Self-Modeling and Competitive Beam Performance Enhancement Examined Within a Self-Regulation Perspective

Abstract

The observation of oneself on video that has been edited to show a performance level higher than one can actually perform is a feedforward form of modeling, termed self-modeling (SM; Dowrick, 1999). In this research, gymnasts alternated between viewing and not viewing a SM video during their competitive season. Results showed that gymnasts attained significantly higher beam scores when they viewed the video versus when they did not. No differences in self-efficacy were observed using a quantitative measure; however, a qualitative analysis of interviews based on Zimmerman's (2000) model, indicated that a number of self-regulatory processes, including self-efficacy, were employed.