p. balaji - physical education - ph.d. thesis.pdf

CONSTRUCTION OF COMPETITIVE ANXIETY QUESTIONNAIRE AND COMPUTATION OF NORMS FOR

CRICKET PLAYERS

A thesis submitted to the Bharathidasan University

for the award of the Degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN PHYSICAL EDUCATION

By

P.BALAJI (Reg. No 2007PEP01)

Under the Guidance of Dr. R.KALIDASAN

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION

BHARATHIDASAN UNIVERSITY

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI – 620 024

TAMIL NADU, INDIA

DECEMBER – 2011

ii

Dr. R.KALIDASAN, B.Sc., M.P.Ed., M.Phil., Ph.D., NIS Diploma in sports coaching (cricket)., PGDYE., PGDM., Asst. Professor and Head i/c Department of Physical Education Bharathidasan University Tiruchirappalli - 620024

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the thesis entitled “Construction of

Competitive Anxiety Questionnaire and Computation of Norms for

Cricket Players” submitted by P.BALAJI for the award of the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Physical Education, through Department of

Physical Education, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, is a bonafied

record of research work carried out under my guidance and supervision. It

is further certified that to the best of my knowledge this thesis does not

form part of any other thesis or dissertation or for the award of any other

degree or diploma.

Place: Tiruchirappalli Research Guide

Date:

iii

P. BALAJI Director of Physical Education SSN College of Engineering Chennai

DECLARATION

I do here by declare that the thesis entitled “Construction of

Competitive Anxiety Questionnaire and Computation of Norms for

Cricket Players” submitted for the award of the degree of Doctor of

Philosophy in Physical Education, through the Department of Physical

Education, Bharathidasan University, is the original work carried out by me

under the guidance and supervision of Dr. R.KALIDASAN Asst. Professor and

Head i/c, Department of Physical Education, Bharathidasan University,

Tiruchirappalli. I further declare that this work has not been submitted earlier

in full or in parts to any university for the award of any other degree or

diploma.

Place: Tiruchirappalli (P. BALAJI) Date:

iv

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v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I gratefully acknowledge and sincerely appreciate my guide

Dr. R. Kalidasan Asst. Professor and Head i/c, Department of Physical

Education, Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli for his academic

guidance, constant encouragement, continuous support and patience

throughout the completion of this work. Without his valuable guidance

this work would not have been a successful one.

I wish to offer my sincere thanks to our Management, Principal,

Staff and Students, SSN College of Engineering, Chennai for lending their

support in all my endeavours.

I extend my deepest gratitude to Dr. Sandy Gordan, Sports

Psychologist, Australia and Dr. Steve Bull, Sports Psychologist, England for

sharing their subject knowledge and for their valuable response.

I owe my gratitude to Dr. R. Elangovan, Professor, Dept. of Yoga,

Tamil Nadu Physical Education & Sports University, Chennai for playing a

vital role in my life and career. I am duly grateful to him for the constant

supervision and support he bestowed on me.

I am indebted to Dr. J.P. Sukumar, Registrar, Tamil Nadu Physical

Education & Sports University, Chennai for all the motivation and kind

words of encouragement that he provides through all phases in my

career.

vi

I express my sincere thanks to Dr. A.S. Nageswaran, Associate

Professor, H.H.The Rajah’s College, Pudukottai for his special assistance

and timely help.

I acknowledge with all modesty and my deep gratitude to,

Dr. S. Sivaramakrishnan, Dr. P. Anbalagan, Dr. E. Simson Jesudass,

Dr. S. Thirumalaikumar and Dr. K. Chandrasekaran for the help and

encouragement throughout my doctoral programme.

I thank Mr. M. Suresh kumar, Asst. Professor, Selvam College of

Physical Education, Nammakal for his support and supervision in

Statistics.

I express my feelings of gratitude to scholars Mr. A. Needhiraja,

and Mr. K. Ivin Jabakumar for their kind help at various stages of this

study.

I wish to thank all the Ph.D scholars, M.Phil scholars and the non

teaching staff members of the Bharathidasan University for their valuable

support.

I express my sincere thanks to all those who were actively involved

as subjects of this study. Finally, I wish to thank everybody who either

directly or indirectly contributed significantly for the completion of this

work.

P. BALAJI

vii

VITA

Name : P.BALAJI

Father’s Name : V.Ponnalagar

Mother’s Name : P.Vajaramani

Age and Date of Birth : 38 years, 27.05.1973

Address For Communication

EI/5 Staff Quarters SSN College of Engineering Rajiv Gandhi Salai Kalavakkam – 603 110 Chennai Tamilnadu, South India

Email- [email protected]

Mobile No:+91 94441 39220

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION (U.G Degree onwards):

DEGREE COLLEGE

/UNIVERSITY SUBJECT

YEAR OF PASSING

CLASS

B.Sc M.D.T The Hindu

College Physical

Education 1993 I

M.P.Ed Alagappa

University Physical

Education 1995 I

M.Phil Alagappa

University Physical

Education 1996 I

viii

WORKING EXPERIENCE:

NAME OF THE COLLEGE

DESIGNATION PERIOD LENGTH OF

SERVICE

Devi Academy Junior College

Physical Director 1996 to 2002 6 years

Tagore Engineering College

Director of Physical Education

2002 to 2005

3 years

SSN College of Engineering

Director of Physical Education

2005 to till date 6 years

TECHNICAL QUALIFICATION:

Acted as Coach of Tamil Nadu Super Six Cricket team, which

participated in the International Super Six Cricket tournament

organized by Bangkok Cricket club held at Bangkok during 2006-07.

Acted as external examiner for Physical Education practical

examination of St.John’s Junior College, Mandaveli, Chennai during

1999- 2000.

Acted as Coach of Anna University Cricket men team, which

participated in the South Zone Inter-University Cricket tournament

during 2009-10 held at Warangal.

Served as Manager of Anna University Chess team, which

participated in the All India Inter-University Chess tournament, held

at Kanpur during 2006-07. In the tournament first time Anna

University, Chennai has secured the winner’s trophy.

Served as Manager of Anna University Squash team, which

participated in the All India Inter-University Squash Racket

tournament held at Varanasi during 2005-06.

ix

Served as Manager of Anna University swimming team, which

participated in the All India Inter-University Aquatic meet held at

Mumbai University during 2008-09

Served as Selection Committee member of Anna University

Cricket, Badminton, Tennis, Squash, Basketball and Chess teams for

many time.

SPORTS ACHIEVEMENTS

Represented Alagappa University and Participated in the South

Zone Inter-University Cricket Tournament during 1995-1996 at Sri

Venkateswara University, Tirupathi.

Member of Alagappa University College of Physical Education

Cricket team and MDT Hindu College Cricket team.

Member of Sivaganga District zone A league cricket team and

participated in the District league tournament during 1994-1996.

Participated in inter School competition and won many trophies.

Received the Best Cricket Coach Award from Mr.N.RAM, Editor, the

Hindu during 1999-2000.

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

Served as a Cricket Coach and produced five national level

Cricketers and twenty three State level Cricketers in different age

categories.

Organised All India Inter University Squash Racket tournament

during 2007-2008.

x

Served as Anna University Zonal Sports Secretary for four years

during 2004 to 2008.

Organized many Cricket tournaments for the Club Cricketers.

Conducted the Cricket coaching camp for six years during 1996 -

2002.

Organised many zonal level and inter zonal level tournaments for

Anna University Sports Board.

Organized many State level and National level tournaments in

different Sports & Games.

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

JOURNALS

S. No

Authors Title YearName of the

Journal Vol. & Page

No

1

P.Balaji & Dr. R. Kalidasan

Construction and Development of Game- Specific

Competitive Anxiety

Questionnaire for Cricketers

2011

Journal of Experimental

Sciences (ISSN:2218 1/68)

Volume. 2 No 6 and P : 23-24

2

P.Balaji & Dr.E.Simson

Jesudass

Mental Toughness

Differentials Among Cricket

Players at Different Age

Groups

2011

Recent Research in Science and

Technology (ISSN: 2076-5061)

Volume. 3 No 6 and P : 54 -56

xi

CONFERENCES / SEMINARS

S. No

Title of the Paper

Organised by Theme Date

1

Construction and development of game specific competitive

anxiety questionnaire for International Cricketers

SKR College of Physical Education,

Mohali.

UGC Sponsored “Scientific

Temperaments in Physical Education

and Sports’

14.11.08 to

15.11.08

2 Indian Premier League and its

impact on Cricket Bishop Heber

College, Trichy

UGC sponsored "National

Conference on Physical Education,

Sports and the art of well being"

20.03.09

3

Comparison of game specific competitive anxiety level

between Chennai city and rest of the district Engineering

College Cricketers

Bharathidasan University , Trichy

Role of Sports Science and

Technology in Enhancing Sports

Performance

21.03.09

4 Cricket competitive anxiety

questionnaire construction and development

M.A.M College of Engineering ,

Trichy

Application of science Engineering

& Technology in Sports

07.12.09 to

08.12.09

5 The Effect of Yoga therapy on

children with Hyperactivity

Tamilnadu Physical Education and

Sports University, Chennai.

Yoga: Caring , Sharing and Empowering

20.12.10 to

21.12.10

xii

LIST OF CONTENTS

Certificate by the Supervisor ii

Declaration by the Scholar iii

Dedication iv

Acknowledgement v

Vita vii

List of Contents xii

List of Chart xv

List of Tables xvi

List of Figures xvii

Abstract xviii

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION 1 - 23

Psychology

Anxiety

Trait Anxiety

Anxiety Research Introduce within Psychology

Sports Psychology

Anxiety Research within Sports Psychology

Sports Competitive Anxiety

Assessment of Anxiety

Questionnaire

Rationale for taking up the Study

Statement of the Problem

Significance of the Study

xiii

Limitations

Delimitations

Definition of the Operational Terms

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 24 - 65

Development and Validation of the Questionnaire

Developmental Stage of Anxiety Research

Anxiety and Sports Performance

CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY 66 - 80

Selection of subjects

Cricket and Performance

Selection of Variable

Justification for taking up the variable

Development of the Questionnaire

Pre – Pilot Study Phase

Pooling Statements

Selection of Statements

Pilot Study

Judgment Analysis

Statistical Analysis

Establishing Validity, Reliability and Objectivity

Validity

Reliability

Objectivity

xiv

Orientation of the Subjects

Administration of the Tests and Collected Data

Design and Statistical Techniques Used

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS OF DATA AND RESULTS OF THE STUDY 81 - 112

Cricket Competition Anxiety Questionnaire

Findings

Factor Analysis

Development of Norms

Discussion on Findings

CHAPTER V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 113 - 117

Summary

Conclusions

Recommendations for implication

Recommendations for further Study

BIBLIOGRAPHY 118 - 129

xv

LIST OF CHART

CHART TITLE OF THE CHART PAGE

I Research Flow Chart 72

xvi

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE TITLE PAGE NO

4.1 Descriptive Analysis of all the Question Items 84

4.2 Correlation Co-Efficient of Matrix of the Question Items

86

4.3 Principal Component Analysis (un rotated factor loading)

88

4.4 Rotated Factor Loading

(Varimax Solution) 90

4.5 Over view of the Six Factors 93

4.6 Factor 1 (one) of Rotated Factor Loadings


4.7 Factor 2 (two) of Rotated Factor Loadings


4.8 Factor3 (three) of Rotated Factor Loadings


4.9 Factor 4 (four) of Rotated Factor Loadings


4.10 Factor 5 (five) of Rotated Factor Loadings


4.11 Factor 6 (six) of Rotated Factor Loadings


xvii

LIST OF FIGURES

S.NO TITLE PAGE NO

4.1 Percentage Variance of Rotated Factor Loadings 92

4.2 Comparison of Loading Values for Factor - I 95

4.3 Comparison of Loading Values for Factor – 2 97




4.7 Comparison of Loading Values for Factor - 6 105

xviii

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to construct and standardize a

competitive anxiety questionnaire for assessing the anxiety level among

Cricket players. The other objective of the study was to establish norms,

which will provide opportunities for individual comparisons. Five hundred

and forty five male Cricket players were randomly selected from

Tamilnadu state were chosen as subject for this study and their age

ranged between 17 and 25 years. The subject had playing experience of at

least three years in Cricket and only those who represented their

respective college teams were taken as subjects. The investigator made

an attempt and constructed 60 questions to assess the competitive

anxiety of the Cricket players. The scoring key also was prepared by the

investigator. Pre-try out of the questionnaire was administered to a small

sample which involves Players, Coaches, Officials, Administrators,

Journalists & other experts in the game and refinement of questionnaire

was done. Another try out and item analysis was also done. The

refinement of questionnaire was done for seven times. The data were

collected on the first day of inter-Collegiate tournament. The collection of

data was done thirty minutes before the commencement of the match.

To construct and standardize, the questionnaire reliability and validity

was also be established. The appropriate statistical tools were

administrated, to analysis the collected data. The result reveals that the

game-specific competitive anxiety questionnaire developed in this study

measures the level of Anxiety with acceptable reliability and validity. The

norms developed in the study have adequate objectivity with statistical

acceptability.

CChhaapptteerr II

IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn

CHAPTER – I

INTRODUCTION

Cricket is one of the most popular and exciting outdoor sport. Few

get the opportunity to play first class Cricket, but there are millions who

enjoy seeing it being played. It gives us moments of leisure & pleasure and

fills us with a competitive spirit. The second most popular sport in the

world is also a team sport. It is popular in Asia, Australia, England and few

selected countries, but is slowly expanding its reach to other countries.

Cricket is played in more than 105 countries. The other aspect

about Cricket is that it is probably one of the fastest evolving sport in the

world, constantly adapting itself to the ‘demands’ of a changing global

audience. Though Cricket is played in many forms such as Test, One day

limited over’s, Twenty 20, First class, super six, eight a side, Indoor Cricket,

double wicket and Single wicket. Today Twenty 20 and One day limited

overs are popular due to its thrilling nature. However, the introduction of

the 20-20 format has resulted in many more countries participating in the

sport at an international level.

Cricket, also known as the gentlemen's game, was first played in

the 16th century in England. Cricket was first played in southern England

Introduction 2

in the 16th century. By the end of the 18th century, it had developed into

the national sport of England. It was mainly played for the purpose of

resolving boredom and to sweat in the cold English conditions during the

winter. The expansion of the British Empire led to Cricket being played

overseas and by the mid-19th century the first international match was

held. Slowly, as days went by, the popularity of Cricket grew by; Greats

like Sir Don Bradman and Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi have done a world of

good to the popularity of the game by showing its spectators few

breathtaking performances.

Nowadays, the face of Cricket has changed from the world’s second

most popular game to a religion. Millions of people follow the game with

utmost sincerity. In India, it is clearly visible that this game is played even

in the streets. Around 200 to 300 players will participate for each age

group selections in every state. Inter - school, inter- college, inter-state

and national level tournaments are the stepping stones for a player to

represent his country. Players are selected based on their performances

in the respective tournaments.

Introduction 3

PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is defined as “the Science of Behaviour and Cognitive

Process”. Psychology is an extremely exciting and challenging field of

knowledge. It continues to go in an accelerating phase, each year and it

continues to provide answers to basic questions about the human

condition. Psychology has enormous potential. Modern psychology in

contrast with its early status is objective rather than subjective;

experimental rather than speculative. Psychology as an objective study of

behaviour, does not lay down norms of behaviour. It simply explains how

under any circumstances an animal or a human being would

characteristically behave. ‘What should be’ is no concern of Psychology.

No branch of this science talks of any norms or standards. In this regard, it

explains how and why things happened the way they did, as far as

behaviour is concerned. Kamlesh (1998) in his work points out that in its

extreme form, Psychology enters physiology and this suffices to prove the

Woodworth’s thesis that, Psychology is a science which aims to

understand to get insight to interpret and throw light on the mind, its

processes and procedures; or which are implicit and explicit.

Introduction 4

ANXIETY

Psychologically, anxiety is a very important phenomenon. Freud

defines anxiety with the context of Psychological Theory according to him,

“Anxiety is as something felt, an unpleasant effect of state or condition.”

The state is characterized by all that covered by the word nervous

apprehension or anxious expectation and off event discharge phenomena.

Spielberger (1972) defined anxiety as a state of arousal caused by threat

to well being. Here the state refers to the condition involving the entire

organism and ‘Arousal’ refers to a condition of tension, current or

uneasiness or readiness to act is response where by threat refers to

anticipation of pain or, danger or serious interference with goal seeking

activities. Anxiety is the greatest problem disturbing most human beings.

