See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/322701362

Barriers and facilitators to overcoming mental block in springboard and

highboard diving

Article · January 2018

CITATION
READS
1
2,727

2 authors:

Emily Pattinson
Stewart Cotterill
University of Leeds
AECC University College
13 PUBLICATIONS 11
CITATIONS 63 PUBLICATIONS 646 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Performance psychology View project

Enhancing performance-focused decision-making View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Emily Pattinson on 25 January 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Published by:
Sport and Wellbeing Press
University of Central Lancashire, Preston, UK.

Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies

Volume 11, Issue 1, December 2017

Barriers and facilitators to overcoming mental block in

springboard and highboard diving
1
Emily Pattison (University of Winchester)
2
Stuart Cotterill (University of Winchester)

ISSN: 1754-2375
ISBN: 978-0-9955744-2-7 (168 pages)
JQRSS Article No: 1/7-11-1-2017-PG[60]-104

To cite this article:

Pattinson, E.M. and Cotterill, S.T. (2017) Barriers and facilitators to overcoming mental block in springboard
and highboard diving. Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 11, 1, 1-14.

Self-archived URL link to this article:

https://www.academia.edu/35589016/Emily_Pattinson_and_Stuart_Cotterill_2017_Barriers_and_facilitators_
to_overcoming_mental_block_in_springboard_and_highboard_diving._Journal_of_Qualitative_Research_in_
Sports_Studies_11_1_1-14
Advice to submitters - see JQRSS Guide to Contents & Open Call for Papers:
https://www.academia.edu/3513281/JQRSS_Overview_Guide_to_Contents_and_Editorials_by_Volume_-
_Open_Call_for_Papers
JQRSS Mapping of Articles (2007- to date):
https://www.academia.edu/8827414/Mapping_of_JQRSS_articles_across_Undergraduate_and_Postgraduat
e_research
Copyright © Clive Palmer and the individual authors
Notice:
The discussions, statements of fact and opinions contained in the articles of The Journal of Qualitative
Research in Sports Studies are those of the respective authors and cited contributors and are set out in good
faith for the general guidance of student supported research and the promotion of pedagogical discussion in
teaching and learning contexts. No liability can be accepted by the Editor, Advisory Board, the reviewers or
the authors/submitters for loss or expense incurred as a result of relying upon particular statements made or
circumstances outlined in this journal.

Online – Open Access Research Profiles:

academia.edu: https://uclan.academia.edu/ClivePalmer
ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Clive_Palmer
British Conference of Undergraduate Research http://bcur.org/journals/
 Pattinson, E.M. and Cotterill, S.T. (2017) Barriers and facilitators to
overcoming mental block in springboard and highboard diving.
Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies, 11, 1, 1-14

Barriers and facilitators to overcoming mental

block in springboard and highboard diving

Emily Pattinson and Stewart Cotterill

(University of Winchester)

Keywords: Highboard diving, self-efficacy, mental block, elite performance

Abstract
Mental block can be a significant psychological challenge for many
springboard and highboard divers. Consequently, this study investigated the
barriers and facilitators to overcoming mental block in these performers. Three
former elite divers engaged in reflective interviews to discuss their experiences
of mental block. Four barriers (emotions, loss of control, poor coaching and
physical sensations) and four facilitators (preparatory skills, team mates, good
coaching and cognitive skills) emerged from analysed transcripts. Findings
from the current study suggest a link to self-efficacy theory as a potential
mediator of mental block in diving.

Introduction
‘Diving is not just for nutters’
Although diving may seem a bizarre sport to some, the UK has a long tradition
of producing outstanding divers. From the flamboyant but technically basic diving
seen in the 1908 Olympic Games in London, to the diving master class demonstrated
by Jack Laugher and Chris Mears to win gold in 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
However, diving is not as easy as our GB diving stars make it look. Springboard and
highboard divers are exposed to a highly competitive, stressful environment, which
can often lead to bouts of mental block (Huber, 2016). Mental block has been
attributed to many causes, including competition pressure, parent influence,
cognitive anxiety and even residual fear of injury (Collins et al., 1999; Day et al.,
2006). Some research has suggested that mental block and the associated effects on
motivation could be one reason that athletes drop out of sport (Enoksen, 2011;
Heydari et al., 2014). The current body of literature suggests that a better knowledge
of the barriers and facilitators affecting mental block in diving could help inform
coaching practise. An increase in knowledge of mental block in diving could help
reduce athlete drop out, as well as potentially improve the performance and
wellbeing of the UK’s emerging diving stars.

