Concentration 1

Running head: CONCENTRATION

Concentrating on Athletics and

an Unrelated Cognitive Task

Therese Leed

Algoma University College

SPPSYCLEE95/96RESERVE

Concentration 2

Research shows that high school and university

athletes do not do as well academically as non-athletes

(Maloney & McCormick, 1992; The Economist, 1989;

Edwards, 1983). One possible explanation for this is

that athletes use so much concentration in their sport

that it interferes with academic tasks. The purpose of

this study is to assess whether athletes and non-

athletes differ in concentration, and whether

concentrating on an athletic task interferes with

concentration on a cognitive task.

An Athlete

The research on athletes and non-athletes is

contradictory. There are studies that suggest athletes

are better than non-athletes (Deakin & Allard, 1991;

Garland & Barry, 1991; Zervas, Danis & Klissouras,

1991; Garland & Barry, 1990; Randall, 1990; Del Rey,

Wughalter & Carnesm, 1987; Nettleton, 1986), there are

studies that show no differences between athletes and

non-athletes (Kerr & Boucher, 1992; Melnick, Sabo &

Vanfossen, 1992; Schumaker, Small & Wood, 1986), and

there are studies that suggest that athletes do not do

as well as non-athletes when it comes to cognitive

tasks (Maloney & McCormick, 1992; The Economist, 1989;

Concentration 3

Edwards, 1983). One possible reason for these

different findings is the variety of methods used to

define an athlete. An athlete has been defined by

competitiveness (Molander & Backman, 1994; Kerr &

Boucher, 1992; Maloney & McCormick, 1992; Lufi &

Tenenbaum, 1991; McGowan, Talton & Tobacyk, 1990;

Mahoney, Gabriel & Perkins, 1987; Highlen & Bennett,

1983), level of participation (Melnick, Sabo &

Vanfossen, 1992; Hall & Davies, 1991; Salokun, 1990;

The Economist, 1989; Tenenbaum, Benedick & Bar-Eli,

1988; Nettleton, 1986; Schumaker, Small & Wood, 1986;

Smith, 1986; Edwards, 1983), skill level (Garland &

Barry, 1990), self-perception of athletic ability

(Randall, 1990), amount of physical activity (Zervas,

Danis & Klissouras, 1991), and experience (Ishigake &

Miyao, 1993; Smith & Chamberlin, 1992; Deakin & Allard,

1991; Garland & Barry, 1991; Del Rey, Wughalter &

Carnes, 1987). The definition of an athlete may affect

the outcome of one's research.

Athletes and Academics

Defining an athlete is not the only difficulty in

this area of research. Many similarities and

differences have been found when comparing athletes to

Concentration 4

non-athletes. Randall (1990) had elementary school

children rate themselves on perceived athletic ability

and compared this to school grades. He found that

subjects who perceived themselves as athletic did

better in mathematics than those who did not. Garland

and Barry (1990) conducted a review of the literature

on the cognitive abilities of athletes and found that

athletes are better able to increase their levels of

concentration than non-athletes. They also found that

expert athletes get superior memory processes through

practice. It is suggested that this memory ability is

domain specific. When expert football coaches and non-

experts were asked to replicate football play patterns,

the experts did better. The experts tend to recall

larger chunks of information only when related to

actual football plays (Garland and Barry 1991).

Del Rey, Wughalter and Carnesm (1987) tested

subjects with the Bassin Anticipation Timer (a runway

where the subject sits at one end and has to press a

button when a moving light reached a marker at the

other end of the runway), and found that sports experts

are better able to get, retain, and transfer

information than non-experts. Nettleton (1986) also

Concentration 5

used the Bassin Anticipation Timer, and found that

elite fastball players have greater attention

flexibility than other ball players. Deakin and Allard

(1991) found that expert figure skaters are better at

remembering routines than novice skaters. Zervas,

Danis & Klissouras (1991) had subjects use a treadmill

for twenty minutes. They found that physical exertion

aids mental performance on a matching and comparison

task. All of this research suggests that athletes are

better than non-athletes when it comes to cognitive

processes.

This may not be true. Some researchers have

suggested that there is no relation between academic

success and athletic participation. Kerr and Boucher

(1992) asked subjects to manoeuvre a steering wheel,

making a speedometer needle point to a target, and

found that athletes did better than non-athletes. They

concluded that athletes are better able to control and

produce fast accurate movements than non-athletes, and

do not have any superior memory skills. Melnick, Sabo

and Vanfossen (1992) surveyed high school students and

found that sports participation was not related to the

student's grades. Schumaker, Small and Wood (1986)

Concentration 6

examined the grades of high school athletes and found

that they do not differ from the grades of non-

athletes. Perhaps athletes do not differ from non-

athletes.

