Bronislava Strnádelová

The goal of this study was to identify differences between high and low self-critical participants in relation to compassionate facial expressions. Our convenience sample consisted of 151 participants aged 18–59 years old (M = 25.17; SD = 7.81). The highest and the lowest scoring participants in self-criticism were selected for final analysis ( N = 35). Participants, at home alone, watched a short video stimulus eliciting compassion while their facial expressions were recorded using webcams. Out of the sample we selected the highest 10% and the lowest 10% of self-critical participants according to the Slovak norms of The Forms of Self-Criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale. Two certified Facial Action Coding System raters (FACS) coded the participants’ muscular activity according to facial action units. The FACS analysis revealed that action units 4 – brow lowerer, 7 – lids tight, 43 – eyes closed, 45 – blink, 55 – head tilt left, and 56 – head tilt right occurred significantly less often in high self-critical participants than in low self-critical participants, controlling for the difference between the baseline and compassionate moments in the video stimulus. Our research found that participants high in self-criticism were less facially expressive than those low in self-critical when watching compassionate video.

Objectives The aim of this research was to expand knowledge on the use of PETTLEP based guided imagery scripts, as a mental practice, for increasing performance and reduction of self-criticism in athletes. Imagery can serve not only as an accessory, but also as a replacement for part of the training process, as it has the potential to increase the athlete’s performance. Methods The research group consisted of 78 recreational CrossFit athletes who regularly work out and participate in group trainings. The participants were divided into three groups. The physical practice group trained two series of pushups, the imagery group, in accordance with the prescribed script based on the PETTLEP model, visualized these pushups and the role of the control group was to stretch before training. The intervention lasted 4 weeks, with a frequency of three times per week. Results The results showed that imagery is an effective tool for increasing the performance of athletes and in combination of with regular exercise can result in additional performance gains. There have been significant shifts in our study, in some subscales, specifically within groups. In the imagery group, it was namely the subscale of inadequate and reassuring self. In the physical practice group, the shift also occurred in the inadequate self-subscale and the hated self-subscale. However, after comparing these results with the other two groups, there were no significant differences. Conclusions The results confirm the potential of using imagery for increasing performance and reducing self-criticism.