1
ISSN: 1754-2375 [print]
JQRSS Article No: 1/7-11-1-2017-PG[60]-104
Web: https://uclan.academia.edu/ClivePalmer/Journal-of-Qualitative-Research-in-Sports-Studies
Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies 11, 1

Mental block, otherwise known as psychological blocking or lost move

syndrome, refers to the psychological phenomena where an athlete loses the ability
to perform a previously automatic skill (Day et al., 2006). Research studies have
posited many causes of mental block in a variety of sports, primarily artistic sports
as these are where mental block appears to be most prevalent (Bennet et al., 2015).
The residual effects of injury, intense focus on skill refinement and disruption of an
athlete’s motor programme have also been proposed as potential causes of metal
block in javelin (Collins et al., 1999). Another study investigated mental block in
gymnasts and suggested negative attributions and emotions could be the cause
(Feigley, 2009). Research into mental block in trampolining proposed several
potential causes of mental block, which include; fear of the impending move,
increased levels of competition, parental and coach pressure, inadequate skill
acquisition and anxiety (Day et al., 2006). Cheerleading is another sport in which
mental block is prevalent - Lawrence (2016) proposed four major themes in relation
to mental block in cheerleading; fear of backwards rotation, mind and body
dichotomy, fear of performing blocked skills and negative self-belief. Overall there
seems to be consistent themes identified in relation to mental block across sports; the
effects of emotions, physical sensations, cognitive impact, as well as the wider
effects of mental blocks on other aspects of the sufferer’s life (Bennett et al., 2015).
Emotions appear to be strongly linked with experiencing mental blocks, such as
irrational fear, anxiety, depression, feelings of stupidity and extreme frustration
(Collins et al., 1999; Day et al., 2006; Rotheram et al., 2012). In addition to
emotions, there seems to be an effect of past experience, physiological effects and
others’ opinions on the experience of a mental block (Day et al., 2006; Feigley,
2009; Lawrence, 2016), influences are also associated with self-efficacy theory.

Self-efficacy refers to a person’s belief in his or her own ability to perform a

task or cope with a situation (Bandura, 1977). It is important to note that self-
efficacy is concerned with a person’s perceptions rather than their empirically
measurable ability. Bandura's (1977) self-efficacy theory posits four major
influences; mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion and
physiological and affective states. Mastery experience is the effect of past
experiences on developing self-efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1986). Vicarious
experience is the effect of modelling or watching others on self-efficacy beliefs
(Anderson and Campbell, 2015). Social persuasion refers to the effect others have
on self-efficacy beliefs. Social persuasion stimuli can come from coaches, parents or
peers and even self-talk (Chang et al., 2014). Physiological and affective states is the
combined effect of physical sensations and emotions on the development of self-
efficacy beliefs (Bandura, 1977). More recent research has proposed the splitting of
the final influence, physiological and affective states into two separate categories,
physiological states and emotional states (Feltz, Short and Sullivan, 2008). The
current research in the field of mental block in sport
2
seems to draw parallels with self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977), suggesting that
self-efficacy and mental block may be linked.

The proposed causes of mental block appear to link with the influences on
developing self-efficacy beliefs. There is limited research that highlights the
potential relationship between self-efficacy and mental block (Howells, 2016).
Current research in self-efficacy suggests self-efficacy can be a mediator of similar
issues such as stress (Cascio et al., 2014; Nedeljkovic et al., 2013; Yu et al., 2015),
highlighting the possibility of self-efficacy to be used as a mediator or possibly
facilitator to the overcoming of mental block. A study by Maciejewski, Prigerson
and Mazure (2000) found that self-efficacy mediated approximately 40% of the
effects of high stress events in participants with prior experience of depression. A
similar effect of stress mediation using self-efficacy has been found more recently in
a sample of young adults (Sawatzky et al., 2013). In addition to potentially
mediating stress, self-efficacy and self-efficacy based interventions have also been
linked with improvements in skill acquisition (Avila et al., 2012). In addition the
effect of self-efficacy on skill acquisition has been documented in sport specific
environments, such as rowing (Anderson and Campbell, 2015) and golf (Palmer,
Chiviacowsky and Wulf, 2016). The potential effect of self-efficacy on stress
management and skill acquisition suggests a strong basis for applied psychological
interventions.

