Chapter 2 - Behavioral Assessment Flashcards
Target behaviour
The behaviour to be changed in a behavioural program is often referred to as the
Behavioural assessment
is concerned with identifying & describing a target behaviour, identifying possible causes of the behaviour, selecting an appropriate treatment strategy to modify the behavior, & evaluating treatment outcome
What are the topics that a BSP will go through in the first “session”?
- Explain Confidentiality
- Briefly Describe Your Background
- Talk About Sport Psychology
- Clarity Misconceptions About Sport Psychology
What does the misconception, “To do well in competition, you have to get yourself really psyched up” mean?
- A swimmer about to swim a 50-meter race should be physiologically aroused, BUT
- A swimmer about to swim a 1500m race should be reasonably relaxed
what does the misconception, ““Sport psychology alone can make one a super athlete” mean?
Athletes need to understand that exceptional athletic performance requires preparation in all areas
What are the 4 main areas that exceptional athletic performance requires preparation in?
1) Physical – they must be in excellent physical condition
2) Technical - their technical skills must be correct, highly practiced, & 2nd nature to them
3) Tactile – they must have a game plan for dealing with certain opponents, running
certain races, skiing certain courses, etc. &
4) Psychological – refers generally to mental preparation
What does the misconception, “Sport psychologists only consult with athletes at competitions” mean?
Need to understand that physiological strategies can help them improve performance in all aspects of practices & competitions
What does the misconception, “To get really good at mental preparation, all you have to do is talk to a sport psychologist” mean?
Athletes need to appreciate that mental skills are like physical skills - they are behaviours that occur in certain settings, & to be good at then they must be learned & practiced
Initial info gathering in behavioural assessment can be accomplished using:
- Behavioural Interviewing
- Across-Sport Behavioural Checklists
- Within-Sport Behavioural Checklists
- Performance Profiling &
- Assessment For “Slump-Busting”
What is behavioural interviewing?
- Establish & maintain rapport & mutual trust
1) Ask them about their backyard & why he seek help, if reluctant ask turn to complete an Athlete Information Form
2) Or, ask the athlete about the details of their own best & worst recent performance during competitions.
Across-Sport Behavioural Checklist
lists performance aspects of practices &/or competitions that apply to a # of different sports
- Asked to circle the alternate that best applies from the options of Always, Occasional is, or Never
Asses an athlete’s current physical & mental behaviours that comprise his/her preparation for competitions
Across-Sport Behavioural Checklist is desgined to:
assess an athlete’s current physical & mental behaviours that comprise his/her preparation for competitions
Within-Sport Behavioural Checklist
lists performance aspects of practices &/or competitions for a particular sport
Within-Sport Behavioural Checklist Benefits
providing a quick, & reasonably thorough, identification of areas in which he athlete already performs well, as well as areas in need of improvement
Within-Sport Behavioural Checklist differs:
- Across-Sport Behavioural Checklists
- Traditional psychological test
as they…
- apply only to a particular sport
- within-sport behavioural checklists DO NOT have norms & they are NOT designed to measure character or personality traits
Within-Sport Behavioural Checklist advantage
the increased face validity in the eyes of the athlete involved, which can often enhance rapport & lead to credibility to tie consultant
Performance Profiling
is a strategy for discovering an athlete’s perspective of his/her own strengths & weaknesses
Performance Profiling involves 3 main steps:
1) An athlete is asked to identify the qualities & characteristics of a top athlete in their sport
2) The athlete is asked to evaluate his/her current level of mastery with respect to each of those qualities & characteristics
3) Areas in which the athlete is deficient in terms of those qualities & characteristics are used to identify specific target behaviour for improvement
Assessment For “Slump-Busting”
a problem that calls for broad-based behavioural assessment is “slump busting”
Slump
is (a) an unexpected decline in athletic performance that (b) occurs for a sufficient length of time to (c) be of serious concern to the athlete & coach
- “slumps are a significant source of concern, confusion, & frustration for athletes & coaches”
Other possible causes for being a slump
1st, some slumps may have a physical cause
2nd, slumps may be the result of some slight changes in the athlete’s technique
3rd, slumps might be caused by slight changes in the equipment used in a particular sport
4th, due to inadequate mental preparation
6 objective dimensions or characteristics to consider for choosing target behaviours & devising ways to monitor them:
topography (or form), frequency (or rate), duration, free (or intensity), stimulus control, & latency (rxn time)
Topography
(or form) of a behaviour is the specific movements involved, such as the tackling form of a hs football player
Frequency
(or rate) of a behaviour is the # of repititions that a golfer practices a golf shot in 5 mins
Duration
of a behaviour is the length of time that it lasts, such as the length of fine spent treading water at a swimming practice
Intensity
of a behaviour refers to the physical effect it has on the environment, such as the force with which a hockey player can shoot a slap shot
Stimulus control
of a behaviour refers to the degree of correlation b/t a particular stimulus & a particular response, such as a hockey referee blowing the whistle & the players stop playing
Latency
(or rxn time) of a behaviour is the time b/t the occurrence of a stimulus & the response evoked by the stimulus, such as the time b/t the firing of the starters pistol until the runner leaves the blocks
Quality
not a new characteristic beyond the 6 mentioned previously
- rather, it is a refinement of one or more of those characteristics
By being specific in the identification of target behaviours, a BSP will:
a) Help to ensure the reliability of detecting improvements in the behaviour; &
b) Increase the likelihood that the treatment program will be applied constantly
Target behaviours are typically monitored by one of the following 4 strategies:
Direct Observation Of A Single Behaviour
- A target behaviour of an athlete is directly monitored by an observer
Behavioural Checklists To Record Multiple Behaviours
- In some cases, consultants or researchers have designed checklists that enable observers to easily monitor multiple behaviours of an individual
Athlete self-Monitoring
- An effective way to track the behaviour of interest
Videotaping of Target Behaviours
- Less common but a useful way of monitoring target behaviours, & provides a permanent record of that behaviour for observational analysis
A successful behavioural treatment program typically involves at least 3 phases during which behaviour is recorded:
a baseline phase, a treatment phase, & a follow-up phase
baseline phase
the target behaviour is assessed in order to determine its level prior to The into of the intervention
treatment phase
involves that period of time, after the initial baseline assessments during which the BSP intervenes in various ways to attempt to help the athlete
follow-up phase
is sometimes carried out to determine whether the improvements achieved during treatment are maintained after the athlete stops meeting with the BSP
5 benefits of behavioural assessments:
1st, accurate records of a behaviour on a few occasions prior to the into of a treatment program maybe help a BSP to identify the best treatment strategy
That is, monitoring aspects of an athlete’s problem behaviour may help to identify features of the environment that are contributing to the problem, & that may help to identify features of the environment that are contributing to the problem, & that may i. be changed during a treatment program
2nd, accurate records of a behaviour provide a means for clearly determining whether the treatment program has produced, or is producing, the desired improvement
3rd, recording & charting behaviour may lead to improvement apart from any further program
4th, visual demonstrations of improvement through the use of checklists & graphs can provide a powerful incentive for athletes to continue to implement the treatment, & to maintain the progress that they have gained
Finally, freq. discussions b/t an athlete & a BSP concerning the data that assesses progress throughout a program is an imp. accountability mechanism to ensure that the BSP provides ethical treatment of the athlete
