A Study Of Mental Perception And Sports Confidence And Their Relationship To The Motivation Of Sports Achievement For The Players Of The Iraqi Premier League Football Clubs

Nuha Mohsin Dhahi^1*, Ahmed Thare Hani² and Muwafaq Obayes Khudhair^3
*Correspondence: Nuha Mohsin Dhahi, College of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, University of Baghdad, Iraq, Email:

Keywords

Sports psychology. Mental perception. Sports exercise

Introduction

Mental abilities are one of the most important basic ingredients that contribute to the process of reaching the higher levels of football players, and perhaps among the most important of these abilities (mental perception and sports confidence), which constitute a basic axis of preparation and psychological training to reach the desired goals, as recent studies tended to Evaluation and development of many sports, including football.

The mental visualization contributes to the development of the skill level of the soccer player, which leads to a feeling of improvement and the level of the best achievement. The mental stimulation of the skill creates a nervous stimulus that causes sensory feedback that is used to correct the skill when trying to perform it in the next times, which is noticed through the player’s desire to repeat the performance and his great motivation for achievement, and sports confidence is also an important psychological factor that works on Developing the skill level of the soccer player, which leads to a feeling of achievement motivation for better skilful performance, since motivation is the key to understanding sports behaviour because it is a behaviour engine, and the coach will not be able to lead the players to the field unless he knows their initial motivation towards achievement and enhances it and builds their selfconfidence, so through confidence Sports can get the best building towards achievement motivation, and studies have shown that players with high achievement motivation They have more sport confidence in themselves.

And since football is one of the sporting activities that need development and modernization, the study of the subject of mental perception and sports confidence is one of the most important modern trends in the development process of this football game, and based on the foregoing, we can determine the importance of research in studying this phenomenon and trying to shed light on it and find out the relationship Mental perception and sports confidence motivated by sports achievement among the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs in order to reach results that may contribute to improving the psychological conditions of football players and supplementing the library with a study that serves researchers, coaches and players alike.

Research Problem

The concept of mental perception and sport confidence is one of the concepts that appeared in the field of sports studies and in an unlimited number of different sports. Studies that focused on these two concepts and their relationship to achievement motivation were based on many theories and opinions that tried to study these two concepts in the general behavioural and cognitive framework of the sports field. Until recently, he relied in his training programs on paying attention to the physical, skilful, and tactical aspects, ignoring unintentionally all mental abilities, including these two concepts, methods of measuring them, methods of developing them, and their various relationships in the level and motivation of achievement among players of various sports, including football, and as far as the researchers know, There is no scientific study that has dealt with the type of relationship between the concepts of mental perception and sports confidence together with the concept of motivation for sports achievement among soccer players, and since this game was of interest to many of its fans who were interested in studying it and developing its laws, skills and plans, which prompted the researchers to study this problem And work on solving it in a scientific attempt to develop a level of no Football players by trying to find out the type of relationship for each of the mental perception and sports confidence of the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs with the motivation of their sporting achievement because of the enormous psychological pressures that this category encounters, whether through training or sports competitions.

Research Objective

• Identifying the mental perception (the visual dimension, the auditory dimension, the sensory-kinesthetic dimension, the emotional dimension) of the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• Identifying the sports confidence (the ability of the athlete to manage himself, the ability of the athlete to cope with the pressures, the vibration of the potential of the athlete, the ethics of the athlete) for the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• Identifying the motivation of sports achievement (the motivation for achieving success, the motivation for avoiding failure) among the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• Identifying the relationship of mental perception with the motivation of sports achievement among the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• Identifying the relationship of mental perception and sports confidence with the motivation of sports achievement among the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

Research Hypotheses

Research fields

• Human field: Players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs for the 2021-2022 sports season.

• Time field: (2/2/2022) to (10/6/2022)

• Spatial field: Indoor stadiums and halls of the clubs included in the study

Research Methodology and Field Procedures

Research Methodology

The researchers used the descriptive survey method due to its suitability to the nature and objectives of the problem.

