Practice Exam Questions

Question 1

Explain the difference between a group and a team (10 marks)

Answer 1

Groups

Groups are a collection of interacting individuals who have a sense of shared goals

Needs forming, storming, norming & Performing

Teams

Teams have a sense of “we-ness”, with distinctive individual roles, structued modes of communication and unique norms

the end

Question 2

What are causes of social loafing and how might this be counteracted? (10 marks)

Inghan, 1970 (effort)
Free, Minimise, allocate and emphasise

Answer 2

Reduction in an individual’s efforts when working in a group setting (inghan 1970)

increase in group setting

Free Rider:
perception that their effort is (relatively) unimportant for the outcome

Minimising Strategy:
motivated to get by doing as little as possible

Allocation Strategy:
save best efforts for when most beneficial to self

counteracting
Emphasise the importance of individual contributions (identify & communicate)

Increase accountability

Question 3

Explain why role clarity and role acceptance are important for team cohesion (10 marks)

why do roles need to be clear and why are they accepted

What roles are set

Answer 3

Antecedents: Role Clarity & Acceptance (Roles)
Set of behaviours require of the person occupying certain position
Define formal group structure
Differentiate on position from another

Antecedents: Role Clarity & Acceptance (Formal Roles)
Dictated by nature & structure of the Organisation
Specific teams & tactical roles
Coach, Captain

Antecedents: Role Clarity & Acceptance (Informal Roles)
Evolve from group dynamics or interactions
E.g. Enforcer, Comedian or Mentor

Question 4

Explain Tuckman’s linear perspective of group formation and what happens at each stage (15 marks)

Answer 4

Forming
Team acquaints and establishes ground Rules

Storming
Members resist control by group leaders and show hostility

Norming
Members work together developing close relationships and feelings of camaraderie

Performing
Team members work towards getting their job done

Question 5

Using research to support your answer explain if and how team goal setting might be an effective intervention for building cohesion (15 marks)

set, establish, remind and evaluat

Answer 5

“Helped us play better as a team” 68%
“More focused on common goals” 42%
“Enabled us to work together to reach goals” 27&

Question 6

According to Kyllo & Landers (1995), which goals may be more effective and why:
assigned goals, co-operative goals or participant set goals? How might this relate to
motivation? (10 marks)
remember 365

Answer 6

Area 5: Involve performer in goal setting process
- Assigned by a coach: 0.30
- Co-operative (with a coach) goals 0.62
- Participant set: 0.49

Question 7

How might goals influence performance? (10 marks)

DEPD

Answer 7

How goals influence performance
- Direct Attention
- improve focus and gives meaning to training and competition

• Effort Mobilisation
  
  • this is still needed by the athlete and may not be achieved by goal setting alone
• Persistence
  
  • the importance of the goal to the athlete drives this influence
• Development of new learning strategties
  
  • the above will lead the athlete to test new strategies and ways of achieving their goals

Question 8

Explain bio informational theory. (10 marks)

Cummings imagery instructions, stimulus & response prep

Answer 8

• Image: functionally organised set of propositions stored in the brain
  
  • Stimulus propositions
    
    • Content of the scene to be imaged
  • Response Propositions
    
    • Verbal, motor, physiological, emotional responses to the scene
  • Imagery instructions that include response propositions generate stronger responses (Cumming et al., 2007)

Question 9

What are the 5 functions of imagery. (10 marks)

MS, CS, MG, MM, CG

Answer 9

Oriented towards general or specific behaviours

• Motivational Specific
  
  • Goal-oriented responses
    
    • Imaging oneself winning an event and receiving a medal
• Cognitive Specific
  
  • Skills
    
    • Imaging perofrming on the balance beam successfully
• Motivational General
  
  • Arousal
    
    • including relaxation by imaging a quiet place
    • General
      
      • “I imagine the stress and anxiety
        associate with competing”
    • Mastery
      
      • “I imagine myself appearing selfconfident in front of opponents
• Cognitive general
  
  • Strategy
    
    • Imaging carrying out a strategy to win a competition

Question 10

Imagery

Explain psychoneuromuscal theory

Carpenter 1984 movement, small, physical

Answer 10

Psychoneuromusocular theory
- Imagery produces similar neuromuscular activity to the actual movement (Carpenter, 1984)
- Imagined arm movements produced small muscular contractions (Jackson, 1931)
- EMG activity greatest when imagining skiing over rough sections of course (Suinn, 1976)
- Unclear whether the activity is muscle specific
- Predicts that imagery should benefit ‘physical’ tasks more than ‘cognitive’ ones

Question 11

explain symbolic learning theory

blue print of movements, cognitive rehearsal

Answer 11

Symobolic learning theory
- Proposes that imagery generates & strengthens a ‘mental blueprint’ of the required action
- Evidence
- Beneficial effect of mental practice are greater for cognitive than motor tasks
- Imagery involves the same neural pathways as actual perception
- Enable rehearsal of cognitive aspects of a skill (e.g. strategy, decision making)