B

Question 1

Define the term personality

Answer 1

There are many definitions of personality; for the
purpose of this course the following definition will
be used.
“Those relatively stable and enduring aspects of
individuals which distinguish them from other
people, making them unique but at the same time
permit a comparison between individuals” (Gross
1992)

Question 2

Discuss social learning
theory and personality

Answer 2

Limit to Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory

Question 3

Discuss the interactionist
approach to personality

Question 4

Outline issues associated
with the measurement of
personality

Answer 4

Limit to:
* data collection (interviews, questionnaires,
observing behaviour)
* validity and reliability issues
* ethical issues: confidentiality, use of results,
predicting performance.
TOK: Issues relating to measurement

Question 5

Evaluate the issues in
personality research and
sports performance.

Answer 5

Consider:
* athletes versus non-athletes
* personality and sports type
* predicting performance.
Refer to the positions adopted by the skeptical
and credulous groups of psychologists

Question 6

Define the term motivation

Answer 6

Motivation is “the internal mechanisms and
external stimuli which arouse and direct our
behaviour” (Sage 1974)

Question 7

Outline the types of
motivation.

Answer 7

Limit to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation theory

Question 8

Discuss the issues associated
with the use of intrinsic and
extrinsic motivators in sports
and exercise

Answer 8

Limit to how extrinsic rewards influence intrinsic
motivation.
Extrinsic rewards seen as controlling of behaviour.
Extrinsic rewards providing information about
their level of performance.
Extrinsic rewards will enhance intrinsic
motivation when the reward provides positive
information with regard to the performer’s level of
competence

Question 9

Describe Atkinson’s model of
achievement motivation.

Question 10

Outline goal orientation
theory

Answer 10

Limit to:
* reasons for participation (achievement
goals)
* differing meanings that success or failure
has for the performer (task versus outcome
orientation)

Question 11

Describe attribution theory
and its application to sports
and exercise

Answer 11

Limit to Weiner’s classification for causal
attributions.
* Locus of stability
* Locus of causality
* Locus of control
* Self-serving bias
* Learned helplessness

Question 12

Define the term arousal.

Question 13

Describe the theoretical
approaches to arousal.

Answer 13

Limit to:
* drive reduction theory
* inverted-U hypothesis
* catastrophe theory.

Question 14

Draw and label a graphical
representation of the arousal–
performance relationship

Answer 14

Refer to the theories of arousal in B.3.2.Limit to:
* drive reduction theory
* inverted-U hypothesis
* catastrophe theory.

Question 15

Discuss the emotions that
may influence an athlete’s
performance or experience
in a physical activity

Answer 15

Participation in sports and exercise influences a
range of participant emotions such as depression,
anxiety and pleasure. Limit to a discussion of
the emotions that may be prevalent in physical
activity. This may include:
* positive emotions such as excitement, relief,
pride
* negative emotions such as anger, guilt,
shame, anxiety, boredom
* specific emotions that have a discrete
effect on performance (for example, a
negative mood is more likely to prime
us to remember negative memories of
past failures, and thus reduce our feelings
of confidence to perform; similarly, a
positive mood is more likely to prime us to
remember positive previous outcomes, and
increase our confidence to perform)

Question 16

Define the term anxiety

Question 17

Distinguish between
cognitive and somatic anxiety

Question 18

Distinguish between trait
and state anxiety

Question 19

Evaluate how anxiety is
measured.

Answer 19

Limit to:
* trait anxiety: Sport Competition Anxiety Test
(SCAT)
* state anxiety: Competitive State Anxiety
Inventory-2 (CSAI-2R).

Question 20

Describe the stress process
in sports.

Answer 20

Defined as a substantial imbalance between the
demand (physical and/or psychological) and
response capability, under conditions where
failure to meet that demand has important
consequences.
Include:
* causes of stress (environmental demand)
* stress response (person’s reactions)
* stress experience (psychological
interpretation)
* actual behaviour (outcome)

Question 21

Discuss psychological skills
training (PST

Answer 21

Refers to the systematic and consistent practice of
mental or psychological skills.
Include the following issues.
PST:
* is not just for elite athletes
* is not just for problem athletes
* does not provide quick-fix solutions.
Consider the three phases of a PST programme:
* education
* acquisition
* practice

Question 22

Outline goal setting.

Answer 22

Include:
* associated with enhancing self-confidence
and motivation
* SMARTER (specific, measurable, achievable,
realistic, time, evaluate, review) goals
* types of goals (outcome, performance,
process).

Question 23

evaluate mental imagery.

Answer 23

Associated with concentration enhancement, selfconfidence, skill acquisition, emotional control,
practice strategy and coping with pain and injury.
Include:
* external and internal imagery
* protocol for imagery interventions

Question 24

Outline relaxation
techniques

Answer 24

Associated with arousal regulation, reducing
somatic and cognitive anxiety.
Include:
* progressive muscular relaxation (PMR)
* breathing techniques
* biofeedback.

Question 25

Outline self-talk techniques.

Answer 25

Associated with concentration, attention,
cognitive regulation and motivation
enhancement.
Include:
* positive and negative self-talk
* thought stopping

Question 26

Outline the term talent.

Answer 26

Talent is a multidimensional concept identified by
characteristics that are only partially genetically
determined. It involves psychological as well
as physiological, motor, sociological and
environmental factors.