Community and sample research

The researchers selected the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs, which are participating in the sports season 2021-2022 AD, and their number is (400) players representing (20), which are (Al-Zawraa, Amanat Baghdad, Al- Talaba, Al-Sinaa, Al-Naft, Naft Al-Basra, Naft Al-Wasat, Naft Al-Wasat, Najaf , Al-Kahraba, Al-Karkh, Al-Qasim, Al-Diwaniyah, Al-Mina, Samarra, Al-Shorta, Al- Quwa Al-Jawiya, Newroz, Zakho, Erbil), and (8) players from the Industry Club were approved as a reconnaissance sample that was excluded from the work sample, and thus the work sample reached (392) players .

Data collection methods, devices and tools:

In order to obtain valid data, the researchers used the following tools: (Arabic and foreign references, the international information network (the Internet), tests and measurement, personal interviews, individual registration forms for the data of the mental perception scale, individual registration form for the data of the sport confidence scale, individual registration form for the data of the motivation scale. achievement).

Field procedures

In order to achieve the objectives of the research, the researchers used three scales, "the first to measure mental perception" (Ratib. 2000), "the second to measure sport confidence" (Ahmed. 2013), and the third to measure the motivation of sport achievement (Salameh. 2017). The researchers found that the three scales are codified on the Iraqi environment and used in Iraq in previous studies, so they were relied upon, in addition to enjoying high reliability and reliability. The following is an explanation of the three scales:

First, the mental perception scale:

The researchers used the sport mental perception scale prepared by (Reiner Martens 1992), whose Arabic version was prepared by (Osama Kamel Ratib 2000), and this scale includes four sport positions (after visual perception, after auditory perception, after sensory perception - Kinesthetic, after emotional perception), and each situation has (4) dimensions, and the scale has a scale (1- 2- 3- 4- 5), so the degree for each situation ranges between (4) as a minimum and (20) degrees as a maximum, and the closer the degree is to (20) That your skill in this situation or low score means that you need to develop this attitude of perception.

Second: Sports Confidence Scale:

This scale was prepared by (Amr Hassan Ahmed Badran 2013), the scale includes four dimensions (the ability of the athlete to manage himself includes (14) items, the ability of the athlete to cope with pressures includes (13) items, the vibration of the capabilities of the athlete includes (14) items, the ethics of the athlete includes (8) phrases). The scale has a response score according to a triple rating scale (3 - 2 - 1). The total score for the scale ranges between (147) degrees as a minimum and (49) degrees as a minimum. The scale contains (36) positive statements and (13) negative statements.

Third, the sport achievement motivation scale:

The two researchers used the scale applied by (Mohamed Abdel Aziz Salama 2013) based on (Mohammed Hassan Allawi 1998), who Arabized and modified the scale prepared by (Go Willis) in the light of its application to a sample of athletes in the egyptian environment, and the number of phrases The scale is (20) statements divided into two dimensions (the dimension of athletes’ achievement motivation includes (10) statements, and the dimension of failure avoidance motivation includes (10) statements).

Exploratory experience

The two researchers conducted an exploratory experiment on a sample consisting of (8) players representing Al-Sinaa Sports Club and from outside the limits of the sample in order to ensure the clarity of the paragraphs of the three scales used in the study and their suitability for the Iraqi environment before conducting the basic experiment. Then the researchers extracted the scientific bases for the three scales (validity, constancy and objectivity) as follows:

1. The validity of the three measures

The two researchers presented the three standards to experts and specialists to estimate their suitability for the research sample and the Iraqi environment, and they all agreed 100% on the validity of the three standards, so the three standards are considered to have "apparent validity. Apparently, if the researcher verifies the validity of his paragraphs from the point of view of experts in measuring the characteristic that he was prepared to measure, and his instructions and paragraphs are clear and understandable by the respondents” (El Sayed. 1979).

