Chapter 8 Shit Flashcards
What is the goal of sport psychology?
-Measuring psychological phenomena
-Investigation of the relationship between psychological variables and performance
-Applying theoretical knowledge to improve athletic performance
What is the role of sport psychology?
-Apply the information from sports psychology principles to manage physical resources and produce more effective performance
-Mental skills must be taught, practiced, and integrated into performance settings
What is the ideal performance state?
-Absence of fear of failure
-No thinking about or analysis of performance
-Narrow focus of attention concentrated on the activity itself
-Sense of effortlessness
-Sense of personal control
-Distortion of time and space - time seems to slow
What is energy management in sports psychology?
-Athletes who can manage emotions will have better performance. It is vital to manage emotions because:
+Excitement, motivation and confidence can be beneficial emotions
+Excessive emotion in either direction (too amped up or too ‘flat’) harmful to performance
+Athletes must learn the mental tools to:
++Combat inappropriate thoughts
++Enhance confidence
++Reinforce motivation and commitment
What is arousal?
-Blend of physiological activation in an individual and refers to the intensity of motivation in a given moment
-Always present on a continuum from deeply asleep to highly excited
-Not automatically associated with pleasant or unpleasant events
-Can be indexed from metric such as:
+Heart rate
+Blood pressure
+EEG
+EMG
+Catecholamine levels
+Self-reporting via the “activation-deactivation” checklist
What is anxiety?
-Subcategory of arousal that is a negatively perceived emotional state
-Characterized by:
+Nervousness
+Worry
+Apprehension
+Fear
What are the 4 kinds of anxiety?
Cognitive, somatic, state, and trait
What is Cognitive anxiety?
anxiety manifested cognitively as a negative perception of the situation
What is Somatic anxiety?
anxiety manifested through physical symptoms such as tense muscles, fast heart rate, and upset stomach
What is state anxiety?
-acute subjective experience of apprehension and uncertainty
-Elevated voluntary and autonomic neural outflow
-Increased endocrine activity
What is trait anxiety?
-enduring personality disposition towards perceiving an environment as threatening
-Individuals with high trait anxiety tend to flood attentional capacity with task-irrelevant cognitions
What can happen when arousal is too high in state anxiety?
-Skeletal muscles are tense
-Racing heart
-Lack of physical or psychological efficiency caused by uncertainty
-Three important factors typically present:
+High degree of ego involvement and perceived threat to self-esteem
+Perceived discrepancy between one’s ability and demands for athletic success
+Fear of consequences of failure
What is stress?
-A substantial imbalance between demand and response capability where consequences of failure to meet demand are present
-Stressor - an environmental or cognitive event that precipitates stress
+Can be positive (eustress) or negative (distress)
+Both generate arousal
+Perception of stress as negative generates anxiety
+Perception of stress as positive comprises positive mental energy and physiological arousal
What is Drive Theory?
-Proposes that as an individual’s arousal or state anxiety increases, performance also increases
-May hold true for low to moderate arousal levels
-Depending on complexity of the task, excessive arousal can be catastrophic to performance
-An athletes skill level increases the range of tolerable arousal becomes larger
+Beginning athletes require cognition to complete the task
++Excessive arousal distracts from cognition (i.e. dribbling a ball)
+Novice athletes require less decision-making responsibilities than experienced athletes
+Coaching to novice athletes should be simple, clear, and direct
How does task complexity and arousal affect each other?
-Simple or well-learned skills are less affected by arousal
+Overthinking may hinder performance (i.e. in running)
-The reverse is true for skills that require complex decision making
+Arousal must be kept low to maintain a wider focus and recognize attentional cues
What is inverted-U theory
-Builds on basic relationship proposed in drive theory
-States that arousal facilitates performance until an optimal level
-Beyond optimal arousal - increasing arousal decreases performance
What does individual zones of optimal functioning mean?
-Different people in different types of performances perform best with very different levels of arousal
-Best performance occurs in a small range on an individual basis
-Negative and positive emotions can generate negative and positive performance depending on the athletes perception of the emotions
What is catastrophe theory?