Some research suggests that athletes do not do as

well as non-athletes academically. Maloney and

McCormick (1992) examined high school and university

SAT scores and found that athletes have lower scores

than non-athletes. It was suggested that athletes

enter college and university with lower grades than

non-athletes. The Economist (1989) looked at

graduation rates and found that fewer athletes graduate

unless they can play professional sports after college.

Edwards (1983) examined school grades and found that

athletes do worse academically than non-athletes. He

suggests that this results from colleges and

universities using students for their athletic ability

and failing to educate them. These studies seem

contradictory. It is not certain whether athletes are

superior to, equal to, or inferior to non-athletes when

it comes to academics.

Academic Performance

Concentration 7

Academic Performance

Various reasons have been suggested for why

athletes do not do as well as non-athletes

academically. Edwards (1983) suggests that athletes do

not receive the same quality of education as non-

athletes. The Economist (1989) claims that colleges

and universities use athletes for their skills but fail

to educate them. They also suggest that athletes are

expected to spend more time playing their sport than

studying books. Maloney and McCormick (1993) found

that lower grades are not a result of any athletic

training received at the high school, college, or

university level. Athletes have lower grades before

entering high school.

Differences

Personality differences might account for the

decline in academic performance for athletes. Salokun

(1990) gave high school students the Tennessee Self-

concept Scale and found that athletes have a higher

self-concept than non-athletes. Schumaker, Small and

Wood (1986) administered the same self-concept scale to

high school seniors and confirmed these findings.

Smith (1986) gave grade three and six students the

Concentration 8

Martinek-Zaichkowsky Self-concept Scale for Children

and found that athletes have a higher self-concept than

non-athletes.

Self-concept is not the only difference between

athletes and non-athletes. They also differ in

attention flexibility. When asked to figure out the

gap size of a Landolt C Ring, athletes were more

accurate when the gap was small, compared to non-

athletes. The Landolt C Ring is a circle on a white

screen that has a smaller incomplete circle inside it.

The inside circle has a gap that can be varied in size,

and subjects are asked to figure out what direction the

gap is facing (Ishigaki & Miyao, 1993). In doing an

analysis of perceptual-motor behavior in sports,

Bjurwill (1991) found successful football players to be

better able to split their attention between the game

and the ball, whereas unsuccessful players do not do

this. Nettleton (1986) used the Bassin Anticipation

Timer in his study. He found that elite fast-ball

players had greater attention flexibility when compared

to good fast-ball players. Kerr and Boucher (1992)

used a steering wheel and speedometer to show that

Concentration 9

athletes are better ably than non-athletes at producing

fast, accurate movements.

Lufi and Tenenbaum (1991) used the Persistence

Scale for Children and found that athletes are more

persistent than non-athletes. Hall and Davies (1991)

asked university level subjects to submerge their hand

into a bucket of ice water and hold it there as long as

possible. Athletic subjects were found to have higher

pain tolerance than non-athletes. Taylor (1987)

administered a series of questionnaires and found that

the better athletes were more confident than other

athletes. Raviv and Nabel (1988) used the Group

Embedded Figures Test and the d2 Brickenkamp

Concentration Test in their study. They found that

elite basketball players tend to exhibit a higher

quality of concentration when compared to amateur

players. The elite players also tend to be more field-

dependent, and have superior visual cognitive ability

than the amateurs. If athletes differ from non-

athletes in concentration (Raviv & Nabel, 1988) then

this could account for the differences in academic

achievement. The concentration that a sport demands

may interfere with academic tasks.

Concentration 10

Concentration

Different tasks demand different levels of

concentration. In 1994 preschool children were given a

task that was easy, moderate, or difficult. These

tasks were done in each child's home. Parents were

asked to report on how hard they thought their child

was concentrating when doing the task, and a comparison

of these reports and task difficulty was conducted. It

was found that preschool children concentrate more when

doing easy or moderate tasks than when doing difficult

tasks (Tanaka 1994).

Concentration is also affected by other variables.