All their definitions lead to the conceptualization of ‘Anxiety’ as “a

combination of apprehension, uncertainty and fear”. Anxiety is a normal

human emotion that everyone experiences at times. Many people feel

anxious, or nervous, when faced with a problem at work, before taking a

test, or making an important decision. Anxiety disorders, however, are

different. They can cause such distress that it interferes with a person's

ability to lead a normal life.

Introduction 5

Anxiety may help someone to deal with a difficult situation by

prompting them to cope with it. When anxiety becomes excessive, it may

fall under the classification of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is a

generalized mood condition that can often occur without an identifiable

triggering stimulus. As such, it is distinguished from fear, which is an

emotional response to a perceived threat. Additionally, fear is related to

the specific behaviours of escape and avoidance, whereas anxiety is

related to situations perceived as uncontrollable or unavoidable.

Physical effects of anxiety may include heart palpitations, muscle

weakness and tension, fatigue , nausea, chest pain, shortness of

breath, stomach aches, or headaches. The body prepares to deal with a

threat: blood pressure and heart rate are increased, sweating is

increased, blood flow to the major muscle groups is increased,

& immune and digestive system functions are inhibited (the fight or

fight response). External signs of anxiety may include pale skin, sweating,

trembling, and papillary dilation. Someone who has anxiety might also

experience it as a sense of dread or panic. Although panic attacks are not

experienced by every person who has anxiety, they are a common

symptom. Panic attacks usually come without warning, and although the

fear is generally irrational, the perception of danger is very real. A person

Introduction 6

experiencing a panic attack will often feel as if he or she is about to die or

collapse.

Emotional effects may include "feelings of apprehension or dread,

trouble concentrating, feeling tense or jumpy, anticipating the worst,

irritability, restlessness, watching (and waiting) for signs (and

occurrences) of danger, and, feeling like your mind's gone blank" as well

as "nightmares/bad dreams, obsessions about sensations, a trapped in

once mind feeling, and feeling like everything is scary."

Cognitive effects of anxiety may include thoughts about suspected

dangers, such as fear of dying. "You may...fear that the chest pains [a

physical symptom of anxiety] are a deadly heart attack or that the

shooting pains in your head [another physical symptom of anxiety] are

the result of a tumor or aneurysm. One feel an intense fear when you

think of dying, or one may think of it more often than normal, or can’t get

it out of once mind."

Behavioural effects may include withdrawal from situations where

unpleasant effects of anxiety have been experienced in the past. It can

also be affected in ways which include changes in sleeping patterns, nail

biting and increased motor tension, such as foot tapping.

Introduction 7

TRAIT ANXIETY

Speilberger was the first man to distinguish the characters of

anxiety as Trait Anxiety and State Anxiety based on the general tendency

to be anxious or immediate Anxiety state, one exhibits.

Trait Anxiety is “a motive or acquired behavioural disposition that

predisposes an individual to perceive a wide range of objectively non-

dangerous circumstances as threatening and to respond to these with

state anxiety reaction with disproportionate in intensity to the magnitude

of the objective danger”. Individuals who possess high Trait Anxiety either

perceive mere situations as threatening or respond to threatening

situations with more intense levels of State Anxiety or both. Trait Anxiety

is also known as A-Trait.

ANXIETY RESEARCH INTRODUCED WITHIN PSYCHOLOGY

Anxiety is a well-studied construct in a range of psychological

research areas, including sports, and has over the years undergone

considerable refinements with regard to conceptualisation and

inventories used. For a comprehensive understanding of the present

body of knowledge of anxiety in sports, an appropriate starting point

for this dissertation is to briefly overview the related historical

developments within mainstream psychology. Whereas issues referring

Introduction 8

to anxiety were only occasionally mentioned in psychological literature

during the first decades of the 20th century, albeit discussed by

philosophers for centuries and included in theories by Freud, the

number of published articles in psychological journals increased

dramatically after 1950 (Endler & Kocovski, 2001; Spielberger, 1966).

The growing empirical interest could be explained, at least partly,

by the development of inventories such as the Manifest Anxiety

Scale (MAS; Taylor, 1953) and the Institute for Personality and Ability

Testing (IPAT) Anxiety Scale (Cattell, 1957). Although these inventories

were regarded as significant advancements to the study of anxiety,

mainly because they provided researchers with new assessment

possibilities, the early research still struggled with problems of

ambiguities and vagueness in the conceptualisation of the construct.

Specifically, anxiety was generally regarded as a global personality

trait, expressed among individuals as stable differences in

character. Explicit distinctions between stable anxiety tendencies and

unstable anxiety reactions were, however, seldom provided in the

studies conducted (Cattell, 1966; Spielberger, 1966). In addition,

anxiety was frequently treated synonymously with constructs such as

neuroticism, stress, depression, tension and fear, which further increased

the conceptual confusion (Cattell, 1966).

Introduction 9

Noticing the abundance of definitions used in the first phase

of anxiety research, and highlighting the need to both define what

anxiety is and to exclude what it is not, Cattell and colleagues (e.g.,

Cattell & Scheier, 1958) identified two distinct factors of anxiety

through the use of factor and correlational analyses. The first factor

was referred to as a trait because it included variables consisting of

relatively stable personality characteristics.

The second factor was instead labeled as a state anxiety factor

on the basis that it included variables with unitary response patterns

that appeared to fluctuate over time (Cattell, 1966). Elaborating on

this work, Spielberger (1966) took these findings a step further and

formulated a conceptual framework of trait-state anxiety, in which

the distinction between a stable and an unstable dimension of anxiety

was highlighted (Spielberger, 1966). Herein, anxiety as a personality

trait (A-trait) was regarded as an individual’s average or normal

level of anxiety, unrelated to the impact of situational variables,

and was defined as: “a motive or acquired behavioural disposition that

predispose an individual to perceive a wide range of objectively no

dangerous circumstances as threatening, and to respond to these with

A-state reactions disproportionate in intensity to the magnitude of the

Introduction 10

objective danger” (Spielberger, 1966). Anxiety as a state (A-state) was

i n s t e a d d e f i n e d a s : “subjective, consciously perceived feelings o f

apprehension and tension, accompanied by or associated with

activation or arousal of the autonomic nervous system” (Spielberger,

1966).

Individual differences in A-trait were hypothesized as not

necessarily displayed directly in behaviour, but instead determined

whether the individual cognitively appraised specific stimuli as

threatening and therefore was likely to respond with increased state

anxiety. Some stimuli were proposed to evoke anxiety among most

individuals regardless of individual trait anxiety levels (e.g., threat of

objectively painful stimuli). Hence, the most important stimuli to

investigate were suggested as those that produce distinct changes in

state anxiety in individuals with various degrees of trait anxiety. In

order to enable assessment of the new conceptualisation of anxiety, the

40-item inventory “State Trait Anxiety Inventory” was developed

(STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushene, 1970), containing a trait scale

(i.e., how one generally feels) and a state scale (i.e., how one feels at the

moment). The scale later was revised and renamed as the STAI-

form Y (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, & Jacobs, 1983), and has

Introduction 11

played a significant role as a standard international measure of

anxiety in psychological research (Spielberger & Diaz-Guerrero, 1983).

SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY

Sport Psychology is a science in which the principles of psychology

are specifically applied in a sporting environment. The major aim of the

sports psychologist is to help sports participants reach their sporting

potential. Indeed, according to the Association for the Advancement of

Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP) “sport psychology is (a) the study of the

psychological and mental factors that influence and are influenced by

participation and performance in sport, exercise and physical activity, and

(b) the application of knowledge gained through this study to everyday

settings”. An understanding of psychological principles is not only

essential to sport psychologists, but is also invaluable to athletes,

coaches, teachers, managers, support service providers and parents. The

sports psychologists use psychological assessment techniques and

intervention strategies in an effort to help individuals to achieve optimal

performance. While sports psychology is concerned with analyzing human

behaviour in various types of sports settings, it also focuses on the mental

aspects of performance. The higher the level of competition, the greater

the psychological demands on the performer(s). Indeed many sport

Introduction 12

psychologists would argue that psychological preparation for sports

performance is the most important part of sports performance.

Today both physical and mental fitness play vital role in

performance. Modern day Cricket is basically a mental game.

Psychological factors play a key role in the sports performance. Factors

like anxiety, self confidence, aggressions, mood state and motivation

plays influential role in Cricket performance.

The relationship between anxiety and sport performance has

attracted much research attention over the past three decades, and

researchers have tried to clarify this relationship by advancing several

models and theories. It is generally recognized that psychological factors

are of crucial importance in high-level competitive sports.

In modern day Cricket is played in the mind, more than any other

game. Anxiety plays an important role in Cricket. Anxiety is a

psychological and physiological state characterised by somatic, emotional,

cognitive and behavioural components. The root meaning of the word

anxiety is ‘to vex or trouble’, in either the absence or presence of

psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry, uneasiness

and dread. Anxiety is considered to be a normal reaction to a stressor.

Introduction 13

Anxiety, depending upon the degree is defined in different ways such as

tension, panic. The ability to deal with anxiety is an integral part of sports

training. People, who are able to overcome their anxiety, perform much

better than some of the stronger contenders of the game.

Cricket is classified into three major departments namely batting,

bowling and fielding. Nature of each department defers from one

another. It is a basically dominated by the batting department because if

the situation demands all the eleven players should bat but, the same

may not be the case for the bowlers. Moreover this game is dominated

by the batsman.

ANXIETY RESEARCH WITHIN SPORT PSYCHOLOGY

The interest of anxiety experienced by athletes in relation to

sport competitions increased dramatically in the beginning of the

1970’s and continues to be an intensely studied topic. Yet, issues of

“athletes losing their nerve” had indeed been mentioned much earlier

in the psychological literature. For example, Griffith (1934)

discussed observations of athletes that displayed good sport techniques

at practice, but were poor “game performers” who failed completely

when it came to competition. Although the word anxiety was not used

explicitly, concepts such as “ball shyness”, “crowd shyness” and “fear

Introduction 14

responses” among athletes can be interpreted as early expressions of

what we today label as sport performance anxiety or competitive

anxiety. Moreover, Griffith (1934) noticed that “the athletic field and

the dressing room are veritable experimental laboratories for the study

of emotion and mood” and that “the athletic field makes a more

accessible laboratory for the practical study of various psychological

traits than is made by almost any other situation into which human

beings may venture”.

Considering the somewhat one-sided trait paradigm and general

problems of conceptualising the anxiety construct displayed in

mainstream psychology during the first phases of anxiety research, it

is not surprising that similar problems were also evident in early

anxiety research in the context of sports. Anxiety, as well as other

personality factors, was often assessed to make comparisons of

personality profiles of different groups of athletes. These studies were

conducted in a search for useful methods to predict and select

promising athletes, whereas intervention studies were rare. General

trait measures were used, but with little consideration for the fact that

they were sometimes developed to assess the personality factors of

clinical samples (Vanden Auweele, De Cuyper, Van Mele, &

Introduction 15

Rzewnicki, 1993; Vealey, 1989). An increasing conviction among

researchers was nevertheless evident for the usefulness of an

interactionistic view, in which both personality factors and situational

factors were accounted for (Vealey, 1989). Thus, in the light of

inconsistencies displayed in the early research results, the trait-state

distinction of anxiety suggested by Spielberger (1966) was welcomed

with enthusiasm.

The increased research interest of the role of anxiety in sports

competition was certainly shown in Europe. During the late 1970’s and

early 1980’s, the European Federation of Sports Psychology (Federation

Europeéne de Psychologies des Sports et des Activities Corporelles;

FEPSAC) initiated an international research project specifically

dedicated to increasing the understanding of anxiety in sports

(Schilling & Apitzsch, 1989). Because the STAI was relatively brief (40

items), and was therefore easy to apply in sports settings, it was

judged suitable for sport psychology research and was soon adapted

and regarded as a significant advancement in measurement (Schilling

& Apitzsch, 1989; Smith, Smoll, & Wiechman, 1998). Studies utilising

the STAI, which included a range of sports, generally supported that the

state scale of the STAI was sensitive to changes in anxiety levels among

Introduction 16

athletes, but less support for the usefulness of the trait scale was

found (Spielberger, 1989).

SPORTS COMPETITIVE ANXIETY

Competition can cause athletes to react both physically (somatic)

and mentally (cognitive) in a manner which can negatively affect their

performance abilities. Stress, arousal and anxiety are terms used to

describe this condition. The major problem in competition is letting your

mind work against you rather than for you. You must accept anxiety

symptoms as part and parcel of the competition experience; only then will

anxiety begin to facilitate your performance.

ASSESSMENT OF ANXIETY

A range of psychometric tests or sport anxiety questionnaires (SAQ)

have been used by sports psychologists to understand and measure this

condition. In 1966 Charles Spielberger argued that it was necessary to

make a distinction between momentary states and more permanent

traits.

• Anxiety states (A-state) is our response to a particular situation (i.e.

sky diving).

Introduction 17

• Anxiety traits (A-trait) are the characteristics of our personality, our

general anxiety level

Marten developed anxiety traits (A-trait) questionnaires that were

tailored specially to sport known as the Sport Competition Anxiety Test

(SCAT). Marten recognised that any measure of sport anxiety must take

into consideration cognitive anxiety (negative thoughts, worry) and

somatic anxiety (physiological response). The Competitive State Anxiety

Inventory or CSAI-2 takes into account the difference between A-state

and A-trait and distinguishes between cognitive and somatic anxiety.

[Martens, R., Burton, D., Vealey, R. Bump, L. & Smith, D. (1990). The

Development of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2)]

QUESTIONNAIRE

A formal standardized questionnaire is a survey instrument used to

collect data from individuals about themselves, or about a social unit such

as a household or a school. A questionnaire is said to be standardized

when each respondent is to be exposed to the same questions and the

same system of coding responses. The aim here is to try to ensure that

differences in responses to questions can be interpreted as reflecting

differences among respondents, rather than differences in the processes

that produced the answers.

Introduction 18

Standardized questionnaires are often used in the field of

educational planning to collect information about various aspects of

school systems. The main way of collecting this information is by asking

people questions – either through oral interviews (face to face or

telephone), or by self-administered questionnaires, or by using some

combination of these two methods. Testing and measurement are the

means of collecting information upon which subsequent performance

evaluations and decisions are made.

The whole measurement/evaluation process is a six stage, cyclic

affair, involving:

• The selection of characteristics to be measured

• The selection of a suitable method for measuring

• The collection of the data

• The analysis of the collected data

• The making of decisions

• The implementation of those decisions

All of the above stages should be completed with the athlete -

especially the analysis of the collected data and making of decision in

appropriate way.

Introduction 19

RATIONALE FOR TAKING-UP THE STUDY

The investigator having been involved with the game of Cricket for

more than twenty years in different capacities as player, coach,

administrator, selector and observer attempted to study the mental

make-up of the players. Various psychological parameters plays influential

role in Cricket performance. The past studies as well as the opinion of the

experts reveal that anxiety plays an important role in the performance of

the players. The assessment of anxiety was done by many in the past but

not many studies in game-specific, which motivated the investigator to

take-up the study.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM




which will provide opportunities for individual comparisons.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1. The newly developed questionnaire would help the sports

psychologist and Cricket coaches to evaluate their player’s anxiety

level more accurately.

Introduction 20

2. This study would yield norms to be used for the evaluation,

classification and selection of Cricket players for different levels of

competitions.

3. The findings of this study will add to the quantum of knowledge in

the area of Sports Psychology.

4. The findings of the study will also possible a new area to sports

psychologist, trainers and coaches to work on methods of

developing psychological training of the sportspersons in-spite of

their better technical and tactical skills.

LIMITATIONS

1. The difference that might exist among the subjects due to varied

social, cultural, economical and religious factors were not

considered.

2. The response of the subjects to the statements in the questionnaire

would depend upon various factors, such as understanding of the

statements, seriousness and sincerity of the subject. The accuracy

and reliability of the subjects’ responses to the questionnaire could

not be assessed and this was considered as one of the limitations.

3. The factors like climatic conditions, life styles, motivational factors,

other environmental factors, which might affect the performance

of the players were considered as limitations.

Introduction 21

4. The questionnaire developed in this study was focused only on

batting.

