Scientific Foundation

Evidence for the Validity & Reliability of the Mental Skills Assessment (MSA) was originally published and presented at the annual conference of Association of Applied Sports Psychology (AASP) in October 2010.

The MSA was developed according to the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (published by the American Psychological Association and the National Council for Measurement in Education), by the Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures (published by the Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology) and by the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (published by the U.S. Department of Labor).

  • Identify
  • Measure
  • Evaluate
  • Develop

Exceptional Measures...Superior Performance

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Kyle Freeland delivers a pitch to San Diego Padres' Wil Myers in the first inning of a baseball game Tuesday, April 24, 2018, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE MSA

The Mental Skills Model integrates findings from research conducted in social-cognitive theory, sports psychology, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Studies of cognitive behavioral therapy have proven it to be an exceedingly effective means of changing behavior, improving mental skills, and increasing mental health. Cognitive behavioral therapists and sport psychologists use concepts and methods from cognitive behavioral therapy to improve the performance and lives of their clients. Studies in social cognitive theory have identified the mental skills that are critical to performance in sports, in school, and in work settings. The MSA is based upon research findings from these fields of psychology.

KEY SCIENTIFIC STUDIES

Below is a list of some of the many studies that support the Scientific Foundation:

  1. Anshel, MH (1998). Coping with stress in sport as a function of gender: An exploratory study. Journal of Sport Behavior, 21 (4), 363-376.
  2. Anshel, MH & Porter, A. (1998). Self-regulatory characteristics of competitive swimmers as a function of skill level and gender. Journal of Sport Behavior, 19 (2), 1-15.
  3. Anshel, MH & Wells, B. (2000). Personal and situational variables that describe coping with acute stress in competitive sport. The Journal of Social Psychology, 140 (4), 434-450.
  4. Bandura, A. (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 248-287.
  5. Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 51 (1), 1-26.
  6. Bandura, A. (2005). The primacy of self-regulation in health promotion. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 54 (2), 245-254.
  7. Barlow, DH, Craske, MG, Cerny, JA, & Klosko JS (1989) Behavioral treatment of panic disorder Behavior Therapy 20:261–282.
  8. Bayer, UC & Gollwitzer, PM. (2005). Mindset effects on information search in self-evaluation. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35, 313-327.
  9. Beck, AT (2005) The current state of cognitive therapy: a 40-year retrospective. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62:953–959.
  10. Beck, JS (1995). Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond. The Guilford Press, New York.
  11. Cervone, D. (2005). Personality architecture: Within person structures and processes. Annual Review of Psychology, 56 (4), 423-452.
  12. Compton, SN, March, JS, Brent, D, Albano, AM V, Weersing R, & Curry, J (2004) Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for anxiety and depressive disorders in children and adolescents: an evidence-based medicine review. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43:930–959.
  13. Deci, E.L. (1975). Intrinsic Motivation. New York: Plenum Press.
  14. Denny, KG & Steiner, H. (2009). External and internal factors influencing happiness in elite collegiate athletes. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 40, 55-72.
  15. 15. Duda, J.L. (1993). Goals: A social-cognitive approach to the study of achievement motivation in sport. In R.N. Singer, M. Murphey, & L.K. Tennant (Eds.), Handbook of research on sport psychology (pp. 421-436). New York: MacMillan.
  16. Duda, J.L., & Nicholls, J.G. (1992). Dimension of achievement motivation in schoolwork and sport. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84(3), 290-299.
  17. Duda, J.L. (1992). Motivation in sport settings: A goal perspectives approach. In G.C. Roberts (Ed.), Motivation in Sport and Exercise (pp. 57-91). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
  18. Dweck, C.S. (1986). Motivational processes affect learning. American Psychologist, 41, 1040-1048.
  19. Fairburn, CG, Norman, PA, Welch, SL, O’Connor, ME, Doll, HA, & Peveler, RC (1995). A prospective study of outcome in bulimia nervosa and the long-term effects of three psychological treatments. Archives of General Psychiatry, 52: 304–312.
  20. Gonida, E., Kiosseoglou, G., & Voulala, K. (2007). Perceptions of parent goals and their contribution to student achievement goal orientation and engagement in the classroom: Grade level differences across adolescence. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 22 (1), 23-29.
  21. Grant, H. & Dweck, CS. (2003). Clarifying achievement goals and their impact. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85 (3), 541-553.
  22. Mischel, W. (2004). Toward an integrative science of the person. Annual Review of Psychology, 55 (1), 1 – 22.
  23. Ntoumanis, N., Biddle, SJH, & Haddock, G. (1999). The mediating role of coping strategies on the relationship between achievement motivation and affect in sport. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 12, 299-327.
  24. Ommundsen, Y, Haugen, R., & Lund, T. (2005). Academic self-concept, implicit theories of ability, and self-regulation strategies. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 49 (5), 461-474.
  25. Roberts, G.C. (Ed.) (1992b). Motivation in sport and exercise, Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
  26. Roberts, G.C. (1993). Motivation in sport: Understanding and enhancing the motivation and achievement of children. In R.N. Singer, M. Murphey, & L.K. Tennant (Eds.), Handbook of research on sport psychology (pp. 405-420). New York: MacMillan.
  27. Roth A, & Fonagy P. (1996). What Works for Whom? A Critical Review of Psychotherapy Research. New York, Guilford.
  28. Schwarzer, R. & Renner, B. (2000). Social-cognitive predictors of health behavior: Action self-efficacy and coping self-efficacy. Health Psychology, 19 (5), 487-495.
  29. Smith, SA, Kass, SJ, Rotunda, RJ, & Schneider, SK. (2006). If at first you don’t succeed: Effects of failure on general and task-specific self-efficacy and performance. North American Journal of Psychology, 8 (1), 171-182.
  30. Vansteelandt, K. & Van Mechelen, I. (2006). Individual differences in anger and sadness: In pursuit of active situational features and psychological processes. Journal of Personality, 74 (3), 872-909.