Naturalistic verbal and non-verbal encouragement in athletic performance assessments: A mixed-methods study.

Social influence through verbal encouragement (VE) or non-verbal encouragement (NVE) aims to support athletes by mobilising resources. Its effectiveness has already been studied in sports by comparing performances with or without VE to investigate the performance-enhancing effect. However, these stu...

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Publicado en:Journal of Sports Sciences Vol. 44; no. 9; pp. 1113 - 1127
Autores principales: van Meurs, Edda, Nieto, Margaret, Strauss, Bernd, Harenberg, Sebastian
Formato: pictorial tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Taylor & Francis Ltd May2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
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      dt: May2026
      vid: 44
      iid: 9
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      pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd
      place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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        10.1080/02640414.2026.2632508
        192936145
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        atl: Naturalistic verbal and non-verbal encouragement in athletic performance assessments: A mixed-methods study.
      aug:
        au:
          van Meurs, Edda
          Nieto, Margaret
          Strauss, Bernd
          Harenberg, Sebastian
        affil: Department of Sport & Exercise Psychology, Institute of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
      sug:
        subj:
          Athletic Performance Evaluation
          Support, Social
          Hockey Canada
          Verbal Behavior
          Nonverbal Communication
          Task Performance and Analysis
          Adolescent Psychology
          Human
          Funding Source
          Male
          Female
          Adolescence
          Adult
          Nonexperimental Studies
          Multimethod Studies
          Physical Endurance
          Canada
          Athletes Psychosocial Factors
          Convenience Sample
          Videorecording
          Self Report
          Descriptive Statistics
          Comparative Studies
          Summated Rating Scaling
          Multivariate Analysis of Variance
          Nonparametric Statistics
          Multiple Logistic Regression
          Data Analysis Software
          Team Sports
          Motivation
          Sex Factors
          Adolescent: 13-18 years
          Adult: 19-44 years
          Male
          Female
      ab: Social influence through verbal encouragement (VE) or non-verbal encouragement (NVE) aims to support athletes by mobilising resources. Its effectiveness has already been studied in sports by comparing performances with or without VE to investigate the performance-enhancing effect. However, these studies use standardised formulations, given at regular intervals by experimenters who are unknown to the participants, reducing the external validity. This may result in an underestimation of the actual effect. To date, no empirical evidence exists to characterise VE and NVE. The present study analyses the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of VE and NVE. We hypothesised that both would become more frequent the more demanding the task becomes. We video-recorded 39 Canadian hockey student-athletes (49% female, Mage = 20.97, SDage = 1.91). VE and NVE of the encouraging athletes on the sideline per second were coded, transcribed, and the content explored using deductive-inductive thematic analysis. We found that VE and NVE increased over time and that male and female athletes encouraged differently. Statements could be classified as informational, appraisal or tangible support. The results of the analysis can be used as a framework for naturalistic encouragement in future operationalisations. Moreover, we highlight the interpersonal differences in encouragement behaviour, specifically between men and women.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        pictorial
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
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