Introduction to Mental Toughness

Introduction  

        Mental Toughness (MT) is a characteristic many believe to be important for success in sport; many coaches view MT as a quality that must be considered in the recruitment of athletes. MT has been defined broadly as the ability to be more consistent and perform better than one’s opponent by remaining determined, focused, confident, and in control when under pressure. The characteristics of mental toughness included constructs such as resilience, self-belief, and emotional intelligence. The term mental toughness is used frequently by athletes, coaches, members of the press, sports commentators and sports psychologists. 

            Watts, (1978) stated that mental toughness was one of the most important psychological qualities that coaches looked for in athletes. Mental toughness (MT) is one of the multidimensional psychological constructs that has been studied only with reference to sports psychology and considered as one of the contributing factors to enhance one’s performance in sports (Crust, 2008; Gucciardi, Gordon, & Dimmock, 2008; Jones, Hanton, & Connaughton, 2002). It was believed that mental toughness was not an inherited gift but the fruits of learning which were acquired through hard work, understanding and practice. 

Mental Toughness Definitions 

 Mental toughness is the natural or developed psychological edge that enables you to generally cope better than your opponents with the many demands that sport places on a performer. Specifically, be more consistent and better than your opponents in remaining determined, focused, confident, and in control under pressure (Jones, Hanton, & Connaughton, 2002).  

Mental toughness is the capacity for an individual to deal effectively with stressors, pressures and challenge and perform to the best of their abilities, irrespective of the circumstances in which they find themselves (Clough & Earle, 2002).

Loehr, (1982) proposed that mental toughness reflects a constellation of mental skills, all of which are learned, that are characteristic of mentally tough competitors. 

Another view of mental toughness is the ability of an athlete to withstand strong criticism and to avoid becoming upset when losing or performing poorly (Tutko & Richards, 1971). 

Crust (2007) further explained that MT also includes effective coping and ability to bounce back from adverse situations, persistence, and resilience.

Mental toughness is also regarded as the ability to be more consistent and better than one’s opponent by being determined, focused, confident, and in control under pressure (Madrigal, Hamill, & Gill, 2013). 

Another definition of mental toughness is the presence of some or the entire collection of experientially developed and inherent values, attitudes, emotions, cognitions, and behaviors that influence the way in which an individual approaches, responds to, and appraises both negatively and positively construed pressures, challenges, and adversities to consistently achieve his or her goals (Coulter, Mallett, & Gucciardi, 2010).

Clough, Earle, and Sewell, (2002) proposed that mentally tough individuals tend to be sociable and outgoing; as they are able to remain calm and relaxed, they are competitive in many situations and have lower anxiety levels than others. With a high sense of self-belief and an unshakeable faith that they control their own destiny, these individuals can remain relatively unaffected by competition or adversity. Individual with mental toughness has also been characterized by high self-reliance, self-belief, able to cope better with adverse life experiences, and with a great sense of responsibility (Gucciardi, Gordon, & Dimmock, 2008). 



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