Papers by Maurizio Bertollo
Euromental : An European projet of co-construction of pedagogical and innovative contents on sport psychology and mental training
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jun 21, 2022
Underrecovery in elite athletes
Routledge eBooks, Jan 20, 2023
Scientific Reports
Imagery is a well-known technique in mental training which improves performance efficiency and in... more Imagery is a well-known technique in mental training which improves performance efficiency and influences physiological arousal. One of the biomarkers indicating the amount of physiological arousal is skin conductance level (SCL). The aim of our study is to understand how individual differences in personality (e.g. neuroticism), general imagery and situational sport anxiety are linked to arousal measuring with SCL in situational imagery. Thirty participants aged between 14 and 42 years (M = 22.93; SD = 5.24), with sport experience ranging between 2 and 20 years (M = 10.15; SD = 4.75), took part in our study. Participants listened to each previously recorded script and then were asked to imagine the scene for a minute. During the task SCL was monitored using the Biofeedback Expert 2000. Machine learning predictive models based on artificial neural networks have been trained for prediction of physiological response, as a function of selected psychological tests. We found an associatio...
State of art of mental training courses in Europe : Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Sapin and Sweden
HAL (Le Centre pour la Communication Scientifique Directe), Jul 11, 2022
Comment on: “Development of a Revised Conceptual Framework of Physical Training for Use in Research”
Sports Medicine, 2022
During training, athletes improve their abilities, learn new skills and competencies, and refine ... more During training, athletes improve their abilities, learn new skills and competencies, and refine those already learned for performance enhancement [1]. In particular, physical training is at the heart of this process and the conceptual framework of physical training is crucial to better understand the intrinsic dynamics and its measurements [2]. When defining a conceptual framework for the operational definition of each component/construct (e.g., individual factors, training load), a specific theoretical background is usually assumed. However, in sport science a Grand Unified Theory of performance [3], that could also address the conceptual framework of physical training, is needed. The sport science subfields (e.g., physiology, psychology, coaching) are interconnected and sharing knowledge is mandatory nowadays to deepen our understanding of a multifaceted phenomenon like training for performance. Consequently, we thought to offer the contribution of sport psychology to the physical training framework [2] to integrate different perspectives toward a multidisciplinary approach. In particular, we would like to add some information regarding the usage of subjective measures and to define the multidimensional and multimodal approach in performance assessment and also in training, especially when looking at the individual context. In this perspective, we should consider the importance of assuming an idiographic approach (i.e., referring to specific idiosyncratic cases) when assessing an athlete and looking for a measurement instrument validation. Upon reading the paper by Jeffries et al. [2] on a revised conceptual framework of physical training, some additional considerations can be proposed as integration and/ or extension:
Using Technology for Self-regulation in Sport
Feelings in Sport, 2020
PLOS ONE, 2021
The purpose of this study was to validate the Volition in Exercise Questionnaire in Italian langu... more The purpose of this study was to validate the Volition in Exercise Questionnaire in Italian language (VEQ-I). The translation and cultural adaptation of the VEQ-I was conducted using the forward-backward translation method. VEQ-I eighteen items correspond to the six-factors structure of the original version. The construct validity was verified by the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (CFI = 0.960; TLI = 0.943; RMSEA = 0.039; and SRMR = 0.040). The eighteen items were well distributed in six subscales and the six-factors structure of the questionnaire was supported. Internal Consistency value of the questionnaire was investigated for each subscale of the VEQ-I. Cronbach’s alpha and Omega values of the Reasons, Postponing Training, Unrelated Thoughts, Self-Confidence, Approval from Others and Coping with Failure subscales were 0.76 (α) and 0.76 (ω), 0.76 (α) and 0.76 (ω), 0.87 (α) and 0.88 (ω), 0.85 (α) and 0.85 (ω), 0.70 (α) and 0.72 (ω) and 0.74 (α) and 0.74 (ω), respectively. They...
To promote students' physical activity (PA) during the COVID-19 lockdown, Physical Education (PE)... more To promote students' physical activity (PA) during the COVID-19 lockdown, Physical Education (PE) teachers invested an unprecedented effort. This study identifies motivational determinants in changes in PE teachers' behaviors promoting PA. 931 Italian and French teachers' motivational determinants and behaviors promoting PA were measured, regarding before and during lockdown. Increased autonomous, controlled motivation, self-efficacy, perceived usefulness toward digital technologies and decreased amotivation were associated with an increased intention to promote PA. Increased intention, but also self-efficacy and perceived usefulness toward digital technologies, were associated with increased behaviors promoting PA. Implications regarding the investment of teachers in challenging situations are discussed.
Since the end of 2019 and throughout 2020 the world has been devastated by the SARS COVID-19 pand... more Since the end of 2019 and throughout 2020 the world has been devastated by the SARS COVID-19 pandemic. The sport world suddenly had to deal with a massive reorganization of events with important implications on the physical and psychological preparation of athletes and coaches. The purpose of this study was to explore how these changes impacted coaches’ and athletes’ goal setting strategies and their experience of goal adjustment. As part of a wider mixed-method project involving 2162 coaches and 1354 athletes, an online qualitative survey was used, and data collected were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings highlighted three overarching themes, in response to goal adjustment: “Moving on toward new goals”, “Letting go of goals”, and “Trying to hold on”, with several themes and sub-themes identifying different nuances of athletes’ and coaches’ experience. The implications of such findings for the mental preparation of high-level athletes are discussed in two ways. Fi...
Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 2021
Purpose: To identify motivational determinants explaining Physical Education teachers’ behaviors ... more Purpose: To identify motivational determinants explaining Physical Education teachers’ behaviors promoting students’ physical activity (PA) amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Nine hundred thirty-one Italian and French teachers completed a questionnaire assessing motivational determinants (self-determined motivation, self-efficacy, perceived ease and usefulness toward digital technologies, engagement at work), their intention and behaviors promoting PA, in reference to before and during the pandemic. Path analyses tested the associations of changes in motivational determinants with changes in intention and behaviors. Results: Increases in autonomous, controlled motivation, self-efficacy, and perceived usefulness toward digital technologies, and a decrease in amotivation were associated with an increase in the intention to promote PA. In turn, an increase in intention, but also in self-efficacy, autonomous motivation, and perceived usefulness toward digital technologies were paired...
Optimizing performance in sport
Advancements in Mental Skills Training, 2020
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2021
The purpose of the current study was to examine the cortical correlates of imagery depending on i... more The purpose of the current study was to examine the cortical correlates of imagery depending on instructional modality (guided vs. self-produced) using various sports-related scripts. According to the expert-performance approach, we took an idiosyncratic perspective analyzing the mental imagery of an experienced two-time Olympic athlete to verify whether different instructional modalities of imagery (i.e., guided vs. self-produced) and different scripts (e.g., training or competition environment) could differently involve brain activity. The subject listened to each previously recorded script taken from two existing questionnaires concerning imagery ability in sport and then was asked to imagine the scene for a minute. During the task, brain waves were monitored using EEG (32-channel g. Nautilus). Our findings indicate that guided imagery might induce higher high alpha and SMR (usually associated with selective attention), whereas self-produced imagery might facilitate higher low al...
We tested the effects of Hatha Yoga and specific balance exercises on balance function and fear o... more We tested the effects of Hatha Yoga and specific balance exercises on balance function and fear of falling in older adults living in nursing homes. Twenty-six older adults underwent either Hatha Yoga or simple balance exercises practice. Before, during, and after completing the two programmes, the performance-oriented mobility assessment tool and the Italian version of the falls efficacy scale international were administered to assess participants’ balance function and fear of falling. Hatha Yoga practice yielded significant differences in balance function and fear of falling associated with low falls risk and reduced fear of falling. Specific balance exercises practice yielded significant differences only on balance function but with reduced performance-oriented mobility assessment tool scores associated with a greater falls risk. Accordingly, to improve the quality of life of older adults living in nursing homes, the practice of Hatha Yoga should be encouraged.
Perceived control, hedonic tone, and performance in elite shooters
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the individual’s dynamics of perceived contr... more Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the individual’s dynamics of perceived control and hedonic tone over time, with respect to the four performance states as conceptualized within the multi-action plan (MAP) model. We expected to find idiosyncratic and differentiated trends over time in the scores of perceived control and hedonic tone, typified by switches among two optimal and two suboptimal types of processing during performance. Method: Ten elite-level shooters participated in the study. They were asked to identify the most relevant, idiosyncratic core component of their shooting action, and perform 120 shots distanced 10 m from the target. Subjective accounts of perceived control and hedonic tone of the core component of action were assessed prior to and after each shot. We used a probabilistic approach to derive the four performance categories according to 2 × 2 interactions of perceived control and performance, and hedonic tone and performance. Results: Logist...
Mindfulness to performance enhancement: a systematic review of neural correlates
International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 2021
The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on performance have recently been investigated, wi... more The effects of mindfulness-based interventions on performance have recently been investigated, with several studies assessing changes in brain activity. The aim of the current systematic review was...
Psychophysiological features of soccer players’ recovery-stress balance during the in-season competitive phase
Sport, Recovery, and Performance, 2017
Psychobiosocial States Scale; Trait Version--Italian Version
PsycTESTS Dataset, 2016
European Physical Education Review, 2018
Grounded in achievement goal theory and basic psychological needs theory, the aim of this study w... more Grounded in achievement goal theory and basic psychological needs theory, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of the interaction of perceived motivational climate in physical education with psychological needs satisfaction (relatedness, competence and autonomy) and psychobiosocial states on student intention to engage in leisure-time physical activity. Participants ( N = 470 Italian students, 287 boys and 183 girls, aged 16–19 years) completed the Teacher-Initiated Motivational Climate in Physical Education Questionnaire, the Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale in Physical Education, the Psychobiosocial States Questionnaire, and a measure of intention to engage in leisure-time physical activity. Structural equation modelling analysis indicated that a perceived task-involving climate was related to intention to engage in physical activity through the serial mediation of competence need satisfaction and pleasant/functional psychobiosocial states. The findings highlight ...
International journal of sports physiology and performance, Jan 18, 2018
The relationship between recovery and fatigue and its impact on performance has attracted the int... more The relationship between recovery and fatigue and its impact on performance has attracted the interest of sports science for many years. An adequate balance between stress (training and competition load, other life demands) and recovery is essential for athletes to achieve continuous high-level performance. Research has focused on the examination of physiological and psychological recovery strategies to compensate external and internal training and competition loads. A systematic monitoring of recovery and the subsequent implementation of recovery routines aims at maximizing performance and preventing negative developments such as underrecovery, non-functional overreaching, the overtraining syndrome, injuries, or illnesses. Due to the inter- and intra-individual variability of responses to training, competition, and recovery strategies, a diverse set of expertise is required to address the multifaceted phenomena of recovery, performance and their interactions to transfer knowledge f...
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Papers by Maurizio Bertollo