Chapter 8: Psychology of Athletic Preparation & Performance

Question 1

Following sports psychology training with the men’s volleyball team, the athletes report that during competition, time seemed to slow down, and they felt more focused. The athletes are:

a: in the ideal performance state
b: in an anxious state
c: in the low-determination state

Answer 1

a: in the ideal performance state

Question 2

Which of the following exercises is best coached using whole practice?

a: snatch
b: Turkish get up
c: kettlebell swing

Answer 2

c: kettlebell swing

Question 3

scientific field of study within sports medicine that seeks to understand the influences of behavioral processes and cognitions on movement

Answer 3

sport psychology

Question 4

state that every athlete strives to be in where there is an absence of negative self talk, a strong feeling of efficacy, and an adaptive focus on task relevant cues (“letting it happen”)

Answer 4

ideal performance state

Question 5

using only the amount of mental and physical energy required to perform the task

Answer 5

physiological efficiency

Question 6

what are some characteristics that an athlete would report about the ideal performance state?

Answer 6

no fear of failure
no thinking about performance analysis
narrow focus of attention
sense of effortlessness
sense of personal control
time slows down

Question 7

true or false: the ability to maintain self control and manage energy in a performance environment is a critical skill for any performer

Answer 7

true

Question 8

mental energy is generated, maintained, depleted, and refreshed via our _________

Answer 8

emotions

Question 9

temporary feeling states that occur in response to events, have both physiological and psychological components

Answer 9

emotions

Question 10

true or false: emotions can have both beneficial and detrimental effects of human performance

Answer 10

true

Question 11

how can coaches best teach their athletes to reach the ideal performance state?

Answer 11

tap into emotions but control them so that they do not interfere with performance

Question 12

athletic performance is frequently affected by what 3 things?

Answer 12

arousal
anxiety
stress

Question 13

intensity of motivation at any given moment

Answer 13

arousal

Question 14

true or false: arousal is always present in an individual to some degree

Answer 14

true

Question 15

subcategory of arousal; negatively perceived emotional state characterized by nervousness, worry, apprehension, or fear

Answer 15

anxiety

Question 16

psychological component of state anxiety that is caused by fear of failure or worrying

Answer 16

cognitive state anxiety

Question 17

physical reaction of state anxiety such as butterflies, muscle tension, and heart racing

Answer 17

somatic state anxiety

Question 18

what are some examples of somatic anxiety?

Answer 18

tense muscles
fast HR
rapid breathing

Question 19

subjective experience of apprehension and uncontrolled arousal that leads to elevated neural outflow and increased endocrine activity

Answer 19

state anxiety

Question 20

personality characteristic that leads the athlete to perceive situations as threatening

Answer 20

trait anxiety

Question 21

athletes with high levels of _________ anxiety tend to use attentional capacity on task-irrelevant cognitions such as thoughts of failure or catastrophe

Answer 21

trait anxiety

Question 22

true or false: athletes with high levels of trait anxiety can handle higher levels of pressure because of the decreased probability of engaging in such personal catastrophizing

Answer 22

false, athletes with LOW levels can

Question 23

in a ___________ state, arousal is under the control of the athlete and can be elevated or lowered as needed

Answer 23

non anxious state

Question 24

in the ________ state, arousal is uncontrolled

Answer 24

anxious state

Question 25

arousal is typically too _____ during periods of ineffective state anxiety

Answer 25

high

Question 26

imbalance between demand and response capability, under conditions where failure to meet demand has consequences

Answer 26

stress

Question 27

environmental or cognitive event that causes stress

Answer 27

stressor

Question 28

negative stress

Answer 28

distress

Question 29

positive stress

Answer 29

eustress

Question 30

true or false: the more skill an athlete has developed, the better he or she can perform during states of less than or greater than optimal arousal

Answer 30

true

Question 31

true or false: the optimal arousal point is higher for less skilled athletes than for more advanced players

Answer 31

false, LOWER

Question 32

should coaches increase or decrease the decision making responsibilities of developing athletes?

Answer 32

decrease

Question 33

two things that influence the appropriate level of arousal to achieve optimal performance?

Answer 33

skill level task complexity

Question 34

as an individual's arousal or state anxiety increases, so does performance (theory)

Answer 34

drive theory

Question 35

when does drive theory become unproductive or destructive?

