The individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) model is a sport-specific framework that describes the relationship between emotional experiences and relative success in sporting tasks on the basis of individual rather than group-based patterns. Initially developed by the psychologist Juri Hanin in the 1970s, the number of published studies using the model has since significantly grown and diversified. In an effort to create a comprehensive database of IZOF research and reviews, a literature search was conducted using several databases and existing reference lists. This analysis yielded a total of 183 IZOF-based publications (from 380 compiled). The list of publications was subdivided into several categories including general reviews (N = 25), assessment and methodology (N = 13), peer-reviewed and research papers involving samples ranging from elite athletes to physical education students (N = 120). Twenty-five studies were related to communication or interpersonal relationships, coaching and optimisation of performance. Future IZOF research directions will focus on multimodal profiling of athletes’ performance-related emotional and non-emotional experiences, and assessment of individually optimal performance.

This study explored the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived health behaviors; physical activity, sleep, and diet behaviors, alongside associations with wellbeing. Participants were 1,140 individuals residing in the United Kingdom (n = 230), South Korea (n = 204), Finland (n = 171), Philippines (n = 132), Latin America (n = 124), Spain (n = 112), North America (n = 87), and Italy (n = 80). They completed an online survey reporting possible changes in the targeted behaviors as well as perceived changes in their physical and mental health. Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA) on the final sample (n = 1,131) revealed significant mean differences regarding perceived physical and mental health “over the last week,” as well as changes in health behaviors during the pandemic by levels of physical activity and country of residence. Follow up analyses indicated that individuals with highest decrease in physical activity reported significantly lower physical and mental health, while those with highest increase in physical activity reported significantly higher increase in sleep and lower weight gain. United Kingdom participants reported lowest levels of physical health and highest increase in weight while Latin American participants reported being most affected by emotional problems. Finnish participants reported significantly higher ratings for physical health. The physical activity by country interaction was significant for wellbeing. MANCOVA also revealed significant differences across physical activity levels and four established age categories. Participants in the oldest category reported being significantly least affected by personal and emotional problems; youngest participants reported significantly more sleep. The age by physical activity interaction was significant for eating. Discussed in light of Hobfoll (1998) conservation of resources theory, findings endorse the policy of advocating physical activity as a means of generating and maintaining resources combative of stress and protective of health.

This paper reports an investigation extending recent studies of a symbolic representation of performance related states ( Hanin, 1997 Hanin, Y. L. 1997. Emotions and athletic performance: Individual zones of optimal functioning model. European Yearbook of Sport Psychology, 1: 29–72. [Google Scholar] , 2000 Hanin, Y. L. , ed. 2000. Emotions in sport, Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. [Google Scholar] ; Hanin & Stambulova, 2002 Hanin, Y. L. and Stambulova, N. B. 2002. Metaphoric description of performance states: An application of the IZOF model. The Sport Psychologist, 16(4): 396–415. [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ). Consistent with this theoretical framework, the content and frequency of self-generated metaphors with accompanying interpretative descriptors of feeling states in high-level Spanish karate athletes (N = 16; 12 men and 4 women) were examined. The athletes generated 98 idiosyncratic, symbolic, and functionally meaningful metaphors and 167 interpretative descriptors of feeling states prior to, during, and after their best and worst performances. The metaphoric images included animate (animals, human beings, mythical characters) and inanimate (vehicles, objects, plants, natural phenomena) agents. As predicted, the content of metaphors and interpretative descriptors reflected high action readiness in best performance and low action readiness in worst performance situations. Moreover, content of metaphors was different prior to, during, and after performances (content overlap ranged from 0.06 to 0.15) and across best and worst competitions (from 0 to 0.18). As expected, self-generated interpretative emotion descriptors were idiosyncratic and context-specific. These descriptors were similar to eight basic emotions (happiness, pride, relief, anger, anxiety, fright, sadness, and shame) from the 15 proposed by Lazarus (2000) Lazarus, R. S. 2000. How emotions influence athletic performance. The Sport Psychologist, 14: 229–252. [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] . Interpretative descriptors had multiple connotations with emotion and non-emotion components of psychobiosocial state. In the follow-up (n = 12) after a 5-month interval, the initially generated idiosyncratic metaphors were retained, thus, reflecting stability and consistency of perceived personal meaning of the situation. The findings are contrasted with earlier research and practical implications are suggested.

Grounded in achievement goal theory and basic psychological needs theory, the aim of this study was to examine the impact of the interaction of perceived motivational climate in physical education with psychological needs satisfaction (relatedness, competence and autonomy) and psychobiosocial states on student intention to engage in leisure-time physical activity. Participants (N = 470 Italian students, 287 boys and 183 girls, aged 16–19 years) completed the Teacher-Initiated Motivational Climate in Physical Education Questionnaire, the Psychological Needs Satisfaction Scale in Physical Education, the Psychobiosocial States Questionnaire, and a measure of intention to engage in leisure-time physical activity. Structural equation modelling analysis indicated that a perceived task-involving climate was related to intention to engage in physical activity through the serial mediation of competence need satisfaction and pleasant/functional psychobiosocial states. The findings highlight the importance of task-involving climate and competence need satisfaction in determining pleasant emotional states and, consequently, in promoting leisure-time physical activity. Teachers should apply curricular and pedagogical strategies that aim to create a task-involving motivational climate, make movement experiences personally meaningful and pleasant and therefore stimulate students to adopt an active lifestyle.