Assessing the Immediate and Maintained Effects of Hypnosis on Self-Efficacy and Soccer Wall-Volley Performance
in Journal of Sport and Exercise PsychologyClick name to view affiliation
Search for other papers by Jamie Barker in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Marc Jones in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Iain Greenlees in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
This study evaluated the effects of hypnosis on self-efficacy and soccer performance. Fifty-nine collegiate soccer players were randomly allocated to either a hypnosis (n = 30) or video attention-control group (n = 29). A pretest–posttest design with an additional 4-week follow-up was used. Self-efficacy was measured via a task-specific questionnaire comprising 10 items relating to good performance on a soccer wall-volley task. The hypnotic intervention comprised three sessions using ego-strengthening suggestions. The control group watched edited videos of professional soccer games. Results indicated that, following the intervention, the hypnosis group were more efficacious and performed better than the control group. These differences were also seen at the 4-week follow-up stage. Although changes in self-efficacy were associated with changes in performance, the effect of hypnosis on performance was not mediated by changes in self-efficacy. The study demonstrates that hypnosis can be used to enhance and maintain self-efficacy and soccer wall-volley performance.
Barker and Jones are with the Department of Sport and Exercise, Staffordshire University, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, United Kingdom. Greenlees is with the Faculty of Sport, Education, and Social Sciences, University of Chichester, Chichester, United Kingdom.
© 2023 Human Kinetics