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Psychology Flashcards
Personality
“those relatively stable and enduring aspects of individuals which distinguish them from other people, making them unique but at the same time permit a comparison between individuals”
Interactionist view of personality
our personalities are developed through a constant interaction between the person and their environment.
Emergenesis
if a specific combination of several genes interact.
Epigenesis
the study of why and how genes interact with the environment and, in turn, shape human behavior.
Srvakic and Cloninger
“DNA outlines the overall adaptive potential of an organism.”
Walter Mischel socio-cognitive approach
competencies—our skills and knowledge
encoding strategies—our particular style and the schemas we use in processing
information
expectancies—what we expect from our own behavior and our anticipations
of our performance levels
plans—what we intend to do.
The interaction of these cognitive factors with environmental situations results in the expression of personality.
Social learning theory and personality
Competences and skills
Bandura.
Competences and skills: How someone speaks or looks is noticed and is often used to make judgments about their personality. Bandura argues that how we are perceived by others is influenced by our own feelings of competence. How you behave depends on the actual skills you have and whether you expect to be good at something.
Context specificity: certain psychological structures that are relevant in one situation are not relevant in another. Albert Bandura has demonstrated that we can work on our weaknesses and in some cases cope with, and even improve at, the tasks that we struggled with previously.
Psychological change: the manner in which competencies are acquired. Bandura states that competencies are acquired through observation and social interaction; therefore, a person who lacks particular skills in an area of their life, for example, sporting performance, can learn to improve them.
Social learning theory and personality
Beliefs and expectancies
Beliefs relate to how the world is, while expectancies concern what an individual thinks will happen in the future. A sub-category of these two concepts is what the world should be like. For self-improvement to occur a person needs to hold a belief about an action they perform, have expectations as to the outcome of that action and think about what the execution of that action should be like.
Social learning theory and personality
Behavioral standards
Goals
You use behavioral standards to judge the goodness or worth of your own behavior. According to Bandura we evaluate our own actions and then respond in an emotionally satisfied way (e.g. we meet our standards for performance) or dissatisfied way (e.g. we fail to meet our standards for performance).
Goals: relates to influencing change in our personalities is the identification and realization of goals.
Social-cognitive theory: Self-efficacy
Refers to the expectation that people have of their own capabilities for performance.
if you can increase feelings of self-efficacy then a consequent increase in physical performance can be observed.
confidence towards learning.
Self-efficacy vs self-esteem
Self-esteem refers to person’s global evaluation of their personal worth, whereas self-efficacy refers to what someone feels that they are able to achieve in a given setting.
Improving self-efficacy
Performance profiling
Performance accomplishments: A technique commonly used by psychologists to ascertain how athletes see themselves is termed “performance profiling”. psychologists need to try and understand the ways in which athletes perceive the world in which they train, live and perform. Regard an individual’s perception or meaning of their performance as a vital source of information to optimize performance. Questionnaires impose constructs on performers (i.e. they tell you whether you are an extrovert or an introvert) whereas a performance profile allows an athlete to create a personalized profile that gives them a central role in its construction.
Improving self-efficacy
Goal setting
Locke and Latham (1990) also stated that goals needed to be perceived as moderately difficult, negative and positive goals, short-term (process) and long-term (outcome) goals,
Measure perceived self-efficacy
Bandura states that an individual be measured immediately before the performance of specific behaviors in specific situations (i.e. putting not golfing).
Improving self-efficacy when you are elite and / or close to your potential
if goal setting is applied to someone who is already close to their performance potential, such as an elite sportsperson, then it is unlikely such an improvement will be feasible.
Improving self-efficacy
Vicarious experience, modelling
How you would feel if you observed one of your peer group successfully completing a task you were expected to perform. Modelling. Seeing an example of how to complete a task by a peer can act as a stimulus to attempt an activity you might not have considered otherwise.
Positive: Training with a group of people who are striving to be better at a task, whether academic or sporting, has the potential to spur you on to achieve feats that you did not think possible, provided you are not in awe of the people completing the task in the first place. You have to think or believe it is possible that you can attempt to complete the target activity.