Higgins and Turnure (1984) found that noise

distractions lead to a decrease in concentration for

preschool and second grade children, yet tend to

increase levels of concentration for children in grade

six. As the noise level increased, the level of

concentration increased. Molander and Backman (1994)

conducted a study on golf, in which concentration

levels were measured by recording the amount of time

taken to make a shot. Not only were skilled players

better able to concentrate than unskilled players,

concentration time increased for adolescents and young

Concentration 11

adults from a training session to a competition. The

added elements from a competition are enough to

increase one's level of concentration. Garland and

Barry (1990) add support to this notion. They

conducted a review of the literature on the cognitive

abilities of athletes and found that athletes are

better able to increase their levels of concentration

than non-athletes.

When examining weight-lifting, one finds that

experts are better at increasing their levels of

concentration. These results were obtained through the

Abbreviated Test of Attentional and Interpersonal Style

(McGowan, Talton & Tobacyk 1990). When one is required

to do more than one thing at once concentration levels

increase. Physically and psychologically demanding

tasks require greater levels of concentration. Expert

basketball players show greater concentration than

novice players when asked to dribble a ball, run, and

identify geometric shapes (Smith & Chamberlin 1992).

Concentration levels can be increased by altering

task difficulty, noise and level of competitiveness.

The more difficult, physically demanding, and

psychologically demanding a task is the greater the

Concentration 12

concentration required to complete the task. Altering

concentration level affects performance, so it could be

that the level of concentration that a sport demands

interferes with one's performance on academic tasks.

It has been shown that an athlete can be defined

several ways (Molander & Backman, 1994; Ishigake &

Miyao, 1993; Maloney & McCormick, 1992; Melnick, Sabo &

Vanfossen, 1992; Deakin & Allard, 1991; Zervas, Danis &

Klissouras, 1991; Garland & Barry, 1990; Randall,

1990), and the research on athletic participation and

academic achievement is controversial (Kerr & Boucher,

1992; Maloney & McCormick, 1992; Melnick, Sabo &

Vanfossen, 1992; Deakin & Allard, 1991; Garland &

Barry, 1991; Zervas, Danis & Klissouras, 1991; Garland

& Barry, 1990; Randall, 1990; The Economist, 1989; Del

Rey, Wughalter & Carnesm, 1987; Nettleton, 1986;

Schumaker, Small & Wood, 1986; Edwards, 1983). Several

reasons for the differences in academic performance

have been given (Maloney & McCormick, 1993; The

Economist, 1989; Edwards, 1983), and many differences

between athletes and non-athletes have been documented

(Ishigaki & Miyao, 1993; Kerr & Boucher, 1992;

Bjurwill, 1991; Hall & Davies, 1991; Lufi & Tenenbaum,

Concentration 13

1991; Salokun, 1990; Taylor, 1987; Nettleton, 1986),

one of which is concentration (Raviv & Nabel, 1988).

It has also been shown that concentration can be

altered (Molander & Backman, 1994; Tanaka, 1994; Smith

& Chamberlin, 1992; Garland & Barry, 1990; McGowan,

Talton & Tobacyk, 1990; Higgins & Turnure, 1984).

The number of hours of practice plus the level of

competitiveness was used to define an athlete in this

study. Because sports participation may affect

academic achievement, and sports demand a high level of

concentration, it was hypothesized that concentrating

on an athletic move would lead to a decrease in

concentration on a cognitive task. Furthermore it was

expected that this deficit in concentration would be

greater and longer lasting for highly competitive

athletes than for semi-competitive and recreational

athletes.

Concentration 14

References

Bjurwill, C. (1991). Perceptual-motor behavior

in sport: The double reaction. Perceptual and Motor

Skills, 72, 137-138.

Deakin, J. M., & Allard, F. 1991. Skilled

memory in expert figure skaters. Memory and Cognition,

19, 79-86.

Del Rey, P., Wughalter, E., & Carnesm, M. (1987).

Level of expertise, interpolated activity and

contextual interference effects on memory and transfer.

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 64, 275-284.

Edwards, H. 1983. Athletic performance in

exchange for an education - a contract unfulfilled.

The Crisis, May, 90 (5), 10-14.

Garland, K. J., & Barry, J. R. (1991).

Cognitive advantage in sport: The nature of perceptual

structures. American Journal of Psychology., 104, 211-

228.

Concentration 15

Garland, D. J., & Barry, J. R. (1990). Sport

expertise: The cognitive advantage. Perceptual and

Motor Skills, 70, 1299-1314.

