Final Exam Flashcards
What is Kinesiology?
Kinesiology is the study of human movement, including exercise, fitness, sport, health, leisure, recreation, and play.
What does the term “Kinesiology” derive from?
It derives from “kine” (human action) and “ology” (the study of).
What key historical milestones define the College of Kinesiology’s development?
Established as the School of Physical Education in 1958, granted college status in 1972, renamed in 1998.
What are the key personal applications of Kinesiology?
Understanding how human movement affects individuals.
What public applications does Kinesiology offer?
Skills to combat lifestyle-related diseases and promote health and enhanced performance.
Define Body Image
Body image is how one sees, thinks, feels, and behaves regarding their body appearance and function
Two facets of body image
Appearance (visual aspects) and function (capabilities of the body)
What are the four dimensions of body image?
Perceptual, cognitive, affective, and behavioral.
What does the perceptual dimension of body image refer to?
How one sees their body, including mental representations of body appearance and function.
What is the cognitive dimension of body image?
Thoughts, beliefs, and evaluations about one’s body appearance and function.
Define the affective dimension of body image.
Emotions and feelings related to one’s body appearance and function, such as pride or shame.
What is the behavioral dimension of body image?
Decisions and actions based on perceptions, thoughts, and emotions about body appearance and function.
What are common behavioral responses to body image concerns?
Appearance fixing, avoidance behaviors, and positive rational acceptance.
What is positive body image?
Love, respect, appreciation, and acceptance for the body’s appearance and function, leading to health-promoting behaviors.
Define negative body image.
It involves pathological aspects like dissatisfaction, shame, and maladaptive behaviors, such as excessive exercise.
What are some examples of body image pathologies?
Eating disorders, body dysmorphia
What is the relationship between body image and physical activity?
body image can influence participation, and physical activity can affect body image.
What is muscle dysmorphia?
A chronic preoccupation with insufficient muscularity and body size, often leading to excessive exercise and substance use.
What does the Body Image Coping Strategies Inventory (BICSI) measure?
It identifies coping mechanisms individuals use to manage body image challenges.
Self-esteem
refers to an individual’s subjective evaluation of their worth as a person.
What is a key predictor of success and well-being?
Self-esteem.
Self-compassion
The recognition of one’s own suffering and the desire to alleviate it—compassion turned inward.
What are the three components of self-compassion?
Self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness.
Define “self-kindness” in the context of self-compassion.
Treating oneself with kindness and understanding.
What does “common humanity” in self-compassion refer to?
Recognizing that suffering is a shared human experience.
What is mindfulness in self-compassion?
Being present in the moment and maintaining balanced emotional awareness.
What are the potential downsides of pursuing high self-esteem?
Negative emotions during failure, performance anxiety, and the tendency to put others down to elevate oneself.
How does self-compassion benefit athletes?
It predicts positive psychological outcomes, buffers against setbacks, and enhances body appreciation, self-esteem, and motivation.
What is “fierce self-compassion”?
A proactive form of self-compassion that involves standing up for oneself and taking action to alleviate suffering.
What is an example of a self-compassion writing exercise?
Writing about a negative event by addressing common humanity, expressing self-kindness, and describing emotions mindfully.
How does self-compassion relate to physical activity?
It supports psychological variables like goal-setting, exercise identity, and motivation, aiding in engagement and maintenance.
What might be barriers to teaching self-compassion to athletes?
Resistance to showing vulnerability, performance-focused mindsets
What are some limitations of the self-esteem concept?
It may lead to performance anxiety, heightened emotions during failure, and reliance on external validation.
How did Hans Selye define stress?
Stress is the nonspecific result of any demand upon the body, whether mental or somatic.
What factors influence the perception of stress?
How we judge the demands of a situation compared to our ability to handle it.
Anxiety
uncertainty about what will happen
How does anxiety differ from arousal?
Arousal is a blend of physiological and psychological activation, while anxiety is a negative emotional state with cognitive and somatic components.
What is state anxiety?
Anxiety associated with moment-to-moment worries and apprehension, varying in intensity over time.
What is trait anxiety?
A stable tendency to perceive situations as threatening, leading to elevated state anxiety when exposed to stressors.
What are the two components of anxiety?
Cognitive anxiety (mental worries and inability to focus) and somatic anxiety (physical components like racing heart or clammy hands).
Multidimensional Anxiety Theory (MAT) relationship between somatic anxiety and sport performance
Somatic anxiety has an inverted U relationship with performance—moderate levels enhance performance, while too low or too high levels impair it.
How does cognitive anxiety relate to sport performance
negative linear relationship with performance; higher cognitive anxiety often leads to worse performance.
What does the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) theory propose?
Optimal athletic performance occurs within an individual-specific “zone” of state anxiety, which varies among athletes.
Why is understanding IZOF important in sports?
It explains why anxiety impacts athletes differently and shows that anxiety isn’t always detrimental to performance.
What is mental performance training?
Structured practice of psychological skills to improve performance.
What are the three phases of mental performance training?
Education, acquisition, and practice.
What is goal-setting?
The practice of creating specific targets to achieve.
