Lecture 3: The self in sport and exercise - self-esteem, self-confidence and self-efficacy Flashcards
what 3 things are involved in when we talk about the self?
- Self-esteem, self-confidence, self-efficacy
what can Self-esteem, self-confidence, self-efficacy have an effect on and how?
○ Important –> can be limiting factor on ones performance
- A persons performance will not exceed their level of these constructs
what is self-esteem?
“personal judgement of worthiness” (Coopersmith, 1967)
- Personal judgement of worthiness that reflects the degree to which an individual feels positive about themselves.
difference between self-concept and self-esteem
- Self-concept = what we know about ourselves
- Self-esteem = what we feel about ourselves
what is a common approach to studying self-perceptions?
- Common approach to studying self-perceptions is through considering a self-system that is multidimensional and hierarchical in nature
describe how we can study self-perceptions through considering a self-system that is multidimensional and hierarchical in nature
○ Global self-esteem at apex
○ Made up of different
○ E.g. Fox and Corbin (1989) proposed physical self worth can be divided in various subdomains such as competence, conditioning, physical strength
○ A multidimensional hierarchical model of the self; specificity increases from the apex to the base
○ Higher order constructs are dependent on lower order constructs
○ Shavelson, Hubner, and Stanton, (1976)
describe how athletes with poor self-esteem rely and attribute events
- Rely on how they are doing in the present to determine how they feel about themselves
○ Self-worth is unstable so performance is unstable- Success doesn’t heighten self-esteem, it sustains them
- Attribute negative events internally and are less reliant and less consistent
- Failure has a more significant impact on future performances
○ Less consistent - Low self-esteem individuals will usually behave in a negative way:
describe how athletes with high self-esteem rely and attribute events
- Future performance less affected by failure
○ Maintain positive self-worth regardless of performance
○ Perform more consistently at higher level- They accept and value themselves as worthy and worthwhile without conditions or reservations
○ They can cope with failure - High self-esteem individuals will usually behave in a positive way:
- They accept and value themselves as worthy and worthwhile without conditions or reservations
what are the effects of high self-esteem?
○ Interdependence, leadership, adaptability, resilience to stress (Wylie, 1989)
what are the effects of low self-esteem?
○ Anxiety, depression, phobias (Baumeister, 1993)
what does a less defined self of self lead to?
Less defined sense of self –> less self knowledge –> more susceptible to external cues and events that threaten self-esteem
research into self-esteem?
- SPEX researchers asserted PA should have greater impact on physical self domains compared to other domains (e.g. academic) or the higher-order domains like global self-esteem (Fox, 2000).
- Supported
○ Meta-analysis (Spence et al., 2005) 113 research studies examining effects of exercise
§ Conclusion - exercise results in small but significant improvements in global self-esteem
§ Also suggests that increases in physical fitness are required to produce this improvement
○ Meta-analysis are rare. Reviews tend to include:
§ Physical activity interventions consistently improve perceptions of the physical self (Crocker et al., 2013)
§ Significant improvements have been reported following participation in activities that include running, walking, cycling, weight-training, step dance, golf (Leith, 2010)
§ Appears that many types and doses of exercise have a positive benefit on physical self-perceptions
□ Physical activity consistently makes people feel better about themselves physically
- Supported
self-confidence
“a belief about our ability to be successful”
sport confidence
Sport confidence: “the belief or degree of certainty individuals possess about their ability to be successful in sport” (Vealey, 1986)
what is the factor most consistently distinguishing highly successful from less successful athletes (Jones and Hardy, 1990)
self-confidence
evidence supporting self-confidence being the Factor most consistently distinguishing highly successful from less successful athletes (Jones and Hardy, 1990)
- Among chief factors influencing performance 1998 Winter Olympics (Gould et al., 1999)
○ 63 highest achievers - 90% reported high self-confidence level- Top athletes (regardless of sport) consistently display strong belief in themselves and their ability
2 types of self-confidence
trait and state
trait self-confidence
○ How confident you are in your abilities in general
§ Consistent/stable
state self-confidence
○ How confident you feel right now
§ Temporary/unstable
how is self-confidence multidimensional?
- Confidence about one’s ability to…
○ Execute physical skills
○ Use psychological skills
○ Use perceptual skills(e.g. decision-making)
○ Learn and improve skills(regarding potential and ability)
○ Confidence in one’s level of physical fitness & training status
(Vealey & Knight, 2002)
what did Hays et al., (2007) find the additional types of self-confidence were in elite athletes?
○ Belief in ability to achieve (winning and improved performance)
○ Belief in one’s superiority over opposition
benefits of self-confidence
- Characterised by high expectancy of success
- Can influence affect, behaviour and cognition (ABCs of sport psychology)
○ Arouses positive affect
○ Facilitates concentration
○ Affects goals
○ Increases effort
○ Affects games strategies
○ Affects psychological momentum
○ Affects performance
- Can influence affect, behaviour and cognition (ABCs of sport psychology)
optimal self-confidence
- Being so convinced that you can achieve your goals you will strive hard to do so
- Confidence will not overcome incompetence
- Each person has an optimal level of self-confidence
○ Performance problems arise with too little/too much confidence
how does a lack of self-confidence undermine performance?
- Less effective thinkers
- More negative attitude
- Tendency to give up more easily
- Avoid more challenging situations and opportunities
- More focused on the outcome and consequences
These lead to anxiety, distraction, indecisiveness
how do confident athletes maximise performance?