Give me an "E", give me a "D". The Economist,

September 23, 1989.

Hall, E. G., & Davies, S. (1991). Gender

differences in perceived intensity and affect of pain

between athletes and nonathletes. Perceptual and Motor

Skills, 73, 779-786.

Higgins, A. T., & Turnure, J. E. (1984).

Distractibility and concentration of attention in

children's development. Child Development, 55, 1799-

1810.

Highlen, P. S., & Bennett, B. B. (1983). Elite

divers and wrestlers: A comparison between open- and

closed-skill athletes. Journal of Sport Psychology, 5,

390-409.

Concentration 16

Ishigaki, H., & Miyao, M. (1993). Differences in

dynamic visual acuity between athletes and nonathletes.

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 77, 835-839.

Kerr, R., & Boucher, J. (1992). Knowledge and

motor performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 74,

1195-1202.

Lufi, D., & Tenenbaum, G. (1991). Persistence

among young male gymnasts'. Perceptual and Motor

Skills, 72, 479-482.

Mahoney, M. J., Gabriel, T. J., & Perkins, T.

S. (1987). Psychological skills and exceptional

athletic performance. The Sport Psychologist, 1, 181-

199.

Maloney, M. T., & McCormick, R. E. (1993). An

examination of the role that intercollegiate athletic

participation plays in academic achievement. The

Journal of Human Resources, 555-570.

Concentration 17

McGowan, R. W., Talton, B. J., & Tobacyk, J. J.

(1990). Attentional style and powerlifting

performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 70, 1253-

1257.

Melnick, M. J., Sabo, D. F., & Vanfossen, B.

(1992). Educational effects of interscholastic athletic

participation on African-American and Hispanic youth.

Adolescence, 27(106), 295-308.

Molander, B., & Backman, L. (1994). Attention

and performance in miniature golf across the life span.

Journal of Gerontolociy: Psychological Sciences, 49,

P35-P41.

Nettleton, B. (1986). Flexibility of attention

and elite athletes' performance in 'fast-ball-games'.

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 63, 991-994.

Randall, T. M. (1990). Athletic self-concept

and mathematics achievement in girls. Psychological

Reports, 67, 619-623.

Concentration 18

Raviv, S., & Nabel, N. (1988). Field

dependence/independence and concentration as

psychological characteristics of basketball players.

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 66, 831-836.

Salokun, S. 0. (1990). Comparison of Nigerian

high school male athletes and nonathletes on self-

concept. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 70, 865-866.

Schumaker, J. F., Small, L., & Wood, J. (1986).

Self-concept, academic achievement, and athletic

participation. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 62, 387-

390.

Smith, T. L. (1986). Self-concepts of youth

sport participants and nonparticipants in grades 3 and

6. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 62, 863-866.

Smith, M. D., & Chamberlin, C. J. (1992).

Effect of adding cognitively demanding tasks on soccer

skill performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 75,

955-961.

Concentration 19

Tanaka, S. (1994). Effects of a moderately

difficult task on preschool children's concentration

and their subsequent choices of task. Perceptual and

Motor Skills, 78, 699-700.

Taylor, J. (1987). Predicting athletic

performance with self-confidence and somatic and

cognitive anxiety as a function of motor and

physiological requirements in six sports. Journal of

Personality, 55, 139-153.

Tenenbaum, G., Benedick, A. A., & Bar-Eli, M.

(1988). Quantity, consistency, and error-rate of

athletes' mental concentration. International Journal

of Sports Psychology, 19, 311-319.

Zervas, Y., Danis, A., & Klissouras, V. (1991).

Influence of physical exertion on mental performance

with reference to training. Perceptual and Motor

Skills, 72, 1215-1221.

Concentration 1

Running head: CONCENTRATION

Concentrating on Athletics and

an Unrelated Cognitive Task

Therese Leed

Algoma University College

Concentration 2

Abstract

In this study, recreational (Rec), semi-competitive

(SC), and highly competitive (HC) gymnasts did an

athletic task under conditions requiring low and high

levels of concentration. Concentration level on a

cognitive task was measured immediately, and 24 hours

after an athletic task, using a test based on the

Brickenkamp 2d Concentration Test. When a gymnastic

task required an increase in concentration, there was

an increase in concentration on a cognitive task. This

was apparent for all three groups, and these effects

were still evident after a period of 24 hours.

