Chapter 8 sports Pyschology Flashcards
The essence of athletic competition involves_______
Comparing oneself to others with your ego and self esteem on the line
Efficient athletes tend to have a __________ focus
Task relevant.
Free of worry, catastrophizing, or thinking about critical audience or coach
3 major goals of sports psychology
- Measuring psychological phenomena
- Investigating relationship of psych. Variables & performance
- Applying theories to improve performance
Describe the ideal performance state (the zone) is:
- no fear of failure
- no thinking/analyzing performance
- narrow focus on the task
- effortlessness
- senses of personal control
- distortion of time and space
- no negative self talk
Mental energy is generated, maintained, depleted & refreshed by
Emotions
Emotions are:
Temporary states that occur in response to events.
Have both physiolog. & psycholog. Components
True or false
Training athletes to tap into their emotions and develop a sense of control is key to generating an ideal performance state
True
Arousal Definition
A blend of physio. & psych. Activation in an individual.
The intensity of motivation in a given moment
True or False
Arousal is always present. Ranging from deeply asleep to highly excited
True
Not automatically associated with current events
How is arousal levels measured?
EEG, EMG, self report instruments
True or False:
Anxiety is a subcategory of arousal and is sometimes perceived as negative
False
Anxiety is always negative and is characterized by:
Worry, apprehension, or fear
State anxiety definition
The subjective experience of apprehension.
Generally negative experience but can have a positive or a negative effect on performance depending on the skill level & personality and complexity of the task
Trait Anxiety Definition
An individual’s likelihood to perceive an environment as threatening.
Affects the appropriate level of arousal for a given individual
High trait anxiety vs low trait anxiety differences
High trait anxiety: have greater focus on task irrelevant cognitions
Low trait anxiety: can handle higher levels of pressure
Stress Definition
A big imbalance between demands on an athlete and the response capability when there are important consequences
__________ theory proposes that as an individual’s arousal or state anxiety rises so does performance
Drive theory
High levels of arousal benefit performance when:
Performing well learned or simple skills
How does skill level affect an athlete’s optimal arousal level?
The more skilled the athlete the better they perform during sub optimal arousal level
How can a coach alter the arousal for a less skilled athlete?
Decrease decision making responsibilities & keep communication to them simple, clear and direct.
Inverted-U theory states:
Arousal facilitates performance up to an optimal level and beyond that will decrease performance
How does the individual zones of optimal functioning theory differ from the inverted-u theory?
Individual zones states that the peak performance does not always occur at the midpoint of the bell curve of arousal level.
The best performance occurs in a small range that differs per person
______ theory going beyond an individuals optimal arousal level will lead to a catastrophic decline in performance
Catastrophe theory
Reversal theory states:
Anxiety affects performance based off of the individuals interpretation of Arousal (excitement vs anxious)
Implies athletes have the power to reverse their interpretation of arousal
Motivation definition:
Intensity and direction of effort
Achievement motivation definition:
An individual’s efforts to master a task, achieve excellence & engage in competition.
Motive to achieve success vs motive to avoid Failure
MAS vs. MAF
MAS: desire to challenge oneself and evaluate one’s abilities
- Intrigued by situations when the outcome is uncertain or challenging
- increase effort with challenge
MAF: is avoidance of the perception of shame associated with failure
- comfortable jn situations when there is high likelihood of success or extremely difficult situations when failure is near certain
- may decrease effort with challenge
Self controlled practice allows for:
A feeling of involvement and autonomy which can increase motivation, performance & learning
Positive reinforcement definition:
Example:
Reinforce the likelihood of desired behavior by following it with a positive action, object or praise/reward
Mastering the proper jab footwork- leading to praise and a high five
Negative reinforcement:
Example:
Increase the likelihood of a behavior by removing a negative outcome
Promoting proper footwork leading to removal of after practice sprints
Positive punishment:
Example:
Designed to decrease the likelihood of a negative behavior through reprimanding or an outcome (sprints)
Stop fumbling or sprints
Negative punishment:
Example:
Designed to decrease negative behavior by removing something of value:
Decreased playing time for poor effort
Attention vs selective attention
Attention: processing of environmental and internal cues that come to awareness
Selective attention: suppressing irrelevant cues (hecklers, planes flying overhead, etc)
How can an athlete improve their levels of anxiety during sports?
- Adopt a routine to refocus on task relevant concerns
2. Use key phrases to refocus
Attention styles and how it can be used
4 quadrants
Y axis broad to narrow
X axis external to internal
This can be used based off of the player’s anxiety levels. Overthinkers may benefit from external and narrow focused cues
Diaphragmatic breathing:
Benefits
Process
Application
Stress management technique that can influence your heart relate and muscle tension
-Alters your ANS And increases your vagal tone or parasympathetic activity
Progressive muscular relaxation
Self regulation technique involving actively contracting muscles for 10-15 seconds followed by a conscious attempt to relax completely
Positives: increase smooth and fluid movement & ROM
Can cause lethargy so athletes should practice this not on competition day
Autogenic training
Focusing on the sense of warmth and heaviness for a limb or muscle group.
Great for older or rehabbing athletes
Systemic desensitization
Combining mental and physical techniques to replace a fear response with a relaxation response.
“Counter conditioning”
Combined visualization and diaphragmatic breathing
Imagery
Cognitive skill of creating or recreating an experience in your mind.
Mental rehearsal using the 5 senses to enhance the image.
Best start with something simple and familiar
Can provide the subconscious with positive memories leading to increase confidence and preparedness
Self efficacy
Perception of one’s ability to perform a task in a specific situation
Self efficacy is derived from :
6 things
Verbal persuasion Vicarious experiences Performance accomplishments Physiological states Imaginal experience Emotional states
Self confidence
Perception one can successfully perform a specific behavior
Self talk
Intrapersonal communication or your inner dialogue
Positive self talk can improve performance
Efficacy of systematic goal setting
Prioritizes efforts
Increased effort
Increases positive reinforcement
Types of goals:
Process goals: focuses on the actions needed to execute the goal
Outcome goals: competitive result of an event
Short term goals: goals directly related to current training levels that can be achieved in a short time frame
Long term goals: overarching goal that links short term goals together
Learning vs performance
Learning is the process that results in relatively permanent change in capacity for a motor skill
Performance is the execution of the skill in a given environment
Whole vs part practice
Whole: practicing the skill in it’s entirety
Part: separates the skill into a series of sub components
Skills that are challenging & have low interrelatedness are best taught through part practice (snatches & cleans)
Segmentation
Breaking a task into subcomponents with clear breaks between them (snatch)
Fractionalization
Breaks a task into subcomponents that occur simultaneously (push press legs and arms occur same time)
Simplification
Changing characteristics of a task (slowing the speed or the equipment used)
Pure vs progressive part training
Pure: practice the subcomponents individually and then p it then together
Progressive: practice part 1 then part 2 then put it together. Then practice part 3 then full practice
Random practice
Differs from block practice by randomizing the order of practice.
Leads to a slight decline in performance but facilitates learning and integration to the skills
Variable practice
Including variations of the same skill within a session
Box jumps with varying heights
Improved an athletes ability to perform in unfamiliar contexts
Observational learning
Using video or live demonstrations to augment learning.
Explicit instructions
Provides rules for proper execution of a task. (Body angle and depth in a squat)
Guided discovery
Informing the goal of task with injury prevention reminders
Discovery
Simply informing the goal of the task and letting them discover on their own
4 types of feedback
Intrinsic: athlete provides their own feedback from their senses
Augmented: provided by observer, or video, etc
Knowledge of results: given results such as time on a sprint
Knowledge of performance: info about their movement patterns
