Lecture 7: Psychological skills 1

Question 1

What is psychological skills training?

Answer 1

Systematic and consistent practice of mental or psychological skills for the purpose of enhancing performance, increasing enjoyment, or achieving greatest sports and physical activity self satisfaction

Question 2

Basic psychological skills

Answer 2

Relaxation
Goal setting
Imagery
Self talk

Question 3

Advanced psychological skills

Answer 3

Controlling anxiety
Optimising self-confidence
Motivation
Attention

Question 4

problem-focused coping

Answer 4

• Efforts to alter or manage the problem that is causing the stress
  
  • Information gathering
  • Pre-competition/competition plans
  • Goal setting
  • Time management skills
  • Increasing effort
  • Self-talk

Question 5

emotion-focused coping

Answer 5

• Regulating the emotional responses to the problem that cause stress
  
  • Meditation
  • Relaxation
  • Wishful thinking
  • Reappraisal
  • Mental and behavioural withdrawal

Question 6

coping

Answer 6

A process of constantly changing cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands or conflicts appraisers taxing or exceeding one’s own resources

Question 7

the Matching hypothesis of coping

Answer 7

When techniques should be used for maximum effectiveness

Anxiety technique should be matched to specific anxiety problem

• cognitive anxiety should use mental relaxation
• somatic anxiety should use physical relaxation

It is generally accepted that cognitive relaxation strategies should be applied to lower the cognitive elements of the athletes emotional response where is behavioural techniques can effectively lower somatic responses

Question 8

Controlling anxiety in sport

Answer 8

• Understanding the pressure experience
  
  • Constructive interpretation of signals
  • Giving specific instructions
  • Adhering to pre-performance routines
  • Constructive thinking
  • Simulated training

Question 9

Aim of psychological skills training

Answer 9

• Increase performers’ self-awareness

- Improve performers’ ability to self-regulate

Question 10

Conceptual frameworks

Answer 10

Behaviour modification
Cognitive
cognitive-behavioural

Question 11

behaviour modification

Answer 11

classical conditioning
operant conditioning
stimulus control

Question 12

cognitive

Answer 12

Challenging maladaptive cognitions is central

e.g. cognitive therapy

Question 13

cognitive-behavioural

Answer 13

• cognitions (thoughts, beliefs)

AND behaviours (e.g. avoidance)

Question 14

Basic concepts of the behavioural model

Answer 14

○ Learning defines as a relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience
○ Focus of consultancy is on client’s ;earned experiences as reflected in current behaviours
○ Both normal and abnormal behaviours can be learned and unlearned
○ Classical conditioning
○ Operant conditioning
○ Sociocultural

Question 15

Classical conditioning

Answer 15

• Unconditioned stimulus: an event or object that causes a reflexive or instinctive (unlearned) emotional or physiological response
  
  • Unconditioned response: the reflexive or instinctive (unlearned) emotional or physiological response caused by the unconditioned stimulus
  • Neutral stimulus presented
  • Conditioned stimulus: an event or object that develops an association with the unconditioned stimulus
  • Conditioned response: a learned emotional pr physiological response that is similar in appearance to the unconditioned response

Question 16

Operant conditioning

Answer 16

• Deals with the modification of voluntary behaviour
  
  • Behaviours are maintained by consequences unlike CC
  • ‘an observable response changes in frequency or duration as the result of a consequence’
  • Consequence = any outcome that occurs after the behaviour and influences future behaviours
  • Basic process:
    ○ Reinforcement = results in behaviour proceeding it being strengthened
    § Can be positive or negative
    § Positive reinforcement = process of increasing the frequency or duration of a behaviour as a result of presenting a reinforcer
    § Negative reinforcement = the process of removing or avoiding a stimulus to increase behaviour
    § Negative reinforcement is not punishment
    ○ Punishment
    ○ Extinction
    ○ Scheduling

Question 17

relaxation

Answer 17

○ The ability to control or interpret anxiety discriminates high-skilled from low-skilled
○ ‘relaxed concentration’ a feature of peak performance experiences
Relaxation exercises widely used by athletes, often in an unstructured manner (Jones and Hardy, 1990)