Concentration 3

Concentration on Athletics and

an Unrelated Cognitive Task

Research shows that athletes do not do as well

as non-athletes academically. This could be because

athletes use so much concentration in their sport that

it interferes with academic tasks. Some studies

suggest that athletes differ from non-athletes in

concentration (Molander & Backman, 1994; Smith &

Chamberlin, 1992; Garland & Barry, 1990; McGowan,

Talton & Tobacyk, 1990; Raviv & Nabel, 1988). This

study examined these differences in concentration

immediately following an athletic task, and again 24

hours later.

A problem with the research in this field is

that different definitions are used to distinguish an

athlete from a non-athlete. For example, Randall

(1990) used self-defined athletes, Deakin and Allard

(1991) used experience, and Maloney and McCormick

(1993) used level of competitiveness. For this study

an athlete was defined by the number of hours of

practice plus the level of competitiveness.

Another problem is that the research on

athletes and non-athletes is contradictory. Randall

(1990) found that athletes do better in math than non-

Concentration 4

athletes. Garland and Barry (1990) show that athletes

have superior memory when compared to non-athletes.

They found this superiority is a result of practice.

Others, such as Melnick, Sabo, and Vanfossen

(1992), Kerr and Boucher (1992), and Schumaker, Small,

and Wood (1986) show that athletes do not differ from

non-athletes. Yet others, such as Maloney and

McCormick (1992), show that high school athletes have

lower grades and SAT scores than non-athletes. Some

reasons given for the poorer performance of athletes in

academics are: they get a poorer education because too

much time is spent on sports and not enough time is

spent doing school work (The Economist, 1989); they are

used by Universities for their skills and not educated

in return (Edwards, 1983); and they enter high school

with lower grades (Maloney & McCormick, 1992).

Athletes differ from non-athletes in self-

concept (Salokun, 1990; Schumaker, Small & Wood, 1986;

Smith, 1986), attention flexibility (Ishigaki & Miyao,

1993; Bjurwill, 1991; Nettleton, 1986), persistence

(Lufi & Tenenbaum, 1991), accuracy of movements (Kerr &

Boucher, 1992), pain tolerance (Hall & Davies, 1991),

confidence (Taylor, 1987), and concentration (Ravin &

Nabel, 1988). If athletes do not do as well as non-

Concentration 5

athletes on cognitive tasks, perhaps it is because they

concentrate differently. This study examined these

differences in concentration immediately following an

athletic task, and again 24 hours later.

It was hypothesized that concentrating on a

gymnastic move would lead to a decrease in

concentration on a cognitive task. Furthermore it was

expected that this deficit in concentration would be

greater and longer lasting for highly competitive

gymnasts than for semi-competitive and recreational

gymnasts.

Method

Subjects

Subjects were three groups of female gymnasts

between the ages of eight and 14 (mean age = 10 years).

The first group had seven highly competitive gymnasts

who practiced 15 hours per week and competed at the

Regional and Provincial level. The second group had

six semi-competitive gymnasts who practiced five hours

per week and competed at a basic level. The third

group had eight recreational gymnasts who practiced one

hour per week and did not compete.

Concentration 6

Materials

The test that was used to measure concentration

was based on the Brickenkamp 2d Concentration test,

which consists of the letters d and p repeated in

random order. Each of these letters has zero to four

quotation marks above and/or below it. Subjects are

given a time limit in which to circle all of the letter

d's that have two quotation marks. The test used in

this study had upward and downward arrows with zero to

four lines above and/or below them. Subjects were

given four minutes to circle all instances of an upward

arrow with two lines.

Gymnastic skill was pretested by having each

subject do full turns on a balance beam. In gymnastics

a full turn refers to rotating one's body in a 360

degree circle while standing on one's toes. To

establish the height at which a beam should be set to

cause an increase in concentration, each subject did

three full turns on increasing heights of a balance

beam. First on the floor, then on a 5 cm height, a 20

cm height, a 70 cm height, an 80 cm height, and

increasing heights of 5 cm intervals to the maximum

height of 120 cm. The height at which the gymnast fell

was used for the high concentration task, and the floor

Concentration 7

was used for the low concentration task. Subjects who

could do full turns at the highest setting were asked

to do 1 1/2 full turns using the same height

progressions.