- More effective thinkers
- Positive attitude
- Persistence in the face of failure
- Welcome opportunities and challenges
- Focus on mastery of the task
These lead to relaxed, focused, in control of performances
overconfidence
- When confidence outweighs abilities
types of overconfidence
inflated confidence
false confidence
inflated confidence
○ Believe they are better than they really are
§ Have inflates opinion of themselves and skills
○ Overestimate their ability
§ Underestimate opponents skills
○ Often competent
§ Don’t adequately prepare
false confidence
○ Confident outside
§ Inside - fear failure and are difficult
§ Pretend to be brash, cocky and arrogant
○ Prepare hard but lack competence to be successful
how do you deal with overconfidence?
- Detrimental for athletes to think all they have to do is show up for a game/competition
○ Take game/competition seriously
○ Respect opponents and don’t underestimate their ability
Hard work. Effort, skill, determination and confidence are needed for every game/competition
success and confidence:
- Athletes may lose confidence as past success becomes a form of pressure
- Athletes may start to focus on weakness and remembering failures
- Athletes whose achievements do not match levels of self-confidence may feel demoralised
self-fulfilling prophecy
prediction that sets in motion a series of events that ultimately causes the original prediction to become true
§ What you expect is what you get
○ Expectations from self ○ Expectations of winning or losing ○ Expectations from coaches, parent, team-mates, fans
negative self-fulfilling
Negative self-fulfilling: expect failure, which leads to actual failure, which lower self-image and expectations of future failure… a vicious cycle.
positive self-fulfilling
○ Positive self-fulfilling: expecting the desired outcome and performance.
misconceptions about self-confidence
- Either you have it or you don’t
- Only positive feedback can build confidence
- Success always builds confidence
- Confidence equal outspoken arrogance
- Mistakes inevitably destroy confidence
how can you build self-confidence?
- Performance accomplishments
- Retrospections
- Acting confident
- Thinking confidently
- Using imagery
- Goal-setting
- Preparation
what is self-efficacy?
- Perception of one’s ability to perform a task successfully in a specific situation.
differences between self-confidence and self-efficacy
- Self-confidence = global/general
- Self-efficacy = situation specific
- Someone may be generally self-confident in sport (golf) but when it comes to playing golf (specifically putting) then may have low self-efficacy in that situation.
importance of self-efficacy
- Behaviour is better predicted by beliefs about ones capabilities than by your actual capabilities
- “what people think, believe, and feel affects how they behave” (Bandura, 1986)
- “people’s level of motivation, affective states, and actions are based more on what they believe than on what is objectively true” (Bandura, 1997)
- Determines what people do with the knowledge and skills they have
- Explains why people’s behaviours are sometimes disjointed from their actual capabilities…
○ ‘Can’t give up that…’
○ ‘Can’t cope without that…’
○ ‘I could never do that…’ - … and why people’s behaviour differs widely even when they have similar knowledge and skills
sources of self-efficacy
performance accomplishments vicarious experiences verbal persuasion imaginal experiences physiological states emotional states
self-efficacy theory
- Higher self-efficacy = higher the goal, and the more persistence one shows towards reaching those goals
- A person with high self-efficacy and fails = she will attribute the failure to insufficient effort and be more likely to persist
- A person with low self-efficacy may attribute failure to low ability, and will be more likely to give up
how can we get self-efficacy from performance accomplishments?
○ Strongest source of self-efficacy because it is based on out actual experiences (positive and/or negative)
○ Success raises efficacy expectations i.e., success increases beliefs about what we can do
○ Failures lower efficacy expectations i.e., failures lower beliefs about what we can do
how can we get self-efficacy from vicarious experiences?
○ Observing others succeed or fail may influence efficacy beliefs; especially for those who have little or no experience
○ Social comparison information can influence efficacy beliefs - exercising in public, with groups, in pairs; motivating vs. demotivating.
○ Social comparison can be beneficial. Since we sometimes cannot measure success without a point of reference (e.g. technique, times, scores)
○ Social comparison in the promotion of exercise to specific groups (e.g., obese, older adult, beginner exerciser)
how can we get self-efficacy from verbal persuasion?
○ Is thought to influence self-efficacy
○ Weaker influence than prior success and performance attainment and imitation and modelling
○ Characterised by encouragement, reinforcement, feedback
○ Its effectiveness is also reliant on how realistic feedback may be
how can we get self-efficacy from imaginal experiences?
○ Generate beliefs about personal efficacy/lack of efficacy - imaging behaving effectively/ineffectively
○ Key using imagery - see oneself demonstrating mastery (Moritz et al., 1996)
how can we get self-efficacy from physiological states?
○ Condition of the body = heart rate, breathing, sweating, rate of motor activity, muscle tension/relaxation, body temperature
○ Self-efficacy related to how one evaluates physiological states (such as heart rate)
§ Facilitative - self-efficacy enhance
§ Debilitative - lowered self-efficacy
how can we get self-efficacy from emotional states?
○ Physiological cues important components of emotion - emotional experiences not simply product of physiological arousal
○ Emotions/moods additional source of information about self-efficacy
○ Research - positive emotional states (e.g. happiness) more likely to enhance efficacy judgements than negative states (e.g. sadness) (Maddux and Meier, 1995)
link between self-efficacy and motivation
Unless people believe that their actions can produce the outcome they desire, they have little incentive to act or to persevere in the face of difficulties… (Bandura, 1986)
how are the strengths of self-efficacy seen in everyday life?
○ Whether we think productively, pessimistically or optimistically
○ How well we motivate ourselves and persevere
○ Life choices; vulnerability to stress and depression