2. The stability of the three measures

The researchers calculated the stability (mental perception scale) by the test and retest methods and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The tabular value of (0.707) at a degree of freedom (6) and a level of significance of 0.05, as for the Cronbach alpha coefficient method, whose idea depends on the extent to which the paragraphs relate to each other within the scale, as well as the correlation of each paragraph with the scale as a whole, and this is according to what was mentioned by “It is the internal correlation coefficients between the paragraphs with the number of paragraphs that determines the alpha coefficient” (Odeh and Malkawi. 1987), and it was concluded that the value of the Cronbach alpha coefficient amounted to (0.875), so the scale is considered to have a high stability coefficient.

As for the (sport confidence scale), its stability was calculated by the test and retest methods and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. In the test and retest method, Spearman's correlation coefficient was used between the scores of the two applications, and the calculated value was (0.834), so the scale is considered to have a high stability coefficient due to the fact that the calculated value is greater than The tabular value of (0.707) at a degree of freedom (6) and a level of significance of 0.05. As for Cronbach's alpha coefficient, the calculated value was (0.894), so the scale is considered to have a high stability coefficient. As for the (Scale of Sport Achievement Motivation), its stability was also calculated by the test and retest methods and Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

In the test and retest method, Spearman's correlation coefficient was used between the scores of the two applications, and the calculated value was (0.855). Therefore, the scale is considered to have a high stability coefficient because the calculated value it is greater than the tabular value of (0.707) at a degree of freedom (6) and at a level of significance of 0.05. As for Cronbach's alpha coefficient, the calculated value was (0.912), so the scale is considered to have a high stability coefficient.

3. The subjectivity of the three measures

Due to the clarity of the paragraphs of the three scales and the way they are calculated, they are highly objective because they will not lead to any difference in the grades of the evaluators when calculating the grades.

Main experience:

The two researchers conducted the main experiment on (15/2/2022) on (392) players from the Iraqi Premier League football clubs, by distributing mental perception scale forms to the Iraqi Premier League football club players, then distributing sports confidence scale forms. The players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs, and finally the distribution of sports achievement motivation scale forms to the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

Statistical methods:

The data were processed by the ready-made program (IBM SPSS Statistics Ver24) to extract (the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, median, skewness coefficient, Pearson's simple correlation coefficient, Cronbach's alpha coefficient).

Results and Discussion

Presentation and analysis of the results of mental perception, sport confidence, and motivation for sport achievement:

The results will be presented and discussed in the light of the statistical data obtained from the research sample according to the basic variables adopted in the research. After completing the collection and unloading of data related to the three scales, they were statistically processed in order to reach the results

Presentation and analysis of the results of mental imagery:

The researchers extracted the values of the arithmetic mean, standard deviations, the median, and the skewness coefficient for each dimension of the scale and for the total score of the mental perception scale, as shown in Table 1 (Table 1).

From Table 1, it is clear that all the values of the skewness coefficients, for all dimensions of the scale, and for the total score of the mental perception scale were less than (+1), which indicates the homogeneity of the sample.

Presentation and analysis of sports trust results:

The researchers extracted the values of the arithmetic mean, standard deviations, the median, and the torsion coefficient for each dimension of the scale and for the total score of the sport confidence scale, as shown in Table 2 (Table 2).

From Table 2, it is clear that all the values of the skewness coefficients, for all dimensions of the scale, and for the total score of the sport confidence scale were less than (+1), which indicates the homogeneity of the sample.

Presentation and analysis of sports achievement motivation results:

The researchers extracted the values of the arithmetic mean, standard deviations, median, and torsion coefficient for each dimension of the scale and for the total score of the sport achievement motivation scale, as shown in Table 3.

From Table 3, it is clear that all the values of the skewness coefficients, for all dimensions of the scale, and for the total score of the sport achievement motivation scale were less than (+1), which indicates the homogeneity of the sample.