Procedure

All subjects were pretested on concentration

and on gymnastic skill level. Half the subjects from

each group (HC, SC, and Rec) were randomly chosen to do

the high concentration task first, and the other half

to do the low concentration task first. Subjects did

the full turns for three minutes. All subjects were

then given the concentration test of arrows. Subjects

then returned 24 hours later and repeated the

concentration test. Subjects then came back one week

later to do the other task, that is, those who had done

the low concentration task now did the high

concentration task, and those who had done the high

concentration task now did the low concentration task.

All subjects did the concentration test of arrows

immediately following three minutes of full turns, and

again 24 hours later. Subjects were then debriefed,

thanked for their participation, and invited to the

annual thesis conference.

an

se

STre ct

ORES. ponses

SCORE AFTER24 HOURS

JAL2 HO URS

GRO

Concentration 8

The experimental procedure is illustrated below.

Group Pretest Task Test Teston Skill and (Full Turns) No 24 HourConcentration Delay Delay

Low HeightHC

High Height

Low HeightSC

High Height

Low HeightRec

High Height

Results and Discussion

Results suggest that doing a gymnastic task

increases level of concentration on a cognitive task

for all three groups. This pattern was still evident

after 24 hours, which suggests possible practice

effects. Due to the small number of subjects

statistical analysis could not be done, therefore it is

difficult to draw any conclusions.

Practice effects were not found with the

Brickenkamp 2d Concentration Test, however the version

of the test used for this study may be different. More

Concentration 9

subjects are currently being tested in order to add a

control group, and complete the statistical analysis.

Concentration 10

References

Bjurwill, C. (1991). Perceptual-motor

behavior in sport: The double reaction. Perceptual

and Motor Skills, 72, 137-138.

Deakin, J. M., & Allard, F. 1991. Skilled

memory in expert figure skaters. Memory and

Cognition, 19, 79-86.

Edwards, H. 1983. Athletic performance in

exchange for an education - a contract unfulfilled.

The Crisis, May, 90 (5), 10-14.

Garland, D. J., & Barry, J. R. (1990).

Sport expertise: The cognitive advantage. Perceptual

and Motor Skills, 70, 1299-1314.

Give me an "E", give me a "D". The Economist,

September 23, 1989.

Hall, E. G., & Davies, S. (1991). Gender

differences in perceived intensity and affect of pain

between athletes and nonathletes. Perceptual and Motor

Skills, 73, 779-786.

Concentration 11

Ishigaki, H., & Miyao, M. (1993). Differences

in dynamic visual acuity between athletes and

nonathletes. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 77, 835-839.

Kerr, R., & Boucher, J. (1992). Knowledge and

motor performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 74,

1195-1202.

Lufi, D., & Tenenbaum, G. (1991). Persistence

among young male gymnasts'. Perceptual and Motor

Skills, 72, 479-482.

Maloney, M. T., & McCormick, R. E. (1993).

An examination of the role that intercollegiate

athletic participation plays in academic achievement.

The Journal of Human Resources, 555-570.

McGowan, R. W., Talton, B. J., & Tobacyk, J.

J. (1990). Attentional style and powerlifting

performance. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 70, 1253-

1257.

Concentration 12

Melnick, M. J., Sabo, D. F., & Vanfossen, B.

(1992). Educational effects of interscholastic athletic

participation on African-American and Hispanic youth.

Adolescence, 27(106), 295-308.

Molander, B., & Backman, L. (1994). Attention

and performance in miniature golf across the life span.

Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences, 49,

P35-P41.

Nettleton, B. (1986). Flexibility of

attention and elite athletes' performance in 'fast-

ball-games'. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 63, 991-994.

Randall, T. M. (1990). Athletic self-concept

and mathematics achievement in girls. Psychological

Reports, 67, 619-623.

Raviv, S., & Nabel, N. (1988). Field

dependence/independence and concentration as

psychological characteristics of basketball players.

Perceptual and Motor Skills, 66, 831-836.

Concentration 13

Salokun, S. 0. (1990). Comparison of

Nigerian high school male athletes and nonathletes on

self-concept. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 70, 865-

866.

Schumaker, J. F., Small, L., & Wood, J.

(1986). Self-concept, academic achievement, and

athletic participation. Perceptual and Motor Skills,

62, 387-390.

Smith, T. L. (1986). Self-concepts of youth

sport participants and nonparticipants in grades 3 and

6. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 62, 863-866.

Taylor, J. (1987). Predicting athletic

performance with self-confidence and somatic and

cognitive anxiety as a function of motor and

physiological requirements in six sports. Journal of

Personality, 55, 139-153.