Mental toughness Kacie-Leigh Higgins

Background• Old concept (1957), however

surge in more rigorous scientific approaches to the study since 2002

• Importance of mental toughness as a key ingredient of performance excellence (Connaughton & Hanton, 2009)

• It is a multifaceted construct made up of multiple key components including values, attitudes, cognitions, emotions and behaviors

‘Having a natural or developed psychological edge that enables mentally tough performers to cope better in general than their opponents with the demands and related pressures that occur at the highest level of sport’ Jones et al., (2002)

Why is it a topic of debate? • Lack of conceptual consistency as to its

definition • Is the construct a state of mind or a

personality trait • How can then develop mental toughness?• Measure of mental toughness

Early perspectives Earliest attempt to define mental toughness was proposed by Cattell (1957) – Tough mindedness

Followed by Kroll, (1967) who agreed tough mindedness was an important trait which was part of personality

Loehr (1982) suggested that mental toughness reflected the ability to use energy positively during crises and the possession of positive attitudes towards challenging and demanding situations

Dominant perspective: What is this thing called Mental toughness?

(Jones et al., 2002)

This work has led to increased interest and greater research attention.

More rigorous, scientific approach: Guiding framework of personal construct theory (Kelly, 1995)

Made the point hat virtually any positive positive psychological characteristic related to success, was labelled as mental toughness

Results of Jones et al (2002) study resulted in the emergence of twelve key attributes of the ideally mentally tough performer

Limitations• Does not represent what mental is, but rather what mental

toughness can allow athletes to do • The assumption that elite and super elite will be mentally tough • Concerns with using small numbers in the initial focus group stage of

research• Although it is guided by personal construct theory the work is not

underpinned by any extant theories of personality or development

Towards an understanding of mental toughness in elite English cricketers

Bull et al. (2005) • Differentiates between ‘final putt’ or endurance mental toughness, or mental

toughness in relation to heavy training schedules, mental toughness in extreme physical

• Accepts the conceptual ambiguities that are bound to exist when trying to establish a definition of mental toughness in sport  

• Method: 12 professional cricketers, gathered data from interviews with players recognized within cricket for being the mentally toughest performers

• From analysis of transcripts there were four main themes which were identified and placed in a hierarchal structure pyramid

• Development of mental toughness pyramid suggests environmental influences provide foundation of mental toughness development on the two key levels of upbringing and transition

Understanding of mental toughness in Australian soccer: Perceptions of players, parents and coaches

Coulter et al. (2010)

• To increase scientific rigor this study includes multiple perspectives: triangulation of data capture (4 coaches, 6 players and 5 parents)

• Interviews were seen to elicit views on the key characteristics and their contrasts, situations demanding mental toughness, and the behaviors and cognitions employed

• Results provide further evidence that winning mentality and desire are key attributes of a mentally tough athlete

• Similar results to previous studies reporting qualities such as self-belief, physical toughness, motivation and resilience were key

Mental toughness in sport: Achievement level, gender, age, experience, and sport type differences

Nicholls et al. (2009)

• Tried to bridge the gap between achievement level and mental toughness in sport

• Following from earlier research by Connaughton et al. (2008) predicted that older and more experienced athletes would exhibit higher levels of mental toughness

• Methods: 677 athletes, sporting experience 0.3 to 44 years, team vs individual sports and contact vs non-contact sports

• Used MTQ48 as a measure of MT • Athletic achievement no difference on MT, physical attributes, technical

skill, or different psychological factors predict achievements level more• This support the conceptualization of MT

Development of mental toughness• A key question concerning the development the degree at which mental toughness is

caught via environmental influences or taught through training (Gordon et al., 2007) • First influential study on the development and maintenance was Connaughton et al.

