Chapter 7: Motivation and Athletic Performance

Question 1

How do many people conceptualize motivation? Illustrate with a sport example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 1

Many people conceptualize motivation as some “thing” within us that causes our action. Ex. John works hard in hockey practice because he is highly motivated.

Question 2

List three practical limitations to conceptualizing motivation as an internal cause of behaviour.

Answer 2

1. The suggestion that causes of behaviour lie within us might influence some coaches to blame athletes for inferior athletic performance, rather than examining the principles and procedures for changing behaviour.
2. It may influence some athletes to blame themselves for inferior athletic performances.
3. It may prevent some coaches from examining antecedents and consequences to motivate athletic behaviour.

Question 3

What is a general meaning of the verb “to motivate” as used in sports? What is an implication of this approach?

Answer 3

“To motivate” generally means to influence individuals to behave in various ways. An implication of this perspective is that motivational strategies are to be found in environmental contingencies concerning behaviour, and those contingencies can be arranged by the individual to be motivated and/or by others, such as coaches.

Question 4

List 6 types of antecedents that can be used to motivate athletic behaviour.

Answer 4

1. Goals
2. Imagery
3. Picture prompts
4. Self-talk
5. Rules
6. Models

Question 5

List 6 categories of consequences that can motivate participation in sports and improved practice and competitive sport performance.

Answer 5

1. Reinforcers for performing well and winning
2. Coach’s praise
3. Self-improvement
4. Stimulation of the senses
5. Posted records of progress
6. Enjoying competing

Question 6

Many athletes appear to participate in sport for the sake of the competition. How might we explain that observation in terms of a reinforcement analysis? Illustrate with an example.

Answer 6

Winning is paired with a variety of reinforcers. Because competing is paired with winning (and the backup reinforcers associated with winning), cues associated with competing become conditioned reinforcers for athletes.

Question 7

What is external information feedback? Describe a sport example that is not in this chapter.

Answer 7

A judgment provided to an athlete about the quality of performance that the athlete has just displayed. Often provided by coaches or judges or timers. An example is a swimmer not knowing how fast she swam a 100 m race until the time is posted.

Question 8

What does it mean to suggest that extrinsic reinforcement undermines intrinsic motivation? Illustrate with an example.

Answer 8

Intrinsically motivated behaviours are those in which there is no apparent reward except for the activity itself. If you reward someone for a desired behaviour (an extrinsic reinforcement) and then stop rewarding them, they may behave worse than before because they are less motivated and that motivation has become tied to the extrinsic reinforcer. An example is a parent giving money to their child for reading, which would make the child less likely to “read for reading’s sake.”

Question 9

What is a UMO? Illustrate with an example.

Answer 9

Motivation operations are events or operations that temporarily alter the effectiveness of consequences as reinforcers or punishers and influence behaviours that normally lead to those reinforcers or punishers. An unconditioned motivation operation (UMO) is an MO that alters the effectiveness of unconditioned reinforcers or punishers without prior learning. An example of this is just after eating a big meal, food temporarily loses its effectiveness as a reinforcer, and we are less likely to emit behaviours that have been reinforced with food. This occurs without prior learning.

Question 10

What is a CMO? Illustrate with an example.

Answer 10

Motivation operations are events or operations that temporarily alter the effectiveness of consequences as reinforcers or punishers and influence behaviours that normally lead to those reinforcers or punishers.A conditioned motivation operation (CMO) is an MO that alters the effectiveness of conditioned reinforcers or punishers because of prior learning. An example is assigning points as reinforcers to encourage players to work harder during practice to earn rewards.

Question 11

How does a CMO differ from an SD? Illustrate with examples that are not in this chapter.

Answer 11

An SD is a cue that tells you what to do to get what you already want. An example is a football team practicing for half an hour in the hot sun. The coach telling a player to get water from his car is an SD because they want it already. A CMO temporarily changes what you want, and tells you how to get it. An example is the coach assigning points to increase the likelihood that the players would want to earn points and telling them how to earn the points.

Question 12

Summarize, from a behavioural perspective, four steps that a coach might follow to motivate athletes.

Answer 12

1. Arrange antecedents to prompt motivated behaviour.
2. Manipulate MOs to maximize the effectiveness of reinforcers for motivated behaviour.
3. Describe the environmental arrangements in appropriately stated rules prior to practices and competitions.
4. Provide reinforcers following motivated behaviour.