Mental challenges are a large part of springboard and highboard diving (Huber,
2016), which make the sport interesting ground for sport psychology research.
Springboard and Highboard diving requires athletes to perform flawless
summersaulting and twisting skills from heights up to 10 metres into water with a
splash-less entry. Diving is an ‘early entry’ sport, which is defined as a sport in
which specialisation takes place before puberty (Malina, 2010), due to the acrobatic
nature and physical requirements of the sport. The average age of an international
elite diver in the UK is currently 21 years and national standard competition
beginning at the age of 8 years (Amateur Swimming Association, 2016; British
Diving, 2016). Existing research in diving is limited, focusing mainly on the
physicality of diving (Barris, Farrow and Davids, 2013; Furtner et al., 2006;
Zimmer, 2003). Some studies have addressed the psychological aspects of diving,
most notably Feltz and Mungo (1983) who used diving as a novel task to investigate
self-efficacy and Slobounov et al. (1997) who explored the effects of mastery
experience on diving performance. In addition research by Wang, Ren and Zhang
(2008) highlighted the apparent psychological characteristics of Chinese divers,
which included motivation, attention, volition, intelligence and emotion before
performance. New research has also highlighted the potential use of self-efficacy
within diving (Pattinson, Cotterill and Leyland, 2017).
 Psychological setbacks and mental block are not uncommon in diving. Tom
Daley, British diving’s ten metre Olympic star, suffered from lost move syndrome
following the Olympic games in London in 2012 (Hart, 2014). In addition, David
Boudia, London 2012 ten metre gold medallist from the USA, has reported to use
self- efficacy based interventions such as biofeedback, visualisation and meditation
to overcome several mental blocks associated with his fear of heights (Brunner,
2016). Also Jack Laugher, the UK 3 metre gold and silver medallist from the Rio
Olympic games 2016, has been using expert modelling as a method of supporting
and encouraging young divers (Blickenstaff, 2014). The use of self-efficacy as a
potential support or applied intervention for mental blocks in diving is an interesting
concept. The link between self-efficacy, stress management and skill acquisition
suggest a potential basis for the development of an intervention for overcoming
mental block in diving. Yet before any intervention can be designed more
knowledge is needed into the barriers and facilitators of mental block in diving and
any potential links to self- efficacy. The current study aims to highlight the barriers
and facilitators for overcoming mental block and any existing use of self-efficacy or
associated interventions using reflective interviews with a sample of retired elite
divers.

Method
Participants
A sample of three retired divers (M age = 26 years) were recruited to participate
in the study. All participants had competed at an elite standard at more than one
national event, and were no longer involved in competition. All participants had
reported suffering from mental block at least once in their diving career.

Procedure
Participants were recruited by direct email, participation was voluntary, consent
was gained and participants were able to withdraw at any time during the study.
Before the interview began participants were asked to provide demographic
information to record their age, gender and years of diving experience. Semi-
structured interviews were conducted via Skype TM due to the availability and
commitments of the participants. Existing research in the fields of mental block and
self-efficacy was used to develop a set of seven questions written in an ideal open-
ended style (see figure 1), designed to encourage discussion around mental block as
well as the barriers and facilitators to overcoming mental block in diving.

The influence of the teacher

Debates about why Physical Education exists in the curriculum, what it
contributes to learning and how it should be facilitated are both complex and
dynamic. Nevertheless, teachers have a responsibility to engage in such debates and
to deliberate the future directions of Physical Education (Penney and Chandler,
2000;
Sprake, 2014). Teachers’ perspectives about the role of Physical Education vary
significantly (Green, 2008), however, and this has inevitable and significant
implications for pupils’ learning experiences. For instance, in a damning vignette
about his Physical Education experience, one student recently recalled how his class
were forced to play rugby on the frozen ground in winter months and recalled the
backlash for suggesting an alternative educational experience:

1. Describe an experience when you struggle to perform a dive?

2. What was the main reason you struggled to perform the dive?
3. What physical feelings did you experience at the time?
4. How did you feel emotionally?
5. How did you get over those feelings?
6. Who inspired you during that time?
7. How do you think your social support system affected your diving at this time, for
example coaches, parents or peers?
Figure 1: Interview Questions

Interviews were followed an established reflective methodology used in similar

studies in other sports (Samson, 2014; White and Bennie, 2015), meaning
participants were discussing their own past experiences of diving as a youth such as
experiences of mental block or coach interactions.

