Smith & St. Peter Brief Report for Journal Submission

Running Head: FEEDBACK AND MODELING OF CHEERLEADING 1

Effects of Self-Experimentation Using Video Feedback and Modeling on Co-ed Cheerleading Stunts

Alyssa L. Smith and Claire C. St. Peter

West Virginia University

Author NoteAlyssa L. Smith, Psychology Department, West Virginia University; Claire C. St. Peter,

Psychology Department, West Virginia University.This manuscript was prepared as part of the requirements for an undergraduate course by

the first author, with the instruction of the second author. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Claire St. Peter, 53

Campus Drive, Morgantown, West Virginia, 26506 (email: [email protected]).

FEEDBACK AND MODELING OF CHEERLEADING2

Abstract

Injury rates of co-ed stunts in college cheerleading are increasing, and may be caused in part by

improper stunt execution. We assessed effects of video feedback and modeling using a multiple

baseline design across three common co-ed cheerleading stunts, where the experimenter was also

one of the participants. The percentage of properly executed stunts increased considerably for

two of the stunts when video modeling and video feedback were used. Treatment effects

appeared to generalize to a related stunt in the absence of intervention. Treatment effects

maintained in a four-month follow-up observation.

Keywords: athletic performance, cheerleading, generalization, self-experimentation, video

feedback, video modeling


Self-Experimentation Using Video Feedback and Modeling on Co-ed Cheerleading Stunts

Injury rates related to cheerleading increased 110% from 1990 to 2002 (Shields & Smith,

2006), with 60% of all cheerleaders’ injuries related to attempting stunts (Shields, Fernandez, &

Smith, 2009). Because cheerleading is a year-round sport, cheerleaders are also 42% more likely

to obtain an injury from overuse than athletes that take at least one season off (Cuff, Loud, &

O’Riordan, 2010). Stunt-related injuries and falls during performances and practice may be due

to improper coaching techniques or poor foundational skills of performers (Waters, 2012).

Video feedback and video modeling may be an alternative coaching method to increase

the accuracy of stunt completion, thereby decreasing injuries. Video modeling occurs when

individuals involved in the skill watch a video of correct performance of the skill (Boyer,

Miltenberger, Batsche, & Fogel, 2009). Video feedback occurs when an individual watches a

video recording of their own performance of a particular skill to obtain feedback on their

technique, execution, or form (Boyer et al.). Video feedback or video modeling in isolation may

improve performance of skills in sports such as football (Stokes, Luiselli, Reed, & Fleming,

2010), swimming (Hazen, Johnstone, Martin, & Srikameswaran, 1990), rock climbing (Boschker

& Bakker, 2002), and tennis (Rikli & Smith, 1980). Video modeling and video feedback in

combination may be useful for sports that require complex response chains or interactions

between multiple performers. However, few studies have evaluated combined visual feedback

and modeling on sports performance.

In a notable exception, Boyer et al. (2009) used a combination of video feedback and

video modeling to improve three common gymnastics skills. In the study, computer technicians

recorded and showed the gymnasts videos of themselves performing the skills to enable self-

evaluation of their own performance. The videos were recorded using complex equipment

fortified with freeze-frame playback technology. The gymnasts also viewed a video of a


professional modeling the correct performance. The two videos were shown independently, then

simultaneously on separate computer screens, side-by-side. Skills improved to some extent for

all four participants after video feedback and modeling were implemented, but were not clearly

maintained across time.

One disadvantage of the procedures described by Boyer et al. (2009) is that those

procedures required continuous presence of an outside expert (the computer technicians) to cue

and pause the video at appropriate places that highlighted key skills. Thus, these procedures may

not be easily implemented in typical sports practices, during which additional staff may not be

available. One potential solution to this issue is the use of self-experimentation. In other words,

the athletes could be responsible for identifying appropriate models, recording their own

performance, and playing both the model and the previously recorded performance before the

next practice attempt.