5. No Motivation technique was used by the researcher.

6. The data was collected through questionnaire and researcher was

depending on the responses and result given by players.

DELIMITATIONS

1. Five hundred and forty five male Cricket players randomly selected

from various districts including Chennai from Tamilnadu state were

chosen as subject for this study.

2. All the subjects chosen for this study were college Cricket players.

3. Their age ranged between 17 and 25 years.

4. The subject had past playing experience of at least three years in

Cricket and only those who represented their respective college

teams were taken as subjects.

Introduction 22

DEFINITION OF THE OPERATIONAL TERMS

PSYCHOLOGY

Psychology is defined as “the scientific study of behaviour and

mental process” (Crider, 1989).

SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY

“Sports psychology is the branch of sports and exercise science that

seeks to provide answer to questions about human behaviour in sports”

(Hoen, 1992).

ANXIETY

Anxiety is defined as a tense of such severity. The work efficiency

was interfaced with wand medical advice which is characterized by one or

more of the following complaints - Persistent feelings of tension and

strains, irritability, unremitting worry, inability to concentrate, feelings of

panic in everyday life situations.

According to Weinberg, et.al., (1995) “It is a negative emotional

state with feelings of nervousness, worry and apprehension associated

with activation or arousal of the body” .

Introduction 23

TRAIT ANXIETY

“Trait anxiety is a predisposition to perceive certain environmental

stimuli as threatening or non-threatening and to respond to these stimuli

with varying levels of state anxiety” (Martens, et al. 1990).

COGNITIVE ANXIETY

“Cognitive anxiety is mental component of anxiety and is caused by

negative self-evaluation”. Cognitive anxiety is characterized by

“conscious awareness of unpleasant feelings about oneself or external

stimuli, worry, disturbing visual images”. In sport, cognitive anxiety is

most commonly manifested by negative performance expectations and

thus negative self-evaluation (Martens, et al. 1990).

SOMATIC ANXIETY

“Somatic anxiety refers to the physiological and affective elements

of the anxiety experience that develop directly from autonomic arousal.

It is reflected in such responses as rapid heart rate, shortness of breath,

clammy hands, butterflies in the stomach and tense muscles” (Martens,

et al. 1990).

CChhaapptteerr IIII

RReevviieeww ooff RReellaatteedd LLiitteerraattuurree

CHAPTER – II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The research scholar has made every possible effort to go through

the literature related to the problems in the game of Cricket wherever

available. The scholar has gleaned through almost every source like

research quarterly, journal of various kinds, periodicals, encyclopedia,

relevant books and e-resources on Sports Psychology questionnaire in

Cricket and other games to pick up the related materials. While going

through the various sources of literature, it has been observed that very

little work has been done on Sports Psychological questionnaire related to

the game of Cricket and other games and sports. However, the scholar

has gone through the literature of allied studies that are related with

other games and sports to collect the necessary information.

CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF QUESTIONNAIRE

Christakou, et al. (2011) investigated Development and Validation

of the Causes of Re-Injury Worry Questionnaire. Re-injury worry is an

important construct in competitive sport that may influence performance

and increase the risk of re-injury. However, there are currently no

available instruments to measure the causes of re-injury worry. The

Review of Related Literature 25

purpose of this study was to develop the Causes of Re-Injury

Worry Questionnaire (CR-IWQ). The study was conducted in three

independent research phases to investigate the following: (a) the content

relevance, (b) the factor structure and the factorial validity, (c) the

concurrent validity, (d) the discriminate validity, and (e) the test-retest

reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients; ICC), and the internal

consistency of the instrument. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was

chosen to examine the factor structure of the CR-IWQ. Confirmatory

factor analysis (CFA) was used to examine further the factorial validity of

the instrument. A number of valid constructs were used to assess the

concurrent and discriminate validity of the CR-IWQ. The reliability of the

new instrument was examined using Pearson r (ICC) and Cronbach α.

Three hundred and seventy athletes with an acute musculoskeletal sport

injury in the last year participated in the study. EFA revealed a 12-item

model, representing two factors ("Re-injury worry due to rehabilitation"

and "Re-injury worry due to opponent's ability"). CFA supported the two-

factor model of the CR-IWQ. The concurrent and discriminate validity of

the CR-IWQ was confirmed by examining correlations between the CR-

IWQ with other constructs. The ICCs and the Cronbach α indices of the

CR-IWQ were acceptable. The Investigators have demonstrated that the


CR-IWQ is a good psychometric instrument that can be used for clinical

and research purposes.

Macnamara & Collins (2011) investigated Development and initial

validation of the Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence

Questionnaire. The development of talent is a complex process mediated

by a host of psychological, social, physical, and environmental variables.

Unfortunately, the multiple processes involved in talent development are

frequently ignored by the systems and protocols employed in sport.

Modern approaches to talent development are beginning to stress the

initial possession, then subsequent development, of generic psychological

characteristics (e.g. psychological characteristics of developing excellence;

Macnamara, Button, & Collins, 2010a, 2010b) as the best way to realize

latent potential. Accordingly, this paper describes the development and

initial validation of the Psychological Characteristics of Developing

Excellence Questionnaire (PCDEQ). In the first phase, an initial list of 160

items was developed. A combination of expert panel reviews, cognitive

interviews, and a pilot test was used to assess the relevance,

representativeness, and validity of each item. Ninety-six items were

retained following these steps. Exploratory factor analysis, with a sample

of 363 athletes, revealed an interpretable 59-item, 6-factor solution with


good internal consistency (0.870, 0.866, 0.847, 0.741, 0.749, and 0.701

respectively). The Psychological Characteristics of Developing Excellence

Questionnaire would appear to hold promise as a useful tool to provide

coaches and athletes with information about the psychological

characteristics of developing excellence that are being properly addressed

or neglected during different stages of development or in different

contexts.

Freeman, et al. (2011) investigated the PASS-Q: the perceived

available support in sport questionnaire. This article provides initial

evidence for the construct validity of the Perceived Available Support in

Sport Questionnaire (PASS-Q), which assesses emotional, esteem,

informational, and tangible support. In Study 1, confirmatory factor

analyses provided evidence for a four-dimension factor structure.

Correlations supported hypothesized relationships between the PASS-Q

dimensions and the Social Support Survey questions (Richman, Rosenfeld,

& Hardy, 1993). In Study 2, the four-dimension factor structure was

supported in an independent sample. Further, higher levels of perceived

available emotional, esteem, informational, and tangible support were

associated with higher levels of self-confidence and lower levels of


burnout. Researchers are encouraged to use the PASS-Q to examine the

effects of perceived available support in sport contexts.

Balaji and Kalidasan, (2011) investigated Construction and

Development of Game-Specific Competitive Anxiety Questionnaire for

Cricketers. The objective of the study was to assess the game-specific

competitive anxiety level of the Tamil Nadu state Cricketers. One hundred

and fifteen Cricketers from TNCA first division league Cricket teams aged

ranged between 16 and 26 years were respondent to questionnaire

developed by the investigators and standardized sports competition

anxiety questionnaire (SCAT) developed by Martens. The objectivity,

reliability and validity of the questionnaire were established using

appropriate tools. The three sports psychological experts were asked to

subjectively rate the anxiety level of each Cricketer in a 10 point scale,

ranging from 0 to 10 point. The statistical analysis Pearson product

moment correlation was used to find out the inter-relationship between

expert rating and collected data. The result reveals that the constructed

game-specific competitive anxiety questionnaire for Tamil Nadu state

Cricketers had significant relationship with the expert rating and with

SCAT questionnaire.


Proios, (2010) investigated Development and validation of a

questionnaire for the assessment of moral content judgment in sport. The

present study aimed to develop and validate an instrument for the

assessment of moral content judgments in sport and to provide for its

content, construct, and criterion-oriented validity. Two hundred

ninety-three athletes (males, n = 188; females, n = 105; mean age = 19.62

years) filled in three questionnaires: assessment of the moral content

judgment (Moral Content Judgment in Sport Questionnaire; MCJSQ),

assessment of dispositional goal orientation (Task and Ego Orientation in

Sports Orientation Questionnaire; TEOSQ), and attitudes towards

sportspersonship (Multidimensional Sportspersonship Orientation Scale;

MSOS). A bivariate correlation predicted interrelations on a 24-item scale.

Factor analyses (exploratory and confirmatory) revealed an adequate fit

in a five-factor model. Internal consistency was high in four factors and

moderate in one. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed differences

in gender with regard to motive for decision making. Hierarchical

regression analyses showed a positive relationship between task

orientation and the subscales of normative order, fairness, social

consequences, harmony-serving consequences, and egoistic

consequences, and a negative relationship between ego orientation and

the subscales of normative order, fairness, and social consequences,


providing evidence for the validity of the prediction. The five subscales of

the MCJSQ correlated significantly with four of the scales of the MSOS

(commitment, social convention, rules and officials, and opponent),

supporting the concurrent validity of the MCJSQ. The results of the

present study provided evidence for the reliability and validity of the

MCJSQ.

Martindale, et al. (2010) investigated Development of the Talent

Development Environment Questionnaire for Sport. As sporting challenge

at the elite level becomes ever harder, maximizing effectiveness of the

talent development pathway is crucial. Reflecting this need, this paper

describes the development of the Talent Development Environment

Questionnaire, which has been designed to facilitate the development of

sporting potential to world-class standard. The questionnaire measures

the experiences of developing athletes in relation to empirically identified

“key features” of effective talent development environments. The first

phase involved the generation of questionnaire items with clear content

and face validity. The second phase explored the factor structure and

reliability. This was carried out with 590 developing athletes through

application of exploratory factor analysis with oblique rotation, principal

axis factoring extraction and cronbach alpha tests. This yielded a 59-item,


seven-factor structure with good internal consistency (0.616–0.978). The

Talent Development Environment Questionnaire appears to be a

promising psychometric instrument that can potentially be useful for

education and formative review in applied settings, and as a

measurement tool in talent development research.

Gucciardi and Gordon, (2009) investigated development and

preliminary validation of the Cricket Mental Toughness Inventory (CMTI).

The purpose of this research project was to develop a psychometrically

sound measure of mental toughness in Cricket, using a multi-method

research design. Two qualitative studies in which current and former

Cricketers' (n = 16) perceptions of the key components of mental

toughness in Cricket and the suitability of an item pool to target those key

components (n = 9) were assessed. They then conducted two quantitative

studies to examine both the within- and between-network properties of

the Cricket Mental Toughness Inventory (CMTI) using confirmatory factor

analysis and correlations. Support for the existence of a five-factor, 15-

item model was revealed with three independent samples of Cricketers;

two contained Cricketers from several different countries (n = 285 and

285), whereas one contained Australian Cricketers only (n = 433). Each of

the five subscales (affective intelligence, attentional control, resilience,


self-belief, and desire to achieve) were positively correlated with

dispositional flow, hardiness, and resilience and negatively correlated

with athlete burnout. Although requiring replication and extension, the

results of the present study provide preliminary support for the factor

structure, internal reliability, and construct validity of the CMTI.

Zervas, et al. (2007) investigated Development and Validation of

the Self-Talk Questionnaire (S-TQ) for Sports. The purpose of the present

study was to describe the development and validation of the Self-Talk

Questionnaire (S-TQ), designed to measure two functions of self-talk

strategies, namely the motivational function and the cognitive function,

used by athletes to enhance their sport performances. The study was

conducted in three phases. The first phase targeted item selection and

content relevance. The second phase set out to test the factor structure

of the instrument. The aim of the third phase was focused on further

examination of the psychometric properties of the instrument. The results

of an exploratory factor analysis provided adequate support for the

instrument. The S-TQ consists of 11 items, representing two factors

(motivational and cognitive). A confirmatory factor analysis showed an

acceptable fit to the data. The factors were internally consistent, the

correlations with external criteria were significant, and test-retest


reliability values were very good. Examining the relationships between

the S-TQ and similar constructs supported convergent validity.

Discriminate validity was supported by correlations between the S-TQ and

a different construct. The S-TQ appears to be a promising psychometric

instrument that can be used in research and psychological intervention

programs.

Smith, et al. (2006) investigated Measurement of Multidimensional

Sport Performance Anxiety in Children and Adults: The Sport Anxiety

Scale-2. This article describes the development and validation of the Sport

Anxiety Scale-2 (SAS-2), a multidimensional measure of cognitive and

somatic trait anxiety in sport performance settings. Scale development

was stimulated by findings that the 3-factor structure of the original Sport

Anxiety Scale (SAS; Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990) could not be reproduced

in child samples and that several items on the scale produced conflicting

factor loadings in adult samples. Alternative items having readability

levels of grade 4 or below were therefore written to create a new version

suitable for both children and adults. Exploratory and confirmatory factor

analyses replicated the original SAS factor structure at all age levels,

yielding separate 5-item subscales for Somatic Anxiety, Worry, and

Concentration Disruption in samples as young as 9 to 10 years of age. The


SAS-2 has stronger factorial validity than the original scale did, and

construct validity research indicates that scores relate to other

psychological measures as expected. The scale reliably predicts pre

competition state anxiety scores and proved sensitive to anxiety-

reduction interventions directed at youth sport coaches and parents.

Jones, et al. (2005) investigated Development and Validation of the

Sport Emotion Questionnaire. The present paper outlines the

development of a sport-specific measure of precompetitive emotion to

assess anger, anxiety, dejection, excitement, and happiness. Face,

content, factorial, and concurrent validity were examined over four

stages. Stage 1 had 264 athletes complete an open-ended questionnaire

to identify emotions experienced in sport. The item pool was extended

through the inclusion of additional items taken from the literature. In

Stage 2 a total of 148 athletes verified the item pool while a separate

sample of 49 athletes indicated the extent to which items were

representative of the emotions anger, anxiety, dejection, excitement, and

happiness. Stage 3 had 518 athletes complete a provisional Sport Emotion

Questionnaire (SEQ) before competition. Confirmatory factor analysis

indicated that a 22-item and 5-factor structure provided acceptable

model fit. Results from Stage 4 supported the criterion validity of the SEQ.


The SEQ is proposed as a valid measure of precompetitive emotion for

use in sport settings.

Beedie, et al. (2005) investigated Development and validation of

the emotion and mood components of Anxiety Questionnaire. Mood and

emotion research in sport psychology is typically conducted using single

adjective checklists such as the Profile of Mood States. A limitation of

single adjective checklists is that they assess the intensity of the affective

response but not the context, and thus cannot reliably distinguish mood

from emotion. Recent research has emphasized the importance of

distinguishing mood from emotion both theoretically (Lane & Terry, 2000)

and practically (Jones, 2003).The purpose of the present research was to

develop a self-report measure that distinguishes mood from emotion. No

such method currently exists, despite an extensive literature attesting to

theoretical distinctions between the two (see Ekman & Davidson, 1994).

Beedie, Lane and Terry (2001) proposed that mood and emotion can be

distinguished empirically. Their proposal was made on the basis of

content analyses of 65 published papers addressing distinctions between

emotion and mood, and of interview data from 106 participants relating

to the same question (Beedie, Terry, & Lane, in press). The present study


reports the development and validation of the measure: The Emotion and

Mood Components of Anxiety Questionnaire (EMCA-Q).

Lane, et al. (2005) investigated Confirmatory factor analysis of the

Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport (TOQS) among adolescent

athletes. There is an inherent link between theory and measurement

suggesting that validation of measures should be the first stage of theory

testing. The aim of the present study was to cross-validate the factorial

validity of the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport for use among

adolescent athletes. National standard young athletes (Individual N_/204;

Team N_/360) completed the TOQS questionnaire. Single-sample and

multisampling confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the

psychometric integrity of the hypothesized three-factor correlated model.

Multisampling results demonstrated invariance for factor loadings and

correlations between individual and team athletes. Internal consistency

coefficients were over the .70 criterion for acceptability. Findings lend

support to previous validation studies conducted on samples of adult

athletes and suggest that the TOQS provides an equally valid measure for

use among adolescent athletes. It is suggested that the TOQS can be used

to investigate theoretical issues related to cognitive interference during

competition.


Nikos and Yannis (2004) investigated a Psychometric Evaluation of

the Group Environment Questionnaire in a Sample of Elite and Regional

Level Greek Volleyball Players. The purpose of this study was to examine

the psychometric properties of the Group Environment Questionnaire

(GEQ; Carron, Widmeyer and Brawley, 1985) adapted to the Greek

language. The sample consisted of 586 male and female volleyball players

of elite and regional level status. Data were analysed from three time

points of a competitive season. For each time point, seven competing

first-order and second-order factor structures were subjected to

confirmatory factor analyses. The results revealed that the Greek GEQ

demonstrated high internal reliability coefficients, good convergent

validity and, for most of the competing models, acceptable fit indices.

