Additional Information 9.1

Additional information 9.1

Hypnosis and sport

Pates et al. (2001) argue that hypnosis can be used by golfers to enter the kind of flow state described as including the following characteristics (Nakamura and Csikszentmihalyi, 2002):

intense concentration on the present moment
loss of awareness of reflective self-consciousness
an increased sense of personal control over events
distortion in the flow of time (greater time elapses than is sensed)
feeling that the current activity is intrinsically rewarding.

The researchers asked five male golfers with at least 4 years’ experience and who had never tried hypnosis before to participate in an experiment that required them to not practice or compete. A baseline putting performance was established for each participant so that changes as a result of the hypnosis intervention could be detected. The putting task required them to make 10 putts of 4 metres each and distance from the hole was measured. The intensity of flow experienced by each golfer was measured using a questionnaire.

The hypnosis intervention consisted of deep inhalation and muscle relaxation followed by an imagined journey down a staircase, ending in a comfortable chair in front of a cinema screen showing a relaxing scene. Participants then needed to remember their best competitive performance and this was then to be associated with the grip of their golf putter and return to the top of the staircase. They repeated the process until they felt that by gripping the putter they were reliving their best competitive performance, after which time they were to practise alone for 7 days.

All five participants showed improvement, with putts closer to the hole on average by 16 cm, 8 cm, 11 cm, 6 cm and 7 cm. All participants also experienced greater intensity of flow and reported greater confidence and feelings of control over their putting.

Although the single-subject design of this study is a strength (because it allows comparison of the change of individuals), there are several limitations. First, there is a significant risk of the Hawthorne effect. With no participants in a non-intervention group to compare with, it is difficult to attribute the cause of performance increases specifically to hypnosis, rather than simply to the level of attention the participants received. The measurement of flow is not simple: it has been argued that using a questionnaire after the experience of flow is not a valid way to measure it. Of course, it is not clear that flow actually exists, which makes measurement difficult.

References

Nakamura J, Csikszentmihalyi M. (2002). The concept of flow. In: CR Snyder and SJ Lopez (eds). Handbook of positive psychology. New York: Oxford University Press

Pates J, Oliver R, Maynard I. (2001). The effects of hypnosis on flow states and golf-putting performance. J Appl Sport Psychol 13:341–54