-Catastrophic decline in abilities, rather than gradual decline, can occur past a certain arousal level
What is reversal theory?
Athletes perception of arousal/anxiety as important for performance as the level itself
What is motivation?
-Intensity and direction of effort
-The primary psychological factor in the acquisition and effective performance of motor skills
What are the 3 types of motivation and the 2 variations of one of the types?
intrinsic, extrinsic, and achievement motivation
achievement motivation is either motive to achieve success or motive to avoid failure
What is intrinsic motivation?
-A desire to be competent and self-determining - i.e. love of the game
-Exhibited regardless of material reward or punishment
What is extrinsic motivation?
Motivation from an external source - i.e. trophies, approval, money
Define achievement motivation?
Efforts to master a task, achieve excellence, and engage in competition or social comparison - desire to win
What is motive to achieve success (MAS)?
Desire to challenge oneself and evaluate one’s ability
What is motive to avoid failure (MAF)?
Desire to avoid the perception of shame that accompanies failure
What is self-controlled practice?
-Allowing athlete feedback and input regarding practice, performance, or which skill to work on
-Promotes active involvement in practice sessions
-Helps athletes assist themselves in reaching their sport performance goals
What is positive reinforcement?
-Act of increasing the probability of occurrence of a given targeted behavior - known as the operant - by presenting something desirable
-I.E. praising good performance
What is negative reinforcement?
-Increases occurrence of operant by removal of something typically aversive
-I.e. skipping sprints at the end of practice due to good effort during practice
What is positive punishment?
-Presentation of an act/object that could decrease an undesired behavior’s occurrence
-I.e. forcing athletes to do pushups due to poor performance
What is negative punishment?
-Removal of something valued as a punishment for an undesired behavior
-I.e. revoking privileges due to poor practice attendance
Is reinforcement or punishment better?
-Reinforcement is better than punishment overall as it increases task-relevant focus rather than worry focus
-Reinforcement helps athletes build:
+Long term memories of success
+Self-esteem
+Self-efficacy
+Confidence
-Punishing athletes for mistakes if they are making a valid effort is not effective
What is attention?
-The processing of both environmental and internal cues that come to awareness
-Performers conscious attention is bombarded with external stimuli and internal thoughts to which it can be directed
What is selective attention?
-the inhibition of attention on some stimuli to focus on others
-Referred to by athletes as their “level of focus”
What are some ways that athletes can avoid task-irrelevant thoughts of self doubt?
-Mental checklist that consciously directs thoughts to task-relevant and controllable concerns
-This strategy reduces distraction that can deter optimal performance
-Promotes mental consistency during preparatory state
+Translates into physical consistency - the hallmark of a skilled athlete
What are the stages of task relevant cues being developed?
cognitive stage
associative stage
automaticity
What is the cognitive stage?
effortful and conscious regulation of movement
What is the associative stage?
athlete focuses on task but less concerned with the details of the movement
What is automaticity?
-mind is relaxed and skill is executed automatically
-Relaxed mind focuses only on relevant task
What are the 4 main attention styles?
-Broad external
+Assesses situation by looking at environment and elements of environment
-Broad internal
+Processes information and develops a strategy
-Narrow internal
+Athlete rehearses upcoming action
-Narrow external
+Athlete focuses on one or two external cues to generate action
What is diaphragmatic breathing?
-Focused attention on the process of breathing to clear the mind and increase concentration
-Athletes should attempt to engage in deep, rhythmic breathing in a relaxed, natural manner
-Has a major influence on heart rate and muscle tension due to feedback mechanisms linking respiratory and cardiac control centers in the brain stem
What does diaphragmatic or belly breathing do to the nervous system and what are the stages of inhalation?
-Alters autonomic nervous system balance to allow increased vagal tone
-Counters fight or flight response
-Three-stage inhalation
+Lower abdomen - abdominal protrude in a relaxed state
+Mid chest
+Upper chest
What is progressive muscular relaxation (PMR)?