Answer 35

when it is applied to complex movements

Question 36

arousal facilitates performance up to an optimal level, however further increases in arousal are associated with reduced performance (theory)

Answer 36

inverted U theory

Question 37

athletes in different types of performances perform best with different levels of arousal (theory)

Answer 37

individual zones of optimal functioning theory

Question 38

true or false: any specific emotion can be positively perceived by one athlete but negatively perceived by another

Answer 38

true

Question 39

increases in physiological arousal occur in the presence of cognitive anxiety and a sudden drop in performance occurs, rather than gradual decline (theory)

Answer 39

catastrophe theory

Question 40

the athlete's interpretation of arousal and anxiety affect performance, and he or she has the ability to reverse this interpretation (theory)

Answer 40

reversal theory

Question 41

motivation that comes from within the athlete regardless of reward/punishment

Answer 41

intrinsic motivation

Question 42

motivation that comes from an external source as opposed to internal

Answer 42

extrinsic motivation

Question 43

intensity and direction of effort

Answer 43

motivation

Question 44

true or false: athletes are rarely completely intrinsically or extrinsically motivation but rather move along a motivation continuum

Answer 44

true

Question 45

a person's effort to master a task, achieve excellence, overcome obstacles, and engage in competition or comparison

Answer 45

achievement motivation

Question 46

the capacity to experience pride in one's accomplishments and is characterized by a desire to challenge oneself and evaluate one's abilities

Answer 46

motive to achieve success (MAS)

Question 47

the desire to protect one's ego and self esteem

Answer 47

motive to avoid failure (MAF)

Question 48

true or false: MAF is not really about avoiding failure itself but more about avoiding the perception of shame that accompanies the failure

Answer 48

true

Question 49

this type of practice engages the athlete in some decisions and enhances feelings of competence and autonomy

Answer 49

self controlled practice

Question 50

increasing the probability that a behavior will occur

Answer 50

reinforcement

Question 51

adding something to increase a behavior

Answer 51

positive reinforcement

Question 52

target behavior

Answer 52

operant

Question 53

taking something away to increase a behavior

Answer 53

negative reinforcement

Question 54

what coaching style focuses attention on what the athlete is doing correctly?

Answer 54

reinforcement (positive or negative)

Question 55

decreases the occurrence of a given operant

Answer 55

punishment

Question 56

adding something to decrease a behavior

Answer 56

positive punishment

Question 57

taking something away to decrease a behavior

Answer 57

negative punishment

Question 58

processing both environmental and internal cues that come to awareness

Answer 58

attention

Question 59

inhibiting awareness of some stimuli in order to process others

Answer 59

selective attention

Question 60

attention style in which the athlete assesses the situation by looking at the environment and various elements within it

Answer 60

broad external

Question 61

attention style in which the athlete processes information and develops a strategy

Answer 61

broad internal

Question 62

attention style in which the athlete mentally rehearses the upcoming action

Answer 62

narrow internal

Question 63

attention style in which the athlete specifically focuses on one or two external cues to generate action

Answer 63

narrow external

Question 64

what form of breathing is a basic stress management technique that focuses attention on the process of breathing to clear the mind and increase concentration?

Answer 64

diaphragmatic breathing

Question 65

technique where psychological and physical arousal are self regulated through the control of skeletal muscle tension and relaxation

Answer 65

progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)

Question 66

technique that helps an athlete confront or reduce fear by replacing it with a relaxation response

Answer 66

systematic desensitization (SD)

Question 67

designed to reduce physiological arousal and increase task relevant focus

Answer 67

relaxation techniques

Question 68

how does an athlete achieve a new relaxation response to a formerly fear inducing stimuli?

Answer 68

counter conditioning

Question 69

the athlete creating or recreating a mental experience of an athletic performance in his or her mind that uses all the senses

Answer 69

imagery

Question 70

_______ __________ allows the athlete to get used to uncertain environments over longer periods of time despite minimal real world competitive opportunities

Answer 70

mental imagery

Question 71

the belief that one can successfully perform a desired behavior

Answer 71

self confidence

Question 72

the perception of one's ability to perform a given task in a specific situation

Answer 72

self efficacy

Question 73

someone who is highly self ________ does not doubt his or her ability to succeed at a given task, even when failure is expected

Answer 73

self efficacious

Question 74

inner dialogue we have with ourselves to enhance self efficacy and aid in directing focus

Answer 74

self talk

Question 75

process of progressively challenging standards of performance to increase the likelihood of perceived success

Answer 75

goal setting

Question 76

_______ goals focus on the actions the athlete has control over/must engage in during performance to execute the skill well

Answer 76

process goals

Question 77

______ goals that focus on the actions the athlete has little control over (example: winning)

Answer 77

outcome goals

Question 78

goals that are directly related to current training or competition and can be attained in a short time frame

Answer 78

short term goals

Question 79

goals that overarch the series of linked short term goals

Answer 79

long term goals

Question 80

process that results in a relatively permanent change in the capability for a motor skill

Answer 80

learning

Question 81

execution of the skill in the current environment

Answer 81

performance

Question 82

___________ can be affected by arousal or motivation and therefore may not be indicative of the skill capabilities of the individual

Answer 82

performance

Question 83

practice that addresses the skill in its entirety

Answer 83

whole practice

Question 84

practice that separates the skill into a series of components

Answer 84

part practice

Question 85

tasks that are challenging but have low interrelatedness of the subcomponents are learned best with _____ practice

Answer 85

part practice

Question 86

tasks with subcomponents that are highly interrelated are learned best with _____ practice

Answer 86

whole practice

Question 87

when learning a lunge, would it be better to learn through whole practice or part practice?