Such self-experimentation may have advantages over traditional methods of

experimentation. First, as previously mentioned, conducting a self-experiment requires no

assistance from outside sources. This advantage, along with the little to no time spent recruiting

participants, familiarizing participants with the procedure, identifying and acquiring incentives,

collecting data, traveling, and dealing with attrition, are advantages to a self-experimentation

method (Roberts & Neuringer, 1998). An additional advantage of self-experimentation is that the

researcher is particularly motivated and interested in the topic, making it more likely that they

will remain motivated to continue the experiment, even if it lasts for several months or years.

The same cannot be said for individuals who are recruited to participate in a study and have no

personal or emotional ties to the research (Roberts & Neuringer, 1998).


To our knowledge, research has not yet evaluated the effects of video feedback and

modeling for complex response chains that require the interaction of two performers, like co-ed

cheerleading. Additionally, studies have not yet reported generalization of video modeling and

feedback effects across skills or clear maintenance across time, nor have they used self-

experimentation to reduce reliance on outside individuals. The current study examined the

effects of combining video feedback and modeling on three complex stunts for a co-ed stunt

group in a collegiate cheerleading program. One of the stunt partners, the flyer, was also the

experimenter (the first author).

Method

Subjects and Setting

Two co-ed collegiate cheerleaders participated. The first participant, or the base, was a

23-year-old male who had been co-ed cheerleading for almost five years. The second participant,

or the flyer, was a 20-year-old female who had been cheerleading for almost 14 years, but had

only been co-ed cheerleading for about two years. The participants were stunt partners, meaning

that they performed stunts together for the majority of the time while on the team. The flyer

designed the intervention, identified video models prior to the intervention phase, and ensured

that each practice was video recorded, and arranged for playback of the video models and

previously recorded practice (video feedback). Data collection occurred during regularly

scheduled cheerleading practices. Practices took place with 18 additional cheerleaders three days

a week and were supervised by two coaches.

Response Measurement and Reliability

Three complex co-ed stunting skills were observed. These three stunts were selected

because they are common in co-ed college cheerleading, and the participants reported struggling


with correctly completing the stunts. Pictures of each stunt are included in the Appendix. The

first stunt was called the “full-up.” This stunt was considered to be executed correctly when the

base tossed the flyer off the ground and the flyer did a complete 360° spin before being caught at

the extended level, which occurred when the base had both arms fully extended above his head

with a flyer in his hands. After being caught, the flyer gained her balance and then pulled one leg

up into the liberty position. Once the flyer was standing on one foot, the stunt was held for 5s to

qualify as completed correctly.

The second stunt, or “low to high,” also began with the base tossing the flyer. However,

the flyer was only tossed to the half-level, or eye level to the base. After being tossed, the flyer

placed her left foot into the base’s hands at the half-level with the right leg in the liberty position.

Then, the flyer quickly switched the leg she was standing on as the base tossed her upward into

the extended position. The base caught the right foot and the flyer stood on that foot in the

extended liberty position for at least 5s for the stunt to qualify as completed correctly.

The third stunt, or “toss-cupie,” began with a toss. The stunt was correctly executed when

the base tossed the flyer straight up to the extended position, much like the full-up. However, the

flyer did not rotate and the base caught the flyer with one arm. The flyer stood on two feet in the

base’s hand instead of pulling her leg up to the liberty position. The stunt was completed

correctly when the flyer stood on the base’s hand for 5s.

The flyer collected data after each attempted stunt. A notecard was previously prepared

into a chart which included two columns, “completed” and “failed,” for each of the three

complex stunts. The flyer marked a stunt as “completed” when all of the steps for the stunt were

correctly executed. Each time one or more of the steps for the stunt were incorrectly executed,

the flyer marked the stunt as “failed.”


The spotter of the stunt independently collected data on “completed” and “failed” stunts

for 69.9% of sessions. Interobserver agreement was assessed using exact agreement, and yielded

100% agreement across the baseline and video-feedback phases.