		○ Muscle to mind
			§ Breathing exercises
				□ Complete breath
				□ Sighing with exhalation
				□ Rhythmic breathing
		○ Progressive relaxation exercises
			§ Progressive relaxation
			§ Active PR
			§ Differential PR
			§ Abbreviated PR
			§ Passive PR
			§ Quick body scan

• diaphragmatic breathing

Question 18

implications: acclimatisation training

Answer 18

- The importance of practicing under anxiety
		○ Competition/reward
		○ Video cameras
		○ Observers
		○ Evaluation apprehension
	- Oudejans and Pijpers, 2009

Question 19

self-talk

Answer 19

• Internal dialogue with yourself such as giving instructions, reinforcement or interpretation of feelings or perceptions (Hackfort and Schwenkmezger, 1993))
  
  • Can be out loud or in your head
  • Can be an asset in enhancing self worth by regulating arousal and anxiety and changing cognitions
  • Guld, Eklund and Jackson (1992) Olympic wrestlers fostered positive expectancies and appropriate attention
  • Gould, Finch and Jackson (1993) Figure skaters used as most common coping strategy
  • Liability when negative as distracts from automatic performance
  • Especially destructive when general labels are used e.g. choke and loser (Ellis, 1988)
  • Does not ony affect performance but also wellbeing
  • Seligman (1991) has described depression as nothing more than a disorder of conscious thought
  • More self talk in competition than practice (Hardy, Hall and Hardy, 2004)

Question 20

identifying self-talk

Answer 20

- Retrospection
		○ Reflecting on situations
		○ Recreating thoughts and feelings
	- Imagery
		○ Relaxation and reliving past

Question 21

Prerequisites for gaining confidence

Answer 21

Understand the interaction of thought and performance

Cultivate honest self awareness

Develop an optimistic explanatory style

Embrace a psychology of accidents

Question 22

Honest self-awareness

Answer 22

• Athletes need to acknowledge what they are saying to themselves
  
  • What are the circumstances when the self talk occurs
  • What are the consequences of the self-talk
  • ‘am I thinking in a way that will promote success?’

Question 23

Optimistic explanatory style

Answer 23

Permanence - feelings about where the positive and negative events will repeat themselves

Pervasiveness - generalisations other contexts

Personalisation - extent to which they see themselves as the primary causal agent

Question 24

Psychology of excellence

Answer 24

• Approach components to enhance patterns of constructive thinking, energy, optimism and enthusiasm:
  
  1. Go for your dreams
  2. Focus on your successes
  3. Be your own best friend, biggest fan and greatest coach
  4. Create your own reality

Question 25

Controlling self talk

Answer 25

thought stoppage
changing negative to positive
countering
reframing
identifying irrational and distorted thinking
ABC cognitive restructuring

Question 26

Thought stoppage

Answer 26

• Awareness of unwanted thought and the use of a trigger to interrupt
  
  • Can be self talk/action or both
  • Will not work unless thoughts are recognised and there is a motivation to stop
  • Requires time to monitor content and frequency
  • Athletes will not always admit that negative thoughts are effecting performance
  • Can increase thoughts when trying to supress them
  • This in itself is a trigger

Question 27

Negative to positive

Answer 27

Difficult to get rid of negative thoughts with it

Make the last thought self enhancing

Question 28

countering

Answer 28

Will not achieve the desired behavioural outcomes if athlete still believes in negative thoughts

Build a case against the negative statements

Uses facts and reasons to refute underlying beliefs

Sometimes need a correct or incorrect and so focus should then be on whether they are helpful

Question 29

reframing

Answer 29

The process of creating alternative frames of reference or views of the world

Helps athletes control internal dialogue in a self enhancing manner

Acknowledges what is happening but uses to the best advantage

More successful teams report they were able to reframe negative events in a positive light

Question 30

Irrational and distorted thinking

Answer 30

Failure to reach goals because of the acceptance on endorsement of self-defeating and irrational beliefs

Question 31

ABC cognitive restructuring

Answer 31

• Rational emotive behavioural therapy (Ellis and Dryden, 1987)
  
  • Activating event
  • Beliefs or interpretations
  • Consequences (emotional and behavioural)
  • Dispute

Question 32

Affirmation statements

Answer 32

Statements that reflect positive attitudes or thoughts about oneself

About what you want phrased as if you already had it

Must be believable and vivid capturing feelings

Can be team slogans