Presenting, analyzing and discussing the relationship of mental perception and sport confidence with the motivation of athletic achievement:

The researchers used Pearson's simple correlation coefficient to find the relationship between mental perception and athletic confidence with the motivation of athletic achievement for the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs. A significant correlation was found between the mental perception scale and its dimensions. (After visual perception, after auditory perception, after sensory-kinesthetic perception, after emotional perception) with the sport achievement motivation scale and its dimensions (After the achievement motive of athletes, and after the motive of avoiding failure) because all the values of the calculated correlation coefficients were of a significance level (Sig) smaller than the approved significant level of 0.05, which indicates the existence of a significant correlation at a degree of freedom (390) and a level of significance of 0.05.It was also found that there is a significant correlation between the measure of sports confidence and its dimensions (the ability of the athlete to manage himself, the ability of the athlete to cope with pressure, the vibration of the potential of the athlete, and the ethics of the athlete) with the measure of motivation of sports achievement and its dimensions (after the motivation of athletes’ achievement, and after the motivation of avoiding failure). Because all the values of the calculated correlation coefficients were of a significance level (Sig) smaller than the approved significance level of 0.05, which indicates the existence of a significant correlation at a degree of freedom (390) and a significance level of 0.05, as shown in Table 4.

The conclusion reached by the researchers that there is a significant relationship between the mental perception and the motivation of sports achievement is a logical result, as the researchers believe that the mental perception always allows correcting and changing the wrong habits of football players, as it works to improve the performance method and bring out the skill in its final form, and this result confirms the contribution of the mental perception In increasing the performance of the players by expanding the field for the perception of movement, which in turn leads to the player's ability and ability to transform and divide their impulses and stimuli into patterns of responses necessary to produce movement. . The result reached by the two researchers is consistent with what was indicated by (Abdul Sattar Jabbar 2000) that "mental perception is an essential factor in the development of Kinesthetic skills and performance, and reports from researchers and experts report (Table 4).

The scientific evidence indicates that most players, especially those at high levels of sports, use mental visualization on a regular basis, and that "Kinesthetic visualization plays an important role in developing the capabilities and level of the individual athlete” (Al-Damad. 2000).

As for the significant relationship between the dimension of visual perception with the dimensions of the sport achievement motivation scale and its total degree, two researchers attribute this to the need for sports skills in football to develop the relationship between visual perception and these skills through visual follow-up to implement each skill, noting the accuracy required by performance and achievement. This is consistent with pointed out: “Therefore, we must direct football players to pay close attention to the stadium and the competition environment through visual and auditory focus, and make them feel more that they are part of the desired situation, as if they had already played before in the same stadium and the conditions.” itself" (Al-Wattar. 2004).

As for the significant relationship between the dimension of auditory perception with the dimensions of the sport achievement motivation scale and its total degree, the researchers attribute this to the need of soccer players to develop means of auditory communication when implementing skills through the optimal use of the meaning of mental perception through auditory discrimination of events and movements in the practiced environment. In the game, and thus the movement can be imagined in order to reach the goal correctly until the end stage, and this is consistent with what was mentioned “There are times during training in which the player talks to himself and hears the voices of others inside his mind that distinguishes him With what he should do, and what he should not do, and in light of that, it is possible to take advantage of these sounds if the player can control them or avoid them when he is unable to do so. In the same way, external sounds can act as a distraction when implementing any skill, unless the player knows How to reduce these sounds and use them in a constructive way” (Shamoun and al-Jamal. 1996), and also agrees with what was mentioned by “The sound signals are of great importance in ball games, as hearing the sound of hitting the ball It gives information about the time course of the movement or skill” (Meinel. 1987).

