Skip to content
e‑ISSN 2148-905X Open Access · CC BY 4.0
Vol. 12 · Issue 2 · 2025 Aug 31, 2025 Research Article

Mindfulness and Decision Making: A Study on Wrestling Referees

MV
Mustafa Vural Corresponding Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Faculty of Sports Sciences, Ağrı, Türkiye mustafaavurall@gmail.com Turkey
GB
Gokhan Bayraktar Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Ağrı, Türkiye Turkey
Pages194-203 PublishedAug 31, 2025 LicenseOpen Access
PDF
VOL 12 · ISS 2 · 2025 Sportive Perspective: Journal of Sports and Educational Sciences View issue

Abstract

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between mindfulness levels and decision making styles of wrestling referees. Since referees have to make instant decisions during the competition, the effect of their individual cognitive processes on their decision making mechanisms is seen as an important research area. Mindfulness is defined as the individual's awareness of the current moment and acceptance without judgement, and is associated with decision making processes in the context of sport psychology. Within the scope of the research, data were collected on a sample group consisting of wrestling referees who actively served between 2022-2023. The sample consisted of 76 participants selected by random sampling method. ‘Mindfulness Scale’ was used to determine the mindfulness levels of the referees and “Decision Making Styles Scale” was used to evaluate their decision making styles. Descriptive statistics were used and normality assumptions were tested, revealing that the data were normally distributed. Accordingly, t-test, ANOVA, Tukey post-hoc, and Pearson correlation analyses were conducted using SPSS 25.0, with the significance level set at p<.05. As a result of the analyses, no significant relationship was found between mindfulness levels and decision making styles of wrestling referees. However, it was also evaluated whether the referees differed according to demographic variables in terms of mindfulness levels and decision making styles. At this point, it was determined that national referees were more careful in making decisions than international referees. The results show that mindfulness does not have a direct effect on referees' decision making processes, but individual and environmental factors may be determinant on decision making mechanisms. In this context, the importance of practical training on decision making processes in referee training programmes is highlighted.

Keywords

#Decision making styles #mindfulness #sport psychology #wrestling referees

References

  1. Babaei, M., & Badami, R. (2019). Effect of sport-vision training and mindfulness on vision perception and decision-making accuracy of basketball's referees. Positive Psychology Research, 5(3), 39-52. https://doi.org/10.22108/ppls.2020.113620.1554
  2. Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). Mindful attention awareness scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1037/t04259-000
  3. Büyüköztürk, Ş. (2018). Sosyal bilimler için veri analizi el kitabı. Pegem Akademi.
  4. Deniz, M. E. (2004). Üniversite öğrencilerinin karar vermede öz saygı, karar verme stilleri ve problem çözme becerileri arasındaki ilişkinin incelenmesi üzerine bir araştırma. Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi, 15(4), 45–62.
  5. Field, A. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics: And sex and drugs and rock ’n’ roll (4th Ed.). Sage.
  6. Glomb, T. M., Duffy, M. K., Bono, J. E., & Yang, T. (2011). Mindfulness at work. In A. Joshi, H. Liao, & J. J. Martocchio (Eds). In Research in personnel and human resources management (pp. 115–157). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0742-7301(2011)0000030005
  7. Härter, M., Buchholz, A., Nicolai, J., Reuter, K., Komarahadi, F., Kriston, L., ... & Bieber, C. (2015). Shared decision making and the use of decision aids: a cluster-randomized study on the efficacy of a training in an oncology setting. Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, 112(40), 672. https://doi.org/10.3238/arztebl.2015.0672
  8. Hopper, D. (2017). Practical application of mindfulness techniques in sport. Bachelor’s Thesis Degree, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, Programme in Sports and Leisure Management. Heinola
  9. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. Hyperion.
  10. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy/bpg016
  11. Katz, D., & Toner, B. (2013). A systematic review of gender differences in the effectiveness of mindfulness-based treatments for substance use disorders. Mindfulness, 4(4), 318-331.
  12. Martiny, L., Dias, G., Ferreira, J. P., Mendes, R., & Mendes, R. (2024). Flow training program: mindfulness, decision making, and mental well-being of young and adult elite handball athletes. Sports, 12(6), 160. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports12060160
  13. Nixdorf, I., Nixdorf, R., Beckmann, J., Martin, S. B., & MacIntyre, T. E. (Eds.). (2023). Routledge handbook of mental health in elite sport. Routledge.
  14. Özyeşil, Z., Arslan, C., Kesici, Ş., & Deniz, M. E. (2011). Bilinçli farkındalık ölçeği’ni Türkçeye uyarlama çalışması. Eğitim ve Bilim, 36(160), 216–227.
  15. Piffaretti, M., & Carr, B. (2022). “We react less. We react differently. We react better”: A case study of a mindfulness-based ıntervention for olympic referee performance. Case Studies in Sport and Performance Psychology, 6(1), 78-93. https://doi.org/10.1123/cssep.2022-0002
  16. Sanchez-Ruiz, M. J., Tadros, N., Khalaf, T., Ego, V., Eisenbeck, N., Carreno, D. F., & Nassar, E. (2021). Trait emotional intelligence and wellbeing during the pandemic: The mediating role of meaning-centered coping. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 648401. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.648401
  17. Sipahi, Z. (2021). Genç futbolculara uygulanan on haftalık bilinçli farkındalık eğitim programının sporda güdülenme ve bilinçli farkındalık üzerindeki etkisi. Yüksek Lisans tezi, Marmara Üniversitesi, Sağlık Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Anabilim Dalı, İstanbul
  18. Tabachnick, B. G., Fidell, L. S., & Ullman, J. B. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th Ed.). Pearson Press.
  19. Wang, W., & Chopel, T. (2017). Mindfulness and gender: A pilot quantitative study. Issues in Information Systems, 18(4).
  20. Zeidan, F., Johnson, S. K., Diamond, B. J., David, Z., & Goolkasian, P. (2010). Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training. Consciousness and cognition, 19(2), 597-605. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2010.03.014

License

CCBY 4.0
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

This work is openly licensed — share and adapt freely with attribution to the authors and the journal. View license terms ↗

Copyright (c) 2025 Sportif Bakış: Spor ve Eğitim Bilimleri Dergisi

§ 06 — Related

Similar articles in this journal

Related peer-reviewed studies published in this journal.
View all issues

Effects of Mental Training and Cognitive-Motor-Based Life Kinetik Training on Attention and Concentration Performance in Volleyball Players: A Behavioral and Neurofeedback-Task Assessment

Turgut Yildirim, Celal Taskiran, Rıdvan Ekmekci, Erkan Demirkan

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mental training and cognitive-motor-based life kinetik interventions on attention and concentration performance…

#Attention #cognitive-motor training #neurofeedback #life kinetik
p. 324-338
10.70736/spjses.359