NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING—CAN IT INDUCE RELAXATION?
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Authors
Borgman, James Earl
Issue Date
1997
Type
Thesis
Language
en
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
This project was developed for the purpose of studying S Neuro-Linguistic programming. I studied the technique briefly in my Optimal Performance class and more in depth in my Hypnotherapy class. Although Neuro-Linguistic Programming has been researched and studied in the use of reducing anxiety, there were very few of those studies to be found.
My career goals will include working with golfers and I wanted my Masters project to be in this arena. I knew from personal experience and the reports of others that the first tee S of a golf course can cause high amounts of anxiety. I decided to put Neuro-Linguistic Programming to the test. My hypothesis was that the technique could reduce the anxiety of any golfer on the first tee.
To accomplish this I decided to test Neuro-Linguistic Programming and imagery at the same time. I also used a control . group to make sure that the results were conclusive. The idea seemed simple at the time. All I needed was to get a foursome of golfers to golf on two consecutive days. There would be a pretest heart rate taken on the first day, the techniques would be administered and then a posttest heart rate taken. The difficulty was coordinating my schedule with the licensed hypnotherapists and then with the golfers. This process ended up taking several months.
What I found was that Neuro-Linguistic Programming did work 5 with some individuals but not with all of them. I feel this supports the validity of the technique. This finding is not supported statistically because of individual differences in the golfers studied.
The study also pointed out to me that confidence plays a major part in the heart rate of an individual. This takes place regardless of the technique used to try to control anxiety. The more confident golfers (based on their team ranking) scored much better in the tournament no matter what technique was administered.
Future studies should find ways to increase the confidence . of the golfer to see what effect it has on performance. From what I found the only way to do this is under some sort of tournament condition.