12.1 Psychological Factors That Influence an Individual in Physical Activity

Question 1

Define achievement motivation.

Answer 1

• The tendancy to approach or avoid competitive situations, summed up as the drive to succeed minus the fear of failure

Question 2

What are the two types of approach behaviour?

Answer 2

• Need to achieve (NACH)
• Need to avoid failure (NAF)

Question 3

What characteristics do personalities with the NACH have?

Answer 3

• They welcome competition
• They take risks- people who have the need to achieve will attempt a more difficult rock climbing route so there is more satisfaction from reaching the top
• They are task persistant- Player will keep trying even if they fail
• They welcome feedback & evaluation- NACH means that one of 1st priorities after a game is to look at statistics or to seek appraisal from a coach

Question 4

What are the characteristics of those who show the NAF?

Answer 4

• They will give up easily- Those with NAF personalities will not have a 2nd go if they fail first time
• They do not like feedback or evaluation- Will not look at stats sheet in case they find something unwelcome that could affect future esteem
• They take easy options- Will often play someone they can easily beat, so they can maintain self esteem

Question 5

How would a coach help a performer develop the need to achieve or approach behaviour?

Answer 5

• Reinforcement- Coach shld offer praise & rewards to players who do well/achieve their goals so players keep desire to do well in future, promoting task persistence
• Attribute success internally- Coach shld tell player that any success achieved was down to something which player had responsibility e.g. amount of effort put into game
• Improving confidence
• Allowing success- To encourage the belief in success & improve confidence coach could set tasks & training drills that can be accomplished w little effort in the early development of the player

Question 6

What is the achievement goal theory?

Answer 6

• Suggests that motivation & task persistence depend on the type of goals set by the performer & how they measure success
• Goals can be set to include an outcome which is based on beating others
• It doesnt matter how the result was achieved as long as the goal is reached
• If the performer succeeds then pride & satisfaction are maintained
• Problem here is that if a performer fails to get the result, then confidence can be lowered
• A task related goal however is more concerned w the process of success, which is measured against the performers own standards rather than against others so success can be achieved

Question 7

Define confidence?

Answer 7

• A belief in the ability to master a task

Question 8

What are the two types of confidence?

Answer 8

• Trait confidence
• State confidence

Question 9

What is trait confidence?

Answer 9

• A consistent level of confidence shown in most situations when the player is happy to take part & anxiety is low.
• Trait sports confidence is concerned with how an athlete rates their ability to perform across a wide range of sports.
  (often innate)

Question 10

What is state confidence?

Answer 10

• A belief in the ability to master a specific sporting moment

This type of confidence may be temporary & can vary depending on the interaction of the influence of the experience & personality.

Question 11

What is competitive orientation?

Answer 11

• The degree to which a performer is drawn to challenging situations