What are outcome goals in sports
goals based on results of a contest
performance goals
focus on self improvement
process goals
steps the athlete must engage in to perform better
4 mental skills used by athletes
goal setting, imagery, relaxation, self talk
What is grit?
Passion and perseverance for long-term goals.
What does SMART stand for in goal-setting?
Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound.
SMART goal setting guidelines
Positive rather than negative
Difficult but realistic
Goals for practice and competition
Make goals public
Review regularly
Why is relaxation important in sports?
It helps reduce muscle tension and manage anxiety for better performance.
What are muscle-to-mind relaxation techniques?
Methods like breathing exercises and progressive muscle relaxation to reduce physical tension.
What are mind-to-muscle relaxation techniques?
Strategies like meditation and autogenic training to reduce cognitive anxiety.
What is progressive muscle relaxation?
Tensing and relaxing muscles in order to learn the difference between tension and relaxation.
What is the purpose of diaphragmatic breathing?
To increase oxygen in the blood and provide energy to muscles.
Why do goals need follow-up and evaluation?
To ensure they are effective and being achieved systematically.
What is the goal of relaxation techniques?
To disrupt the stimulus-response pattern and achieve a state of zero tension.
What is imagery in mental training?
Using your senses to create or recreate an experience in your mind.
What are the two types of imagery perspectives?
Internal (from your own perspective) and external (like watching yourself on video).
What makes imagery effective?
Vividness (clear, detailed images) and controllability (being able to control the image).
What is self-talk?
Verbal statements you address to yourself to help with performance.
What are the two functions of self-talk?
Instructional (improving skills or strategy) and motivational (building confidence or effort).
When can an athlete use self-talk?
For skill learning, preparing for performance, breaking bad habits, or staying focused.
How can negative self-talk be improved?
By changing self-defeating thoughts (e.g., “I’m too tired”) into self-enhancing thoughts (e.g., “I’ve got this”).
What is focus planning?
Identifying goals, potential distractions, and strategies to stay focused during challenges.
Give an example of instructional self-talk.
“Keep your eyes on the ball.”
Give an example of motivational self-talk.
“I can do this!”
What is a motor skill?
A skill that involves goal-directed, voluntary body or limb movement that needs to be learned.
What are the four characteristics of a motor skill?
A goal to achieve, performed voluntarily, involves body/limb movement, and requires learning.
What is a performance outcome measure?
It measures the result of a motor skill, like reaction time or movement time.
What is a performance process measure?
It looks at how a motor skill is performed, such as muscle activity or joint angles.
What is reaction time?
The time between a signal and the start of movement.
What are the types of reaction time?
Simple (one signal, one response), choice (multiple signals, each with a response), and discrimination (multiple signals, one response).
What is movement time?
The time between starting and completing a movement.
What are the three types of performance errors?
Absolute error (size of error), constant error (direction of error), and variable error (consistency).
What is kinematics?
The study of motion qualities like displacement, velocity, and acceleration, without considering force.
What is pre-motor time?
The time from a signal to the first muscle activity, involving signal interpretation and planning.
What is motor time?
The time from the first muscle activity to observable movement.
What is electromyography (EMG)?
A measurement of electrical activity in muscles during movement
What is coordination in motor skills?
The spatial and temporal relationships of limb movements.
What does the absolute error (AE) measure?
The overall size of the error in a performance.
What does constant error (CE) indicate?
The overall direction of error in a performance.
What are the three one-dimensional motor skill classification systems?
Size of musculature, distinctiveness of movements, and stability of the environment.
What are gross motor skills?
Skills involving large muscles, where precision is less important (e.g., running, jumping).
What are fine motor skills?
Skills requiring small muscles and precision (e.g., writing, drawing).
What are discrete motor skills?
Skills with a clear beginning and end (e.g., flipping a light switch).
What are continuous motor skills?
Skills with no clear start or end, often repetitive (e.g., swimming, jogging).
What are serial motor skills?
A series of discrete skills performed in a specific order (e.g., a gymnastics routine).
What are closed motor skills
Skills performed in a stable, predictable environment (e.g., a tennis serve).
What are open motor skills?
Skills performed in unpredictable environments requiring reaction (e.g., a tennis rally).
Why are motor skill classifications on a continuum?
Because many skills involve a mix of characteristics and don’t fit perfectly into one category.
How is a baseball swing classified on the stability continuum?
It ranges from closed (batting machine) to open (live pitching).
What determines the start and end of a continuous motor skill?
The performer or external forces.
What classification would dribbling a basketball fall into?
Gross motor skill, continuous, and open skill.
How would you classify flipping a light switch?
Fine motor skill, discrete, and closed skill.
What is motor performance?
The temporary act of executing a motor skill
What is motor learning?
Acquiring motor skills to create relatively permanent improvements in performance.
What are the five parts of the information processing model?
Sensory system
perceptual system
memory
processor
response organization.
What is the difference between performance and learning?
Performance is observable, while learning must be inferred from behavior over time.
What are three signs that learning has occurred?
Change over time, more consistent performance, and relatively permanent improvement.
What are the three stages of learning in the Fitts & Posner model?