Data analysis
All interviews were recorded using a SkypeTM and transcribed ver batim.
The same researcher conducted all three interviews. Transcripts were analysed and
interpreted using abductive reasoning by the primary researcher and an independent
coder (Gale et al., 2013). Abductive reasoning, (also called abduction, abductive
inference, or retroduction) is a form of logical inference which starts with an
observation then seeks to find the simplest and most likely explanation. In abductive
reasoning, unlike in deductive reasoning, the premises do not guarantee the
conclusion. The interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis with
open coding, this analysis has been used in other qualitative studies in diving
(Pattinson, Cotterill and Leyland, 2017). Transcripts were annotated, and then
meaning units were developed from the original annotations, followed by similar
meaning units being grouped into themes. These were lower order themes, grouped
and categorised to identify major themes from the data. The second independent
coder, who was familiar with diving, then analysed the transcripts using the same
process and was not privy to the original analysis. Data were collected using
interview transcripts, and researchers reflective comments. The triangulation of
different sources of the data helps to reduce bias and the possibility of missing
important data.
Results
The current study highlighted both barriers and facilitators to the overcoming of
mental block in diving. Four higher order themes were identified in relation to the
barriers to overcoming mental block in diving: emotions, loss of control, poor
coaching and physical sensations. Four higher order themes were also identified in
relation to the facilitators to overcoming mental block in diving: preparatory skills,
team mates, good coaching and cognitive skills. For reader’s clarity each higher
order theme is presented separately. Full details of all lower order themes can be
found in figure 2 and 3, along with an indication of the amount of participants who
mentioned each theme in brackets.

Barriers – ‘Why can’t I do this dive?’

‘I’m just too emotional!’ The first major barrier highlighted by the participants
was the effect of emotions. The three participants mentioned eleven different
emotions in total. The most frequently mentioned emotions were fear and
frustration. All three participants felt that fear was the root of their mental block,
when asked what they thought caused their mental block, two of the participants
responded immediately with the word ‘fear’. All three participants, in quite similar
contexts, mentioned frustration. One participant highlighted frustration as a major
barrier to their diving, ‘I used to get so frustrated, that was the main problem with
me, I would get so frustrated’. Another participant mentioned that they felt
frustration played a large part in their emotional reaction to mental block,
‘frustration was the biggest one, because you know you can do it but you get
annoyed with yourself that you’re not actually trying it’. Other more extreme
emotions were also mentioned including self-hatred, ‘… beating myself up outside
the pool’, and embarrassment ‘… you’re going to look silly’. Another point that was
made by one diver was that removing themselves from the situation was the only
way he/she could cope with their emotions, ‘the best thing that worked was quitting
diving for three years’.

‘I’m out of control!’

The second main theme identified was loss of control, which is made up of four
lower order themes; poor landings, loss of spatial awareness, unknown outcomes
and interruption of thought process. All three participants highlighted that a loss of
control fed into their mental block and was a barrier to overcoming it. Participants
mentioned that the root of mental block could come from poor quality landings,
which are known in diving as ‘splats’. The participants recounted times they had
experienced poor quality landings, which had caused injury, ‘I landed on completely
flat on my front and hurt myself quite badly and was sick because of it’ and ‘I
landed flat on my back, I don’t know how I managed it’. One participant also
mentioned that they experienced a sudden loss of spatial awareness, ‘I just
completely lost where I was’ which feed into their feelings off a loss of control.
The more abstract concept of an unknown
outcome was mentioned, suggesting that not knowing the outcome of a new skill
causes a level of anxiety that feeds into mental block, ‘the main thing that stopped
me learning new dives was being scared of not knowing what was going to happen
when I tried a dive for the first time’. The fourth lower order theme mentioned
within the category of loss of control was the interruption of thought processes.
Interrupted thought processes was mentioned by the youngest participant, who
struggled to articulate how they felt at the point of mental block and described not
being able to think as they normally would, ‘I couldn’t even work out how to do it
anymore, it was definitely a mental block because I couldn’t think it through
anymore’.

‘Blame the coach’

The third higher order theme identified in the transcripts was poor coaching,
which consisted of five lower order themes; lack of attention, rushing the diver, lack
of variety in coaching style, lack of diving knowledge and lack of belief in the
coach’s ability. One participant mentioned that the lack of attention from their coach
caused frustration and affected their diving progression, ‘Sometimes when I didn’t
get comments after a diving I would get so annoyed because he was concentrating
on other people and there was just no balance’. Another participant mentioned their
coach would rush them to try new skills and not adjust the coaching styles to help
overcome mental block, ‘Rushing through one method of doing lead ups, one
approach to lead up as appose to say putting me in the gym or a rig or various things
like that’. Two participants mentioned their reluctance to try new skills was affected
by their coaches diving knowledge, ‘I just felt she didn’t know enough about diving
and I sometimes felt like I know more than she did and she was supposed to be
coaching me’. Also a lack of belief in the coach’s ability to coach was highlighted as
a cause of anxiety by the participants, ‘another coach who is supposedly a high level
coach, I just didn’t get on with and didn’t believe they were very good at coaching
so I didn’t progress and I found learning new dives with that person exceedingly
scary’.