Question 27

Distinguish between
talent identification (TI)
and multidimensional
talent identification and
development (TID) processes

Answer 27

(Traditional) Talent identification (TI) processes
include:
* subjective assessments
* objective testing that may be physiological
(such as aerobic capacity, anaerobic power,
speed and strength), anthropometric (such
as height, weight, body composition) and
performance-based (such as skill and agility)
Multidimensional talent identification and
development (TID) recognizes that talent
also evolves as a result of an athlete actively
interacting with the environment and having
the resilience to cope with the challenges and
setbacks they encounter. The evolution of talent
can be facilitated through the application of
psychological behaviours that include:
* mental imagery
* realistic goal setting
* effective evaluation of performance/selfevaluation
* self-reinforcement
* training to a high intensity (outside comfort
zone)
* handling failure
* performance arousal and control.
Multidimensional TID incorporates the following.
* Monitoring an individual’s progress
and behaviour during a development
programme over time. The ability to adapt
is a key feature of true elite athletes and
is unlikely to be identified by snapshot
observations.
* Balancing weaknesses in one area and
strengths in other areas (for example,
height and speed as well as dedication and
commitment when faced with adversity in
basketball).
* Providing athletes with opportunities to
develop psychological behaviours along
with sport-specific skills over long periods
of time that facilitate progress from one
stage of development to another. (See the
stages of development in B.5.3 below.)
Aim 8: Discuss how the effect of maturation
makes prediction of adult performance from
adolescent data difficult.

Question 28

Explain the evolution
of talent for athlete
development.

Answer 28

Bloom (1985) and Cote (1999) suggest that the four
stages of development that an elite performer is
likely to progress through are as follows.
1. Initiation stage
2. Development stage
3. Mastery stage
4. Maintenance (perfection) stage
Different psychological behaviours (such as coachor parent-led versus self-determined motivation)
and sports participation goals (such as enjoyment,
skill development or performance mastery) will
vary according to the athlete’s stage.
The existence of stages suggests that as athletes
encounter opportunities (such as the opportunity
to train with a specialist coach, increase in hours of
deliberate practice), obstacles (such as an injury) and
progressions (such as transition to the next stage of
development), many aspects of their performance
may become unstable.
The developing athlete uses psychological
behaviours to cope with these unstable periods.
These behaviours are key to continued development
of the individual and consistent production of worldclass performances by elite athletes.

Question 29

Outline talent transfer for
elite athletes changing to a
second sport.

Answer 29

Talent transfer is a reduction or cessation of
participation in one sport in order to pursue
another sport that involves similar skills or
physiological requirements.
* It may be prompted by injury, a plateau in
performance, loss of motivation or retirement.
* It may be initiated by the athlete or coordinated by a sporting organization.
* It commonly prolongs an athlete’s sporting
career and can lead to greater success than
that in the first sport.
Progress through the stages of development in
the new sport is usually rapid because the athlete:
* has the capacity to use psychological
behaviours to respond to challenges
* can exploit existing physiological traits and
motor skills
* has improved motivation.
Examples include changes from sprinting or
cycling to winter sports such as skeleton luge or
bobsleigh, and changes from gymnastics to diving
or pole vaulting.

Question 30

Describe self-determination
theory (SDT).

Answer 30

Self-determination theory (SDT) describes
how the level and the amount of energy that
athletes devote to learning activities is a dynamic
continuum characterized by a balance between:
* autonomy—making one’s own decisions
about what we do and being in control of
ourselves and our behaviours (for example,
training because you want to, not because
someone says you should)
* competence—feeling able to accomplish
a task (for example, completing a crosscountry run without having to stop for a
rest)
* relatedness—the feeling of a shared
experience with others, of belonging to and
being accepted by a group (for example,
being part of a basketball team).

Question 31

Describe self-regulated
learning (SRL).

Answer 31

Self-regulated learning (SRL) refers to the
processes that assist learners in managing their
own thoughts, behaviours and emotions in order
to control their own learning experiences.
SRL encourages athletes to become more
independent in their learning and so enhances
learning outcomes.
Athletes exert this control by planning and
regulating their own actions towards their
learning goals.
There are four interdependent cyclical phases
(Pintrich 2000) through which an athlete manages
their progression.
1. Forethought phase (goal-setting and
planning)
2. Monitoring phase (tracking progress and
awareness of current performance in
relation to goals)
3. Control phase (adapting learning strategies
to better complete the task)
4. Reflection phase (evaluating performance
with respect to goals and the effectiveness
of the chosen strategy)
Self-reflections influence athletes’ future
planning/goals, prompting the cycle to begin
again.

Question 32

Discuss the relationship
between self-regulated
learning and motivation in
sports.

Answer 32

Motivation is a critical factor in the self-regulated
learning framework.
Forethought (planning) phase
* Athletes who do not see value in tasks are
less likely to spend much time setting goals
and planning strategies.
* Higher self-efficacy beliefs increase the use
of self-regulation strategies.
Monitoring phase
* Intrinsic motivation affects level of effort in
completing tasks and use of self-regulation
strategies.
Reflection phase
* An athlete’s causal attributions (factors
athletes attribute to their success or failure)
affect whether or not they choose to engage
in an activity and utilize self-regulation
strategies for similar future activities.
Athletes who are motivated to learn are more
likely to invest the time and energy needed to
learn and apply SRL skills. Similarly, athletes who
are able to successfully employ self-regulation
strategies often become more motivated to
complete learning tasks