Abstract
On approach to competitive situations, affective states (emotions and anxiety) occur through the complex interaction of cognitive antecedents. Researchers have intimated that irrational beliefs might play an important role in the relationship between cognitive appraisals and affective states, but has ignored challenge and threat. In the current research, we examine the interaction between cognitive appraisals, irrational beliefs, and challenge and threat to predict golfers’ pre-competitive affective states. We adopted a cross-sectional atemporal design to examine how golfers approached two different competitive situations: imagined imminent golf competition (phase 1), and actual future golf competition (phase 2). Path analysis revealed how cognitive appraisals, irrational beliefs, and challenge and threat interact to predict affective states among golfers. Serial atemporal multiple mediation analysis indicated that the relationships between cognitive appraisals and affective states were mediated by irrational beliefs and challenge and threat. Further, some differences were revealed between phase 1 and phase 2 in the serial multiple atemporal mediation results with regard to challenge. That is, at phase 1 no significant serial mediation was found for any affective outcomes, but at phase 2 significant serial mediation was found for all affective states, showing that irrational beliefs and challenge serial mediated the associations between cognitive appraisals and affective states. The finding that mediation and bivariate associations differed across phase 1 and phase 2 is echoed in the phase 1-phase 2 tests of differences. The current research makes a theoretical advancement by elucidating in more detail the complex interaction between cognitive antecedents and mediators of affective states. Specifically, the inclusion of challenge and threat alongside irrational beliefs and cognitive appraisals is an important theoretical advancement that builds on work inside of sport literature (e.g., Dixon et al., 2016) and outside of sport literature (e.g., David et al., 2002, 2005), as this constellation of theoretically related antecedents of affective states has not been examined together in the extant research.
Highlights
For individuals taking part in sport, the anticipation time prior to stressful situations such as a sporting competition (Neil et al, 2011) is often daunting due to an over emphasis on winning and uncertainty of the outcome (Folkman and Lazarus, 1985)
A significant within-subjects effect was revealed for motivational congruence (MC), F(1, 199) = 6.02, p < 0.01, η2 = 0.03, with pairwise comparisons indicating that golfers perceive goals to be less motivationally congruent in anticipation of the imagined imminent golf competition (M = 6.94 ± 1.71) compared to an actual future golf competition (M = 7.32 ± 1.89)
A significant within-subjects effect was revealed for PFC, F(1, 199) = 9.31, p < 0.01, η2 = 0.04, with pairwise comparisons indicating that golfers perceived more problem focused coping potential in anticipation of the imagined imminent golf competition (M = 7.81 ± 1.85) compared to an actual future golf competition (M = 7.59 ± 2.17)
Summary
For individuals taking part in sport, the anticipation time prior to stressful situations such as a sporting competition (Neil et al, 2011) is often daunting due to an over emphasis on winning and uncertainty of the outcome (Folkman and Lazarus, 1985). REBT is considered to be the original cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and was developed by Albert Ellis in 1955, inspired by ancient philosophers, the Stoic philosopher Epictetus (1948) who proclaimed in The Enchiridion: “men are not disturbed by things, but by the view which they take of them.” Ellis (1994) developed a framework for understanding and treating psychological disturbance known as the GABC framework In this framework, individual goals, values, and desires (G), that are thwarted or obstructed by events and situations (A), can trigger healthy or unhealthy emotional and behavioral consequences (C), depending on one’s beliefs (B) about the self, others, and the world in relation to the situation (A). Irrational beliefs have attracted much research attention (e.g., Visla et al, 2016)
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