CHAPTER 14 – Arrange Practice Conditions so that Practice Performance Will transfer to Competitions Flashcards
What are stimulations? Illustrate with a sport example.
o Simulations are attempts to make many stimuli in the practice environment as similar as possible to the stimuli will be encountered in the competition. By doing so, it is a way to ensure transfer of athletic performance from practices to competitions. An example would be practicing soccer outside in a field or park, where it is sunny, warm and where people may be around to prepare athletes for an outdoor game atmosphere.
List seven categories of cues that are useful for stimulating competitive stimuli at practices.
o Cues from the physical environment
o Cues from the behaviour of the coach
o Cues from the Behaviour of other athletes
o Cues from the level of autonomic arousal or degree of anxiousness of the athlete
o Proprioceptive cues from the muscles of the athlete
o The athlete’s imagery as cues
o The athlete’s self-talk as cues
Describe an example of how athletes might use imagery at practices to stimulate aspects of a competition in order to increase the likelihood that practice performance will transfer to competitions.
o An example would be a golfer. While at the driving range, a golfer might imagine all 18 holes of a course that she is going to play. Before actually playing the course, she can play it at the driving range. For each hole, she could visualize the general layout and landing area for each shot. She could then hit those shots that she wants to play on those holes. She might keep track of the number of imaginary fairways that she hit with her tee shots, the number of imaginary greens that she hit in regulation, and she could try to improve on each visit to the driving range. If the golfer is able to hit the desired shots at the driving range under such imaginary, simulated conditions, then the odds are increased that she will be able to hit those shots when actually playing the course.
Pick a sport with which you are familiar. For that sport, describe a plausible “pressure game” that an athlete might play at practices in order to get used to performing under conditions of increased autonomic arousal.
o A possible “pressure game” in basketball would be for a player to shoot free throws while her whole team watches her. If the player misses the free throws, then the team has to run manmakers.
Describe the generalization strategy referred to as “programming a few common stimuli”. Illustrate it with a sport example that involves imagery.
o To deliberately bring desire athletic behaviour under the control of a few specific stimuli in practices, and to then take those stimuli to the competition. If athletic performance occurs to a specific stimulus in practice, and if that stimulus can be introduced into a competition, then the likelihood of stimulus generalization to the competitive environment is increased. In the behaviour modification literature, this strategy for programming stimulus generalization is referred to as “programming a few common stimuli.” An example of this is a gymnast having a consistent pre competition routine such as a certain stretch, which is rehearsed at practices and used at competitions.
Describe generalization strategy referred to as “vary many of the training conditions”. Illustrate with a sport example.
o The “Vary many of the training Conditions” strategy involves conducting practices under a wire variety of conditions. The assumption is that if athletic skills are brought under the control of a greater variety of stimuli during training, then, there is an increased probability of some of those stimuli being present at competition. An example of this that is not in the chapter is a gymnast practicing her routines under as many realistic conditions as possible. Such as hot, cold, loud, bright, dark, quiet, etc. If the gymnast can perform her routine properly under all of the listed conditions, then some of those conditions are likely to exist during an actual competition.