‘My body feels funny’

The final higher order theme highlighted as a barrier to overcoming mental
block in diving was physical sensations. Participants highlighted several different
physical sensations they felt held back their diving progression; muscle spasms,
sickness/nausea, lethargy, dizziness and pain. Two participants mentioned
experiencing muscle spasms and shaking while trying to learn new dives which they
felt contributed to their mental block, ‘the biggest one was legs shaking, my muscles
would start twitching back and forth, my knees would go weak and that’s when you
lose parts of your strength in your muscles’. Participants also mentioned feeling sick
when attempting new dives, ‘stood on the board and you are so nervous, I don’t
think you would ever be sick but you feel sick’. Another physical sensation
mentioned was pain, one participant mentioned feeling physical pain while
experiencing mental
block, ‘If I didn’t go for a dive I would feel physically in pain’. Lethargy and
dizziness were also mentioned as contributing factors to the inability to attempt new
or previously automatic skills.

Barriers

Lower Order Themes Higher Order Themes

Nervous (1)
Petrified (1)
Scared (3)
Fear (3)
Frustrated (3)
Tears (1) Emotions
Self-hatred (1)
Embarrassed (2)
Disappointed (1)
Angry (2)
Stressed (1)

Poor landings/Splats (3)

Loss of Spatial Awareness (1) Loss of Control
Unknown Outcome (1)
Interruption of Thought Process (1)

Lack of Attention (1)

Rushing the Diver (2)
Lack of Variety in Coaching Style (1) Physical Sensations
Lack of Diving Knowledge (2)
Lack of Belief in the Coaches Ability (2)

Figure 2: Barriers to overcoming mental block in diving.

Facilitators – ‘That really helps!’

‘Just one more lead up!’
One main facilitator mentioned by all three participants was the use of
preparatory skills, known in diving as ‘lead ups’. Participants mentioned feeling
better and more prepared for new or lost skills after going through a progression of
lead ups, ‘There is a bit of an adrenaline rush from wanting to do it, doing the lead
ups for it and wanting to do it, then just going for it’. The participants also
mentioned wanting to do more and more lead ups, ‘I would always want to do more
lead ups than necessary to convince myself I can do it’.

‘It’s all about the team’

Another higher order theme that emerged from the transcripts was the
facilitating effect of teammates and other divers, which encompasses four lower
order themes:
good company, encouragement, healthy competition and emotional support.
Participants mentioned that teammates offered good company, which made diving a
more enjoyable experience, ‘I grew up diving with one of my best mates, me and
(my friend) are still so close now, so that helped me so much’. Another area that was
mentioned frequently was healthy competition. All three participants mentioned that
their team mates progression furthered their own progression, ‘There’s a competition
inside you, you want to not loose even though it’s not a competition, just you can’t
lose that little fight’. Another participant mentioned that once the friendly
competition element of their training environment had gone it was more difficult to
try new dives, ‘I am very competitive driven, even if it just means doing the dive
better or first, once that went the motivation for doing new things dropped off’. The
participants also mentioned how team mates offer encouragement and social
support, yet the wide age range of diving teams sometimes made this harder, ‘When
all the new generation came through they were all so young and having someone
your own age makes it so much better, it’s hard when you are the oldest’.

‘Give the coach some credit!’

Another facilitator mentioned by all three participants was the positive effect of
their coaching staff on their diving development and the management of their mental
block. Four lower order themes were combined to create the higher order theme of
good coaching: coach’s experiences as a diver, trust, expert knowledge and
emotional support. One participant highlighted that their confidence in their coach
came from the coach’s experiences as a diver, the participant felt this meant the
coach understood the process and emotions behind diving and mental block, ‘I knew
he had been there, he had done diving, he understood how I felt and how I worked’.
Another participant mentioned that trust played a large role in the relationships
formed with a coach, ‘some coaches have got a massive amount out of me and I
have masses of respect for them … I would trust whatever he said and it worked
every time’. Others also mentioned the emotional and social support offered by their
coaching staff that helped with their progression, ‘there were lots of occasions that
they would be really supportive and positive and that was the reason I would go for
a dive was through their motivation’.