Cognitive, associative, and autonomous stages.
What happens in the cognitive stage of learning?
Many large errors, variable performance, and high cognitive involvement.
What is characteristic of the associative stage of learning?
Fewer errors, ability to detect and understand errors, and more consistent performance.
What defines the autonomous stage of learning?
Skills become automatic, with minimal errors and little cognitive effort needed.
Why might performance worsen temporarily during learning?
Because the athlete is adapting to improve long-term skills.
What is the sensory system’s role in the information processing model?
Detecting environmental information.
What does the response organization stage do?
Organizes motor commands and sends them to the muscles.
What is a key challenge in observing learning?
Learning cannot be directly observed and requires multiple observations over time
How does the associative stage help learners?
They develop the ability to self-correct and refine basic movement patterns.
What is transfer of learning?
The influence of practicing one skill on learning a new skill.
What is positive transfer?
When learning one skill helps with learning a new skill (e.g., tennis to squash).
What is negative transfer?
When learning one skill interferes with learning a new skill (e.g., running to 1st base to running to 3rd base).
What is zero transfer?
When learning one skill has no effect on learning another skill (e.g., swimming to curling).
What increases transfer of learning?
Similarity in skill components or learning processes between tasks.
What practice strategy uses “contextual interference”?
Practicing several different skills during one session to improve adaptability.
How can varying practice help transfer?
Practicing one skill in different contexts (e.g., punting a football with and against the wind).
Why reduce feedback frequency in practice?
To encourage problem-solving and reliance on internal feedback.
What is an example of positive transfer?
Speed skating to hockey due to similarities in movement and balance.
What is an example of negative transfer?
Learning to write with different timing or in a new spatial orientation.
Why is negative transfer less common than positive transfer?
Most new skills build on or align with previously learned skills
How does randomizing practice promote transfer?
It forces learners to adjust strategies and reduces dependence on specific contexts.
What kind of feedback adjustment aids transfer?
Gradually reducing feedback frequency so learners rely more on self-correction.
What is whole practice?
Practicing a skill in its entirety to get a feel for its flow and timing.
What is part practice?
Practicing parts of a skill individually to perform each part correctly before combining them.
When should you use part practice?
For skills with high complexity and low organization.
When should you use whole practice?
For skills with low complexity and high organization.
What is blocked practice?
Repeating the same task multiple times before moving to the next task.
When is blocked practice most effective?
For beginners who need to develop correct habits.
What is random practice?
Practicing tasks in a random order during the session.
Why is random practice beneficial for learning?
It challenges the learner to adapt and enhances long-term learning, though it may not improve immediate performance.
What is practice variability?
Changing conditions during practice to improve adaptability and learning.
How should you vary practice for closed skills?
Keep regulatory conditions (e.g., hoop size) constant but vary non-regulatory conditions (e.g., noise, fatigue).
How should you vary practice for open skills?
Vary both regulatory conditions (e.g., patterns of defenders) and non-regulatory conditions (e.g., crowd noise).
Why is practice variability helpful?
It enhances learning despite causing more short-term errors.
What is the role of regulatory conditions in practice?
They shape the movement necessary to perform the skill (e.g., bar height in gymnastics).
Why is safety an important factor in practice design?
To ensure learners can practice effectively without unnecessary risk.
What is augmented feedback?
Feedback about performance from an external source.
What are the two types of augmented feedback?
Knowledge of results (KR) and knowledge of performance (KP).
What is knowledge of results (KR)?
Information about the outcome of a movement (e.g., “You hit the target”).
What is knowledge of performance (KP)?
Information about how the movement was performed (e.g., “Your shoulders were too low”).
What are the three purposes of augmented feedback?
Error correction, reinforcement, and motivation.
What is faded feedback?
Gradually reducing feedback as the learner’s skill improves.
What is bandwidth feedback?
Feedback provided only when performance falls outside an acceptable range.
What is summary feedback?
Providing feedback after several trials, summarizing overall performance.
When is feedback most important in learning?
During the cognitive stage, when learners are new to the skill.
What type of verbal KP is better early in learning?
Prescriptive KP, which identifies errors and how to fix them.
Why can too much feedback be harmful?
It can create dependency, reducing the learner’s ability to self-correct.
How does qualitative feedback differ from quantitative feedback?
Qualitative describes performance (e.g., “Good form”), while quantitative gives numbers (e.g., “10 milliseconds faster”).
What is an example of augmented sensory feedback?
Biofeedback like heart rate monitors.
How does summary feedback help learning?
It promotes consistency and avoids overloading the learner.
What is postpositivism?
A worldview based on objective truth and a single reality, often linked to the scientific method.
What is constructivism?
A worldview focusing on multiple realities and the complexity of perspectives.
What is the transformative worldview?
Research linked to action and reform to improve participants’ lives.
What is pragmatism?
A focus on “what works” and using any method to solve problems.
What is two-eyed seeing?
Combining Indigenous knowledge and Western science for a balanced approach.
What does “empirical” mean in research?
Conclusions are based on data and observation.
Which worldview emphasizes collaboration and action?
Transformative
