Introduction Research proposal outline SELF-REGULATING STRATEGIES USED BY ATHLETES TO REGULATE MOOD

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction to the study and problems to be investigated Problem statement Overview of the study Background of the study Literature review Design and procedure Data analysis Results Conclusion

PROBLEM TO BE INVESTIGATED The purpose of this research is to investigate how athletes use self regulation methods to regulate their moods to improve performance Justification: There have been a lot of research on relationship of mood and performance in athletes. However, there is limited research on the antecedents of mood and how athletes tend to deal with issues of deep states of mood that may hinder their performance Mood is an essential factor in performance of athletes hence need for the study Although there have been a lot of research on the effects of mood on the performance of athletes, there have been little research done to investigate the antecedents of mood and the ways in which athletes tend to deal with deep mood states that may deter performance in the field. Mood is s very importance predictor of the performance of athletes in sports. Thus, this research aims at investigating the ways in which athletes use the self regulation methods to enhance positive mood and improve their performance.

Problem statement The objective of this study is investigating the strategies used by athletes in regulating their intense moods to enhance their performance in sports Understanding these strategies is essential for sports behavioral psychologists It can be used to design various interventions These interventions can be applied to improve performance in the field There are various strategies which are used by athletes to promote positive mood and reduce bad mood. States of depression, anger, fatigue, vigor. tension and confusion impair performance of athletes in the field. However, athletes have developed several strategies of eliminating these states to enhance their performance while they are in the field. However, there have been no substantial study on the various ways which employees used to eliminate bad mood and promote positive mood.

Problem statement (Continued) The study also aims to investigate the existence of causal relationship between performance of athletes and mood. It will also examine the relationship between the factors that cause bad behavior and the strategies that are used by employees to reduce negative moods The assumption of existence of the relationship between performance and mood is obvious. However, the level of the relationship should be examined since there are other major factors that influence the performance of an athletes apart from mood.

Overview of the study The research will use data collected from surveys of two hundred and seventeen athletes It will use statistical analytical tools to analyze the relationship between mood and performance Understanding the effects of mood on performance will help in developing interventions for helping athletes in managing intense moods The research will employ the statistical analysis tools to analyze the data that will be collected. The research will collect data from two hundred and seventeen athletes sampled from the general population of athletes in various sporting events. This will ensure the sample collected is a representative of the population. The data collected will be analyzed using appropriate data analytical tools which will include use of ANOVA analysis and regression testing.

Background study Researchers acknowledge the role of theory and research on applied sport psychology Relationship between mood and performance in sports Understanding the mechanisms used by athletes to control mood Role of mood in enhancing performance Researchers have acknowledged the role of theory and research on the applied sport psychology. However, the investigative studies of self regulation have not received much attention although there is a great research in psychology,. Much of these studies have focused on studies of mood repair with an aim to determine the strategies to increase positive mood and reduce bad mood. There have been several strategies that have been proposed to enhance positive mood. These strategies of access of self information of a person include positive thinking of the past successes, reappraising the causes that they contribute to the bad mood, listening to music and anticipation of social institutions as a well as negative moods.

Literature review There are several studies on the relationship between mood and performance and strategies used to reduce bad moods by athletes The relationship between scores on The Profile of Mood State and performance is the earliest research on sport psychology done in 1971. Other studies are meta-analysis studies that shows that mood can be used to predict performance under the fulfilment of certain pre conditions Research on the relationship between performance and mood of the athletes were conducted in 1971. However, the most comprehensive research was done in 1994 by Thayer. He investigated the frequencies and the effectiveness of the strategies that were used in regulating of mood by the general population. The second study done aimed at investigating the self regulation strategies that players use in elimination of the bad moods to enable them increase their energy and reduce the tension in the field. These studies found that talk, control of thoughts, listening to music and avoiding the situations that would trigger the bad mood were the most effective strategies used to reduce bad mood.

Procedure A total of 217 athletes aged above 17 years will be surveyed This will be a sample representative of the general population of athletes The athletes will be randomly selected to ensure the data obtained is unbiased The method of study will be questionnaire based self-reports The research will consists of collection of data over a sample of 217 athletes selected from the general population of athletes. The athletes will be issued with questionnaire with the questions that they will be required to respond to. They will also indicate their performance before and after the adoption of the various strategies that they use to regulate mood. Data will be collected over several sporting centers to ensure the population is a sample representative of the general population.

Data analysis Data analytical tools will be employed in the analysis of the data collected The causal relationship between mood and performance will be examined The strategies that cause bad mood among the athletes will be analyzed from the responses given. The Hypothesis tested: Null hypothesis: There is significance relationship between bad mood and performance Alternative hypothesis: There is no significance relationship between bad mood and performance Data analytical tools that will be employed in the analysis of the collected data will include the ANOVA method of hypothesis testing and regression analysis. ANOVA will be used to investigate the relationship between the mood states that cause bad mood in athletes namely, anger, confusion, depression, vigor, tension and fatigue.

Data analysis ANOVA method will examine whether there is any significance relationship between strategies used to reduce bad mood and the various factors that cause bad mood Regression analysis will examine if there is any casual relationship between performance and mood. Generally, causal relationship is assumed to exits but there have been no studies to verify the extend of the causal relationship The assumption of existence of a causal relationship between performance of an athlete and the factors that cause bad mood should not be obvious since there are many other factors that cause poor performance among the athletes. Regression analysis will examine the level of this relationship. ANOVA tests will examine whether there is any significance relationship between the strategies that are used to reduce bad mood and the factors that cause bad mood.

Results Results will be tabulated against their effects of the performance of athletes. The moods tabulated against performance will be anger, confusion, fatigues, depression and vigor Conclusions will be drawn based on the frequency and the general effectiveness of mood regulating strategies and their effectiveness on improving the employee performance The results will be tabulated in three separate tables to ensure the most appropriate conclusions are drawn. The results will obtained will aim at answering the research question of the strategies that are used by athletes to enhance positive mood and hence improve their performance in the field. They will also answer other research questions on the existence and level of causal relationship between mood and performance of an employee And also test where there is any significance relationship between the factors that trigger bad mood in employees and the strategies used by employees to reduce these factors.

Conclusion Conclusions of the most effectiveness strategies that will be drawn based on the results Recommendations will then be done based on these conclusions Conclusions will be drawn based on the results obtained. The conclusion of the study will be used in making recommendation on whether sports psychologists can develop any interventions to help athletes in eliminating bad mood during the sporting activities.

References Beedie, C., Terry, P. C., & Lane, A. M. (2000). The Profile of Mood States and athletic performance: Two meta-analyses. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 12, 49-68. Berger, B. G., & Motl, R. W. (2000). Exercise and mood: A selective review and synthesis of research employing the Profile of Mood States. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 12, 69-92 LeUnes, A. (2000). An update bibliography on the Profile of Mood States in sport and exercise psychology research. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 12, 110-113. Renger, R. (1993). A review of the Profile of Mood States (POMS) in the prediction of athletic success. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 5, 78-84. Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.