However, very high factor correlations rendered problematic the

discriminant validity of the questionnaire. Multisampling analyses

examining the invariance of the seven models across competitive level

and gender revealed that the models were largely invariant. Further

psychometric testing is needed to examine whether the Greek GEQ

relates to conceptually important personal and team correlates of group

cohesion.


Norton, et al. (2004) investigated the physical activity and sport

anxiety scale (PASAS): Scale development and psychometric analysis.

Research suggests that social anxiety may be elicited in athletic or

sporting situations, resulting in decreased physical activity due to

avoidance behaviour. Given the myriad physical and psychological health

consequences of a non-active lifestyle, valid assessment of social anxiety

and avoidance in this domain is warranted. However, none of the

common measures of social anxiety appear to assess social anxiety in

physical activity or sporting domains. Therefore, the purpose of this study

was to develop and evaluate a brief measure of social anxiety in physical

activities and sports. A 16-item self-report questionnaire, the Physical

Activity and Sport Anxiety Scale (PASAS), was extracted from a larger pool

on empirical and theoretical grounds. The PASAS demonstrated excellent

internal consistency across a number of samples, and excellent temporal

stability. The PASAS also demonstrated good convergent and divergent

validity, and is related to self-perceived performance biases as postulated

by cognitive-behavioural models of social anxiety.

Terry, et al. (2004) investigated the exercise addiction inventory: a

new brief screening tool. Many attempts have been made to define and

measure problem exercising but there has not been any successful


attempt to produce a psychometrically sound assessment instrument. The

aim of the present study was to develop a psychometric instrument (the

Exercise Addiction Inventory, EAI) capable of identifying people at risk

from exercise addiction. The intention was to develop a short form

inventory that would be quick and simple to administer. The EAI was

operationalised using the components of behavioural addiction proposed

by Griffiths (Griffiths, M.D. (1996). Behavioural addiction: an issue for

everybody? Journal of Workplace Learning, 8(3), 19–25). The study

presents the psychometric properties of the EAI, which are manifested in

very good internal reliability, content validity, concurrent validity, and

construct validity. It is concluded that the EAI could be a valid and reliable

instrument capable of quickly and easily identifying individuals at risk

from exercise addiction.

Jowett and Ntoumanis, (2004) investigated The Coach-Athlete

Relationship Questionnaire (CART-Q): development and initial validation.

The purpose of the present study was to develop and validate a self-

report instrument that measures the nature of the coach-athlete

relationship. Jowett et al.'s (Jowett & Meek, 2000; Jowett, in press)

qualitative case studies and relevant literature were used to generate

items for an instrument that measures affective, cognitive, and behavioral


aspects of the coach-athlete relationship. Two studies were carried out in

an attempt to assess content, predictive, and construct validity, as well as

internal consistency, of the Coach-Athlete Relationship Questionnaire

(CART-Q), using two independent British samples. Principal component

analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to reduce the number

of items, identify principal components, and confirm the latent structure

of the CART-Q. Results supported the multidimensional nature of the

coach-athlete relationship. The latent structure of the CART-Q was

underlined by the latent variables of coaches' and athletes' Closeness

(emotions), Commitment (cognitions), and Complementarily (behaviours).

Jowett and Ntoumanis, (2003) investigated Athlete Relationship

Questionnaire (GrCART-Q): Scale development and validation. In view of

the growing interest in the influence of cultural issues pertaining to

psychological assessment, this article presents a study that aimed to

develop a culturally specific scale for assessing the interpersonal

relationships established between Greek coaches and their athletes. Two

studies were carried out to assess content, criterion and construct

validity, as well as internal consistency, of the Greek Coach – Athlete

Relationship Questionnaire (GrCART – Q). Exploratory and confirmatory

factor analyses indicated the multidimensional nature of the GrCART-Q,


which was underlined by the latent factors of Closeness, Commitment,

and complementarily. In addition, the predictive validity of the GrCART -

Q was evidenced through the associations of the latent factors with the

criterion variable of interpersonal satisfaction. This study was conducted

in parallel with Jowett and Ntoumanis’ (2001) study so that the CART-Q

was validated employing a sample of Greek and British coaches and

athletes respectively. Taking both studies together, the generated

findings reveal subtle differences; these differences are discussed in

terms of the collectivism/individualism frame work.

Gaudreau and Blondin, (2002) investigated development of a

questionnaire for the assessment of coping strategies employed by

athletes in competitive sport settings. To develop an original self-report

instrument for the assessment of athletes' coping strategies in

competitive sport settings and to provide preliminary evidence for its

factorial, convergent, concurrent, and differential validity. French–

Canadian athletes (N=316; M AGE=17.4 years) completed l'Inventaire des

Strategies de Coping en Competition Sportive (ISCCS) along with three

measures of cognitive appraisal (i.e. perceived relevance of the

competition, sense of control, and perceived goal attainment), either the

PANAS or the CSAI-2, and either the WOCQ, the MCOPE, or a social


desirability scale. All scales were administered within six hours of

completion of a sport competition. A sequential four-stage confirmatory

factor analysis revealed an adequate fit for a 10-factor model and its

superiority over a two- and a three-factor model. The subscales of the

ISCCS correlated meaningfully with appraisal variables, positive and

negative affect (PANAS), cognitive and somatic anxiety (CSAI-2), and the

coping strategies of both WOCQ and MCOPE questionnaires, thus

providing evidence for their concurrent and convergent validity. A

multivariate factorial analysis of variance lent partial support for the

differential validity of the ISCCS as effort expenditure, mental imagery,

relaxation, and venting of unpleasant emotion varied significantly across

athletes' level of expertise whereas venting of unpleasant emotion and

effort expenditure differed significantly between genders. The results

revealed promising features of the ISCCS. Future research should assess

whether the factorial structure of the ISCCS is invariant across athletes'

genders and expertise levels as well as across the different phases of a

sport competition.

Kowalski and Crocker (2001) investigated Development and

validation of the coping function questionnaire for adolescents in sport.

Richard Lazarus has emphasized the need for theory based instrument


development in stress and coping research. He has outlined a cognitive-

motivational-relational theory of emotion and coping which has

contributed significantly to researchers' understanding of the stress and

coping process in both sport and non-sport domains. An instrument

developed from theory with strong measurement properties would

provide a better understanding of how adolescent sport participants

attempt to manage stress experienced in sport. The instrument must be

appropriate for the demands of sport as well as an adolescent aged

population. The purpose of this dissertation was to present two studies

regarding the development and validation of the Coping Function

Questionnaire (CFQ) for adolescent sport participants. The final 18-item

CFQ assessed three coping functions: (a) problem-focused coping to

assess an effort to actively change and remain in the situation that was

causing the stress, (b) emotion-focused coping to assess an effort to

control thoughts or emotions while remaining in the situation that was

causing the stress, and (c) avoidance coping to assess an effort to remove

oneself either permanently or temporarily from the situation that was

causing the stress. The CFQ was found to have a number of desirable

measurement properties. The means, variances, and distributions of scale

scores were acceptable. Scales were found to have adequate internally

consistency. Confirmatory factor analysis results showed that the three


coping function CFQ measurement model was acceptable for both males

and females. Convergent and divergent validity was supported by latent

factor correlations with existing coping instruments. Also, the three

coping functions on the CFQ had weak correlations among one another,

supporting the distinction between the three coping functions at a

conceptual level. Overall, the two studies provided support the CFQ as

valid option for assessing coping function in large sample adolescent sport

studies.

Rowe, et al. (1999) investigated Development of the Body Self-

Image Questionnaire. The purpose of these studies was to develop a new

questionnaire, called the Body Self-Image Questionnaire (BSIQ), to

measure body image in young adults. During the questionnaire

development process, data were collected in 3 separate studies. In Study

1, open-ended questions were developed from a review of the body

image literature and from a review of current instruments used to

measure body-related traits. These questions were administered to

develop statement items for the BSIQ. In Study 2 and Study 3, exploratory

factor analyses and item-subscale correlations were used to guide

revisions to the questionnaire. The final result was a 9-factor (Overall

Appearance Evaluation, Fatness Evaluation, Health/Fitness Evaluation,


Negative Affect, Health/Fitness Influence, Social Dependence, Investment

in Ideals, Attention to Grooming, and Height Dissatisfaction), 51-item

questionnaire. Internal consistency reliabilities for the subscales in the

final version of the BSIQ ranged from .68 to .92. Factor loadings in Study 3

supported the 9-factor structure, with one exception. Some ambiguity

existed in 2 subscales (Negative Affect and Social Dependence), whose

factor loadings suggested the possibility of a single factor. From these

preliminary results, the BSIQ appears to contribute to the research of

body image by offering a straightforward, multidimensional measure of

body image. The BSIQ was developed using a comprehensive, multiple

stage process and improves on several existing tests in its use of a

common format across all items and acceptable validity and reliability

evidence. Further research is needed to build on this evidence using

confirmatory factor analyses and external validity evidence.

Hall, et al. (1998) investigated The Sport Imagery Questionnaire for

Children (SIQ-C). Athletes of all ages report using imagery extensively to

enhance their sport performance. The Sport Imagery Questionnaire (Hall,

Mack, Paivio, & Hausenblas, 1998) was developed to assess cognitive and

motivational imagery used by adult athletes. No such instrument

currently exists to measure the use of imagery by young athletes. The aim


of the present research was to modify the Sport Imagery Questionnaire

for use with children aged 7–14 years. This was accomplished through

three phases. Across these phases, evidence was generated showing

adequate factorial, convergent, and discriminate validity and reliability of

the instrument, which is termed the Sport Imagery Questionnaire—

Children's Version. In addition, the relationships of scores on the Sport

Imagery Questionnaire—Children's Version to gender and age were

examined. While it was found that male and female athletes employed

imagery to about the same extent, there were some age group

differences in the use of imagery.

Glyn, et al. (1998) investigated the development and validation of

the Perception of Success Questionnaire Recent research into motivation

and achievement behaviour in sport has focused on achievement goal

theory. This theory states that two goal orientations manifest themselves

in achievement contexts and impact on the motivation process. These

two goals have been defined as 'task' and 'ego' goal orientations. This

paper traces the development of the Perception of Success Questionnaire

as a measure of achievement goals developed specifically for the sport

context. The early development of the questionnaire is documented, in

which the scale was shortened from the initial 29 to the current 12


question format. We demonstrate that task and ego goals are orthogonal,

internal reliabilities for the orientations are high, with strong construct

and concurrent validity. We conclude by reporting results from two

recent confirmatory factor analyses that were conducted on the

Children’s and Adult versions of the questionnaire; these results show the

Perception of Success Questionnaire to be a reliable and valid instrument

to measure achievement goal orientations in sport.

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE OF ANXIETY RESEARCH

Spielberger (1966) introduced the distinction between trait and

state anxiety, other researchers in fields of test anxiety and social

evaluation anxiety proposed a further evolution of the construct.

These researchers argued that trait anxiety should not be viewed or

assessed as a general construct applicable to a range of situations, but

should instead be treated as a learned response to specific situations

(Sarason, 1980; Sarason, Davidson, Lighthall, Waite, & Ruebush, 1960;

Watson & Friend, 1969). Others have also contended that trait

anxiety could be split into sub-dimensions, including at least

dimensions of social evaluation, physical danger, ambiguous or novel

situations and harmless situations in the individual’s daily routines

(Endler & Kocovski, 2001). Hence, based on their specific trait


anxiety facets, individuals might differ in the situations in which

state anxiety is perceived. Even though an individual might respond

with anxiety when, for example, forced to speak or act in front of an

audience, this should not necessarily mean that this would be the case

in other situations such as competing in sports (cf. Burton, 1998).

Support for this notion was found when situation-specific trait anxiety

scales were developed. Results showed that these scales could predict

individuals’ behaviour more precisely than general scales had

previously accomplished. Hence, the increased information about the

situation and how individuals generally tend to respond in these

situations were proposed to provide more valuable knowledge of

anxiety than assessment of general trait anxiety (Sarason, 1980;

Sarason et al., 1960; Watson & Friend, 1969). Inspired by these

findings, Martens (1971; Martens, Vealey, & Burton,1990) set out to

develop a sport-specific trait anxiety scale by generating and modifying

items from existing general scales plus creating new items. This work

resulted in an inventory called the Sport Competition Anxiety Test

(SCAT). Soon, the need for a sport-specific state anxiety scale was also

noted, and items from the state form of the STAI were modified in

order to develop the competitive state anxiety Inventory (CSAI;

Martens, Burton, Rivkin, & Simons, 1 9 80 ). Both the SCAT and the


CSAI were one- dimensional in nature and, as will be discussed in

later sections of this dissertation, multidimensional scales have

subsequently also been developed. This was nevertheless a starting

point for a general trend in sport psychology in developing and

adopting sport-specific scales in preference to general ones (Gauvin

& Russell, 1993; Ostrow, 1996). Even though some researchers have

continued to use general anxiety scales, predominantly the STAI, and

contend that if properly used they do provide valuable information

about athletic performance (e.g., Hanin, 2000a), the use of sport-specific

scales has dominated sport anxiety research since their introduction.

ANXIETY AND SPORTS PERFORMANCE

Gucciardi, (2011) investigated the relationship between

developmental experiences and mental toughness in adolescent

Cricketers. The present study investigated the contribution of positive and

negative youth sport experiences (i.e., processes or experiences that

occur in a particular activity or setting) to self-reported mental toughness

among youth-aged Cricketers. A sample of 308 male Cricketers aged

between 13 and 18 years self-reported mental toughness using

the Cricket Mental Toughness Inventory (CMTI; Gucciardi & Gordon,

2009), with 187 of these Cricketers also documenting their exposure to a


variety of positive and negative developmental experiences. Confirmatory

factor and internal reliability analyses supported the hypothesized mental

toughness measurement model. Structural equation modelling analyses

indicated that a variety of developmental experiences were related to

various mental toughness components, with initiative experiences

evidencing the strongest overall relationship with mental toughness

followed by negative peer influences. The number of years playing

experience and hours per week training evidenced largely insignificant

relationships with the exception of desire to achieve and attentional

control components of mental toughness, as well as its global factor.

Collectively, these findings lend support for the validity of the CMTI as a

valid measure among adolescent Cricketers, and highlight the importance

of initiative and interpersonal experiences for mental toughness

in Cricket.

Tsopani, et al. (2011) investigated Competitive state anxiety and

performance in young female rhythmic gymnasts. The study was designed

to examine the competitive state anxiety and self-confidence of rhythmic

gymnasts participating in the Greek national competition. 86 participants,

ages 11 and 12 years, completed the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-

2, one hour before competition. The athletes, classified by performance


(high and low performance) and participation in the finals (finalists and

non finalists), responded to the three subscales: Cognitive Anxiety,

Somatic Anxiety, and Self-confidence. Analyses indicated differences in

Self-confidence between high versus low performance groups and

finalists versus non finalists. No significant differences were found on

Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety. In a regression analysis, Self-confidence

was the only significant predictor of performance for this sample.

Implications refer to the development of strategies to enhance self-

confidence in order to improve the gymnast's performance during

competition.

Balaji and Jesudass (2011) investigated mental toughness

differentials among Cricket players at different age groups. The purpose

of the study was to find out the differences in Mental Toughness among

Cricket Players of different age groups. To achieve this purpose, ninety

Cricket players at the age group of 10-21 years were selected from

Chennai District, who regularly practice the game and participate in

various tournaments. “Mental Toughness Questionnaire” a standardized

sports psychological inventory designed by Dr. Goldberg, was responded

by all the subjects. The collected data was analyzed using simple analysis

of variance (ANOVA). The results of the study showed that there was a


significant difference in Mental Toughness among Cricket Players of

different age levels at 0.05 level of confidence. It was concluded that

Cricket Players of age group 18-21 years showed significantly greater

mental toughness than the other two age groups. This may be due to

their experience in the game.

