Paper2 Exam Questions

Question 1

Massed and distributed are two practice types. Give a sporting example of each.

Answer 1

Massed: A tennis player repeatedly rehearsing the serve without a rest period
Distributed: A basketball player doing ten free throws then resting, then repeating free throws.

Question 2

Outline how the drive theory of arousal would explain the performance of an expert in sport.

Answer 2

• as arousal increases, so does performance
• As arousal increases, emission of dominant response
  increases
• Experts dominant response is skilful / correct

Question 3

Give two sporting examples of attributions that would be classed as uncontrollable.

Answer 3

• Not believing in own ability, i’m not a. good sprinter
• being unlucky, we were unlucky with that free kick

Question 4

Good leaders have strong communication skills.
Identify two other characteristics of an effective leader.

Answer 4

• motivated
• good knowledge of the sport

Question 5

Aggressive cue hypothesis is one theory that explains aggression.
Give two sporting examples of aggressive cues.

Answer 5

• the nature of the game could be more violent, boxing
• equipment used as weapons, hockey sticks

Question 6

Positive reinforcement can help a performer to learn a skill in sport. For example, a coach could reward a badminton player with praise when her serve lands in the service box.
(i) Using sporting examples, explain other ways that operant conditioning can be used to
learn skills.

Answer 6

• trial and error, experimenting different ways to smash the shuttlecock in badminton
• punishment, coach shouts at player for hitting the shuttle cock the wrong way

Question 7

Evaluate the use of rewards in operant conditioning.

Answer 7

• quick as it speeds up the process of learning new skill
• performer starts to expect rewards and will not try their best unless there is a reward

Question 8

Analyse the effectiveness of negative feedback and knowledge of performance when used by expert performers.

Answer 8

negative:
- informs what is wrong an d what to change
- can be demotivating if overused
knowledge of performance:
- shows how to refine the movement of skill
- inaccurate feedback hinders performance

Question 9

Define the term personality

Answer 9

• traits that influence behaviour
• characteristics that produce consistent patterns of
  behaviour

Question 10

Describe the behaviour of a stable extrovert.

Answer 10

• Doesn’t experience high stress
• sociable

Question 11

Give two strengths of the interactionist theory of personality.

Answer 11

• Explains why people in the same environment behave differently
• takes into account the effect of both traits and the environment

Question 12

Identify one cognitive method of stress management and give a sporting example of
how it could be used.

Answer 12

• positive thinking
• footballer tells themselves they can do it before penalty

Question 13

Identify one somatic method of stress management and give a sporting example of how it could be used.

Answer 13

• breathing control
• sprinter taking deep breaths before setting in the blocks

Question 14

Goals can be set to measure progress. Identify three other benefits of goal setting.

Answer 14

• focuses attention
• creates motivation
• builds confidence

Question 15

A gymnast with poor lower back and hip flexibility was given the following target score in the sit and reach test as a goal by her coach. The coach provided her with a log book to keep track of her progress.
Assess the effectiveness of this goal.

Answer 15

Effective:
- specific- focused on flexibility, sport specific
- measurable- uses score to measure
not effective:
- time scale is too short

Question 16

Fig. 7.1 shows Bandura’s model of self-efficacy.
A performer has low self-efficacy. Use the model above to analyse what may have caused this.

Answer 16

• performance accomplishments: previous failures
• vicarious experiences: seeing others succeed who are older
• verbal persuasion: don’t receive any encouragement
• emotional arousal: don’t have any strategies to control arousal
• behaviour: not trying the activity can cause lower self-efficacy

Question 17

Give an example of mechanical guidance and an example of manual guidance for a swimmer.

Answer 17

• mechanical: arm bands
• manual: coach holding swimmer up

Question 18

Define stress and identify one cause of stress.

Answer 18

• Feeling under a lot of pressure in a situation
• eg competition

Question 19

Give an example of extrinsic feedback and an example of intrinsic feedback for a tennis player.