The spotter collected treatment integrity data using a checklist. A copy of the treatment

integrity checklist is available from the corresponding author. Treatment integrity was collected

for 22% of the sessions. Treatment integrity scores were 100% throughout baseline and treatment

phases.

Procedures

We demonstrated experimental control through a multiple-baseline-across-responses

design. During baseline, practice for the two participants took place as it normally would. Data

were collected on completed and failed stunts as previously described. Participants received

typical instruction and feedback from their coach during this phase. Videos of participants were

not collected, and participants did not watch video models.

Intervention consisted of recording the targeted stunt during practice on the last day of

baseline and at every subsequent practice. At the beginning of the next practice, the participants

viewed the video of the targeted stunt(s) from the previous practice using a tablet device

measuring 24.1cm by 18.5cm together and discussed possible ways to execute the stunt more

appropriately. The participants also watched and discussed a video of two professionals properly

executing the stunt. The videos were typically around 10s. After participants viewed the videos,

practice commenced as in baseline. Participants watched stunt videos before practice on each day

during the intervention phase. Video modeling and feedback was introduced across successive

stunts.


Participants stopped watching the videos on the last day of data collection for the

intervention phase. We probed for maintenance of intervention effects during a regularly

scheduled practice time that occurred four months after the last day of intervention, using

procedures identical to baseline. Participants did not watch videos prior to the practice or receive

feedback on their performance.

Social Validity

Social validity was assessed using a Likert-style questionnaire adapted from the one

described by Boyer and colleagues (2009), which used anchors of 0 (low validity) and 5 (high

validity; copy available from the corresponding author). Questionnaires were given to both

participants and the spotter to complete and means were obtained for each question.

Results

Figure 1 displays the results of the video feedback and modeling intervention across

stunts. Data for the full-up stunt are shown in the top panel. In baseline, the percentage of full-up

stunts completed correctly decreased slightly, with a mean of 17.5% correctly executed stunts

(range, 0% to 57.1%). During the video feedback and modeling phase, correct responding

increased immediately, with a mean of 86.9% (range, 50% to 100%). The middle panel shows

data for correct implementation of the low-to-high stunt. The mean percentage of correctly

executed low-to-high stunts was 17.5% in baseline (range, 0% to 50%). During the video

feedback and modeling phase, correct responding increased immediately to a mean of 85.2%

correct (range, 66.7% to 100%). The lower panel shows data for the toss-cupie stunt. During the

first nine sessions, which corresponded to the baseline phase for the full-up, the mean percentage

of correctly executed stunts for the toss cupie was 16.4% (range, 0% to 50%). However, the

percentage of correctly executed toss-cupie stunts dramatically increased and stabilized as soon


as treatment was implemented for the full-up. After the introduction of the treatment for the full-

up, the mean percent correct for the toss cupie increased to 91.7% (range, 66.7% to 100%).

Treatment was not implemented for the toss cupie due to this apparent generalization across

responses.

Treatment effects maintained during the four-month follow-up probe. The mean

percentages of correctly executed stunts were 75%, 100% and 100% for the full-up, low-to-high,

and toss cupie, respectively.

The social validity questionnaire showed that the cheerleaders liked the procedure (M=

4.33), would recommend the procedure to other collegiate cheerleaders (M= 4.67), believed it

was moderately easy to follow (M= 3.67), believed it was helpful in learning to execute the stunt

properly (M= 4.33), and believed it was very effective in improving skill performance (M= 5).

Discussion

Although several studies have evaluated effects of video feedback and modeling

(Boschker & Bakker, 2002; Boyer et al., 2009; Hazen et al., 1990; Rikli & Smith, 1980; Stokes

et al., 2010), only one combined both modeling and feedback for a sport similar to cheerleading

(gymnastics; Boyer et al., 2009). Boyer and colleagues obtained moderate improvements in

performance, with variable maintenance of those skills across 4 to 6 weeks of follow-up. The

current study adds to our knowledge of the efficacy of video feedback and modeling for

improving athletic performances that are part of complex response chains, and obtained more

dramatic improvements in performance than those reported by Boyer and colleagues. Increasing

our understanding of efficient and effective practices may ultimately result in reduced injury

rates associated with incorrectly executed athletic skills.