Bhagirathi, et al. (2010) investigated a comparative study of the

psychological profiles of Indian Railways and Madhya Pradesh National

and International Level Male Cricket Players. The purpose of the study

was to find out the comparative result of the Psychological Profiles of

Indian Railways and Madhya Pradesh International and National Level

Male Cricket Players. The subject's age ranged between 18 and 25 years,

they all were selected randomly from the Railways and Madhya Pradesh

as U-19 and U-22 Cricket teams. The experts made two groups of 49–49

players, one group made up of Madhya Pradesh cricket players and

another group made up of Railways Cricket players, those who are

continuously participating at national and international level. The experts

used questionnaires of Rainer and Martin's Sports Competition Anxiety

Test (SCAT) and the Maudsley Personality Inventory; the questions

addressed various aspects of Sports Competition Anxiety and Personality

traits of cricket players, respectively. The questionnaire has filled by the


Railways and Madhya Pradesh U-19 and U-22 Cricket team’s players,

respectively. For the evaluation of questionnaire two sample t test was

employed, and the findings revealed that there was a significant

difference found that is, 2.8 in their Personality parameters, it means

Railways Cricketers were better in their Personality as compare to

Madhya Pradesh Cricketers and found Insignificant that is, 0.12 in the

SCAT, which means there was no difference in Sports Competition Anxiety

of Railways Cricketers and Madhya Pradesh Cricketers. Sports Psychology

can help a lot in assessing the personality and sports anxiety

characteristics of the players or individuals performance in cricket not

only demands systematic training to develop physical and physiological

variables but also demands training and considerations of psychological

characteristics for success in this field.

Ford, et.al., (2010) investigated developmental activities that

contribute to high or low performance by elite Cricket batters when

recognizing type of delivery from bowlers' advanced postural cues. We

examined the developmental activities that contribute to the

development of superior anticipation skill among elite Cricket batters. The

batters viewed 36 video clips involving deliveries from bowlers that were

occluded at ball release and were required to predict delivery type.


Accuracy scores were used to create two subgroups high-performing and

low-performing anticipators. Questionnaires were used to record the

participation history profiles of the groups. In the early stages of

development, hours accumulated in Cricket and other sports, as well as

milestones achieved, did not differentiate groups. Significant between-

group differences in activity profiles were found between 13 and 15 years

of age, with high-performing anticipators accumulating more hours in

structured Cricket activity, and specifically in batting, compared with their

low-performing counterparts.

Patel, et al. (2010) investigated Sport-related performance

anxiety in young female athletes. The prevalence of anxiety disorders in

adolescents range from 6% to 20%, and it is much higher for anxiety

symptoms not meeting criteria for a specific anxiety disorder. The

prevalence is much higher in females. Athletes participating in sports

experience different levels of stress from competitive sports. For most

young athletes (generally 13 to 24 years old, i.e., high-school and college

age group) sport participation is reported to be no more stressful than

many other activities of daily student or work life in general where

competition is involved and performance is measured. Some level of sport

related performance anxiety is considered to be normal and healthy;


however, extreme anxiety in athletes can be detrimental in these

performance situations. A number of factors may contribute to the

development, severity, and persistence of performance anxiety related to

sport participation. This article reviews the definitions, theories, clinical

presentation, evaluation, and management principles of performance

anxiety symptoms in young athletes.

Olivares, et al. (2009) investigated The Liebowitz Social Anxiety

Scale for Children and Adolescents. The purpose of this study was to

analyze the component structure and reliability of the Liebowitz Social

Anxiety Scale for Children and Adolescents, self-report version (LSAS-CA-

SR), in a Spanish community population. The sample was made up of 422

students from elementary and high schools, aged between 10 and 17

years. Exploratory factor analysis isolated one component for the Anxiety

subscale and one component for the Avoidance subscale. Medium-strong

associations were found between the total score and subscale scores.

LSAS-CA-SR scores had stronger associations with instruments of social

anxiety. Internal consistency for the Fear subscale was .91, and for the

Avoidance subscale, it was .89. Gender and age effects were assessed for

LSAS-CA-SR scores. Effect sizes for age and gender and interaction of age

and gender were very low on both the Fear and the Avoidance subscales.


There were significant differences between female and male means on

the Fear subscale. The findings suggest that the LSAS-CA-SR is reliable and

valid.

Dias, et al. (2009) investigated Anxiety and Coping Strategies in

Sport Contexts: A Look at the Psychometric Properties of Portuguese

Instruments for their Assessment. The purpose of this study was to

examine the psychometric properties of the Portuguese versions of the

Sport Anxiety Scale and of the Brief COPE, as well as of the Cognitive

Appraisal Scale in Sport Competition– Threat Perception, namely

regarding their factor structure validity and internal consistency.

Participants were 550 male and female athletes of several sports, aged 15

to 35 years old (M=19.8; SD=4.5). Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor

Analysis indicated that the instruments demonstrated good psychometric

properties. In general, the measurement models provided a good fit to

the empirical data and with the exception of some scales of the Brief

COPE, the calculated Cronbach’s a coefficient of reliability indicated

adequate internal consistency for the three instruments. Overall, the

results of the present study provided evidence for these instruments’

validity and reliability, ultimately supporting their importance for research

and psychological intervention in sport contexts.


Jones, et al. (2004) investigated Anxiety Symptom Interpretation

and Performance Predictions in high-anxious, low-anxious and Repressor

Sport Performers. This study examined whether the tendency to interpret

anxiety symptoms as facilitative was more a characteristic of individuals

classified as repressors than high-anxious and low-anxious sports

performers. The influence of the cognitive biases of high-anxious and

repressor individuals on future performance expectations were also

examined. The state anxiety levels, directional interpretation of anxiety

and performance expectations of golfers classified as high-anxious, low-

anxious and repressors were examined prior to competition. Performance

expectations were compared to actual performances achieved. The

proposal that repressors would interpret anxiety symptoms as more

facilitative than high-anxious and low-anxious individuals was not

supported. Repressors were found to be overly optimistic regarding

future performance, consistently predicting better performance than they

achieved. Contrary to predictions, performance expectations of the high-

anxious group did not differ from those actually achieved. Thus, the

proposal that high-anxious individuals would be overly pessimistic was

not supported. These findings are discussed within the theory of trait

anxiety proposed by Eysenck (1997).


Locke, (2003) investigated "If I'm not Nervous, I'm Worried, does

that Make Sense?” The use of Emotion Concepts by Athletes in Accounts

of Performance. Traditionally research into emotions in sport has focused

on the impact of specific emotions upon performance, most notably

anxiety. This paper approaches emotion from the perspective of

discursive psychology, drawing on the methods of discourse analysis and

conversation analysis. Using interview data from high level athletes, this

paper examines the uses of emotion concepts in accounts of athletic

performance. What becomes apparent through the analysis is that

athletes claim that specific emotions such as nervousness are normal in

sporting performance. In contrast, when accounting for failure, the

athletes construct their build-up to the competition as containing no

experience of these emotions. Rather than in traditional sports

psychological research whereby emotions are seen to be quantifiable, this

paper demonstrates how emotion terms form a rich interactional

currency that are embedded within our accounting practices.

Cox , et al. (2003) investigated Measuring Anxiety in Athletics: The

Revised Competitive State Anxiety Inventory–2.The purpose of this study

was to use confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to revise the factor

structure of the CSAI-2 using one data set, and then to use CFA to validate


the revised structure using a second data set. The first data set

(calibration sample) consisted of 503 college-age intramural athletes, and

the second (validation sample) consisted of 331 intercollegiate (Division I)

and interscholastic athletes. The results of the initial CFA on the

calibration sample resulted in a poor fit to the data. Using the Lagrange

Multiplier Test (Gamma) as a guide, CSAI-2 items that loaded on more

than one factor were sequentially deleted. The resulting 17-item revised

CSAI-2 was then subjected to a CFA using the validation data sample. The

results of this CFA revealed a good fit of the data to the model (CFI = .95,

NNFI = .94, RMSEA = .054). It is suggested that the CSAI-2R instead of the

CSAI-2 be used by researchers and practitioners for measuring

competitive state anxiety in athletes.

Slogrove, et al. (2002) investigated batting related experiences of

South African Universities Cricketers. In order to substantiate qualitative

data gained regarding the cognitions, feelings and behaviours

experienced by three potentially elite top-order cricket batsmen, a

quantitative post hoc study was undertaken. One hundred and ten South

African Universities (SAU) cricketers completed the Mental Processes

during Batting in Cricket questionnaire which was drawn up by the first

author from a summary of nine in-depth interviews with three case study


participants. The five most strongly supported batting related experiences

of the SAU cricketers were: playing of each delivery on its merit; feeling a

sudden rush of nervousness when having to bat; expecting to be perfect

in their batting; using a pre-delivery routine before facing their first

delivery in an innings; and an over-analysis of their batting when in bad

form.

Bawden and Maynard, (2001) investigated towards an

understanding of the 'yips' is a phenomenon that affects individuals who

perform finely controlled motor skills. The result is involuntary

movements that occur throughout the execution of a skill. A qualitative

study was conducted to identify the psychological characteristics of the

'yips' experience in Cricket bowlers. Eight bowlers of varying ability were

interviewed about their thoughts, emotions and feelings before, during

and after their initial experience of the 'yips'. After the interviews,

inductive content analysis revealed 15 general dimensions that were

descriptive of the overall 'yips' experience: conditions before the initial

experience, the first experience, anxiety, emotions and feelings, conscious

control of movement, self-presentational concerns, inappropriate focus,

negative thinking, future performances, reasons for not bowling, bowling

experiences after the initial experience, the difference between the 'yips'


and bowling badly, characteristics of good bowling performances,

personal characteristics and personal explanations for why the 'yips' were

experienced. They conclude that the experience of bowling with the 'yips'

shows many characteristics similar to a severe form of choking.

John, et al. (2001) investigated Relationships among the Sport

Competition Anxiety Test, the Sport Anxiety Scale, and the Collegiate

Hockey Worry Scale. This study examined the degree to which the Sport

Competition Anxiety Test(SCAT; Martens, 1977) and the Sport Anxiety

Scale (SAS; Smith, Smoll, & Schutz, 1990) shared variance with the four

subscales of the Collegiate Hockey Worry Scale (CHWS; Dunn, 1999)—a

sport-specific measure of athletes’ dispositional tendencies to worry

about performance failure, negative social evaluation, Physical danger

and situational uncertainty. Participants were 178 male intercollegiate ice

hockey players. Correlation and regression analyses reinforced the links

between worries about failure and negative social evaluation to

competitive trait anxiety (CTA). However, neither the SCAT nor the SAS

shared more than 5.8% of the variance surrounding athletes’ worries

pertaining to physical danger and situational uncertainty. Findings are

discussed in the context of Martens, Vealey, and Burtons’ (1990)


recommendation to develop instruments with separate subscales

measuring different situational components of CTA.

Krohne and Hindel, (2000) investigated Anxiety, Cognitive

interference, and sports performance: the cognitive interference test -

Table tennis. Task-irrelevant cognitions manifested by athletes engaged in

competition may interfere with the course of an ongoing contest. The self

confrontation method was applied to 18 table tennis players ranging from

intermediate to expert level. By means of this method, various types of

interfering cognitions present during competition were registered and

then tentatively assigned to content-related categories. Based on the

content of these Cognitions, a sports-specific questionnaire was

developed and administered to 149 table tennis players of various levels.

Employing principal component analysis, three components could be

interpreted. (a) worry, self doubt, and distraction, (b) emotional tension,

and (c) helplessness and irrelevant cognitions. Based on this analysis, a

Cognitive Interference Test - Table Tennis (CIT-lT) was constructed. This

test shows satisfactory psychometric and statistical characteristics.

Finally, the results of two preliminary validation studies on this inventory

are reported.


Ommundsen and Pedersen (1999) investigated the role of

achievement goal orientations and perceived ability upon somatic and

cognitive indices of sport competition trait anxiety. Goal orientation

theory and competence motivation theory were used to examine the

relationships between young athletes’ achievement goals and indices of

somatic and cognitive trait sport competition anxiety. Included in these

analyses were also the potential mediating and moderating role of the

athletes’ perceived competence in sport. We examined 136 young

athletes aged 13 to 18 years involved in organized sport within a

community in northern Norway. Whereas no association was found

between an ego oriented achievement goal and indices of anxiety,

multiple regression analyses revealed that both a high task goal

orientation and high perceived sport competence predicted a reduced

tendency to report cognitive anxiety when competing in sport. In

addition, athletes who perceived their competence in sport as high were

found to be less predisposed to experiencing somatic anxiety in the form

of elevated physiological arousal when competing than those who doubt

their competence. The results further showed that perceived competence

did not mediate or moderate the relationships between achievement goal

orientations and somatic and cognitive indices of trait sport competition

anxiety. The findings suggest that being task oriented in sport as well as


having a sense of being competent is important in order to prevent sport

competitions giving rise to elevated cognitive anxiety in young athletes.

Thelwell and Maynard, (1998) investigated Anxiety-performance

relationships in Cricketers testing the zone of optimal functioning

hypothesis. This study extended Hanin's 1980 Zone of Optimal

Functioning hypothesis by assessing both intensity and direction

components of competitive state anxiety. 20 volunteer semi professional

Cricketers responded to the modified Competitive

State Anxiety Inventory-2 prior to ten matches. For each game, players'

performances were intra individually evaluated by three qualified

Cricket coaches using subjective criteria. Separate Cognitive Anxiety and

Somatic Anxiety 'below,' 'in,' and 'above' zones for Intensity and Direction

of state anxiety were identified via repeated empirical assessments. Two-

way analyses of variance were computed for Intensity and Direction

of anxiety (Cognitive Anxiety Zone Level x Somatic Anxiety Zone Level)

with standardized performance scores as the dependent variable. A

significant interaction was found between the zone levels for Cognitive

and Somatic Anxiety Direction and performance scores. Examination of

the Zone of Optimal Functioning hypothesis that focuses on the


interactions between Cognitive and Somatic Anxiety and in particular the

directional elements of the modified inventory seems warranted.

Lane, et al. (1998) investigated Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the

Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2. The present study evaluated the

factor structure of the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2:

Martens, Vealey, Burton, Bump, and Smith, 1990) using confirmatory

factor analysis. Volunteer participants (N = 1,213) completed the CSAI-2

approximately 1 hour before competition and data were analysed in two

samples. The hypothesised model showed poor fit indices in both samples

independently and simultaneously, suggesting that the factor structure

proposed by Martens et al. is flawed. The present results question the use

of the CSAI-2 as a valid measure of competitive state anxiety.

SUMMARY

In this chapter, totally 41 related literatures were documented.

From the observations of above elicited literature it was observed only

few research studies were done using Sports Anxiety questionnaire for

Cricket players and other games & sports. This chapter also reveals that

game specific anxiety questionnaire were not found in any other major

games played in India.

CChhaapptteerr IIIIII

MMeetthhooddoollooggyy

CHAPTER – III

METHODOLOGY

Research methodology involves the systematic procedure by which

the investigator starts from the initial identification of the problem to its

final conclusion. The role of the methodology is to carry out the research

work in a scientific and valid manner. This chapter explains the methods

adopted in this study which includes selection of subjects, selection and

justification of the variables, pilot study, research flow chart, construction

and administration of test items, collection of data, statistical methods

and development of norms.

SELECTION OF SUBJECT




which will provide opportunities for individual comparisons. To achieve

the purpose Five hundred and forty five male Cricket players were

randomly selected from various districts including Chennai of Tamilnadu

state were chosen as subject for this study. All the subjects chosen for this

Methodology 67

study were college Cricket players and their age ranged between 17 and

25 years. The subject had playing experience of at least three years in

Cricket and only those who represented their respective college teams

were taken as subjects.

CRICKET AND PERFORMANCE

Though technique, tactics and training plays important role in

Cricket performance, it is the physical and mental make-up that decides

the winner. Modern day Cricketers need a sound mental fitness to cope

with the changes during the match. Assessing the mental part of the

individual can be done either by subjective or objective means. Generally

the subject assessment is done by the Psychology experts. The objective

assessment can be done by Questionnaire. In Cricket many psychological

factors play influential role in the performance such as anxiety,

achievement motivation, self confidence, aggression, etcetera.

Anxiety before or during batting can hinder your performance as a

batsman. The coordinated movement required by a batsman to hit or

defend the ball becomes increasingly difficult when your body is in a

tensed state. A certain level of physical arousal is helps and prepares

players for the competition. But when the physical symptoms of anxiety

are too great, they may seriously interfere with your ability to compete

Methodology 68

and perform. Similarly, a certain amount of worry about the performance

can help to improve the performance during the competition, but high

anxiety such as negative thought patterns and expectations of failure can

bring about a disastrous result. If there is a substantial difference

between the performance during practice and the performance during

competitions, then anxiety may be affecting your performance.

