Mental toughness Informal term used loosely to describe athletes’ resilience, ability to
cope with pressure and determination to persist in the face of adversity.
Meta-analysis A technique which enables researchers to analyse and combine the results
of a number of separate studies on the same topic in order to determine the overall size
of a statistical effect.
Meta-attention People’s knowledge about, and control over, their own attentional
processes.
Metacognition People’s knowledge about, and control over, their own cognitive
processes.
Meta-imagery People’s knowledge about, and control over, their own mental imagery
processes.
Motivation Factors that initiate, guide and/or sustain behaviour.
Motivational climate The type of learning environment which a coach establishes for an
athlete—namely, either ego-oriented or mastery-oriented.
Naturalistic observation A research method in which the investigator observes
behaviour in its natural setting and attempts to avoid influencing the participants or
behaviour being observed.
Neuromuscular theory of mental practice The theory that imagination of any physical
action elicits a faint pattern of activity in the muscles used to perform that action.
Neuropsychology The study of the relationship between brain function, behaviour and
experience.
Neuroscientific imaging Brain-scanning techniques that produce pictures of the structure
and/or functioning of specific parts of the brain.
Neurotransmitter A chemical substance that carries signals across synapses from one
neuron to another.
Norepinephrine A type of neurotransmitter in the brain.
Occipital lobe A region of the cerebral cortex at the back of the head that is concerned
with visual information processing.
Overtraining Any abnormal extension of the training process that leads to feelings of
staleness and fatigue in athletes or exercisers.
Paradigm The detailed framework of principles, theories, methods and assumptions that
is shared by a group of researchers in a given field.
Paratelic dominance A state of mind in which the person’s behaviour is adventurous,
playful and fun-loving.
Parietal lobe A brain region at the top and rear centre of the head which is believed to be
involved in regulating spatial attention and motor control.
Pattern recognition tasks An experimental technique used by researchers to investigate
expert-novice differences in people’s ability to remember briefly presented patterns of
information in a particular field.
Peak performance experiences (also known as “flow states”) Coveted but elusive
experience in sport where an athlete performs to the best of his or her ability mainly as
a result of being totally focused on the task at hand.
Performance goals Behavioural outcomes or targets (such as serving accurately in
tennis) that are largely under the control of the performer.
Physical activity Bodily movements that are produced by the skeletal muscles and result
in the expenditure of energy.
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