(2008).• Re-interviewed 7 participants from Jones et al’s. (2002) previous study• 8 attributes in total developed through early and middle years, continually enhanced

in the later years • Three key underlying mechanisms used to maintain MT: an insatiable desire and

motivation to succeed, strong social support network and the use of basic and advanced psychological skills

• Spans across a number of sports: may be subtle differences within specific sports may determine how MT is development and maintained

Understanding the coach’s role in the development of mental toughness: Perspectives of elite Australian football coaches Gucciardi et al. (2009) Purpose of this study was to explore elite coaches’ perceptions of how they can both

facilitate and impede development of key mental toughness characteristics.

Methods: 11 coaches were interviewed, open-ended questions, considering the methods and strategies they employed to facilitate the mental toughness development process

Five categories central to the coaches role in the development of mental toughness emerged. Four of which were said to impede this process.

Developing and maintaining positive coach-athlete relationship, creating challenging training environments, adopting a coaching philosophy that focuses on personal and professional development and employing specific techniques including game awareness

Impedance of development from negative influences and experiences.

Developing mental toughness: perceptions of elite female gymnasts

Thelwell et al. (2010)

• Gymnastics is one of the most psychologically demanding sports for young athletes• Main aim: to examine the development of mental toughness within elite female

gymnasts • Method: 10 international gymnasts were interviewed• Four general dimensions that contributed to the development of MT was found; sport

process, sporting personnel, non sporting personnel, and environmental influences • Importance of tailored interventions are necessary • However, this study didn't consider if the athletes were mentally tough, influencing

the degree at which they could comment on MT development • Didn’t examine how specific attributes can be developed or how it can be

maintained

Evaluation of a mental toughness training program for youth-aged Australian Footballers: a quantitative analysis

Gucciardi et al. (2009)

• Purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of two different psychological skills training (PST) packages in enhancing MT

• PST programs endeavor to educate and equip athletes with techniques and strategies that can be used to assess, monitor and adjust their thoughts and feelings

• Methods: 3 football teams, adolescents in the specializing years (13 to 15years Cote, 1999), a parent of each player and coaching staff participated. E

• Instrumentation: Mental Toughness Inventory, The Dispositional Resilience Scale, The Dispositional Flow Scale

• Both intervention groups reported more positive changes in subjective ratings of MT, resilience and flow than control group.

• Both PST packages appeared to be equally effective in enhancing MT

Measure of mental toughness• ‘no validated measure of mental toughness’• Mental Toughness 48 Inventory - MTQ48 (Clough et al., 2002) • Consists of four subscales: control, commitment, challenge and confidence• Research has found that it has a high-test retest coefficient with a hgih internal

consistency of all four subscales. • Subscales were developed through an association with hardiness and mental

toughness, it has been argued that Clough and colleagues (2002) did not provide sufficient justification between the two concepts

• The Psychological Performance Inventory - PPI-A (Golby et al., 2007) • 42-items which measure seven subscales• However, Middleton et al., (2004) tested the construct validity and found that the

questionnaire was not a valid measure for the definition of MT

Where are we now• Concept is still evolving• Personality traits are influenced by

genetics they are also affects by the environmental and are constantly going through a developmental process

• Psychologists are now adopting the approach that both nature and nurture are important with contributing to the development of behavior and personality

• Recent studies looking at differences in brain structures between more and less tough participants

Summary of studies in relation to the debate • Much research focusing on trying to define mental toughness

however the lack of conceptual consistency may be because different people define MT depending on their personal experience and interactions

• Theme regarding environmental factors is the foundation of the development of mental toughness suggests that MT has to have a link with personality, so it is more trait than state

• The use of PST has been seen as beneficial to football further research could suggest that this is the best way to develop mental toughness

Future research • Research needs to focus on trying to define mental toughness which is

grounded in relevant personality theories • Genetics (Golby and Sheard, 2006) • Should be encouraged to employ quantitative approaches to examine,

perceptual, affective, cognitive and behavioral differences between athletes with differing levels of mental toughness

• Another measurement instrument • The focus on elite and super elite is somewhat restrictive, research could

consider MT in relation to an individuals potential • More work is needed to determine the effects of environmental

manipulations and skills training approaches to developing MT

Thank you for listening

Does anyone have any questions?