-self -regulation of physical and psychological arousal through control of skeletal muscle tension
-Tensing/relaxation phase as athlete learns to become aware of and control somatic tension
-Relaxed body promotes a relaxed mind
+Maximally tensing a given muscle group for 10-15 seconds
+Followed immediately by conscious attempt to completely relax the muscle
-Helps athlete rapidly discern the difference between a tense and relaxed muscle group
-Athletes should practice technique on non-competition days
What is autogenic training?
-Focus on a sense of warmth and heaviness in a muscle group
-Alternative to PMR for athletes who cannot tolerate excessive muscle tension
What is systematic desensitization (SD)?
-Combining mental and physical techniques to replace fear response to cues with a relaxation response - also known as counter-conditioning
-Involves visualization of fearful event while engaging in diaphragmatic breathing and PMR
+Must be initially done in a relaxed setting
+Relaxation response can be used to overcome the weak fight or flight response caused by visualizing the stressful event
+Example - gymnast who suffered injury on balance beam returns to training and uses SD to return
++Prevents cognitive avoidance of fearful activity
++Counter-conditions a relaxation response to formerly fear-inducing stimuli
What is imagery?
-A cognitive skill in which an athlete creates or recreates an experience in his or her mind
-Athletes mentally rehearse the movement and imagine the visual, auditory, kinesthetic, olfactory, and even gustatory cues
-There is convincing evidence for effectiveness of mental imagery in enhancement of sport skill
-Begins with a simple visual
-Can include mental rehearsal of activity from first or third person perspective
-Visualized movement should be challenging but within the realm of possibility
-Mental imagery allows athlete to experience the uncertainty of competition even if real world period of competition is short
What is arousal reduction?
Best performed before performing a new skill or a complex skill, or during high-pressure situations
What is arousal enhancement?
Best performed when executing simple skills, well learned skills, or situations of minimal pressure
What is usually a better predictor of performance than arousal or anxiety?
self confidence and self efficacy
What is self-confidence?
The belief that one can successfully accomplish a desired behavior
What is self-efficacy?
-Perception of one’s ability to perform a task under a specific set of circumstances
-According to Bandura’s theory self efficacy is derived from:
+Past experience of success or failure
+Vicarious experiences - watching others
+Verbal persuasion - encouragement from self or others
+Imaginal performance - using imagery to see oneself perform
+Physiological states - perception of arousal as facilitative or debilitative
+Emotional states - affect or mood
-Translates well into sports and training environment
-Can be influenced by coaches and the athletes themselves
-With necessary skill set and acceptable level of motivation - resulting performance largely determined by self-efficacy
-Perception of one’s ability has a direct impact on the actual performance
What is self-talk?
-Inner dialogue within the athlete
-What we say to ourselves internally or out loud
-Categorized as positive, negative, or instructional
-Positive and instructional self-talk can improve performance
+Individual and environmental differences affect the degree to which self-talk is helpful
-Expert performers may be harmed by instructional self talk if it interferes with automaticity of movement
-Positive self talk can interfere with self efficacy in some circumstances
-Negative self talk generally associated with poor performance
What is goal setting and how does it help psychological development?
-A process of pursuing a progressively challenging standard of performance with a defined criterion of task success which increases the likelihood of success
-Systematic goal setting increases psychological development and performance through the following:
+Directing athletes attention by prioritizing efforts
+Increases efforts due to the contingency of success on goal attainment
+Increases positive reinforcement through feedback to athletes
What are the 4 kinds of goals?
short and long term
process and outcome
What are process goals?
-Goals that the athlete has control over
-Focus on actions needed during performance for skill execution
-Success probability linked to effort itself
-i.e. focusing on daily habits for weight-reduction as opposed to losing weight itself
What are outcome goals?
-Goals over which the athlete has little control
-Typically focused on winning or competitive result in an event
-Contingent on both individual effort and on the performance of other athletes in the event
+Individual athletes cannot control the performance of competitors
-Excessive focus on outcome goals can slow reaction time and reduce the attention on task-relevant cues
-Combination of process and outcome goals generally most likely to lead to success
What are short term goals?
