Chapter 2: Psychological Theories, Models, and Constructs

Question 1

What are the two leading theories on motivation in performance psychology?

Answer 1

Achievement Motivation Theory and Self-Determination Theory (Can you name two others? Cognitive Evaluation Theory and Attribution Theory).

Question 2

Can you name 4 theories that are Anxiety and Performance Related?

Answer 2

1. IZOF
2. cusp catastrophe
3. multidimensional anxiety theory
4. control model of debilitative and facilitative competitive anxiety

Question 3

What is Achievement Motivation Theory?

Answer 3

A number of theorists (e.g., Ames, 1992a; Dweck, 1986; Dweck & Leggett, 1988) have contributed to work in this area, although the contribution of Nicholls (1979, 1984, 1989) has arguably been most key to understanding how and why some individuals thrive in achievement activities over time while others struggle and lose passion.

Individuals can be either Task Oriented or Ego Oriented.

Task-involved - athletes are focused on their personal effort and improvement in the tasks that they perform. they are attentive to aspects over which they have more control. This approach is productive because a controllable factor, such as effort, is something everyone can exert, and giving high effort over time is likely to lead to personal improvement. (high task motivation is key to maximizing individual performance)

Ego Involved - focused on how their ability and performance compares to others. For these individuals, attention is directed at their current standing in relation to their peers.

Question 4

In Achievement Motivation Theory (AMT) what are three factors to determine if an athlete is Task or Ego involved?

Answer 4

1. The athlete’s cognitive development level (how old are they, how mature are they)
2. their goal orientations (task - mastery or ego - compare w/others)
3. their perceptions of the motivational climate (team climate task or ego)

Question 5

What are 5 attributes of a Task Oriented Motivational Climate with a team?

Answer 5

1. High effort and personal improvement are valued and rewarded.
2. The environment is welcoming, supportive, and inviting.
3. Leaders encourage cooperation and foster a sense of belonging among teammates.
4. Every athlete is made to feel he or she has an important role to play.
5. Mistakes are viewed as part of the learning process and are treated as teachable moments.

Question 6

What are 5 attributes of a Ego Oriented Motivational Climate with a team?

Answer 6

1. Winning and outperforming others are valued and rewarded.
2. Athletes are pitted against each other, and there is a performance-based social hierarchy.
3. Leaders foster a hypercompetitive atmosphere among teammates.
4. The star players receive the majority of attention and recognition.
5. Mistakes are viewed as a lack of ability and are punished.

Question 7

What is Self-Determination Theory?

Answer 7

Developed by Ryan and Deci (2000). This broad theory was developed to describe why some individuals thrive in life, find activities interesting, seek challenge, and experience joy, while others do not.

Deci and Ryan identify motivation on a continuum from amotivation to intrinsic motivation, with four levels of extrinsic motivation in between the two end points.

Question 8

What are the 3 basic needs for every human to thrive, based on Self-Determination Theory?

Answer 8

1. Competence - refers to individuals’ sense that they are able and proficient in particular areas and have potential to improve.
2. Autonomy - refers to the individuals’ perceptions that they are in a position to control the decisions they make.
3. Relatedness - the need to feel one is connected to and in meaningful relationships with others.

Question 9

What are the 6 levels of Motivation in Self-Determination Theory in order?

Answer 9

1. Amotivation
   External Motivation
2. External regulation
3. Introjected regulation
4. Identified regulation
5. Integrated regulation
   End of External Motivation
6. Intrinsically motivated

Question 10

What happens when an athlete is amotivated?

Answer 10

Individuals have a complete lack of motivation to engage in the activity, resulting in either avoidance or a lackluster effort. When individuals are amotivated, they often feel low competence, lack a clearly defined purpose for engaging in the activity, or simply do not value the activity.

Question 11

What is External Regulation?

Answer 11

Individuals perceive a lack of control and engages in the behavior because of the rewards or punishments that accompany it. Young athletes who participate in sport simply because their parents require them to or because of promised rewards for their participation are examples of those who display external regulation.

