Lesson 1. Introduction to sport psychology

Question 1

True or false? Sport psychology is a relatively new field, its roots are in the early parth of the 20th century.

Answer 1

True. Sport and exercise psychology has a long and rich history, dating back to the early part of the 20th century

Question 2

True or false: regardless of the form of motivation, the more motivated an athleteis the better

Answer 2

False. many forms lead to a better performance, but certain aspects of motivation are negatively related to performance. So being more motivated is not always better. It can be too much, too much motivated and focused on performance and wanting to be op top.

Question 3

True or false: to achieve peak performance, a team must be cohesive.

Answer 3

False. Cohesion can positively influence team performance but also the other way around. Some non-cohesive teams have actually performed well.

Question 4

What’s the difference between task cohesion and social cohesion?

Answer 4

Task cohesion refers to a team which have one goal or task together.
Social cohesion refers to a team in which the teammates like each other.

Question 5

True or false: relaxation is not the primary tool or technique used by today’s sport psychology specialist.

Answer 5

True. It is a very important strategy, but it’s only one of the many (goal setting, imagery, self-talk)

Question 6

True or false: The personality traits of great athletes have been identified.

Answer 6

False. Few characteristics have been identified as common to all great athletes. however, a number of common cognitive and behavioral strategy differences have been found between more or less succesful athletes.

Question 7

What’s the definition of sport psychology?

Answer 7

Sport psychology is a scientific study of people and their behaviors in sport context and the practical application of that knowledge.

Question 8

What are the two objectives of sport psychology?

Answer 8

1. Understand how psychological factors affect one’s performance. (how does anxiety has influence on a basketball player?)
2. Understand how participating in sport affects one’s psychological development and well-being

Question 9

Sport psychology wants to get insight in…? 4 domains

Answer 9

Situation, thoughts, feelings and behavior

Question 10

True or false: the history of sportpsychology began in the early years (1895-1920) in North America.

Answer 10

True.

Question 11

Who is called the grandfather of sportpsychology?

Answer 11

Norman Triplett

Question 12

True or false: The second period of the history of sportpsychology is called the Griffith Era because the father of Sport Psychology is called Peter Griffith.

Answer 12

False. The father of sport psychology is called Coleman Griffith.

Question 13

True or false: Long-distance runners exhibit introverted personalities, but a long distance runner doesn’t need to be introverted to be successful.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

Is there a single personality profile that distinguishes athletes from non-athletes

Answer 14

No.

Question 15

Give some examples of characteristics of female athletes.

Answer 15

More achievement oriented, aggressive, emotionally stable and assertive. All desirable characteristics for any athlete.

Question 16

What does the profile of mood state (POMS) do?

Answer 16

The model gives a profile of the state of the mood of the athlete. The model suggests that positive mental health as assessed by a certain pattern of POMS scores is directly related to athletic success and high levels of performance.

Question 17

What are the criticisms of the POMS?

Answer 17

1. It distinguishes athletes from non-athletes.

2. Account for a very small % of performance variation

Question 18

True or false: Successful elite athletes in a variaty of sports are characterized by what Morgan Called ‘the iceberg profile’, which reflects on positive mental health.

Answer 18

True.