Chapter 8

Question 1

What is conditioned seeing?

Answer 1

When words are used to reference a motion or object, and you begin to see a mental image of what is said

Question 2

What is “conditioned sensing’?

Answer 2

the process by which sensory experiences (e.g., seeing, hearing, tasting, feeling) are influenced or triggered by prior learning or conditioning.
a. person hears a tune that reminds them of grandmother humming and might even hear her humming (conditioned hearing)

Question 3

What are kinesthetic sensations?

Answer 3

1. proprioceptive feedback
2. the sensory experiences related to the awareness of the position and movement of your body in space. and the movement of your body in relation to other parts of it.
3. Moving your body with your eyes closed and knowing where its moving, like your arm

Question 4

what is meant by “mental rehearsal.”

Answer 4

process of imagining and feeling oneself perform an activity. is likely to include several types of conditioned sensing, also can involve all of the senses that are typically at use while performing the skill

Question 5

What is internal and external imagery?

Answer 5

1. internal: feeling yourself perform the activity
2. external: watching yourself perform the activity

Question 6

List five ways that athletes might use mental imagery to enhance practice performance.

Answer 6

1. Energize before a practice
2. instant mental replays to learn the feeling (muscle memory) of correctly performed skills
3. practice sessions away from the sport environment
4. at practices before performing previously learned skills to increase the likelihood of performing successfully
5. to stimulate the competitive environment

Question 7

What is meant by “instant mental replays.”?

Answer 7

once a skill is performed correctly the athlete should take a moment to replay the skill in their head and feel what it was like on all their senses when they performed the skill. To learn the muscle memory of the skill

Question 8

What does the term visualization refer to? Should that term be used interchangeably with the term mental rehearsal?

Answer 8

1. refers to visual imagery
2. used interchangeably with mental rehearsal
3. visualization should be restricted to situations where use of visual imagery, and not feeling, is the primary objective

Question 9

How would you use visualization at practices to promote generalization of a skill to competitions.

Answer 9

Imagine yourself doing your event in a stadium packed with people who are watching and putting on pressure or in a high pressure situation

Question 10

List four reasons/ways that athletes might use mental imagery and/or visualization to enhance competitive performance

Answer 10

1. Imagery for emotional control
2. Imagery for mental toughness
3. mental rehearsal of a skill just before performing
4. imagery to help tune out distractors

Question 11

how might an athlete use imagery to elicit feelings of relaxation, to decrease nervousness before an athletic performance.

Answer 11

before a race, sitting alone and picturing a scene that relaxes you and imagining yourself in it (beach, bed, with friends)

Question 12

Why should mental rehearsal of a well-learned skill at a competition enhance the likelihood of that skill being performed optimally (there are two reasons)?

Answer 12

1. imagery can help recall the kinesthetic sensations associated with a skilled performance
2. help minimize distractors when performing in competitions

Question 13

What is meant by the term “key word?”

Answer 13

words that prompt a reaction from the athlete, such as saying out loud, ready position and getting in the ready position

Question 14

List two ways that athletes might use self-talk to enhance practice performance

Answer 14

1. self talk to enhance motivation
2. key word for skill acquisition and performance

Question 15

List three rules for using key words to improve performance of a skill at practices

Answer 15

1. when an athlete is learning a skill, the athlete should use a few key words to prompt specific positions or movements in order to perform the skill properly
2. an athletes self talk should help the athlete focus on what they want to do and not what they do not want to do
3. too much self talk can cause ‘paralysis by analysis’

Question 16

What are two problems with an athlete thinking about what he or she doesn’t want to do just before performing a skill?

Answer 16

1. focuses on negative outcomes
2. almost impossible to follow (dont think of a pink elephant)

Question 17

What is meant by the phrase “paralysis by analysis”?

Answer 17

1. giving yourself too many instructions of what to do and getting caught up on the details
2. basketball player at free throw line overthinking every aspect of their shot, elbows, feet, hands, eyes, etc.

Question 18

Describe the strategy for programming stimulus generalization referred to as “programming common stimuli.”

Answer 18

1. bringing the athletic behavior under the control of a specific stimuli in practices and then reproduce those stimuli at competitions
2. Scott M. and Tessa V. : just like we did at practice, we focused on our key words, relax, calm, knees.

Question 19

Describe an example that is not in this chapter, to illustrate how an athlete might use key words to transfer a skill from practices to a competition

Answer 19

Up
Hover
Pedal

Question 19

What is meant by the term “desired mood words”?

Answer 19

1. words that elicit emotion (the emotion searched by the athlete)
2. lets go, you got this, get em, to pump up themselves before a race

Question 20

Describe an example that illustrates how a word might function as both a desired mood word and as a partial rule.

Answer 20

A tennis player might use the word “calm” to remind themselves to stay composed during a high-pressure match, helping them maintain the desired mood of relaxation. At the same time, “calm” serves as a partial rule, guiding their behavior to slow down their breathing and make controlled, deliberate movements rather than rushing or panicking.

Question 21

Briefly describe each of Nideffer’s four major categories of stimulus control of athletic performance, and illustrate each with a sport example that is not in this chapter

Answer 21

1. Broad external stimulus control - in a short time the athlete must respond to a number of external cues - hockey player has puck and needs to be aware of all the players attempting to steal and all the teammates that he can pass to
2. Narrow external stimulus control - focus on one thing and eliminate the distractions - golfer focusing on their shot and nothing else
3. Broad internal stimulus control - complex situations in the absence of external SDs, or analyzing, planning and problem solving - seeing what went wrong with the way you performed a shot in golf to fix the mistake for next time
4. narrow internal stimulus control - situations where an athletic skill is under the control of a specific internal cue - taking a corner while looking to experience the feeling of your tire folding lightly under you

Question 22

describe how self-talk might be used to help an athlete focus on the appropriate external stimuli at a particular point during an athletic performance.

Answer 22

1. using acronyms to remember what to look for, using key words to recall aspects of training that can be put to use
2. soccer goalkeeper, using the words “stay focused” to keep focus when the ball is getting closer, then during a penalty kick they can repeat eyes on the ball to remember the training they’ve done to defend penalty kicks

Question 23

List the three components of a strategy used with professional hockey players to help them to “stay in the game” when sitting on the bench in between shifts on the ice. Describe examples of self-talk for the last two components

Answer 23

1. Relax - first 30 seconds used to relax
2. Regroup - rehearse general self talk to put the last shift behind them
   
   1. that ones gone forever
   2. get ready for the next shift
3. Refocus - they reviewed some key words to help them be properly focused for the next shift
   
   1. jump on those loose pucks
   2. ill finish my checks
   3. ill shoot quick

Question 24

describe how a golfer used thought-stopping to decrease negative thinking, plus prompts to increase alternative desirable thoughts to maintain focus in competitions

Answer 24

Rob would rip off the hair on his arm when his thoughts started wandering, then he would immediately follow that up with desirable alternative thoughts

Question 25

List five ways that athletes might use self-talk to enhance their performance in competitions.

Answer 25

1. for refocusing during a break in the action
2. to stop negative thoughts and emotions
3. use of key words for a skill to transfer from practices to competition
4. mood words to control feelings of desired emotions
5. for shifting attention to different cues