Telic dominance A state of mind in which a person’s behaviour is serious and goal-
directed.
Temporal occlusion paradigm A research method in which people are asked to guess
what happens next when viewing information presented in slides, film or video.
Ten-year rule The theory that it takes approximately ten years of sustained practice to
become an expert in any field.
Thought sampling A research method in which people are equipped with electronic
beepers and cued to reveal their thoughts and feelings at specific moments.
Trait anxiety A consistent and pervasive tendency to perceive certain situations as
threatening.
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) A neuroscientific technique in which a high-
intensity magnetic coil is placed over a person’s skull in an effort to stimulate neural
activity in the brain.
Transtheoretical model (TTM) of behaviour change A theory of long-term behaviour
change which proposes that people go through certain stages and use certain
psychological processes when they attempt to implement relevant intentions.
Trigger words Instructional cues used by athletes and coaches to help them to
concentrate on what is most important when executing a skill.
Validity See “construct validity”.
Visualisation See “imagery”.
Visual search task An experimental technique used by researchers to determine people’s
speed and accuracy in detecting target stimuli presented in complex arrays containing
distractors.
Vividness The apparent clarity, realism or richness of a mental image.
Working memory (see also “short-term memory”) Part of the conscious memory system
that stores, retrieves and manipulates transient formation for current use—formerly
known as “short-term memory”.
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