Amateur players are more likely to experience anxiety than

seasoned professionals that interferes with their ability to perform in

competition. This makes sense due to their relative lack of experience

both in the match as well as in managing anxiety. There is evidence that in

team sports, when a team plays at the venue of the opposition, anxiety

levels tend to be higher than when playing at home. Again, common

sense would indicate that having greater fan support and more familiarity

with the venue plays a role in anxiety levels during competition.

SELECTION OF VARIABLES

In a country like India where cricket is considered another religion,

it is important that a player hones his cricketing skills as well as his mental

strength. According to Cuncic (2009), “Sports and performance anxiety

often go hand-in-hand. Have you ever "choked" during an important

sporting event or felt your nerves get in the way of your athletic

Methodology 69

performance? While many athletes become "pumped up" during

competition, when the rush of adrenaline is interpreted as anxiety, and

negative thoughts begin to swirl, it can have devastating effects on your

ability to perform. Before you learn how to manage the symptoms of

anxiety during competitions, it is important to understand the

relationship between anxiety and athletic performance”.

The investigator searched through many related literature to

inherit the knowledge in constructing questionnaire for assessment.

Various journals, books, magazines, news papers, e-resources,

unpublished thesis & dissertations were studied thoroughly before

constructing the questionnaire. The existing questionnaires were

discussed with a team of Psychologists, Coaches, Administrators,

Selectors and Trainers. Scholars those who have done similar studies in

other sports disciplines were also contacted and discussed.

Cricket is classified into three major departments namely batting,

bowling and fielding. Nature of each department differs from one

another. It is basically dominated by batting department because if the

situation demands all the eleven players should bat but, the same may

not be the case for the bowlers. Moreover this game is dominated by the

batsman.

Methodology 70

JUSTIFICATION FOR TAKING - UP THE VARIABLE

Nowadays, the face of cricket has changed from the world’s second

most popular game to a religion. Millions of people follow the game with

utmost sincerity. In India, it is clearly visible that this game is played even

in the streets. Around 200 to 300 players will participate for each age

group selections in every state. Inter school, inter college, inter state and

national level tournaments are the stepping stones for a player to

represent his country. Players are selected based on their performances

in the respective tournaments.

Playing Cricket is not only about the skill and techniques but also

Psychological factors play a key role in the performance of the players.

The game is strongly influenced by the Psychological factors especially

with anxiety. The anxiety factor being primary criteria in determining a

player’s performance is least touched upon. Henceforth, investigator had

included the anxiety factor as the main variable in this research. The

tradition of cricket which was a 6-day game at first was reduced to 5-day,

then 50 over-a-sides and now, the extravagant Twenty 20 matches where

boundaries and sixes are the mantra of every batsman.

In such a high batsman dominated version of the game, it is

necessary for every batsman to be mentally strong as well as fit. The

Methodology 71

investigator has taken this subject for analyzing the importance of anxiety

control and mental strength of every batsman to prove his talents and

perform to the best of his level. The questionnaire developed in this study

is batting relate one.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE

The development process of the questionnaire is discussed below.

The following flow chart explains the various stages in the construction of

questionnaires.

Methodology 72

RESEARCH FLOW CHART

DEVELOPMENT OF QUESTIONNAIRE

PRE-PILOT STUDY

POOLING OF STATEMENTS SELECTION OF STATEMENTS

PILOT STUDY PHASE

JUDGEMENT ANALYSIS STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

FINALISATION PHASE

CONSTRUCTION OF NORMS

Methodology 73

The development of the questionnaire passed through the

following phases.

1. Pre- pilot study phase

2. Pilot study phase

3. Finalisation phase.

PRE- PILOT STUDY PHASE

The pre – pilot study includes the following.

POOLING OF STATEMENTS

The pre pilot study phase was concerned with the gathering of

statements consisting of various dimensions related to the study. The

pooling of the preliminary statements was done through the following

sources.

1. An extensive review of literature, such as books, journals,

magazines and e-resources connected with Cricket, dealing with

the various aspects of Cricketer’s behaviour and achievements.

2. Formal and informal discussion with experts in the teaching faculty

of Physical Education, Sports Psychology, Coaches, Officials,

Administrators, Journalists and other experts in the game.

Methodology 74

3. The investigator having been involved with the game of Cricket for

more than twenty years in different capacities as player, coach,

selector, organiser and observer, initially attempted to construct a

number of questions as many as 60 to assess the competitive

anxiety of the Cricket players.

Based on the information collected from these sources, a large

number of statements dealing with various dimensions were collected.

SELECTION OF STATEMENTS

Once the statements were collected, they were subjected to

screening. Ambiguous, confusing and long statements were eliminated.

The following criteria were laid down for the inclusion of statements in

the pilot study.

1. Keeping the language of statements simple, clear and direct.

2. Avoiding statements which are irrelevant to the study.

3. Selecting statements which would cover the entire range of data

needed for the study.

4. Avoiding no opinion of agreement or disagreement.

5. A total of sixty statements were collected from different sources.

Methodology 75

PILOT STUDY

In the pilot study stage, double filter approach was followed to

eliminate improper items. This approach has two types of analysis –

Judgment analysis and statistical analysis.

JUDGEMENT ANALYSIS

This is the first filter approach in which careful inspection has been

made on each item of the questionnaire. In the pre-pilot stage, a total of

sixty items were collected from different sources. All the collected

statements were sent for the opinion of a jury council. The jury council

consisted of Players, Coaches, Psychologists, Physical Educators, Officials,

Administrators, journalists and other experts in the game. The council was

requested to offer its considerable opinion regarding the suitability,

relevancy and clarity of the collected items. The expert opinion was taken

into consideration and on the basis of the remark and suggestion offered

by the council members, some items were eliminated, some were re-

worded and ambiguous items were re-edited. The refinement of

questionnaire was done for seven times. At last, a total of 15 items were

retained as per the suggestions of the jury council.

Methodology 76

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

The second filter approach is nothing but checking the items

through statistical means. At the first stage, establishing the Validity,

Reliability and Objectivity of questionnaire was done and in the second

stage factor analysis of questionnaire was carried out, followed by the

development of the norms.

ESTABLISHING VALIDITY, RELIABILITY AND OBJECTIVITY

According to Barrow & McGee (1979) objectivity is a measure of

the worth of the scores and is inherent in the test. Objectivity is enhanced

by clear test directions, precise scoring methods, and adherence to them.

These precautions were taken in the construction and administration of

this test. Reliability of the tests was established by test–retest process

from ten subjects whereby consistency of results was obtained by Inter-

class correlation.

VALIDITY

Validity refers to the degree to which a test actually measures what

it claims to measure. Face validity was established for the test items. All

the questionnaires were selected on the basis of the recommendation of

Methodology 77

experts, Coaches, and knowledge gained through available literature and

their face values.

RELIABILITY

Reliability refers to the degree to which a questionnaire

consistently measures the given factor. There were many methods found

in the literature to ascertain the reliability of a questionnaire. The best

one suited was to assess a factor, using two or more different similar tools

whereby consistency of results was obtained by Intra-class correlation.

The investigator administered SCAT and questionnaire developed in this

study, to ten subjects was administered. Inter class correlation was found

to be a very useful, practical and appropriate method. The result revealed

that there was a significant relationship between both the tools.

OBJECTIVITY

Objectivity is similar in nature to reliability. Ten Cricketers were

administered the Cricket competition anxiety questionnaire developed in

this study. On playing situation the player’s anxiety level was assessed by

the psychologist. The collected data was analyzed and result revealed that

there was a significant relationship between both the test results.

Methodology 78

ORIENTATION OF THE SUBJECTS

The investigator held a meeting with the subjects prior to the

conduct of tests. The significance of this study and the requirements of

the testing procedure were explained to them in detail. The purpose of

the study was clearly mentioned. The investigator explained the subjects

about the uses of the questions and meaning of each question. Care was

taken that the subjects answer the entire questions. Subjects were asked

to answer the questions individually. It was assured to their subject that

their response would be kept confidential and would in no way influence

their performance and therefore they would give honest response

without any sense of fear or apprehension. The filled up questionnaires

were collected after checking that all the items were responded to and

using the scoring key the total scores obtained by each subjects were

tabulated. So that there was no ambiguity in their minds, regarding the

efforts required of them. All the subjects voluntarily came forward to co-

operate in the testing procedures to put in their best efforts in the

interest of the scientific investigation and in order to enhance their own

performance. The subjects were very enthusiastic and co-operative

throughout the project.

Methodology 79

ADMINISTRATION OF THE TESTS AND COLLECTION OF DATA

The investigator administrated the questionnaire to five hundred

and forty five subjects. A copy of the questionnaire is available on page

83. Each question had three options namely “Hardly ever”, “Sometimes”

and “Often”. The scoring key was developed by the investigator. Barring

question number 6, all questions were scored as follows.

Hardly ever – 1

Sometimes – 2

Often – 3

Depending upon the response of the questionnaire the total of 15

questions were summed and taken as individual score. The data was

collected from College Cricket players from various districts including

Chennai from Tamilnadu state, India. The investigator collected the data

from the subjects just before the commencement of the match of the

respective University inter collegiate tournaments.

DESIGN AND STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES USED

The study was based on true randomised group design. The data

collected were subjects to various statistical analysis. After discussing with

Methodology 80

all statisticians, experts in the field of Physical Education and general, the

following statistical procedures were employed in this study.

First the descriptive statistics of all 15 questions were computed,

then secondly Pearson’s product moment correlation was used to find out

the inter relationship among all the question items; thirdly the factor

analysis was applied as suggested by Field (2005). The significant factors

responsible for variance and dominant were extracted through Principal

Component Analysis (Un rotated Factor Loadings and Varimax Rotation).

The final solution so obtained was used to identify the different factors.

These factors were given an appropriate name depending upon the

characteristics of variables contained in it. A questionnaire was

constructed by picking up the variables having higher loading from each

factor.

Finally norms were developed using T- scales after the normality

was checked.

CChhaapptteerr IIVV

AAnnaallyyssiiss ooff DDaattaa aanndd RReessuullttss ooff tthhee SSttuuddyy

CHAPTER – IV

ANALYSIS OF DATA AND RESULTS OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study was to construct and standardize a

competitive anxiety questionnaire for assessing the anxiety level of


which will provide opportunities for individual comparisons. Developing

the questionnaire involves a systematic approach. In this study the

questionnaire development involves two approaches namely judgement

analysis and statistical analysis. In the first stage the investigator made an

attempt to construct a number of questions as many as 60 in numbers to

assess the batting related competitive anxiety level of the Cricket players.

The scoring key also was prepared by the investigator. Pre-try out of the

questionnaire was administered to a small sample which involved Players,

Coaches, Physical Educators and Psychologists, Officials, Administrators,

journalists & other experts in the game and refinement of questionnaire

was done. The refinement of the questionnaire was done seven times.

The data was collected on the first day of inter-Collegiate tournament.

The collection of data was done thirty minutes before the

commencement of the match. After judgment analysis, a total of 15

questions were finalized. In the second stage statistical analysis was

carried out. The data obtained from all 15 questions items were first

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 82 subjected to descriptive analysis in order to have an idea about the

characteristics of all 15 questions. Secondly, the inter-class correlation

was used to find out the relationship of all 15 questions items. The level

of significance was set at 0.05 level, which was considered appropriate,

for this research.

Further, all the 15 question items were analyzed by Factor Analysis

by using the Principal Component Analysis and Varimax Rotation Method

as a final solution method to reduce the question items for developing a

questionnaire for College Cricketers in the age ranging between 17 and 25

years. Finally a norm was developed.

For this purpose, several earlier studies of questionnaire were

examined that revealed that the studies were general in nature and

having limited scope. Those studies never attempted to include the

variable, which involve game - specific part. Therefore, the present study

evolved a new approach to construct a questionnaire for Cricketers.

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 83

CRICKET COMPETITION ANXIETY QUESTIONNAIRE

Q. No

STATEMENTS HARDLY

EVER SOME TIMES

OFTEN

A Failure in the last match put me under tremendous pressure.

B A day before the competition I feel little bit disturbed in the mind

C Generally, I won’t get sleep at night a day before the match.

D Before the start of the match, I won’t mingle with my team mates.

E Before I commence my match I feel uneasy.

F My heart rate goes very high while putting on pads.

G Till I score my first run, I feel pressurized.

H I feel frustrated when ball beats me quite often.

I When wicket falls often at the other end, I feel nervous.

J When close-in fielders are there, I feel uncomfortable.

K I feel nervous when playing against the strike bowlers.

L When my team is under pressure, I feel tremendous pressure.

M I like to stand at non striker’s end often.

N When I reach the score of 40 and 90, I feel tensed.

O I am much worried about the weather, ground and pitch conditions.

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 84 FINDINGS

The construction of competitive anxiety questionnaire was based

on the administration of 15 question items to a sample of five hundred

and forty five male college level Cricket players randomly selected from

various colleges of Tamil Nadu state, India and their age ranged between

17 and 25 years. The descriptive analysis of the scores of all the 15

question items is shown in the table – 4. I

TABLE – 4. I

DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF ALL THE QUESTION ITEMS

Questions N Range Minimum Maximum Mean Std.

Deviation A 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 2.1174 .68664 B 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 2.1450 .68000 C 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.9817 .73990 D 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.8624 .66515 E 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 2.0165 .68445 F 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.9963 .61236 G 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 2.0716 .70997 H 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.9908 .70314 I 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.8807 .69299 J 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.9248 .62708 K 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.9211 .66643 L 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.7156 .61674 M 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.6202 .64793 N 545 2.00 1.00 3.00 1.8294 .62886 O 545 1.00 1.00 2.00 1.2294 .42081

Table – 4.I shows that the range, minimum, maximum, mean and

standard deviation of all the 15 question items.

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 85 FACTOR ANALYSIS

Principle component analysis describes a procedure of identifying

linear combinations of variables (called as factor), which have large

variances and ignoring the linear combinations, which have small

variances. It was used to uncover the latent structure of a set of variables.

It reduces attribute space from a larger number of variables to a smaller

number of factors and as such was a "non-dependent" procedure.

The data collected from five hundred and forty five inter-collegiate

male Cricket players on 15 question items that significantly correlated

were subjected to factor analysis. Factor analysis helped in determining

the minimum number of basic sources of variance, which could

economically account for the obtained variance among test items. The

Principle component analysis typically begins with matrix of correlation

co-efficient between the data variables that were being studied. Intra

class product moment method was employed to obtain the inter-

correlation among the test items. The correlation matrix is shown in

table – 4.2


TABLE – 4.2 CORRELATION CO-EFFICIENT OF MATRIX OF THE QUESTION ITEMS

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N

A

B .365**

C .435** .378**

D .313** .308** .253**

E .336** .005 .120** .175**

F .220** .112** .174** .103* .219**

G .126** .264** .167** .053 .134** .001

H .273** .084 .134** .052 .081 .201** .167**

I .033 .060 .376** .160** .078 .099* .142 .032

J .230 .077 .144** .122** .350** .258** .066 .078 .216**

K .149** .256** .251** .266** .158** .067 .214** .065 .167** .280**

L .044 .221** .126** .258** .033 .022 .088* .031 .183** .225** .245**

M .278** .021 .342** .382** .221** .312** .063 .400** .149** .092* .114** .010

N .247** .307** .105* .047 .062 .030 .340** .120** .081 .093* .007 .182** .038

O .059 .205 .161** .152** .173** .125** .185** .162** .025 .025 .314** .372** .239** .025

** Significant at 0.01 level * Significant at 0.05 level Table – 4.2 explained the inter-relationship among the question items.