‘Just visualise it’

All three participants mentioned several different cognitive skills and taught
psychological interventions they relied upon during their competitive diving career.
Four lower order themes were combined to develop the higher order theme of
cognitive skills: visualisation, modelling, self-talk and adapting equipment.
Visualisation is the process where an athlete is encouraged to imagine themselves
completing the skills or exercise perfectly and aim to use all their senses to create an
immersive experience. Visualisation is used in diving and one participant mentioned
that learning visualisation was the turning point in their diving,

Being taught how to do visualisation was really good. It meant I could prep it
throughout the day, everyday of the week, and think about how it should be done so that
when I came to do it all, I was thinking about the right way to do it as opposed to the
wrong way.
Another cognitive skill mentioned was modelling. Modelling refers to the
practise of an athlete watching others to gain experience and confidence in their own
ability. Participants mentioned that modelling played an intrinsic part in their diving
development. Some participants mentioned modelling elite and famous divers,
‘When we used to go and complete in leeds and see some of the top athletes, like
Rebecca Gallentree, I would just watch them train … that definitely inspired me so
much’ and ‘Pete Waterfield really inspired me, Leon Taylor did’. Yet other
participants mentioned that modelling athletes their own level helped them to
develop, ‘the (divers) in the group I was diving against a lot of the time, being mid
to lower half of the table makes you want to be better. You are constantly seeing
them and they are advancing a lot’. Some participants mentioned the use of self-talk
as a way of overcoming their mental block in relation to dives, ‘I start swearing at
myself, and swear a lot and remind myself its only pain’. Other mentioned how they
would adapt their training environment or equipment to allow them to progress, ‘I
just went up on 1 metre and did it because it was just too hard on poolside’, by using
a higher board the participant managed to complete a skill they previously had not
managed to successfully perform.

Facilitators

Lower Order Themes Higher Order Themes

Felt Better after lead-ups (3)

Wanted to do more lead-ups (2) Preparatory Skills
Physical Preparation (1)

Good company (2)

Encouragement (3) Team Mates
Healthy competition (3)
Emotional support (1)

Visualisation (1)
Modelling (2) Cognitive Skills
Self-talk (2)
Adapting equipment (1)

Figure 3: Facilitators to overcoming mental block in diving.

Discussion
The current study aimed to contribute to the current knowledge of psychological
effects on diving performance by investigating the barriers and facilitators to
overcoming mental block in diving. Four main barriers and four main facilitators
emerged from the transcripts of detailed reflective interviews with three former elite
divers. The identification of existing barriers and facilitators to overcoming mental
block in diving supports the assertion that mental block is present in diving, which
further ratifies the existing literature in the field (Brunner, 2016; Huber 2016;
Pattinson, Cotterill and Leyland, in press). The current study also reinforced the
assertion that mental block could be a cause of sports drop out (Enoksen, 2011;
Heydari et al., 2014). Participants in the current study mentioned emotions such as
frustration and fear at great length, which have been linked to mental block (Bennett
et al., 2016). The apparent link between mental block and drop out was seen clearly
when one participant in the current study mentioned leaving the sport as a method of
overcoming their emotions caused by mental block.

The current study also supports the proposed causes of mental block posited by
existing research (Bennett et al., 2016; Day et al, 2006; Lawrence, 2016). The
barriers to overcoming mental block highlighted in the current study were; emotions,
loss of control, poor coaching and physical sensations. Existing research by Day et
al. (2006) posited emotions and coach pressure as some of the main causes of mental
block in sport, which link closely with the themes of emotions and poor coaching
highlighted in the current study. Another study by Lawrence (2016) proposed a mind
and body dichotomy could be a major cause of mental block, the theme of loss of
control highlighted in the current study is similar to a mind and body dichotomy.
Participants mentioned conflictions between their emotions and their physical
reactions, which further support Lawrence’s (2016) findings. Physical sensations
were also suggested as a potential cause of mental block by Bennett et al. (2016),
which was further reinforced by the findings of the current study.

