Improving athletes' perspectives of sport psychology consultation: a controlled evaluation of two interview methods.
A quick "here’s why it helps" speech pulls people in, yet can push them away from deep talk.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers split college athletes into two groups. One group heard a short interview that listed benefits of sport-psychology help. The other group heard a neutral chat.
After the talk, athletes answered questions about how much they needed help and how open they felt.
What they found
The benefit talk made athletes say, "Yes, I need this service." But the same talk also made them less willing to share personal problems.
Stigma stayed the same in both groups.
How this fits with other research
Canon et al. (2022) and Metras (2017) also used brief behavioral-skills packages to train adult practitioners. All three studies show a short script or prompt can shift adult behavior fast.
Lattal (2004) gave trainers instant verbal feedback and saw quick gains. Ganz et al. (2004) used a scripted interview and saw mixed gains. The difference: feedback targets skill, while framing targets attitude.
Eisenhower et al. (2006) cut health-care barriers with a 3-hour workshop plus handouts. B et al. tried a 10-minute benefit pitch. Longer, fuller training seems to beat a quick sell.
Why it matters
If you want athletes, parents, or staff to buy in, skip the sales pitch. Instead, give a short demo of what you will actually do, then invite questions. Show the process, not just the payoff.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Although investigations have consistently demonstrated the effectiveness of sport psychology interventions, these methods have been underutilized by athletes. In this study, 124 athletes completed the athletes' Attitudes Toward Seeking Sport Psychology Consultation Questionnaire (ATSSPCQ) and were subsequently randomly assigned to receive one of the two semistructured interview formats. One interview focused on discussing the athlete's experiences in sports, and the other focused on delineating sport psychology and its potential benefits to the athlete. Upon being interviewed, athletes were readministered the ATSSPCQ. Discussing sport psychology and its personal benefits was more effective in enhancing athletes' perception of need for sport psychology than discussing sport experiences. However, neither interview format enhanced athletes' perceptions of openness to discuss personal issues with a sport psychology consultant and tolerance of stigma associated with sport psychology consultation. Indeed, participants who received the discussion of sports intervention reported a significant decrease in personal openness to discuss personal issues relevant to sports psychology from pre- to postintervention. Intervention effects were similar for male and female athletes. Study implications and future directions are discussed in light of these results.
Behavior modification, 2004 · doi:10.1177/0145445503259399