The correlation matrix obtained for 15 question items was used in

the Principal Component Analysis. With the help of Principal Component

Analysis, all the 15 question items were divided into six factors. The

unloaded factors obtained were then rotated by Varimax Method to find

the final solutions. Rotations of the factors were considered important in

order to avoid the overlapping of variables in different factors. The matrix

of un-rotated loadings (Principal Component Analysis) is given in

table – 4.3


TABLE – 4.3

PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS (UN ROTATED FACTOR LOADING)

PCA: Principal Component Analysis

PCA

Question order 1 2 3 4 5 6

Eigen Value 3.176 1.768 1.708 1.350 1.101 1.021

Percentage variance

21.174 11.786 11.386 9.003 7.343 6.809

Cumulative variance

21.174 32.960 44.347 53.350 60.693 67.501

C .679 .023 .080 .090 -.289 .379

A .657 -.290 .234 .040 -.152 -.228

D .572 .109 -.203 .016 -.416 -.344

M .571 -.239 -.187 -.515 -.184 .096

B .555 .257 .420 .200 -.146 -.163

K .491 .479 -.015 .066 .304 .164

O .355 .621 .025 -.387 .131 -.105

E .341 -.617 -.080 .243 .138 -.295

L .351 .501 -.384 .200 .114 -.352

F .391 -.451 -.196 -.025 .117 .100

N .130 -.088 .776 .236 -.110 .008

G .301 .029 .612 -.067 .460 .172

H .375 -.221 -.014 -.672 .228 .040

J .436 -.186 -.313 .394 .554 -.042

I .352 .082 -.354 .338 -.171 .617


Table – 4.3 indicated the six significant factors that were extracted.

The Eigen values of the extracted factors were greater than 1.0. With the

help of Kaiser's (1960) criteria, only those factors having latent roots

greater than one were considered as common factors.

Most of the statisticians agree that the un-rotated factors do not

generally represent useful scientific constructs, and that rotation was

necessary if useful and meaningful constructs were to be identified. In the

light of this opinion the un-rotated factor matrix was subjected to six

rotations, because of its great popularity and usefulness since the number

of Question items were only fifteen. The matrix of rotated factor loading

(Varimax Method) is given in table – 4.4


TABLE – 4.4 ROTATED FACTOR LOADING (VARIMAX SOLUTION)

RFL: Rotated Factor Loading

RFL

Question order 1 2 3 4 5 6

Eigen Value 1.848 1.843 1.713 1.688 1.619 1.413

Percentage variance

12.321 12.287 11.419 11.256 10.795 9.423

Cumulative variance

12.321 24.608 36.027 47.283 58.079 67.501

O .705 .063 .276 -.298 .137 -.071

K .687 .183 .056 .070 -.015 .283

L .666 -.246 -.199 .162 .359 .001

N -.191 .788 -.157 -.063 .097 -.015

G .250 .713 .207 .109 -.291 -.035

B .303 .561 -.064 -.004 .464 .112

H .117 .041 .811 .093 -.049 -.108

M .005 -.068 .755 .068 .316 .215

J .324 -.029 -.036 .807 -.068 .155

E -.235 .085 .100 .726 .249 -.086

F -.112 -.022 .359 .481 .062 .204

D .193 -.074 .123 .069 .770 .124

A -.035 .411 .278 .333 .534 .060

I .095 -.133 -.056 .115 .014 .858

C .102 .307 .242 .040 .332 .654

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 91 The Eigen values (latent roots), percentage variance and cumulative

percentage of variance pertaining to rotated factor matrix are given in

table – 4.4. There are various indicators, which are used by researchers to

decide on the number of factors that need to be extracted. Thus, it was

imperative to decide on the indicator and the level of indicator, which

should be considered the cut-off to decide on the number of factors to be

extracted. Kaiser’s (1960) measure of statistical adequacy was one such

measure, which signifies the extent to which every variable can be

predicted by all other variables and it was widely believed that an overall

measure of 0.80 or higher was very good, though a measure of under 0.50

was considered as poor. From table – 4.4 the variables which has the

loading higher than 0.50, were taken as the extracted factors. The factors

obtained from table – 4.4 were interpreted and given an appropriate

name. The graphical representation of percentage variance is shown in

Figure – 4.1


Figure - 4.I Percentage Variance of Rotated Factor Loadings

The Principle component analysis yielded six overarching categories

that represent the key components of Anxiety in Cricket:

1. External Pressure

2. Internal disturbance

3. Pressure & relief

4. Uneasiness

5. Worries

6. Nervousness


TABLE 4.5 OVER VIEW OF THE SIX FACTORS

Questions Order

STATEMENTS Name of the

factor


External pressure



N When I reach the score of 40 and 90, I feel tensed.

Internal disturbance

G Till I score my first run, I feel pressurized.

B A day before the competition I feel little bit disturbed in the mind.

H I feel frustrated when ball beats me quite often. Pressure &

relief M I like to stand at non striker’s end often.


Uneasiness E

Before I commence my match I feel uneasy.


Worries A

Failure in the last match put me under tremendous pressure.


Nervousness C

Generally, I won’t get sleep at night a day before the match.

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 94 Table 4.5 presents an overview of the six factors from the analysis

barring question “ F ” all the other 14 questions are essential in assessing

the anxiety level of the Cricketers.

TABLE – 4.6

FACTOR 1 (EXTERNAL PRESSURE) OF ROTATED FACTOR LOADINGS (VARIMAX SOLUTION)

Question

order Question

Factor Loadings


0.705


0.687


0.666

Table – 4.6 indicated that only three questions have emerged in

factor one. They were question ‘O’ which has a loading of 0.705, question

‘K’ which has a loading of 0.687, and question ‘L’ which has a loading of

0.666. This factor indicates the importance of external pressure faced by

the players, hence the best suited name for this factor could be, ‘External

pressure’. In terms of relative contributions, this factor has accounted for

18.25% of the total common factor variance accounted by the three

factors. The graphical representation of Factor 1 is shown in figure – 4.2


Figure – 4.2 Comparison of Loading Values for Factor - I


TABLE – 4.7

FACTOR 2 (INTERNAL DISTURBANCE) OF ROTATED FACTOR LOADINGS (VARIMAX SOLUTION)

Question order

Question Factor

Loadings

N When I reach the score of 40 and 90, I feel tensed. 0.788

G Till I score my first run, I feel pressurized. 0.713

B A day before the competition I feel little bit disturbed in the mind.

0.561

Table – 4.7 indicated that only three questions have emerged in

factor two. They were question ‘N’, ‘G’ and ‘B’ which has a loading of

0.788, 0,713 and 0.561 respectively. This factor indicates the importance

of internal composure of a player; hence the best-suited name for this

factor would be ‘Internal Disturbance’. In terms of relative contributions,

this factor has accounted for 18.20% of the total common factor variance

accounted by the three factors. The graphical representation of Factor 2 is

shown in figure - 4. 3


Figure – 4.3 Comparison of Loading Values for Factor - 2


TABLE – 4.8 FACTOR 3 (PRESSURE AND RELIEF) OF ROTATED FACTOR LOADINGS

(VARIMAX SOLUTION)

Question order

Question Factor

Loadings

H I feel frustrated when ball beats me quite often. 0.811

M I like to stand at non striker’s end often. 0.755

Table – 4.8 indicated that only two questions have emerged in

factor three. They were question ‘H’ and ‘M’ which has a loading of 0.811

and 0.755 respectively. This factor indicates the importance of pressure &

relief faced by the players; hence the best-suited name for this factor

would be ‘Pressure and relief’. In terms of relative contributions, this

factor has accounted for 16.92 % of the total common factor variance

accounted by the two factors. The graphical representation of Factor 3 is

shown in figure – 4.4


TABLE – 4.9 FACTOR 4 (UNEASINESS) OF ROTATED FACTOR LOADINGS

(VARIMAX SOLUTION)

Question order

Question Factor

Loadings


0.807

E Before I commence my match I feel uneasy. 0.726


factor four. They were question ‘J’ and ‘E’ which has a loading of 0.807

and 0.726 respectively. Question items ‘J’ and ‘E’ indicates the importance

of easiness needed for the players, hence the best-suited name for this

factor would be ‘Uneasiness’. In terms of relative contributions, this

factor has accounted for 16.68% of the total common factor variance




TABLE – 4.10

FACTOR 5 (WORRIES) OF ROTATED FACTOR LOADINGS (VARIMAX SOLUTION)

Question

order Question

Factor Loadings


0.770

A Failure in the last match put me under tremendous pressure.

0.534


factor five. They were question ‘D’ and ‘A’ which has a loading of 0.770

and 0.534 respectively. Question items ‘D’ and ‘A’ indicates the

importance of worries faced by the players, hence the best-suited name

for this factor would be ‘Worries’. In terms of relative contributions, this

factor has accounted for 15.99 % of the total common factor variance


shown in figure – 4.6.


TABLE – 4.11

FACTOR 6 (NERVOUSNESS) OF ROTATED FACTOR LOADINGS (VARIMAX SOLUTION)

Question order

Question Factor

Loadings


0.858

C Generally, I won’t get sleep at night a day before the match.

0.654


factor six. They were question ‘I’ and ‘C’ which has a loading of 0.858 and

0.654 respectively. Question items ‘I’ and ‘C’ indicates the importance of

nervousness faced by the players, hence the best-suited name for this

factor would be ‘Nervousness’. In terms of relative contributions, this

factor has accounted for 13.96% of the total common factor variance




Figure – 4.7 Comparison of Loading Values for Factor – 6

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 106 DEVELOPMENT OF NORMS

Any test accompanied by norms has several advantages over tests

without norms. Norms enable one to interpret player’s scores in relation

to a large group in the same population. In addition, norms provide a

reliable and useful basis for interpretation and evaluation of test results.

The data on anxiety level collected on 545 subjects were

statistically analyzed. Initially the normality of the data was tested that

revealed positive results. With help of the mean and standard deviation

scores, the T- scale was developed i.e. 5 standard deviation above the

mean and 5 standard deviation below the mean. Depending upon the

scores obtained in the questionnaire, the subject anxiety levels were

assessed as high, moderate and low.

Sl.No. Scores Anxiety level

1 Above 30 High

2 23 to 30 Moderate

3 Below 23 Low

In present study the mean and standard deviation was 26.31 and

± 0.66 respectively, which indicates that college Cricketers of Tamilnadu

had moderate level of anxiety, which is good for better performance.

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 107 DISCUSSION ON FINDINGS

The prime intention of the researcher was to construct a

comprehensive questionnaire module with limited number of question

items and greater level of dependability. While analyzing results it was

revealed that there was an inter-relationship between the fifteen

question items. The above said questions were found to be highly reliable

and fully valid.

Although ordinarily one would not confidently conclude that skills

other than question items really do not matter in the final playing ability,

it is of statistical interest to say that they do not possess significant

influence in the current context. The high validity and reliability scores for

the fifteen question items in the final test questionnaire module also

affirm the fact that the administration of these fifteen questions have

been good, thereby assuring the administrative feasibility of the

questionnaire.

This questionnaire development could be a significant contribution

for the promotion of the game. The questionnaire, when employed by the

Coaches, is expected to help them to come up with useful and reliable

data that may be processed for monitoring and improving the playing

ability of the subjects. The Principle component analysis yielded six

factors.

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 108 FACTOR 1

The factor 1 of the Principle component analysis shows only three

questions items have emerged in factor one. They were question ‘O’, ‘K’

and ‘L’ which has a loading of 0.705, 0.667 and 0.666 respectively. The

other test items had a loading less than 0.5 and hence were not

considered. In terms of relative contributions, this factor has accounted

for 18.25 % of the total common factor variance accounted by the three

factors. Question items ‘O’, ‘K’ and ‘L’ indicates the importance of

external pressure faced by the players, hence the best-suited name for

this factor would be ‘External pressure’.

FACTOR 2

The factor 2 of the Principle component analysis shows only three

questions items have emerged in factor two. They were question ‘N’, ‘G’

and ‘B’ which has a loading of 0.788, 0,713 and 0.561 respectively. The

other test items had a loading less than 0.5 and hence were not

considered. In terms of relative contributions, this factor has accounted

for 18.20 % of the total common factor variance accounted by the three

factors. Question items ‘N’, ‘G’ and ‘B’ indicates the importance of

internal composure of a player, hence the best-suited name for this factor

would be ‘Internal Disturbance’


The factor 3 of the Principle component analysis shows only two

questions items have emerged in factor three. They were question ‘H’ and

‘M’ which has a loading of 0.811 and 0.756 respectively. The other test

items had a loading less than 0.5 and hence were not considered. In terms

of relative contributions, this factor has accounted for 16.92 % of the total

common factor variance accounted by the two factors. Question items ‘H’

and ‘M’ indicates the importance of pressure & relief faced by the players,

hence the best-suited name for this factor would be ‘Pressure and relief’.

FACTOR 4


questions items have emerged in factor four. They were question ‘J’ and

‘E’ which has a loading of 0.807 and 0.726 respectively. The other test



common factor variance accounted by the two factors. Question items ‘J’

and ‘E’ indicates the importance of easiness needed for the players, hence

the best-suited name for this factor would be ‘Uneasiness’



questions items have emerged in factor five. They were question ‘D’ and

‘A’ which has a loading of 0.770 and 0.534 respectively. The other test



common factor variance accounted by the two factors. Question items ‘D’

and ‘A’ indicates the importance of worries faced by the players, hence

the best-suited name for this factor would be ‘Worries’.

FACTOR 6


questions items have emerged in factor six. They were question ‘I’ and ‘C’

which has a loading of 0.858 and 0.654 respectively. The other test items

had a loading less than 0.5 and hence were not considered. In terms of

relative contributions, this factor has accounted for 13.96 % of the total

common factor variance accounted by the two factors. Question items ‘I’

and ‘C’ indicates the importance of nervousness faced by the players,

hence the best-suited name for this factor would be ‘Nervousness’.

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 111 NORMS

The data on anxiety level collected on 545 subjects were

statistically analyzed. Initially the normality of the data was tested that

revealed positive results. Depending upon the scores obtained in the

questionnaire, the subject anxiety levels were assessed as high, moderate

and low.

Sl.No. Scores Anxiety level

1 Above 30 High

2 23 to 30 Moderate

3 Below 23 Low

In present study the mean and standard deviation was 26.31 and

± 0.66 respectively, which indicates that college Cricketers of Tamilnadu

had moderate level of anxiety, which is good for better performance.

Literature suggests that both “high” and “low” level of anxiety does

not help the player to perform better in Cricket. The results of the present

study also reveal that moderate level of anxiety is essential for better

performance. These findings are in accordance with the results of

Gucciardi & Gordan (2009), Balaji & Kalidasan (2011) and the former

Analysis of Data and Results of the Study 112 Indian Cricket Captain Mohamed Azharuddin (1998) who has played more

than 300 One day Internationals opines “You must have that fear. It’s

good to have that fear. Otherwise you tend to take things for granted. According to Smith (1994) “Cricket is played in the mind, more than any

other game”. Anxiety plays an important role in Cricket.

Few International Cricket players like Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid

consistently rise to the challenges when facing a stronger opposition. This

is because of the self-confidence they have and the ability to respond to

symptoms of anxiety during a match. People who are confident in their

abilities are more likely to have a positive reaction to arousal of anxiety

and thrive on the challenge of a match.

However talented a cricketer may be in his cricketing skills, even if

he has the mental toughness and self-confidence, if he doesn’t have the

ability to control his anxiety levels before and during a match, he will

consequently not perform to the best of his abilities. Thus cricketers,

especially batsman, are requested to hone their mental strength and

anxiety levels even during their practice sessions.

CChhaapptteerr VV

SSuummmmaarryy,, CCoonncclluussiioonnss aanndd RReeccoommmmeennddaattiioonnss

CHAPTER – V

SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

SUMMARY

Cricket is one of the most popular games, which is played in more

than 105 countries. It is probably one of the fastest evolving sports in the

world, constantly adapting itself to the ‘demands’ of a changing global

audience. Though Cricket is played in many forms such as Test, One day

limited over’s, Twenty 20, First class, super six, Eight-a-side, Indoor

Cricket, Max Cricket, Double wicket and Single wicket. Today Twenty 20

and One day limited over’s formats are more popular due to its thrilling

nature.

Both physical and mental fitness play vital role in performance.

Modern day Cricket is basically a mental game. Psychological factors play

a key role in the sports performance. Factors like anxiety, self confidence,

aggressions, mood state and motivation play influential role in Cricket

performance.

The relationship between anxiety and sport performance has

attracted much research attention over the past 20 years, and

researchers have tried to clarify this relationship by advancing several

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations 114 models and theories. It is generally recognized that psychological factors

are of crucial importance in high-level competitive sports.