The themes highlighted in the current study also suggest a link to Bandura’s
(1977) self-efficacy theory. Parallels can be drawn between the use of preparatory
skills and gaining self -efficacy thought mastery experience. The facilitators of team
mates and good coaching, along with the barrier of poor coaching can all be
associated with the self-efficacy factor of social persuasion. Finally the barriers of
loss of control, emotions and physical sensations are all very similar to the
influences of emotional states and physiological states described in self-efficacy
research (Feltz, Short and Sullivan, 2008). The current study provides further
support for the use of self-efficacy within a diving context. In addition, the
description of cognitive skills such as visualisation and self-talk being used to
mediate fear and anxiety, further identifies
the potential for self-efficacy to be used as a mediator to diving related stress (Cascio
et al., 2014; Yu et al., 2015).

Conclusion
The current study has taken an initial glance into the potential psychological
impacts of springboard and highboard diving on the athlete, and offered up potential
barriers and facilitators to diving performance and skill acquisition, which warrant
further investigation. The current study has opened the door for further research to
investigate the barriers and facilitators to diving performance and the overcoming of
mental block in differing ages and ability levels. Yet despite this minor limitation of
the current study, the results offer a new angle for potential research in diving
psychology. The use of cognitive skills such as visualisation and self-talk appears to
be in its infancy within a diving context, further research should aim to enhance the
use of these self-efficacy based interventions for possible performance enhancement
and wellbeing development.

References
Amateur Swimming Association (2016) Diving competitions [online]. Available at:
http://www.swimming.org/diving/diving-competitions/ (Accessed 1st April 2017).
Anderson, R. and Campbell, M.J. (2015) Accelerating skill acquisition in rowing using self-
based observational learning and expert modelling during performance. International journal
of Sports Science and Coaching, 10, 2-3, 425-437.
Bandura, A. (1977) Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioural change.
Psychological Review, 84, 2, 191-215.
Bandura, A. (1986) Social foundations of thought sand action: a social cognitive theory.
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Barris, S., Farrow, D. and Davids, K. (2013) Do the kinematics of a baulked take-off in
springboard diving differ from those of a completed dive? Journal of Sports Sciences, 31, 3,
305-313.
Bennett, J., Hays, K., Lindsay, P., Olusoga, P. and Maynard, I.W. (2015) Yips and lost move
syndrome: exploring psychological symptoms, similarities, and implications for treatment.
International Journal of Sport Psychology, 46, 1, 61-82.
Blickenstaff, C., (2014) Olympic diver visits EMU [online]. Available at:
http://www.easternecho.com (Accessed 14th May 2017).
British Diving, (2016) Diving team profiles [online]. Available at:
https://www.britishswimming.org/athlete-swimming-profiles/diving-team-profiles (Accessed
1st April 2017).
Brunner, J. (2016) How Olympic champion David Boudia handles his fear of heights when
diving 32 feet above the water. Forbes [online]. Available at: http://www.forbes.com
(Accessed 14th May 2017).
Cascio, M., Magnano, P., Elastico, S., Costantino, V., Zapparrata, V. and Battiato, A. (2014)
The relationship among self-efficacy beliefs, external locus of control and work stress in
public setting schoolteachers. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 2, 149-156.
Chang, Y.K., Ho, L.A., Lu, F.J.H., Ou, C.C., Song, T.F. and Gill, D.L. (2014) Self-talk and
softball performance: the role of self-talk nature, motor task characteristics, and self-efficacy
in novice softball players. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 15, 1, 139-145.
Collins, D., Morriss, C. and Trower, J. (1999) Getting it back: A case study of skill recovery
in an elite athlete. The Sport Psychologist, 13, 288–289.
Day, M.C., Thatcher, J., Greenlees, I. and Woods, B. (2006) The causes of and psychological
responses to lost move syndrome in national level trampolinists. Journal of Applied Sport
Psychology, 18, 2, 151-166.
Enoksen, E. (2011) Drop-out rate and drop-out reasons among promising Norwegian track
and field athletes. Scandinavian Sport Studies Forum, 2, 19-43.
Feigley, D.A. (2009) Overcoming psychological blocking. U.S. Gymnastics Technique: The
Official Technical Publication of the United States Gymnastics Federation, 12-17.
Feltz, D.L. and Mungo, D. A. (1983) A replication of the path analysis of the causal elements
in Bandura's theory of self-efficacy and the influence of automatic perception. Journal of
Sport Psychology, 5, 263–277.
Feltz, D.L., Short, S. and Sullivan, P. (2008) Self-efficacy in sport: Research and strategies
for working with athletes, teams and coaches. Human Kinetics. Champaign, IL.
Furtner, M., Werner, P., Felber, S. and Schmidauer, C. (2006) Bilateral carotid artery
dissection caused by springboard diving. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 16, 1, 76-78.
Gale, N., Health, G., Cameron, E., Rashid, S. and Redwood, S. (2013) Using the framework
method for the analysis of qualitative data in multi-disciplinary health research. British
Medical Council: Medical Research Methodology, 13, 117, 1-9.
Hart, S. (2014) Diver Tom Daley may be suffering from 'Lost Move Syndrome' says
psychologist Dr Mike Rotheram. Telegraph[online]. Available at:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk (Accessed 14th May 2017).
Heydari, H., Duffy, L.J., Badami, R. and Baluch, B. (2014) Dropout reasons in Iranian youth
roller skaters. International Journal of Science Culture and Sport, 2, 4, 89-102.
Howells, K. (2016) Butterflies, magic carpets, and scary wild animals: an intervention with a
young gymnast. Case Studies in Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1, 1-4, 26-37.
Huber, J. (2016) Springboard and Platform Diving. Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
Lawrence, E.M. (2016) A phenomenological investigation of cheerleaders' lived experiences
of mental blocks. Doctoral Dissertation Georgia Southern University [online]. Available at:
http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1439/ (Accessed 21st May 2017).
Maciejewski, P., Prigerson, H. and Mazure, C. (2000) Self-efficacy as a mediator between
stressful life events and depressive symptoms. British Journal of Psychiatry, 176,4, 373-378.
Malina, R.M. (2010) Early sport specialization: roots, effectiveness, risks. Current Sports
Medicine Reports, 9, 6, 364-371.
Nedeljkovic, M., Wepfer, V., Ausfeld-Hafter, B., Wirtz, P.H. and Streitberger, K.M. (2013)
Influence of general self-efficacy as a mediator in Taiji-induced stress reduction–Results
from a randomized controlled trial. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 5, 3, 284-290.
Palmer, K., Chiviacowsky, S. and Wulf, G. (2016) Enhanced expectancies facilitate golf
putting. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 22, 229-232.
Pattinson, E.M., Cotterill, S.T. and Leyland, S.D. (2017) Sources of self-efficacy in
springboard and highboard diving: a qualitative investigation, The Sport and Exercise
Psychology Review, 13, 2, 80-91.
Sawatzky, R.G., Ratner, P.A., Richardson, C.G., Washburn, C., Sudmant, W. and Mirwaldt,
P. (2012) Stress and depression in students: the mediating role of stress management self-
efficacy. Nursing Research, 61, 1, 13-21.
Slobounov, S., Yukelson, D. and O'brien, R. (1997) Self-efficacy and movement variability
of Olympic-level springboard divers. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 9, 2, 171-190.
Wang, R.H., Ren, H. and Zhang, Y. (2008) A research on psychological and intelligent
characteristic of diving athlete in China. Journal of Beijing Sport University, 9, 015.
Yu, X., Wang, P., Zhai, X., Dai, H. and Yang, Q. (2015) The effect of work stress on job
burnout among teachers: The mediating role of self-efficacy. Social Indicators Research,
122, 3, 701-708.

