serve, then on hit
• Limitations of multiple-baseline design across situations

  • Treatment applied to first situation may cause improvement in all settings
  • Behaviour may occur in only one setting
  • Not enough observers to gather data
• Sport example of alternating-treatments design


  • Golfer alternates between golfing outside and golfing inside in different sessions
• Advantages of alternating-treatments design over reversal replication and multiple-baseline designs


  • Allows comparison of treatment effects within individual
  • Can include ongoing baseline as condition
  • All conditions introduced concurrently, avoids lengthy baselines/treatments
  • Can terminate less effective treatments early
• Limitations of alternating-treatments design

  • Generalization may occur due to similarities between conditions
  • Contrasting effects may enhance differences between conditions
• Interobserver reliability (IOR) assessment

  Assessment to ensure records of athletes' behaviour are accurate
• Strategy for computing IOR score

  Divide smaller total of dependent variable (recorded by one observer) by larger total (recorded by other observer), then multiply by 100%
• Treatment integrity assessment


  Experimenter prepares checklist of critical treatment components, two observers regularly assess if treatment applied as outlined
• Characteristics of single-subject research designs

  • Interobserver reliability assessment
  • Treatment integrity/procedural reliability assessment
  • Repeated measurement of dependent variable, not just pre/post
  • No control groups, all subjects studied under all conditions
  • Rely on visual inspection of data to assess treatment effects
• Control-group experiment strategy


  Involves two groups - control group that does not receive treatment, and experimental group that does receive treatment
• Commonalities between group designs and single-subject designs

  • Goal of evaluating effects of independent variable on dependent variable
  • Require acceptable interobserver reliability assessments
  • Require acceptable procedural reliability assessments
• Characteristics of single-subject designs that distinguish them from group designs

  • Require repeated measurement of dependent variable, not just pre/post
  • No control groups, all subjects studied under all conditions
  • Rely on visual inspection of data, not statistical significance between groups
• Limitations of control-group methodology for behavioural sport psychology

  • Difficult to locate enough subjects with same performance problem to form groups
  • Coaches/athletes may resist no-treatment control group
  • Focus on average group performance at particular time, not continuous individual monitoring
• Features of single-subject design that make them "user-friendly" for sport psychology practitioners

  • Require only small number of subjects to demonstrate validity
  • Athletic performance monitored continuously across practices/competitions
  • All subjects exposed to both baseline and treatment conditions