In modern days Cricket is played in the mind, more than any other

game. Anxiety plays an important role in Cricket. Anxiety is a

psychological and physiological state charactererised by somatic,

emotional, cognitive and behavioural components. The root meaning of

the word anxiety is ‘to vex or trouble’, in either the absence or presence

of psychological stress, anxiety can create feelings of fear, worry,

uneasiness and dread. Anxiety is considered to be a normal reaction to a

stressor. Anxiety, depending upon the degree is defined in different ways

such as tension and panic. The ability to deal with anxiety is an integral

part of sports training. People, who are able to overcome their anxiety,

perform much better than some of the strongest contenders of the game.

Cricket is classified into the three major departments namely

batting, bowling and fielding. Nature of each department differs from one

another. It is basically dominated by batting department because if the

situation demands all the eleven players should bat but, the same may

not be the case for the bowlers. Moreover this game is dominated by the

batsman.

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations 115




which will provide opportunities for individual comparisons. Five hundred

and forty five male Cricket players were randomly selected from various

districts including Chennai from Tamilnadu state were chosen as subject

for this study. All the subjects chosen for this study were college Cricket

players and their age ranged between 17 and 25 years. The subject had

past playing experience of at least three years in Cricket and only those

who represented their respective college teams were taken as subjects. In

this study the questionnaire development involves two systematic

approaches namely judgment analysis and statistical analysis. During the

pilot study phase the investigator made an attempt and constructed 60

questions to assess the batting related competitive anxiety of the Cricket

players. The scoring key also was prepared by the investigator. Pre-try out

of the questionnaire was administered to a small sample which involves

Players, Coaches, Physical Educators and Psychologists, Officials,

Administrators, Journalists & other experts in the game and refinement of

questionnaire was done. The refinement of questionnaire was done for

seven times. The data were collected on the first day of inter-Collegiate

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations 116 tournament. The collection of data was done thirty minutes before the

commencement of the match.

After the judgement analysis, a total of 15 questions were finalized.

In the second stage statistical analysis was carried out. The establishment

of validity, reliability and objectivity of the questionnaire was done

initially. Then Factor analysis was administrated to the questionnaire

items, norms and T- scale was established.

CONCLUSIONS

1. The result reveals that the game-specific competitive anxiety

questionnaire developed in this study measures the level of Anxiety

appropriately.

2. The result also indicates that the Tamilnadu State College Cricketers

had moderate level of anxiety which is essential for better

performance.

3. The questionnaire developed in this study and its norms can be

used by players and coaches.

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations 117

RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLICATION

1. The result of this research study clearly indicates the importance of

anxiety, which could enhance the performance of Cricket players.

Hence it is recommended that coaches / physical educators in the

game of Cricket should give due importance to include mental

training in their schedules for beginners and all levels.

2. It is also recommended that the mental trainer could be included in

the training of Cricketers.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

1. A similar study may be conducted on different games and sports.

2. A similar study may be conducted at different age levels and

genders.

BBiibblliiooggrraapphhyy

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54

The purpose of the study was to find out the differences in Mental Toughness among Cricket Players of different age groups. To achieve this purpose, ninety Cricket players at the age group of 10-21 years were selected from Chennai District, who regularly practice the game and participate in various tournaments. �Mental Toughness Questionnaire� a standardized sports psychological inventory designed by Dr. Goldberg, was responded by all the subjects. The collected data was analyzed using simple analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference in Mental Toughness among Cricket Players of different age levels at 0.05 level of confidence. It was concluded that Cricket Players of age group 18-21 years showed significantly greater mental toughness than the other two age groups. This may be due to their experience in the game.

©ScholarJournals, SSR Cricket, Mental Toughness, Players, Age

Sports psychology is a science in which the principles of

psychology are applied in a sport or exercise setting. These principles are often applied to enhance performance and to understand how participation in sport, exercise, and physical activity affects psychological development, health, and well being in all stages of life.

�Sports psychology is the study of a person�s behaviour in sport� Alderma, [1]. It deals with increasing performance by managing emotions and minimizing the psychological effects of injury and poor performance. According to American Psychological Association, sports psychology is �the scientific study of the psychological factors that are associated with participation and performance in sport, exercise, and other types of physical activity�.

All sports participants fall to mistake and mental letdowns. The emotional component always overshadows the technical aspects of performance. The over shadows can be avoided only when sports participants are equally fit in both mind and body. The individual�s success and failure determination lies in the individual�s practice to both physical and mental skills.

Mental Toughness is the edge that enables you to be consistent, confident, focused and determined during high pressure situations in order to perform at maximum potential. An individual with mental toughness can be quite, well mannered, ethical, friendly, helpful, and affable and warm. The quality of mental toughness means that an individual has the ability to master the naturally unmanageable desire of the body and mind and bring them under a discipline to achieve and sustain demanding goals and performance under pressure Kamlesh,et al., [4].

Fourie et al., [5] investigated the components of mental toughness as reported by 131 expert coaches and 160 elite athletes from 31 sport codes. The written statements of coaches and athletes were analyzed by means of an inductive content analysis. This resulted in the identification of 12 components of mental toughness. These are: motivation level, coping skills, confidence maintenance, cognitive skill, discipline and goal-directness, competitiveness, possession of prerequisite physical and mental requirements, team unity, preparation skills, psychological hardiness, religious convictions and ethics. The coaches regarded concentration as the most important characteristic, while the athletes� regarded perseverance as most important. The coaches rated the effectiveness of coaches and sport psychologists in strengthening the characteristics of mental toughness more highly than athletes did.

Adam et al., [2] hypothesized that there would be significant differences in mental toughness among athletes of different: (a) achievement level, (b) gender, (c) age, (d) sporting experience, and (e) sport type (team vs. individual and contact vs. non-contact sports). Participants were 677 athletes and consisted of sports performers competing at international (n=60), national (n=99), state (n=198), club/university (n=289), and beginner (n=31) levels. Results revealed a significant relationship between mental toughness and gender, age, and sporting experience. However, achievement level and the type of sports an athlete participated in were not significantly associated with mental toughness.

�Mental Toughness is the capacity of an individual to deal effectively with stressors, pressures and challenges and

55

perform to the best of their abilities irrespective of the circumstance in which they find themselves� Ayajit Singh [3].

Cricket is the most popular game, which is played in more than 104 countries. Both physical and mental fitness play vital role in performance. The other aspect about cricket is that it is probably one of the fastest evolving sport in the world, constantly adapting itself to the �demands� of a changing global audience.

The purpose of the study was to find out the differences in Mental Toughness among Cricket players of different age groups.

It was hypothesized that there would be no significant difference among different age groups of Cricket players in their mental toughness.

To achieve this purpose, thirty Cricket players each at the

age group of 10-13, 14-17 and 18-21 years were selected from Chennai District, who regularly practice the game and participate in various tournaments. �Mental Toughness Questionnaire� a standardized sports psychological inventory designed by Dr. Goldberg, was responded by all the subjects.

Sports Mental Toughness Questionnaire was used as a tool for collection of data. This questionnaire is a Free Online Resource by Dr. Goldberg (Sports Psychologist).

To test the subject�s reliability, the investigator selected 10 subjects randomly and administered the questionnaire. The test, retest method was followed and the obtained scores were related with Pearson�s Correlation of Coefficient and the obtained correlation value was significant. Hence, the subjects and the testers were found to be reliable.

To enhance the cooperation of the subjects the researcher personally met the subjects, explained the purpose of investigation and gave a clear instruction regarding the method for answering the questions. The researcher distributed the questionnaire booklet for marking the responses. The researcher in person in a face to face relationship administered the entire questionnaire. The

subjects went through the instructions, read each statement carefully and indicated their responses. All the filled in questionnaires were collected from the subjects and scoring was done according to the scoring key. Usually an individual took 5 to 10 minutes in completing the test.

The standard psychology tool devised by Dr. Goldberg was used to measure mental toughness. This test consists of 30 questions includes both positive and negative statements. Each statement consists of two responses: true or false. The respondent made a tick ( ) on any one of the responses that fit to them best.

This inventory was scored with the help of the scoring key. A separate scoring method was followed for positive and negative statements. The score obtained for both positive and negative statements were added and it was treated as individual score. The total score constitutes the Mental Toughness score.

The data on the chosen psychological variables were collected by administering standard questionnaire. The administration of the tests and the method of collecting data were explained below.

The subject were explained about the meaning and use of particular questionnaire and known what has to be done exactly.

Data were collected from thirty Cricket players of age group 10-13 years, thirty Cricket players from the age group of 14-17 years and respectively third group consisted of thirty Cricket players of age group 18-21 years. The questionnaires were administered by the investigator personally and collected data.

The obtained data were subjected to statistical

treatment to compare the mental toughness of Cricket players of different age levels using f ratio.

Table- I showing the mean of mental toughness among players of three different age groups

1 10-13 years 20.2 2 14-17 years 20.37 3 18-21 years 16

Figure I

56

Table - II showing the ANOVA Table for the mental toughness of Cricket players of three different age groups

Table II: ANNOVA table for mental toughness of cricket players of three different age levels Between 2 367.35 183.675

7.93* Within 87 2013.77 23.15 Significant at 0.05 levels Tab F0.05 (2, 87) =3.10 Obtained F value = 7.93

Since the computed value of F was greater than the table

value, the null hypothesis was rejected and the alternate hypothesis was accepted. It was concluded that there was significant difference in the mental toughness among different age group Cricket players.

The result presented in Table II proved that there was a significant difference between different age levels of Cricket players, in mental toughness, as the obtained �F� value was greater than the required �F� value to be significant at 0.05 level of confidence.

Pair wise mean comparison analysis was done by using Least Significant Difference Test.

Through statistical analysis it was concluded that there

was significant different in mental toughness between Cricket players at different age levels. Comparing the pair wise difference of means with critical difference it was evident that there was no difference between means of 10-13 years and

14-17 years group, whereas mean of the 18-21 years group showed there was higher difference between than that of first and second. Hence it proved that the age groups from 18-21 years are mentally tough when compared to 10-13 years and 14-17 years of Cricket players.

[1] Alderma, R.B. Psychology Behavior in Sports

Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Company, 1974, p. 135 [2] Adam, R. Nicholls, Remco C.J. Polman, Andrew R. Levy

and Susan H. Backhouse (2009 Personality and Individual Differences Volume 47, Issue 1, July 2009, Pages 73-75

[3] Ayajit Singh, Sports Psychology, Delhi: Friends Publications, 1996, p. 16.

[4] Kamlesh, M.L., Psychology of Physical Education and Sports, New Delhi: Metropolitan, 1988 page . 7.

[5] Fourie, S, J.R. Potgieter (2001) S. African J. for Research in Sport, Physical Ed. and Recreation, page. 63-72.

www.jexpsciences.com

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The objective of the study was to assess the game-specific competitive anxiety level of the Tamilnadu state cricketers. One hundred and fifteen Cricketers from TNCA first division league cricket teams aged ranged between 16 and 26 years were respondent to questionnaire developed by the investigators and standardized sports competition anxiety questionnaire (SCAT) developed by Martens. The objectivity, reliability and validity of the questionnaire were established using appropriate tools. The three sports psychological experts were asked to subjectively rate the anxiety level of each cricketer in a 10 point scale, ranging from 0 to 10 point. The statistical analysis Pearson product moment correlation was used to find out the inter-relationship between expert rating and collected data. The result reveals that the constructed game-specific competitive anxiety questionnaire for Tamilnadu state cricketers had significant relationship with the expert rating and with SCAT questionnaire.

©ScholarJournals, SSR Anxiety, Cricket, Questionnaire, Tamilnadu

The relationship between anxiety and sport performance

has attracted much research attention over the past 20 years, and researchers have tried to clarify this relationship by advancing several models and theories. It is generally recognized that psychological factors are of crucial importance in high-level competitive sports. The relation between anxiety and performance has been the subject of many thorough researches Craft et al., [1] Martens et al., [2]. Cognitive anxiety is characterized by negative concerns and worries about performance, inability to concentrate, and disrupted attention Krane et al., [3]. Somatic anxiety consists of an individual�s perceptions, which are characterized by indications such as sweaty palms, butterflies, and shakiness Martens et al., [4].

Cricket is the most popular game, which is played in more than 104 countries. Both physical and mental fitness play vital role in performance. The other aspect about cricket is that it is probably one of the fastest evolving sports in the world, constantly adapting itself to the �demands� of a changing global audience.

Anxiety depending upon the degree is defined in different ways such as tension, panic etcetera. The ability to deal with anxiety is an integral part of sports training. People who are able to overcome their anxiety, perform much better than some of the strongest contenders of the game. Sports bring out the best qualities in every individual. Every faculty of the human body, whether physical or mental, is stretched to its limits while playing a competitive game. In today's world, the standard of all games has increased considerably. Elite sportspersons are finding it increasingly difficult to sustain their dominance in their

respective sports. The mental state of a sportsperson plays a vital role in his or her performance. Anxiety sets in when an individual begins to doubt his or her capacity to deal with the situation which builds stress. Quite often it is not the talent that decides your performance. It simply depends on the way you deal with the ups and downs of the game.

According to Smith, [6]. �Cricket is played in the mind, more than any other game�. Anxiety plays an important role in Cricket. Sports anxiety is produced mainly by the fear of failure.

The former Indian Cricket Captain Mohamed Azharuddin, [5]. Who has played more than 300 One day Internationals opines �You must have that fear. It�s good to have that fear. Otherwise you tend to take things for granted. Fear will enhance your performance sometimes I still get nervous when I go out to bat�.

The assessment of anxiety was done by many in the past

but not many studies in game-specific anxiety assessment, which motivated the investigator to take-up the study.

The objective of the study was to asses the game-specific

competitive anxiety level of the cricket players from Tamil Nadu state.

One hundred and fifteen Cricketers from TNCA ( Tamil Nadu Cricket Association) first division league teams aged 16

24

to 26 years were respondent to questionnaire developed by the investigators and standardized sports competition anxiety questionnaire (SCAT) developed by Martens.

The investigators having been involved with the game of

Cricket for more than twenty years in different capacities as player, coach, administrator and observer initially attempted to construct number of question to assess the competitive anxiety level of the Cricketers. The investigators also developed the scoring key. Pre-try out of the questionnaire was administrated to a small sample and refinement of questionnaire was done. Another try out and item analysis was done. Finally the 15 questions were developed with three classifications and each classification had five questions. The objectivity, reliability and validity of the questionnaire were established using appropriate tools.

To assess anxiety level of the Cricketer, the game-

specific competitive anxiety questionnaire developed by the investigators and standardized sports competition anxiety questionnaire (SCAT) developed by Martens was used. The three psychological experts were asked to subjectively rate the anxiety level of each cricketer in a 10 points scale ranging from 0 to 10 points.The averages of the score of each cricketer was taken as expert rating.

The statistical analysis Pearson product moment

correlation was used to find out the inter-relationship between expert rating and collected data.

Table : I. Mean and standared deviation of the collected data 1 CCAQ 21.30 ±1.78 2 SCAT 20.17 ±2.01 3 Expert Rating 8.89 ±1.01

The descriptive statistics of the data collected was presented in the above table.

Table �II: Inter-relationship between collected data and expert rating

1. CCAQ 1 0.89* 0.84* 2. SCAT --- 1 0.83* 3 Expert Rating --- --- 1

* Significant at 0.05 level of confidence The above table reveals that there was a significant

relationship between the collected data and expert rating. The results also indicate that the CCA questionnaire was highly with the expert rating and SCAT questionnaire.

The result reveals that the constructed game-specific

competitive anxiety questionnaire for TNCA first division cricket players had significant relationship with expert rating and Standardized (SCAT) questionnaire.

[1] Craft, L.L., Magyar, T.M., Becker, B.J., & Feltz, D. L.

(2003). The relation between the competitive state anxiety inventory- and sport performance: A meta-analysis. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 25, P.44-65.

[2] Martens, R., Vealey, R.S. & Burton, D. (1990). Competitive anxiety in sport Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, p.117-173.

[3] Krane, V., & Williams, J.M. (1994). Cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and confidence in track and field athletes: the impact of gender, competitive level and characteristics. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 25, P.203-217.

[4] Martens, R., Burton, D., Vealey, R., Bump, L., & Smith, D. (1990). The competitive state anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2). In R. Martens, R.S. Vealey, & D. Burton (Eds.), Competitive anxiety in sport Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, P.117-190.

[5] Azharuddin, Mohammed, �My Game is Unpredictable�. The Sportstar. 21:14 (21st November, 1998)

[6] Smith, Robin, Robinsmith�s Batting Skills. London. Reed International Book Limited,1994.

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