A Phenomenological Investigation Of Cheerleaders Lived Experiences Of Mental Blocks

Download or read book A Phenomenological Investigation of Cheerleaders' Lived Experiences of Mental Blocks written by Erin M. Lawrence and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author's abstract: A mental block is a phenomenon in which an athlete's mind no longer allows them to perform a physical skill that was previously well-learned and automatic. This phenomenon has received attention in gymnastics and trampoline but the literature is lacking an investigation of this phenomenon in all-star cheerleading. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of mental blocks by obtaining it from the first-person perspective of cheerleaders themselves. A purposeful sample of 8 all-star cheerleader participants was interviewed and transcriptions were analyzed utilizing qualitative analysis. Four main themes were found: 1) specific to backwards moving skills, 2) mind and body dichotomy, 3) fear of performing the blocked skill, 4) pressure and negative self-belief. From these themes, research may be conducted to determine the cause of mental blocks as well as ways to help cheerleaders overcome them.