The current study varied from the procedures described by Boyer et al. (2009) by

including a self-experimentation component. In the current study, one of the participants (the

flyer) was involved in the design and execution of the study. Including a self-experimentation

component reduced reliance on outside individuals. Unlike the study by Boyer et al., which used

dedicated computer technicians to collect, edit, and display videos, we were able to use video

modeling and feedback to improve the performance without any additional staff. Including a

self-experimentation component may have led to the more robust outcomes in the current study

relative to those obtained by Boyer and colleagues, because the participants were highly invested

in the treatment outcomes. Despite this investment, we were able to obtain frequent, high levels

of interobserver agreement and treatment integrity, suggesting that the changes in behavior were

believable and not just the result of a change in data collection strategies across phases of the

study. In addition, because the researcher had access to distinctive behaviors to study, the current

self-experiment supplements the previous literature in a unique way.

The current study also adds to the literature by demonstrating the generalization of video-

feedback effects across related sports skills. Both the full-up and the toss-cupie involved a

similar toss upward to the extended level. The video feedback and modeling for the full-up may

have reduced the problems that the cheerleaders were experiencing with the toss-cupie. Video

feedback and modeling could be an effective strategy for teaching basic skills that contribute to

several complex response chains, thereby promoting more rapid and accurate acquisition of

multiple skills. Although this generalization was desirable clinically, it reduced the extent to

which experimental control could be demonstrated. Future research should explicitly include

multiple similar and dissimilar athletic skills to evaluate the extent to which generalization

occurs.


The current study was conducted in the context of regularly scheduled cheerleading

practices. Although this increases our confidence that the procedures are manageable for applied

settings, it also resulted in substantial variability in the number of stunts attempted per day. The

participants completed between 0 and 12 of each stunt during each practice. This variability in

the number of stunts may have induced variability in the percentage correct. Additionally, the

variability led to discrepancies in the amount of practice that the participants had with each stunt.

Despite these possible issues, we demonstrated a clear difference in accuracy between baseline

and intervention performance.

The results of the current study advance our knowledge on best practices for coaching

complex athletic performances. The self-evaluation nature of the method renders this

intervention extremely practical in everyday practice settings. Because the videos were taken,

viewed, and discussed with little participation needed of others, coaches could easily implement

this procedure in their programs. Just as football players watch game film after a game,

cheerleaders could view their performance after practice and visually see their performance

instead of just being told how to execute the stunt better verbally. Although further research is

needed, video feedback and modeling may be powerful tools for teaching proper execution of

cheerleading skills and, in turn, reducing injuries.


References

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Boyer, E., Miltenberger, R. G., Batsche, C., & Fogel, V. (2009). Video modeling by experts by

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Cuff, S., Loud, K., & O’Riordan, M. A. (2010). Overuse injuries in high school athletes. Clinical

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Shields, B. J., & Smith, G. A. (2006). Cheerleading-related injuries to children 5 to 18 years of

age: United States, 1990-2002. Pediatrics, 117, 122-129

Shields, B. J., Fernandez, S. A., & Smith G. A. (2009). Epidemiology of Cheerleading Stunt-

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Stokes, J. V., Luiselli, J. K., Reed, D. D., & Fleming, R. K. (2010). Behavioral coaching to

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Figure 1. Percentage of correctly executed stunts per session, across three stunts. Intervention

was not implemented for the third behavior (toss cupie) because it stabilized at a high percent

after implementation of treatment for the full-up. Data points are omitted when the stunt was not

attempted.


Appendix

Full-Up


Low-to-High


Toss Cupie

Documents

Smith & St. Peter Brief Report for Journal Submission