Question 12

What is introjected regulation?

Answer 12

Individuals engage in an activity, not of their own volition, but rather for external reasons to avoid guilt or to experience pride. Young athletes who agree to play a sport to appease their parents or friends likely display introjected regulation. They are not playing for intrinsic reasons, but they may be slightly more autonomous than those who display external regulation, because their reasons are self-imposed.

Question 13

What is Identified Regulation?

Answer 13

Individuals begin to internalize the behavior, recognize its importance, and acknowledge that the activity holds some value. Young athletes who display identified regulation may see value in playing sport, even if it is not yet intrinsically motivating and not fully assimilated with their identity. They have moved beyond playing only for rewards or to avoid punishment, as well as beyond just participating for the sake of others (e.g., parents, friends). They may be experiencing some benefit (e.g., fitness, social benefits) but not to the degree that they would participate in the sport for the sake of the experience itself.

Question 14

What is Integrated Regulation?

Answer 14

Individuals with this type of motivation consciously recognize the importance of the activity in their lives; however, integrated regulation remains a form of extrinsic motivation because the individuals are still focused on the benefit or outcome of the activity rather than engaging in the activity for pure enjoyment. Young athletes who display integrated regulation might play a sport because they fully appreciate the opportunity to train and be physically fit, or perhaps they feel more connected to their classmates by playing the sport. Whatever the reason, they likely give full effort to their sport participation.

Question 15

What is Intrinsic Motivation?

Answer 15

Rewards or tangible outcomes are irrelevant to their desire to participate in the activity. Young athletes who display intrinsic motivation in their sport have developed a joy for participating in the sport and feel they have control over their decision to participate. They put in more time practicing and display greater commitment to their sport. Researchers have provided support for the benefit of intrinsic motivation in sport

Question 16

What is Cognitive Evaluation Theory?

Answer 16

The cognitive evaluation component of self-determination theory to outline the strategies that should be employed to help individuals advance across the motivation continuum, experience intrinsic motivation, and sustain this self-determined state over time.

The researchers suggest that social and environmental factors play a significant role in either undermining intrinsic motivation or helping it flourish. As would follow, the conditions should be favorable when individuals are in a climate that enhances their sense of competence, autonomy (control), and relatedness.

Question 17

What is Attribution Theory?

Answer 17

Attributions reflect how individuals interpret or explain outcomes or behaviors. He argued that this interpretation is important because it affects future behavior. Weiner (1985, 1986) added to Heider’s attribution theory and proposed three general categories of outcome attributions, including locus of causality (internal or external), stability of the outcome (the likelihood it will happen again), and locus of control (whether athletes feel they will have control over the outcome in similar situations).

example, Johnny attributes his baseball team’s loss by 5 points to his pitching, then he may experience shame. However, if Johnny attributes the loss to the high level of skill on the competing team, then he may be proud that he and his team held them to a five-point lead.

These are usually different between men and women (also girls and boys).

Question 18

What are 3 outcome attributions for Attribution Theory?

Answer 18

1. Locus of Causality (are the factors INTERNAL or EXTERNAL)
2. Stability (how likely is this to happen again)
3. Locus of Control (will the athlete have control over the outcome in similar situations)

Question 19

What is Learned Helplessness?

Answer 19

A phenomenon that occurs when individuals either fail to exert effort or withdraw effort in situations because they perceive their effort cannot positively affect the situation (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978). The phenomenon—unfortunate because it reflects individuals’ maladaptive responses—has been linked to depression.

Question 20

What is Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory?

Answer 20

Centers around individuals’ beliefs that they are capable (or not capable) of executing behaviors that will aid in their achievement in a particular context, which is central to understanding approach and avoidant behaviors.

Athletes are more likely to perform well, persist in the face of potential defeat, put forth high effort, and choose to utilize more adaptive coping strategies when they have high self-efficacy, or beliefs that they are capable of executing behaviors that facilitate their performance on certain tasks (Bandura, 1977).

Question 21

Based on Self-Efficacy Theory (Bandura), how can athletes grow their self-efficacy?

