Ch. 8 Psychology of Athletic Preparation and Performance

Question 1

ideal performance state

Answer 1

the ultimate goal of every athlete

Question 2

athlete

Answer 2

someone who engages in a social comparison

Question 3

sport psychology

Answer 3

the sub discipline of exercise science that seeks to understand the influence of behavioral processes on skilled movement

Question 4

state anxiety

Answer 4

a subjective experience of apprehension and uncertainty accompanied by elevated autonomic and voluntary neural outflow and increase endocrine activity

Question 5

trait anxiety

Answer 5

a personality variable or disposition to the probability that one will perceive an environment as threatening

Question 6

arousal

Answer 6

the intensity dimension of behavior and physiology

Question 7

Cognitive anxiety

Answer 7

relates to psychological processes and worrisom thoughts

Question 8

somatic anxiety

Answer 8

realtes to such physical symptoms as tense muscles, tachycardia (fast heart rate), and the butterflies

Question 9

stress

Answer 9

is considered as any disruption from homeostasis or mental and physical calm

Question 10

stressor

Answer 10

an environmental or cognitive event that precipitates stress

Question 11

distress

Answer 11

negative stress

Question 12

eustress

Answer 12

positive stress

Question 13

attention

Answer 13

the processing of both environmental and internal cues that come to awareness

Question 14

selective attention

Answer 14

the ability to inhibit awareness of some stimuli in order to process others

Question 15

preparatory routine

Answer 15

a ritual or mental checklist

Question 16

cue utilization

Answer 16

helpful in explaining the effect of stress or increased levels of physiological arousal on attentional processing of information

Question 17

mental-psychological efficiency

Answer 17

attentional allocation or shift in allocation to process only the cues and cognitive activity that relate to the athletic performance

Question 18

intrinsic motivation

Answer 18

important for any athlete

Question 19

achievement motivation

Answer 19

relates to the athlete’s wish to engage in competition, or social comparison

Question 20

motivation to achieve success (MAS)

Answer 20

self explanatory

Question 21

motive to avoid failure (MAF)

Answer 21

relates to the desire to protect one’s ego and self-esteem

Question 22

positive reinforcement

Answer 22

the act of increasing the probability of occurrence of a given behavior

Question 23

operant

Answer 23

a target behavior, such as correct footwork in basketball

Question 24

negative reinforcement

Answer 24

increases the probability of occurrence of a given operant by removing an act, object, or event that is typically aversive

Question 25

positive punishment

Answer 25

the presentation of an act, object, or event following a behavior that could decrease the behavior’s occurence

Question 26

negative punishment

Answer 26

the removal of something valued

Question 27

inverted-U theory

Answer 27

states that arousal facilitates performance up to an optimal level, beyond which further increases in arousal are associated with reduced performance

Question 28

optimal functioning theory

Answer 28

different people perform best with very different levels or arousal

Question 29

catastrophe theory

Answer 29

the arousal construct needs to be more clearly defined

Question 30

self-efficacy

Answer 30

perceived self-confidence

Question 31

association

Answer 31

monitoring strategy

Question 32

dissociation

Answer 32

the distracting strategy

Question 33

goal setting

Answer 33

a process whereby progressively challenging standards of performance are pursued with a defined criterion of task performance that increases that likelihood of perceived success

Question 34

process goals

Answer 34

those over whose achievement the athlete has control

Question 35

outcome goals

Answer 35

onces over which the athlete has little control; typically winning is the primary focus

Question 36

successive approximations

Answer 36

short-term goals that progressively increase in difficulty

Question 37

operationalize

Answer 37

means to concretely specify a behavior so that it can be measured

Question 38

diaphragmatic breathing

Answer 38

belly breathing, this form of breathing is a basic stress management technique and a precursor to all other mental training techniques

Question 39

progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)

Answer 39

a somatopsychic technique by which psychological and physical arousal are self-regulated through the control of skeletal muscle tension

Question 40

reciprocal inhibition

Answer 40

reflects the principle that a relaxed body will promote a relaxed mind

Question 41

autogenic training

Answer 41

refers to shifting autonomic neural processes from sympathetic to parasympathetic dominance

Question 42

mental imagery

Answer 42

a cognitive psychological skill in which the athlete uses all the sense to create a mental experience of an athletic performance

Question 43

hypnosis

Answer 43

an induced state of hyper suggestibility in which positive suggestions relating to an athlete’s performance potential can be planted in the subconscious mind

Question 44

systematic desensitization (SD)

Answer 44

a technique that helps an athlete initially confront or reduce fear