Abstract des Autors

In the June 1992 issue of The Sport Psychologist, an article by PALMER (1992) reported a comparison of the MARTIN self-talk technique to the paper patch as two mental practice techniqes for helping young skaters improve performance of compulsory figures. The paper-patch technique was an off-ice practice strategy that required skaters, among other things, to trace a figure on a piece of paper while saying key words out loud. The results reported indicated that the paper-patch technique was an effective strategy, whereas MARTIN self-talk technique was no more effective than a control group. However, the report is misleading. As described by PALMER in her published paper, her application of the MARTIN self-talk technique left out several important components. Moreover, teh research as described is missing an important feature. Neither of the interventions had adequate procedural reliability assessments to monitor all of the components of the respective treatments. Verf.-Referat