Answer 87

whole practice

Question 88

2 ways to separate a task into subcomponents

Answer 88

segmentation fractionalization

Question 89

breaking down a task into a series of subcomponents that have clear breaks between them

Answer 89

segmentation

Question 90

a snatch can be learned through part practice by way of ______________

Answer 90

segmentation

Question 91

breaking down a task into subcomponents that occur simultaneously

Answer 91

fractionalization

Question 92

when learning a push press, the athlete can use ___________ by first practicing the press motion of the arms and then second the push motion of the legs independently

Answer 92

fractionalization

Question 93

adjusting the difficulty of the tasks by changing task characteristics

Answer 93

simplification

Question 94

practicing a snatch with a PVC pipe instead of a bar is an example of?

Answer 94

simplification

Question 95

3 ways to teach an athlete how to integrate the parts back into the whole skill

Answer 95

pure part training progressive part training repetitive part training

Question 96

type of training that has the athlete practice each subcomponent of the skill multiple times independently

Answer 96

pure part training

Question 97

another name for pure part training

Answer 97

part whole method

Question 98

type of training that has the athlete practice the first two parts in isolation before practicing these parts together, progression continues until the whole skill has been reintegrated

Answer 98

progressive part training

Question 99

type of training that has the athlete practice only the first part in isolation, then each subsequent part is added until the whole task is reintegrated

Answer 99

repetitive part training

Question 100

skills are practiced in a ________ practice when the athlete practices the same skill multiple times before progressing to another

Answer 100

blocked

Question 101

skills are practiced in a ________ practice when the athlete practices multiple skills in a random order during a given practice session

Answer 101

random

Question 102

________ practice includes variations of the same skill within a single practice session

Answer 102

variable

Question 103

________ practice is when a specific skill is repeated multiple times

Answer 103

specific

Question 104

why is developing flexibility and sports specific skills from a combination of specific and variable practice so important for an athlete?

Answer 104

sports require the athlete to perform in unfamiliar environments + modify a practice skill in response to an opponent

Question 105

practice through observation of the task or skill to be performed through videos or live demonstrations

Answer 105

observational practice

Question 106

a coach can facilitate learning by varying the amount of detail provided in the __________ to the athletes' strongest learning style

Answer 106

instructions

Question 107

prescriptive information that gives the athlete the "rules" for effectively executing the given task

Answer 107

explicit instructions

Question 108

provides the athlete with instructions about the overall movement goal and important prompts for task accomplishment without explicitly telling the athlete how to accomplish the task

Answer 108

guided discovery

Question 109

instructs the athlete on the overarching goal of the task and the athlete receives little to no direction

Answer 109

discovery

Question 110

plays a significant role in motor skill acquisition by providing the athlete with information about the movement pattern and the associated goal, which can then be used to make appropriate adjustments to achieve the desired movement pattern and goal

Answer 110

feedback

Question 111

feedback provided to the athlete from senses

Answer 111

intrinsic feedback

Question 112

feedback provided to the athlete by either a coach or technology

Answer 112

augmented feedback

Question 113

augmented feedback can be broken down into knowledge of ________ and knowledge of _______

Answer 113

results and performance

Question 114

knowledge of _______ feedback provides the athlete with information about the execution of the task goal

Answer 114

results

Question 115

knowledge of ___________ feedback provides the athlete with information about his or her movement pattern

Answer 115

performance

Question 116

when the task goal is a __________ __________, there is an overlap between knowledge of results and knowledge of performance, and then they can become one and the same

Answer 116

movement outcome

Question 117

the _______ and ________ of feedback have different influences on performance and learning

Answer 117

timing and frequency

Question 118

what type of feedback is beneficial for competition?

Answer 118

concurrent feedback

Question 119

delayed feedback that is initially frequent and decreases with time will facilitate learning of what type of movement pattern?

Answer 119

complex

Question 120

what is the BEST predictor of task execution?

Answer 120

self efficacy

Question 121

self determination and achievement are examples of what type of motivation?

Answer 121

intrinsic

Question 122

trophies and social approval are examples of what type of motivation?

Answer 122

extrinsic

Question 123

which theory accounts for trait anxiety in determining the optimal arousal level for performance?

Answer 123

reversal theory

Question 124

how may arousal be measured?

Answer 124

blood pressure heart rate catecholamine levels self reported measures

Question 125

true or false: concurrent feedback is good for performance but not for long-term learning

Answer 125

true

Question 126

an athlete with which type of motivation is most likely to succeed when facing a challenging goal such as facing an opponent in a high-pressure playoff game?

Answer 126

motivation to achieve success (MAS)

Question 127

according to the inverted-U theory, which sport is likely to have a lower arousal level at the point of optimal performance?

Answer 127

golf