-Goals related to current training or competition that are attainable in a relatively short time-frame
-Increase confidence, self-efficacy, and motivation due to teh nearness of possible success
-I.e. maintain a heart rate of 160bpm for 25 minutes
What are long term goals?
-Overarching goal or vision of performance
-Depends on sequential accomplishment of short-term goals
-Helps dictate and guide the short-term goals
-I.e. winning a national championship in 4 years
What are the 2 different kinds of practice?
Whole and part practice?
What is whole practice?
-Addresses the skill in its entirety
-Best used to learn tasks with highly interrelated components (i.e. lunging)
What are the 9 kinds of part practice?
segmentation
fractionalization
simplification
pure-part training
progressive-part training
repetitive-part training
random practice
variable practice
observational practice
What is part practice?
-Separates the skill into series of subcomponents
-Best used on complex skills with distinct subcomponents (i.e. snatch)
What is segmentation?
-Breaking down tasks into subcomponents that have clear breaks
-I.e. snatch - first pull, transition, second pull, catch
What is fractionalization?
-Breaking down tasks into subcomponents that must ultimately occur simultaneously
-I.e. push press involves simultaneous knee, hip and shoulder extension
What is simplification?
-Adjusting task difficulty by changing characteristics or equipment
-I.e. using a pvc pipe for snatches or performing a movement at reduced speed
What is pure-part training?
Practicing each subcomponent independently before combining them together
What is progressive-part training?
Practice two subcomponents individually before combining them, then practicing the third component and adding it to the first two until the whole skill is mastered
What is repetitive-part training?
Practicing first part in isolation, then adding each subsequent part until the whole skill is done as one movement
What is random practice?
-Multiple skills practiced in a random order
-Initially decreases performance but facilitates learning when used alongside traditional block practice
-I.e. squat depth jump followed by depth jump with lateral movement followed by split squat jump
What is variable practice?
-Variations of a skill performed within a single practice
-Initially decreases performance but can enhance performance on a novel variation of skill
-Combination of specific and variable practice develops sport-specific skills while providing flexibility to perform in unfamiliar contexts
What is observational practice?
-Observing the task or skill performed by other novice, intermediate, or expert performers
-Enhances learning when combined with physical practice
-I.e. watching old game footage
What are explicit instructions?
-Include prescriptive information that gives the athletes rules for effectively executing a given task
-I.e. specific instruction on squatting related to body position and flexion and extension
What is guided discovery?
-Provides the athlete with instructions about overall movement goal
-Provides prompts for tasks without explicitly telling the athlete how to do the task
What is discovery?
-Instructs athlete on the overarching goal of the task and athlete receives little to no direction
-Discovery instructional style can slow learning but increase focus on task-relevant cues
-Instruction style can impair performance in stressful environments
What is feedback?
Provides athlete with information about the movement pattern and associated goal
What are the 4 different kinds of feedback?
Intrinsic
Augmented
Knowledge of results
Knowledge of performance
What is intrinsic feedback?
-Feedback provided to the athlete by his or her own senses
-I.e. sensory information about missing a box during box jumps
-Integration of sensory information allows athlete to fine-tune the movement pattern
What is augmented feedback?
Feedback provided to athlete by an observer such as a coach or video/lab equipment
What is knowledge of results?
-Provides the athlete with information about the execution of a task or goal
-I.e. coach telling athlete how long it took to complete a drill
What is knowledge of performance?
-Feedback regarding an athletes movement pattern
-Can be provided via video analysis or equipment
-When task goal is a movement outcome, knowledge of results and performance are overlapping or the same
How does timing of feedback affect learning outcomes?
F-eedback concurrent with the task enhances performance but impairs learning
+Beneficial in competition setting
-Feedback provided after task execution enhances learning
+Can be provided after one trial or several
+More frequent feedback enhances performance but impairs learning and vice-versa
+Exception during execution of complex skill
-Beneficial to provide more feedback during initial skill learning and decrease feedback frequency as skill level progresses