Answer 19

• extrinsic: A coach telling the player they didn’t throw the ball high enough when serving
• intrinsic: The tennis player physically / kinaesthetically feeling that they hit the sweet spot on the racquet

Question 20

Use sporting examples to describe how an emergent leader and a prescribed leader could be selected.

Answer 20

• emergent leader: A team member would be selected from within
• prescribed: A leader for a volleyball team would be selected from outside the team such as from another volleyball team

Question 21

Use a practical example from sport to show an internal, stable attribution for failure.

Answer 21

• thinking opposition at tennis is better than me

Question 22

Use a practical example from sport to show an external, unstable attribution for success.

Answer 22

• really lucky to score in the last minute

Question 23

A table tennis player in the cognitive stage of learning would make a lot of mistakes when hitting the ball.
Using the example of the table tennis player, describe three other characteristics of their performance.

Answer 23

• trial and error to find different techniques of holding bat
• external feedback to say what is wrong and what to improve
• mental image: image how you want to serve

Question 24

Suggest two reasons why visual guidance alone may not allow a performer to move to the associative stage of learning.

Answer 24

• the visual display may be incorrect
• demo might be too quick to comprehend

Question 25

Give an example of bilateral transfer in sport.

Answer 25

• A footballer learning to pass the ball with their left
  foot when they have already learnt to pass with their right foot.

Question 26

Give an example of negative transfer in sport.

Answer 26

• A squash player who takes up tennis might find it difficult to flick their wrist during a shot.

Question 27

Identify two ways of limiting the effect of negative transfer.

Answer 27

• ensure that the first skill is well learnt
• build progressively as too many subroutines could confuse

Question 28

Fig. 6.1 shows an adapted version of Craik and Lockhart’s levels of processing model.
With reference to Fig. 6.1, explain the levels of processing model.

Answer 28

• Deepness: how deep we consider info determines how long memory is stored.
• structural: paying attention to what memory looks like
• phonetic: processing sounds
• semantic: considers actual meaning of message
• shallow: not much processing needed for structural an d phonetic

Question 29

Give an example of whole practice and an example of varied practice.

Answer 29

• whole: A coach teaching a basketball player how to do the
  entire lay-up skill together
• varied: A hockey team practicing a short corner with the
  defenders responding in different ways

Question 30

Evaluate the use of whole practice

Answer 30

positive:
- experience a true kinaesthetic feel of skill
negative:
- hard to grasp whole skill at once

Question 31

Evaluate use of varied practice:

Answer 31

positive:
- experience range of situations
negative:
- may be overwhelming

Question 32

If a group is hostile, the leader may choose to use an autocratic leadership style because they need to take charge of the situation.
Analyse other occasions when an autocratic leadership style might be most effective.

Answer 32

dangerous: need to be told what to do to ensure safety
beginners: not sure what to do so leader needs to make decisions and take charge
large groups: too many opinions so leader takes charge
male group: prefers autocratic leader

Question 33

A 19-year-old semi-professional footballer is playing football at her team’s home stadium.
A scout from a professional football club is in the crowd.
Discuss the possible effects of the audience on the football player’s performance.

Answer 33

• increases arousal levels
• increases likelihood of dominant response
• social facilitation
• social inhibition
• extrovert > facilitates
• fine skill< inhibition

Question 34

Describe trait anxiety

Answer 34

• continuous anxiety
• innate anxiety

Question 35

Give an example of how the body responds to cognitive anxiety and to somatic anxiety.

Answer 35

• cognitive: nervousness and worry
• somatic: tension and sweating

Question 36

Explain the frustration–aggression hypothesis.

Answer 36

• frustration occurs when something blocks your goal
• frustration always leads to aggression
• if not punished for aggression, can build further

Question 37

Identify a strength and a weakness of frustration–aggression hypothesis.

Answer 37

• strength: more realistic than instinct theory
• weakness: does not take into account those born with aggressive traits