University of Isfahan Research in Cognitive and Behavioral Sciences 2251-7642 12 2 2022 12 22 Psychometric properties of the Persian Version of the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire (cognitive Interference) for Sport Psychometric properties of the Persian Version of the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire (cognitive Interference) for Sport 109 128 27438 10.22108/cbs.2023.133745.1651 FA Fatemeh Salkhi Khasraghi M.A. of Sport Psychology, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran Seyed Hojjat Zamani Sani Associate professor of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran Behzad Behzadnia Assistant Professor of Physical Education and Sport Science, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran Journal Article 2022 05 30 Cognitive interference means disturbing thoughts experienced by athletes while performing tasks, which damaged their performance. Due to the importance of the subject, the present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire in Sports. The population consisted of Iranian athletes who had the experience of participating in sports competitions in 2021. A number of 207 athletes were selected in clusters and completed the mindfulness and cognitive interference questionnaires in sports. To examine psychometric properties, construct validity and convergent validity were investigated by exploratory factor analysis through calculating the correlation of the cognitive interference scale with the sports mindfulness scale. To measure reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. The findings showed that the thought of escape, situation-irrelevant thoughts, and performance worries explain 59.08% of the relevant variance. The results also manifested that the significant correlation between the scales of sports mindfulness and cognitive interference indicated the convergent validity of the construct. Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the whole questionnaire and sub-scales: thoughts of escape, situation-irrelevant thoughts, and performance worries confirmed the internal reliability of the scale. The confirmatory factor analysis results (CFI=0.96 and NFI=0.93) also indicated the appropriate fit of the structure. According to the findings, the cognitive interference questionnaire in sports had acceptable validity and reliability among Iranian athletes. Sports coaches, psychologists, and researchers can use this tool in their research. Introduction Over the years, sport psychology studies have emphasized the importance of using a cognitive approach for understanding and enhancing athletic performance (Hanton & Jones, 1999; Hill, 2001; Strean & Roberts, 1992). Researchers conclude that athletes' cognitive activity during exercise has a significant effect on their performance. According to studies, athletes' concentration processes have a vital role in their performance (Hill et al., 2019; Moran, 2012; Vast et al., 2010). In the sports field, Cognitive psychology studies show the debilitating effects of irregular thoughts before and during competition (Gould et al., 1993; Sarason et al., 2014). The disturbing thoughts that people experience during competition are called cognitive interference. Sarason et al. (1990) describe cognitive interference as task-irrelevant thoughts, preoccupied thinking, and performance worries that disturb attention from the desired task. Cognitive interference is one of the factors that cause attention distraction and loss of concentration in the athlete. It uses cognitive sources and distracts attention from task signs. Hatzigeorgiadis et al. (2000) Have developed a tool for measuring athletes' cognitive interference: Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport (TOQS). It involves three types of thoughts: Situation-Irrelevant Thoughts, Performance Worries, and Thoughts of Escape. Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport is a valid scale used to measure an athlete's cognitive interference. In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties and factors structure of the Persian version of Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport. Method The method of this study is correlational. The participants were 207 athletes over 18 years who participated in sports competitions in recent years. About 51.7% of members compete on a high level. They were randomly selected and, the essential information was given to the participants. After preparing a valid Persian translation of the original questionnaire (TOQS), it was sent to the athletes. Athletes were asked to complete TOQS and Mindfulness Inventory for Sport (MIS) online questionnaires. Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport has 17 items rated on a 7- points Likert scale from 1= never to 7= very often, while Mindfulness Inventory for Sport has 15 items rated on a 6- points Likert scale from 1= rarely to 6= every time. For data analysis in this study, descriptive and inferential statistical methods including exploratory factor analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Cronbach's alpha were used by SPSS software version 23 and LISREL version 8.80. Results KMO and Bartlett's Test was used for confirming sample size and, the sample size was found appropriate. The results of exploratory factor analysis show that all three subscales of the questionnaire predict 59.08% of the variance. According to the consequences of the Rotated Component Matrix, the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport, among Iranian athletes, as in the original version, includes three factors: Situation-Irrelevant Thoughts, Performance Worries, and Thoughts of Escape. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the whole questionnaire and subscales have an acceptable internal reliability. A significant correlation between the subscales of the Sports Mindfulness Inventory for Sport and the subscales of the present questionnaire shows the convergent validity of the Persian Cognitive Interference Questionnaire. Findings show that the Persian version of the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport has a good validity in Iranian sample. Conclusion Results show that the Persian version of TOQS has an acceptable exploratory factor analysis impact, like the original scale, each subscale was identifiable through the same questions (Situation-Irrelevant Thoughts with 5-items, Performance Worries with 6-items, and Thoughts of Escape with 6-item). Also, Cronbach's alpha results confirmed that the questionnaire has good internal consistency. Our findings were in line with other studies (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000; Lane et al., 2005; Röthlin et al., 2016). According to the present research, we can say that the applied questionnaire has good