JQRSS Author Profiles

Emily Pattinson1 is nearing the end of her PhD investigating the effects of self-efficacy on
performance in competitive divers. Emily is involved with the development and
implementation of self-efficacy interventions to improve performance and wellbeing in elite
divers. Contact: [email protected]

Stewart Cotterill2 is a Reader in Sport and Performance Psychology and head of the
department at the University of Winchester, Winchester, UK. Contact:
[email protected]

Reviewer Comments
This was paper was really enjoyable and well-written. I found the text to be
clear and concise, with definitions and explanations for what could be quite complex
ideas put forward in an engaging and accessible way. The paper stimulated thought
and reflection on the broader application of the ideas presented for other sports and
activities. In particular, although on the face of it not closely related, it encouraged
me to question my own practice when supporting students who may experience
mental blocks in their academic studies, especially when it comes to formally
assessed written work, but also less formal activities requiring greater independent
thought and creativity. A key takeaway in this article was the importance placed on
self-efficacy and its potential to reduce stress in performers – the authors make a
good case for its use, grounded in classic theory like Bandura’s work. I was left
wondering to what extent our contemporary systems and processes for ‘educating’
young people and athletes (as well as society at large) has this worthy focus
embedded within them? Or whether they in fact they might actually reduce the
likelihood of it emerging? Thank you for the food for thought.

14
Journal of Qualitative Research in Sports Studies 11, 1
View publication stats