Psychological influences on the individual Flashcards
What is personality?
> Personality was defined by Diane Gill as a “unique psychological make-up”
Implies that each person in sport has their own personality profile and that this personality can and does have implications for the way coaches and players should approach training and competitions.
What is trait theory?
> An individual is born with innate characteristics called traits that are stable, enduring and stay the same in different situations
Behaviour is said to be consistent so that the sports performer will behave the same in most situations
Trait theory attempts to predict behaviour if most people are going to behave the same in situations
The problem with trait theory is that it does not take into account personality change - personality and behaviour can change with the situation
What is social learning theory?
> Suggests that we learn behaviour from other people especially from the significant other
A process called socialisation whereby we pick up other peoples behaviours
We are more likely to learn reinforced behaviour that is seen as successful and powerful
Behaviour is more likely to be copied if seen at a live event than on media
What is the interactionist perspective?
> A theory which combines trait and social learning to predict behaviour in a specific situation
What was Lewin’s approach to personality?
> Lewin (1935) suggested that the interactionist approach is explained by Lewin’s formula B = F (P x E) where behaviour is a function of personality and the environment.
Helps a coach to try to predict how a player will behaviour when put under a certain situation.
Supports the idea of the interactionist approach
What was Hollander’s approach?
> He suggested that personality is made up of three features: the core of the performer, the typical response and role-related behaviour.
the core - represents the values and beliefs
typical response - usual responses a player would make in a given situation
role-related behaviour - further changes to behaviour may be needed
Supports the idea of the interactionist approach
How can knowledge of the interactionist perspective improve performance?
> A coach could predict any potential unacceptable or aggressive behaviour and remove the player from the situation
Could identify situations that cause inappropriate actions or a dropping in performance and create similar situations in training
Could change player behaviour by encouraging players to adapt to specific circumstances
What is attitude?
> Attitude is a value aimed at an attitude object
An attitude is an opinion
It can be described as a value or belief towards something
What is attitude formation?
> Attitudes are formed by associating with others and picking up their opinions and values (socialisation)
We tend to learn attitudes from significant others
Such attitudes are more likely to be learned if the behaviour we see in those significant others are are reinforced or repeated many times
Praise from your coach from your performance will develop a positive attitude
Negative attitudes can be learnt from role models who do not play to high moral values
What are the three attitude components?
> The three parts of attitude are known as the triadic model and are as follows:
1) Cognitive - simply what you think and your beliefs
2) Affective - feelings and emotions of the player. Shown when the player enjoys taking part in training and playing.
3) Behavioural - reflects what you do. Shown by actions and habits of the performer
How can attitude change? And what is cognitive dissonance?
> Positive attitudes need to be encouraged so people maintain motivation and effort
There are 2 concepts that can change attitude:
1) Cognitive dissonance
2) Persuasive communications
> Cognitive dissonance can be used in the following ways:
1) The player may be given new information or activity. The coach may point out the benefits of a new form of exercise which the players may form a negative approach to.
2) Making the activity fun and varying practice may make the session more enjoyable.
3) Using rewards as reinforcement may increase the turnout at training
4) Coach could bring in a role model from another club to encourage participation
What is persuasive communication?
> Communication to the performer needs to be relevant and important and the message given needs to be understood
The giver of the message also needs to be high in status
Coach needs to time when the message is delivered properly - for example after a loss when the player releases something needs to change to get better
What is arousal in sport? And what are the 4 theories?
> Arousal - is an energised state and readiness to perform
Arousal is always present when playing sport
Arousal is important to give players some degree of excitement and enthusiasm however, over arousal can cause problems
Increased arousal can be cause from increase in competition, by the audience, frustration.
The 4 theories of arousal are:
1) Drive theory
2) Inverted U theory
3) Catastrophe theory
4) Peak flow
Drive theory is?
> Increased arousal = increased performance
The more drive we have the more chance in increase performance levels as players put in more effort
Performance is said to be a function of drive multiplied by habit, P = F (D x H)
At high arousal less information is processed and players often rely on the dominant response, the response thought to be correct
In experts the dominant response is usually correct and performance remains high. However, beginners will often chose the wrong response
Inverted U theory is?
> As drive and arousal increase so does performance
Performance is improved only up to an optimal point which tends to be at a moderate arousal level
After this further arousal will decrease performance therefore under and over arousal will decrease performance
1) Experience (novice Vs expert) - Novice would operate under lower levels of arousal better as they may feel uncomfortable under pressure compared to experts.
2) Personality (introvert Vs extrovert) - Introverts are said to have naturally high levels of adrenaline so will perform better at lower levels of arousal than extroverts
3) Task (gross Vs fine) - A simple (fine) skill requires a lot less thinking and so will be performed well at high levels of arousal compared with a complex (gross) skill.
