Chapter 6: Rules and Goals: Important Strategies for Influencing Behaviour Flashcards
Define a rule and give a sport example that is not in this chapter. Does your example illustrate all 3 aspects of a complete rule?
Definition: A statement that, in a particular situation, a specific behaviour will pay off.
Example: A boxing coach yells to his fighter in the ring: “Keep your gloves up! Make sure you protect yourself!” This implies that failing to keep ones gloves up will lead to being hit, or perhaps losing the fight
This rule example is not a complete rule because the antecedent “when you are boxing” is not present, nor is the consequence of losing the fight or getting hit if he didn’t put his gloves up, but the behaviour was identified. Here the antecedents and the consequences were implied.
Define contingency-learned behaviour and give a sport example that is not in this chapter.
Definition: Behaviour that has been strengthened (or weakened) in settings by the direct effects of consequences in those settings.
Example: A race car driver practicing a course. Sometimes turns are taken too wide and slow, and other times turns may be taken too aggressively, but eventually the driver gets more familiar with navigating through the best lines on that particular track. This is contingency-learned behaviour because the race car driver wouldn’t drive this aggressively on public roads, rather the learned behaviour is only utilized in a specific situation.
Identify four situations where rules are helpful. Give a sport example of each situation.
- When rapid behaviour change is desirable.
Example: Joe, a mixed martial arts fighter is anxious about an upcoming bout. He learned that his opponent specialized in a style of martial arts which he wasn’t familiar with. When discussing this with his coach, he was given a rule. “If you practice both your preferred fighting style as well as your opponent’s fighting style, you’ll be prepared for the fight regardless of what maneuvers are used against you in the ring.” This rule helped him focus on familiar patterns instead of worrying about surprises during the fight. - When consequences that might be provided for a behaviour are too delayed to directly reinforce that behaviour. Example: A high school football player is told they can only continue playing on the team if they achieve a final grade of C or better in their math class. The consequence (not playing on the football team next year) is too delayed to be directly effective as a reinforcer. A rule could be added: “If you get any worse than a C on any weekly test, you won’t be able to play on the team until you pass the next week’s test.” The immediate nature of the consequence will increase the change of consistent studying.
- When you would like to maintain a behaviour for which natural reinforcers are immediate, but highly intermittent. Example: a gymnast is told they must master the ground level balance beam before they can move up to the full height balance beam. Each time the gymnast lands a move on the beam they will receive immediate natural reinforcement through the feeling of accomplishment; however the young gymnast does not land moves often. By starting the gymnast on floor level, the consequence of failing is removed, therefore encouraging further reinforcement of the behaviour of practicing.
- When a specific behaviour will lead to immediate and severe punishment. Example: An Olympic athlete is told not to take any performance enhancing drugs. If they test positive for any prohibited substances, they would be stripped of any medals and would be ousted from the Olympic Games.
What are four characteristics of rules that are often effective in controlling behaviour?
Rules should clearly identify:
- The circumstances in which the behaviour should occur.
- The specific behaviour in which the individual is to engage.
- A deadline for performing the behaviour.
- The specific consequences for complying or not complying with the rules.
What type of goal is an outcome goal? Describe a sport example that is not in this chapter.
Definition: goals for results against competitors.
Example: A boxer winning a title fight has the outcome goal of winning a belt.
What type of goal is a performance-standard goal? Describe a sport example that is not in this chapter.
Definition: goals for which an athlete tries to meet a performance standard that is not an outcome goal.
Example: completing a specific marathon 5 minutes faster than last year.
What type of goal is an execution or process goal? Describe a sport example that is not in this chapter.
Definition: goals for performing skills in certain ways. Example: A baseball pitcher with the goal of throwing a perfect knuckleball consistently.
What is a mastery criterion? Give a sport example that is not in this chapter.
Example: A specific guideline for performing a skill such that if the guideline is met, the skill is likely to be mastered. A mastery criterion should identify a particular quantity, level, or standard of performance. Example: A dancer practicing one specific chain of moves for at least 30 minutes a day. This dedicated consistency would give the dancer a significant boost in the likelihood of mastering this chain of dance moves.
A mastery criterion is typically formulated so that what two assumptions are likely to be met?
- Once the athlete has achieved the mastery criterion, it is likely that he has learned the skill well enough so that, if asked to do it again sometime later, the skill would be performed correctly.
- If the athlete has met a mastery criterion during practice, there is a high probability that the skill will be executed correctly during a competition.
According to Hayes and colleagues, why is public goal setting likely to be more effective than private goal setting?
Setting a public goal provides a standard against which performance can be evaluated, and that it implies social consequences for achieving or not achieving the goals.
From a behavioural perspective, what is the meaning of commitment in the context of goal setting? Give a sport example that illustrates all three components of commitment.
Definition: Statements or actions by a person setting a goal that imply that the goal is important, that he will work toward it, and that he recognizes the benefits of doing so.
Example: A swimmer has a goal of getting a university scholarship for swimming. This individual chooses to get up at 4 am to get practice in the pool before high school classes start. These actions are showing the following:
Commitment: they are implying swimming is important because they are making time for it at a difficult hour to wake up at.
Willing to work towards goal: they are committing time to better that specific skill.
Recognize benefits: the repetition of keeping to this aggressive schedule, and the reasons they explain they are doing this for are evidence that this student understands the benefits of doing what they are doing.