psychometric properties and is proper for use by athletes, coaches and, sports researchers. Also, future studies can investigate which conditions cause cognitive interference and whether experiencing such thoughts is voluntary. Further, researchers can use this questionnaire to check the link between athletes' mental processes during competition via other psychological criteria. Cognitive interference means disturbing thoughts experienced by athletes while performing tasks, which damaged their performance. Due to the importance of the subject, the present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Cognitive Interference Questionnaire in Sports. The population consisted of Iranian athletes who had the experience of participating in sports competitions in 2021. A number of 207 athletes were selected in clusters and completed the mindfulness and cognitive interference questionnaires in sports. To examine psychometric properties, construct validity and convergent validity were investigated by exploratory factor analysis through calculating the correlation of the cognitive interference scale with the sports mindfulness scale. To measure reliability, Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used. The findings showed that the thought of escape, situation-irrelevant thoughts, and performance worries explain 59.08% of the relevant variance. The results also manifested that the significant correlation between the scales of sports mindfulness and cognitive interference indicated the convergent validity of the construct. Cronbach's alpha coefficients of the whole questionnaire and sub-scales: thoughts of escape, situation-irrelevant thoughts, and performance worries confirmed the internal reliability of the scale. The confirmatory factor analysis results (CFI=0.96 and NFI=0.93) also indicated the appropriate fit of the structure. According to the findings, the cognitive interference questionnaire in sports had acceptable validity and reliability among Iranian athletes. Sports coaches, psychologists, and researchers can use this tool in their research. Introduction Over the years, sport psychology studies have emphasized the importance of using a cognitive approach for understanding and enhancing athletic performance (Hanton & Jones, 1999; Hill, 2001; Strean & Roberts, 1992). Researchers conclude that athletes' cognitive activity during exercise has a significant effect on their performance. According to studies, athletes' concentration processes have a vital role in their performance (Hill et al., 2019; Moran, 2012; Vast et al., 2010). In the sports field, Cognitive psychology studies show the debilitating effects of irregular thoughts before and during competition (Gould et al., 1993; Sarason et al., 2014). The disturbing thoughts that people experience during competition are called cognitive interference. Sarason et al. (1990) describe cognitive interference as task-irrelevant thoughts, preoccupied thinking, and performance worries that disturb attention from the desired task. Cognitive interference is one of the factors that cause attention distraction and loss of concentration in the athlete. It uses cognitive sources and distracts attention from task signs. Hatzigeorgiadis et al. (2000) Have developed a tool for measuring athletes' cognitive interference: Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport (TOQS). It involves three types of thoughts: Situation-Irrelevant Thoughts, Performance Worries, and Thoughts of Escape. Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport is a valid scale used to measure an athlete's cognitive interference. In the present study, we examined the psychometric properties and factors structure of the Persian version of Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport. Method The method of this study is correlational. The participants were 207 athletes over 18 years who participated in sports competitions in recent years. About 51.7% of members compete on a high level. They were randomly selected and, the essential information was given to the participants. After preparing a valid Persian translation of the original questionnaire (TOQS), it was sent to the athletes. Athletes were asked to complete TOQS and Mindfulness Inventory for Sport (MIS) online questionnaires. Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport has 17 items rated on a 7- points Likert scale from 1= never to 7= very often, while Mindfulness Inventory for Sport has 15 items rated on a 6- points Likert scale from 1= rarely to 6= every time. For data analysis in this study, descriptive and inferential statistical methods including exploratory factor analysis, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Cronbach's alpha were used by SPSS software version 23 and LISREL version 8.80. Results KMO and Bartlett's Test was used for confirming sample size and, the sample size was found appropriate. The results of exploratory factor analysis show that all three subscales of the questionnaire predict 59.08% of the variance. According to the consequences of the Rotated Component Matrix, the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport, among Iranian athletes, as in the original version, includes three factors: Situation-Irrelevant Thoughts, Performance Worries, and Thoughts of Escape. Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the whole questionnaire and subscales have an acceptable internal reliability. A significant correlation between the subscales of the Sports Mindfulness Inventory for Sport and the subscales of the present questionnaire shows the convergent validity of the Persian Cognitive Interference Questionnaire. Findings show that the Persian version of the Thought Occurrence Questionnaire for Sport has a good validity in Iranian sample. Conclusion Results show that the Persian version of TOQS has an acceptable exploratory factor analysis impact, like the original scale, each subscale was identifiable through the same questions (Situation-Irrelevant Thoughts with 5-items, Performance Worries with 6-items, and Thoughts of Escape with 6-item). Also, Cronbach's alpha results confirmed that the questionnaire has good internal consistency. Our findings were in line with other studies (Hatzigeorgiadis & Biddle, 2000; Lane et al., 2005; Röthlin et al., 2016). According to the present research, we can say that the applied questionnaire has good psychometric properties and is proper for use by athletes, coaches and, sports researchers. Also, future studies can investigate which conditions cause cognitive interference and whether experiencing such thoughts is voluntary. Further, researchers can use this questionnaire to check the link between athletes' mental processes during competition via other psychological criteria.

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