As for the significant relationship between the perception dimension of kinesthetic sense with the dimensions of the sport achievement motivation scale and its total degree, the researchers attribute this to the fact that this type of perception is always positively associated with the level of achievement because it represents the relationship between psychological and Kinesthetic sensation together through the correct transmission of neurological cues through Muscles involved in performance through common sense between Kinesthetic sensations and muscular contractions of muscles and tendons, and that the perception of movement and its skillful implementation and performance is related to its sense and interpretation in order to be implemented correctly, that the result reached by the researchers is consistent with what was mentioned (Osama Kamel 1995) “The mental visualization includes the athlete visualizing the movement, the sequence of skills, attitudes, events and all aspects of competition. The importance of the mental visualization practice appears that when the movement is visualized and mentally retrieved, contractions are produced that are transmitted through the nerve pathways or linked to these movements. The benefit lies in the stimuli resulting from the visualization the locoKinesthetic deepens the neural pathways and thus contributes to the upgrading of the skill level and the level of achievement" (Ratib. 1995).

As for the positive significant relationship between the emotional perception dimension and the dimensions of the sport achievement motivation scale and its total score, the researchers attribute this to the fact that mental visualization is an effective tool that can be used to obtain better capabilities in controlling the body and psychological emotions, and that the use of this type of visualization can work on Mobilizing the capabilities of the player and their integration in a systematic manner in achieving the goals of the players, and this is consistent with what he indicated (Nazim Shaker 2004) "This type of mental visualization helps achieve psychological distress, anxiety and tension in the athlete and works to increase feelings of happiness and enjoyment of sports performance" (12: 2004: 234).

Also, the result reached by the researchers that there is a significant relationship between the measure of sports confidence and its dimensions with the measure of motivation of sports achievement and its dimensions is a logical result as well, as the researchers see that football players, being elite, have athletic confidence in themselves and have great motivation and motivation for sports achievement because they are characterized by motivation High achievement due to the fact that they enter the matches and have an internal motivation towards overcoming the opposing team, as the achievements do not depend on the development of physical and skill capabilities only, but are also affected by many psychological factors such as motives, desires, convictions, perception, thinking, psychological readiness, fear and anxiety, we may see a happy player when it ends His efforts will be successful and he will be disappointed and despair when he fails, so these feelings can affect the motivation of athletic achievement. The result reached by the two researchers is consistent with what he said. “High athletic confidence is among the most important factors that distinguish individuals with high achievement motivation, stressing that the term (self-confidence) is similar to the concept of internal motivation or motivation to achieve success within the framework of the theory (the need for achievement) because the player who is characterized by confidence The high one possesses more motivation to achieve” (Allawi. 1998). It also agrees with what he mentioned that “the value of confidence is in helping the athlete to think positively that leads to success and excellence instead of negative thinking that tries to avoid failure. In fact, confidence makes the athlete focus his mental processes in developing the best performance.” (Kamel. 2000).

Conclusions and Recommendations

Conclusions

• There is a significant correlation between the mental perception scale and the sport achievement motivation scale for the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• There is a significant correlation between the dimensions of the mental perception scale (after the visual perception, after the auditory perception, after the sensory-kinesthetic perception, after the emotional perception) with the dimensions of the sport achievement motivation scale (the motivation for achieving success, the motivation for avoiding failure) among the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• The existence of a significant correlation between the measures of sports confidence with the measure of motivation of sports achievement among the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• There is a significant correlation between the dimensions of the measure of sports confidence (the ability of the athlete to manage himself, the ability of the athlete to cope with pressure, the vibration of the potential of the athlete, the ethics of the athlete) with the dimensions of the measure of sports achievement motivation (the motivation of achieving success, the motivation of avoiding failure) among the players of league clubs Iraqi Premier Soccer.

Recommendations

• Emphasizing the importance of the mental perception of the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• Emphasizing the importance of sports confidence for the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• Emphasizing the importance of the motivation of sports achievement for the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• Emphasis on conducting studies similar to other measures that were not dealt with in the current study, and trying to find out the type of relationship with the measure of motivation of sports achievement for the players of the Iraqi Premier League football clubs.

• Emphasis on conducting a similar study and on samples that differ from the sample of the current study and for both sexes.

• Holding training courses and development workshops for football coaches of all levels and groups to clarify the importance and role of sports confidence and mental perception of football players.

References

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