MSc Thesis Public Defence: Tuesday 13/6, Maria, Stella & Nollaig

Defence 1baner


Σας καλούμε στις 13 Ιουνίου, ημέρα Τρίτη και ώρα 10.00 στην αίθουσα των συνεδριάσεων (Κτίριο Α, 1ος όροφος) στη δημόσια παρουσίαση της μεταπτυχιακής διατριβής 3 μεταπτυχιακών φοιτητών του ΠΜΣ «Ψυχολογία της Άσκησης» και "European Master in Sport & Exercise Psychology”

We are glad and proud to invite you, to the master thesis public defense by 3 postgraduate students from the "European Master in Sport & Exercise Psychology/Erasmus Mundus" and “Master of Science in Psychology of Exercise ”on Tuesday, June 13 2017, at 10:00 / Blue room (Building A, 1st floor).

You are welcome to support the presentation of your colleagues!


Υποψήφιοι/ Candidates


10:00 Μαρία Αγγέλη (Maria Aggeli) : The acute effects of an aerobic exercise task and goal setting on smok­ing delay.

Τριμελής Επιτροπή: Θεοδωράκης Γιάννης, Χατζηγεωργιάδης Αντώνης, Κομούτος Νικόλαος (Theodorakis Y., Hatzigeorgiadis A., Komoutos N.)

10:45 Στέλλα Καταραχιά (Stella Katarachia): Effects of self-talk on perceived exertion during moderate intensity exercise

Τριμελής Επιτροπή: Χατζηγεωργιάδης Αντώνιος, Κομούτος Νικόλαος, Θεοδωράκης Γιάννης (Hatzigeorgiadis A., Komoutos N., Theodorakis Y.)

11: 30 Nollaig McArthy: Extreme sports injury: An Applied Approach to Psychological Effects and Coping

Τριμελής Επιτροπή: Κουθούρης Χαρίλαος, Γούδας Μάριος, Θεοδωράκης Γιάννης (Kouthouris H., Goudas M., Theodorakis Y.)


Περιλήψεις/Abstracts


Nollaig McArthy: Extreme sports injury: An Applied Approach to Psychological Effects and Coping


Background: Extreme sports tend to expose athletes to elevated levels of risk of injury compared to traditional sports. Athletes often struggle with the psychological demands of injury.

Objectives: To explore how extreme sport injury affect athlete’s psychological well-being, to determine coping strategies used and present mental management techniques.

Method: Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted with extreme sports athletes from various sports under specific criteria. An interpretative thematic analysis with inductive reasoning was utilised producing four themes and eight subthemes.

Results: Main injury-related emotions identified included; fear, frustration, anger and feelings of depression. Some athletes found the psychological elements of injury more challenging than the physical and their sporting identity was impacted. Coping strategies aided rehabilitation and recovery. Mental toughness was perceived to be linked with reduced rates of injury occurrence and enhanced wellbeing.

Recommendations: Suggested techniques provided for participants to improve coping include thought logs, goal-setting, visualisation and progressive muscle relaxation amongst others.

Conclusions: Sport injury rehabilitation programmes should address psychological aspects of injury to fast-track the healing process and the return to sport.


Maria Aggeli : The acute effects of an aerobic exercise task and goal setting on smok­ing delay.


Research has consistently shown that acute bouts of moderate intensity exercise have an important effect on smoking urge and smoking delay. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether self-regulation strategies, aiming at smoking delay, can further extend the effect of moderate intensity exercise on smoking delay. Participants were 40 adult smokers who were randomly assigned into two groups: plain exercise (E-group, control) and exercise and self-regulation (ESR-group, experimental). A repeated measures design was adopted including a neutral condition (20 min video) and an exercise condition (20min moderate exercise). The results showed that smoking delay increased significantly for both groups; however the increase for the ESR-group was significantly larger than that of the control group. The results support previous evidence regarding the anti-smoking effects of acute exercise; furthermore they highlight the usefulness of self-regulation strategies, and in particular goal setting, in extending smoking delay. The present findings provide important evidence for the exercise and smoking literature and useful directions for the development of smoking cessation intervention.


Stella Katarahia: Effects of self-talk on perceived exertion during moderate intensity exercise


The purpose of the study was to examine the effectiveness of self-talk on the perception of exertion during moderate exercise on a cycloergometer. Participants were 85 healthy physical education and sport science students (60 males, 41 females) with an average age of 20.99 (± 2.19). Participants were divided into two groups, control and experimental, with the experimental group receiving a short self-talk intervention before the onset of the experimental task. The experimental task involved cycling for 20 minutes on a cycloergometer at about 50% (45%-55%) of heart rate reserve. During cycling heart rate, power output (Watt) and distance covered were recorded, and addition participants’ perceived exertion was assessed every 4 minutes. The results revealed that there were no difference on heart rate, power output and distance covered throughout the cycling period; however, participants of the experimental group reported lower ratings of perceived exertion for the second half of the cycling period. The results suggest that self-talk can help performance and support the tenets of the psychobiological model of endurance performance for moderate intensity exercise.

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