Answer 21

1. Successful Experiences (Most Impactful)
2. Vicarious Experience (watching others)
3. Encouragement from self or others (Verbal Persuasion)
4. Cultivation of Emotional State (controlling emotions)
5. Imaging or Visualization

Question 22

What is the definition of Psychological Stress?

Answer 22

The perception that the demands of a situation outweigh the ability to cope

Question 23

What are the two types of Anxiety and what are their definitions?

Answer 23

1. State - the intensity at a particular time of subjective feelings of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry, with associated activation (arousal) of the autonomic nervous system
2. Trait - how you generally feel is believed to be determined, in large part, by disposition and learned behaviors.

Question 24

What is the Inverted - U hypothesis?

Answer 24

It is hypothesized that moderate levels of anxiety facilitate performance, whereas excessively low or high levels of anxiety are predicted to hinder performance.

Question 25

What is IZOF?

Answer 25

Identifies differential patterns of the anxiety–performance relationship for athletes. For example, some athletes thrive in their sport under high anxiety, while others tend to perform their very best when experiencing minimal anxiety.

It recognizes that athletes have a zone, or a range, of anxiety (as opposed to a single optimal point) where they perform their best. He also acknowledged that this range of optimal functioning varies from person to person. Some athletes perform best while experiencing relatively little anxiety. These types of athletes are referred to as low IZOF performers (see figure 2.3). Moderate IZOF performers, on the other hand, excel in pressure situations when they are experiencing a moderate amount of anxiety. The majority of athletes perform best somewhere within this moderate zone. Others, however, thrive under high anxiety. These athletes are high IZOF performers.

Question 26

What is the Multi-Dimensional Theory of Anxiety?

Answer 26

Performance can be positively influenced by confidence, negatively influenced by cognitive anxiety, and that somatic anxiety positively influences performance up to a point but then begins to steadily hinder performance.

Question 27

What is the Cusp Catastrophe Model?

Answer 27

Examines the relationship between physiological arousal, cognitive anxiety, and performance, and identifies a point where moderate physiological arousal paired with high cognitive anxiety results in a marked decrease in performance.

Question 28

What is the Control Model of Debilitative and Facilitative Competitive Anxiety?

Answer 28

Athletes’ beliefs about whether they have control over goal attainment or their ability to cope with performance stress in a particular setting will determine whether their view of anxiety is one of facilitative appraisal or debilitative appraisal.

Question 29

What is Reversal Theory?

Answer 29

Proposed that athletes’ perceptions, or interpretations, of their arousal will determine their response or performance. For instance, low levels of arousal can be interpreted as boredom or relaxation, while high levels of arousal can be interpreted as excitement or anxiety. If an athlete has high physiological arousal prior to a rugby match, it may be interpreted as excitement and being ready for the competition. This perception would likely facilitate her performance. In contrast, she may remember that a scout is coming to the game and reinterpret this high level of arousal as anxiety.

Question 30

What is the Theory of Attentional Styles?

Answer 30

Argues that different sporting experiences call for different attentional styles, and the better the match between the particular attentional style called for in a sporting experience and the dispositional style of the athlete, the better the expected performance of the athlete (Nideffer, 1976a, 1976b, 1981).

Question 31

What are the 4 Attentional Styles of Nideffer?

Answer 31

1. Broad - Internal (procession several ideas at once, analyze and plan their approach)
2. Broad - External (assess and adapt to multiple stimuli outside of their own body)
3. Narrow - Internal (help athlete get in right mental state before shooting a FT)
4. Narrow - External (focusing on 1 task, IE shooting a FT)

Question 32

What is the Cue Utilization Model?

Answer 32

Athletes experience an unhelpful influx of information when arousal is relatively low, but the attentional focus of athletes is narrowed as arousal begins to increase. This narrowing of focus is believed to be advantageous for athletes as they become better able to focus on relevant cues. However, athletes may hit a threshold in their arousal level where they are no longer able to maintain focus on important factors; at this point, heightened arousal becomes maladaptive and hinders performance.