Chapter 2

Question 1

Define behavioural assessment

Answer 1

Behavioural assessment is concerned with identifying and describing a target behaviour, identifying possible causes of the behaviour, selecting an appropriate treatment strategy to modify the behaviour and evaluating treatment outcome.

Question 2

Describe four misconceptions that many people have about sport psychology.

Answer 2

1. ‘to do well in competition, you have to get yourself really psyched up’ – this may work for some, but others might show improvement in performance by learning how to relax before an important sporting event.
2. ‘sport psychology alone can make one a super athlete’ – to be a ‘super athlete’ an athlete needs extensive preparation in four main physical areas: technical, physical, tactical and psychological.
3. ‘sport psychologists can only consult with athletes at competitions’ – psychological strategies can help athletes improve performance in all aspects of practices and competitions
4. to get really good at mental preparation, all you have to do is talk to a sport psychologist’ – mental skills are like physical skills, in order to get good at them they must practice the mental skills alone over and over again.

Question 3

Describe the four main areas of athletic preparation.

Answer 3

1. Physical - must be in excellent physical condition
2. Technical - technical skills must be correct, highly practiced, and second nature to them
3. Tactical - must have a game plan for dealing with certain opponents, running certain races, skiing certain courses, etc.
4. Psychological - refers generally to mental preparation

Question 4

What are the four possible causes of slumps identified by Taylor?

Answer 4

1. Physical cause
2. Change in the athletes technique
3. Changes in the equipment used
4. inadequate mental prepartion

Question 5

List six objective dimensions for describing behaviour?

Answer 5

1. Topography (from)
2. Frequency (rate)
3. Duration
4. Intensity (force)
5. Stimulus control
6. Latency (reaction time)

Question 6

What are two reasons for being specific in the identification of target behaviours?

Answer 6

1. Help ensure the reliability of detecting improvements in the behaviour.
2. Increase the likelihood that the treatment program will be applied consistently.

Question 7

Name and describe the three minimal phases of a behavioural treatment program.

Answer 7

1. Baseline phase - target behaviour is assessed in order to determine its level prior to introduction of the intervention
2. Treatment phase - involves the period of time after the initial baseline assessment during which you intervene in various ways to help the athlete.
3. Follow-up phase - used to determine whether the improvements achieved during treatment are maintained after the termination of the program.

Question 8

What is baseline? Briefly describe the baseline conditions in Coach Keedwell’s program with swimmers.

Answer 8

A baseline is an assessment of the target behaviour in order to determine its level prior to the introduction of the intervention. Coach Keedwell obtained a baseline of the number of missed turns and unscheduled stops of the swimmers.