Kyle Broussard

EDUC- Spring 2018 –Quantitative Final Assessment

Quantitative Research Method-

Single-Subject Research

Instead of comparing athletes that use psychological skills training to

those who do not. I am more interested in seeing how an individual
performs before, during, and after the practice of psychological skills
training.

Research Topic-

Psychological skills training helps athletes improve their performance to

a greater and more consistent level of play. This research will look at
one D3 baseball player in East Texas, and allow us to see how the
implementation of psychological skills will affect his performance in the
areas of batting average, on base percentage, walk to strike out ratio,
and errors committed.

Statements of the Hypothesis-

It has been hypothesized that through the usage of psychological skills

training the athlete will see an increase in his on field performance.
With a spike in batting average, on base percentage, slugging, walk to
strike outs, and less errors committed.
Null hypothesis-

It has been hypothesized that the psychological skills training will have
little significance of the on field performance on a successful D3
baseball player.

Key Words-

Psychological Skills training Mental toughness

Imagery training Baseball mental strategies

Goal-setting Self-talk in sports

Literature Review

Paquette, K. J., & Sullivan, P. (2012). Canadian Curling Coaches' Use of

Psychological Skills Training. Sport Psychologist, 26(1), 29-42.

Viegas, V., & Kamble, S. V. (2014). Passion and psychological skill usage
among professional sports players in Goa. Indian Journal Of
Positive Psychology, 5(4), 425-429.

Lidor, R., Blumenstein, B., & Tenenbaum, G. (2007). Psychological

Aspects of Training in European Basketball: Conceptualization,
Periodization, and Planning. Sport Psychologist, 21(3), 353-367.

Wright, D. J., McCormick, S. A., Birks, S., Loporto, M., & Holmes, P. S.
(2015). Action Observation and Imagery Training Improve the Ease
With Which Athletes Can Generate Imagery. Journal Of Applied
Sport Psychology, 27(2), 156-170.

O'Brien, M., Mellalieu, S., & Hanton, S. (2009). Goal-Setting Effects in

Elite and Nonelite Boxers. Journal Of Applied Sport Psychology,
21(3), 293-306
Participants

A D3 baseball player who has had a successful career. However, he has

struggled with his mental approach to the game, and during time of
struggle.

Instrument-
By using an independent Samples T Test that can be done through SPSS.
I can compare the stats of batting average, on base percentage,
slugging, walk to strike out ratio, and errors. Before, during, and after
the practice of psychological skills training.

Design-

An A-B-A baseline design will be used to determine the effectiveness of

psychological skills training for a successful D# baseball player that has
showed signs of mental weakness during his career.

Procedures-

Data will be collected during the spring season, and will be based on
every 50 at bats the player has. The first 50 at bats will be used to
measure the baseline, the use of psychological skills training will be
used during the next 50, and the last 50 there will be no use of psych
skills training. During the 50 at bats where he will practice psych skills.
The athletes will use imagery, cue words, and goal setting to try and
help improve his performance on the field. He will spend 15 minutes a
day on imagery training, use cue words to help him to stay focused, and
set short term goals. After each 50 at bats we will gather the
information on batting average, on base percentage, slugging, walk to
error ration, and errors.
Data Analysis-

In order to analyze the data for this research I would compute the
scores of each of the 5 categories that we are observing. Baseline,
psychological skills training, and post psych skills training all can be
graphed using either a pie graph, histogram, or scatter plot. By
analyzing the data before, during, and after the practice of
psychological skills training we can compare the scores and judge if the
training was effective at improving the on field performance for the
athlete.