Abstract
An experiment was designed to investigate the nature and impact of cognitive “psyching” strategies employed by competitive weight lifters on an analogue strength task. At an Olympic-style weight-lifting meet, volunteer subjects were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control group. After baseline assessment of strength, experimental subjects were asked to use their favorite psyching strategy as a means of improving their performance on a final strength test. Control subjects were urged to strive toward improving their performance but were not instructed to psych themselves up. To minimize the effects of spontaneous (unrequested) psyching, control subjects were asked to engage in a distracting cognitive task during the preperformance interval. Results indicated that subjects who had been asked to psych themselves showed greater improvements in strength than did control subjects. Post experimental interviews suggested that four basic psyching strategies had been employed: (1) statements bearing on selfefficacy, (2) control of attention, (3) preparatory arousal, and (4) imagery techniques. Focus of attention was the most popular strategy. Implications of this study are briefly discussed.
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