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A critical look at two typical research designs is presented, the first study being an investigation of field dependence and reaction time in senior tennis players, and the second being an investigation of the concepts of locus of control and achievement motivation in highly successful male competitive tennis players age 65 and older. A critique of the first study indicates some neglect for determining the reasons for differences in performance. A cognitive functional approach is then presented which is intended to alleviate some of the problems of previous research. This approach emphasizes a careful evaluation of the individual's cognitions prior to, during, and following particular learning and performance situations, and attempts to determine which cognitions are contributing to or interfering with effective learning and maximum performance. References are included. (DS)

The effect of instructors and of using two different methods of teaching tennis on skill acquisition was investigated. Two hundred twelve subjects received beginning tennis instruction in either the traditional groundstroke (using a full grip) teaching method or the volley (using a graduated length grip) teaching method. To control teacher bias toward either method, each of the four participating teachers implemented both methods in different classes. All subjects were pre- and post-tested on the Broer-Miller Forehand-Backhand Drive Test. Results indicated that each teacher showed a preference for a particular teaching method, and that the effect of different methods cannot be statistically isolated because natural teacher variance cannot be separated from the main effect of the methods. It is suggested that future methodology studies employ several teachers and require that all teachers implement each method under investigation. (Authors/FG)

A study investigated gender stereotypes in photographs of female and male athletes, noting differences in the way the two genders are depicted in photographs taken by the Associated Press (AP) and also in photos chosen by newspaper editors. Every photograph sent by AP from the 1987 Wimbledon tennis tournament to one Texas newspaper was coded in four different ways: whether the subject was male or female, whether or not emotion was revealed in the subject's face, whether the subject was in a vulnerable position, and whether the photograph depicted the entire body of the subject. Photos used by eight newspapers were examined using the same coding procedures. Findings showed that the male tennis players in the AP photographs were shown with emotional facial expressions significantly more often than women. Photographs run by the eight newspapers in the study, however, showed no difference between male and female tennis players on the emotion variable. Also, while the AP photos produced no significant differences on the vulnerability variable, the newspaper photos depicted female athletes in vulnerable positions more often than male athletes. Finally, both the AP and newspaper photos concentrated on the faces of women and the bodies of men. The overall results of the study suggest that while photographers do not seem to be reinforcing gender stereotypes, sports editors may be doing so. (Four copies of photographs, 7 tables, and 22 references are appended). (ARH)

The study examined competitiveness among eight very high achievers in four talent fields: research mathematics, concert piano, swimming, and tennis. Retrospective interviews had previously been conducted with the subjects as part of B. Bloom's "Development of Talent Project." A 14-statement instrument was developed and applied to interview protocols. Five statements concerned competitiveness of the parents, two statements dealt with the importance of winning or being best to coaches or teachers, and five statements addressed the competitiveness of the individual. Results indicated that there is variation across the talent fields in the level of competitiveness and that the talented individuals in the two athletic fields, as well as their parents and teachers, were more highly competitive than individuals in the non-athletic fields. Mathematicians appeared to be the least competitive in the four talent fields. Findings suggest that the different levels of competitiveness may be related to the different methods used for judging success or achievement. In all families, doing well was an important value. (DB)

One novice subject's learning about the tennis serve was measured (over a 4-day period) by recording the subject's gestures and verbal remarks. This case study compared gestures, verbal remarks, skills, and form data to see which types best discriminated between days 1 to 4, and it also attempted to determine if discriminant analyses were suitable for such comparisons. Verbal data selected included: subject's evaluation of a serve, part of the serve described, and number of items the subject referenced. Gesture data selected included: body part used in the gesture, size of gesture, type of gesture, and number of gestures per serve. Results showed that generally gesture and verbal data appeared to better discriminate among days of early skill learning than did skill and form rating data. It was also found that the use of both contingency table and discriminant analyses is valuable. (Author/JMK)