Negative: Bandura demonstrated that acts of aggression, if viewed by impressionable people, can then be unthinkingly repeated in similar social situations.
Improving self-efficacy
Vicarious experience, verbal persuasion
From a high-status individual and is designed to encourage you to act in a particular way.
Improving self-efficacy
Imagery
Emotionally charged images personal to the performer can be used to motivate in training, or form part of a pre-performance routine designed to adjust the level of arousal (Morriss, Summers, 1995).
Improving self-efficacy
Physiological state
The interpretation a performer makes of their physiological state before a performance. Preparing to perform in front of an audience or trying a new but challenging activity often results in heightened levels of arousal.
Construction of attention
Arousal often results in attentional narrowing and selecting the most relevant cues upon which to focus.
Concentration (or effortful awareness): For example, listening intently to your sports coach during a timeout in basketball.
Selective attention: the ability to focus (“zoom in”) on relevant information and ignore distractors that compete for our attention, for example, ignoring the hostile crowd of spectators and listening intently to your sports coach during a timeout in basketball.
The ability to coordinate two or more actions at the same time: For example, checking the score on the scoreboard while at the same time listening intently to your sports coach during a timeout in basketball.
Also it is important to note that attentional narrowing can have a negative effect on performance, for example, if you focus your attention on the hostile crowd rather than listening intently to your sports coach during a timeout in basketball.
Self-efficiency and anxiety
Increased arousal can result in, for example, elevated heart rate, breathlessness, a dry mouth, a churning stomach and sweaty hands (Morriss, Summers 1995). As you prepare for action, your body automatically enables hormones to enter the bloodstream which have a corresponding effect on how you feel. Understanding the changes your body is making before physical exertion helps to reassure the performer and as a result increases self-efficacy. Therefore, a key antecedent to increased self-efficacy lies in understanding how and why your body works in the way that it does. However, not all physical activities require us to experience high levels of cognitive and somatic anxiety. In fact, in some sports you may want low levels of somatic anxiety but require high levels of focus, for example, in self-paced target sports like archery, whereas in sports like weightlifting, experienced performers have learned to realize that high levels of arousal accompanied by somatic anxiety can reassure the performer that they are going to exceed, or perform close to, their personal best.
Data to measure aspects of personality
L-data: lifetime history. IQ (intelligence quotient) tests, academic performance, achievements in other hobbies or sports, where somebody grew up, who raised them, whether any family members had any criminal convictions or used illegal substances, and if they have/had a spouse and any children or dependents, individual’s career aspirations and history of employment. Sometimes, data is misleading. For example, if someone has a high IQ it doesn’t necessarily mean they are going to be successful when they leave school. L-data needs to be considered very carefully in order to build up a pattern of behaviour over an extended period of time so as to determine why individuals behave in the way they do, and why they have made certain choices that affected outcomes in their lives and the lives of those they are related to.
O-data: observations and insights of knowledgeable others, such as friends, teachers, peers and family members. Often collected using questionnaires that are designed to focus on a specific facet of the target individual’s personality, for example, extroversion (Michaelis, Eysenck 1971), or conscientiousness (Pervin et al. 2005). O-data can also be collected by trained observers who might use Davies and West’s (1991) multi-modal approach for gathering information on an individual which they call BASIC-ID. This is another acronym, which stands for Behaviour, Affect, Sensations, Imagery, Cognition, Interpersonal functioning, and Diet and drugs. Briefly, trained observers consider and collect data on:
how someone is behaving (B)
their emotional state (A)
what bodily sensations they experience (S)
what mental pictures they are aware of (I)
what they are thinking (C)
how they interact with other people and peers (I)
whether they are eating properly and/or using medication or drugs (D).
This allows a researcher to develop a considered picture of how an individual is functioning in a particular setting. There are a number of important factors to consider when evaluating the worth and accuracy of O-data. In the case of questionnaires, how reliable is the questionnaire? Furthermore, what are the biases of the people providing this information—what do they really think the psychologist wants to find out? Finally, if observers are being used what are they being instructed to monitor, and is there a risk of them confirming their own biases? There are a quite a number of data collection and measurement techniques that fall into the category of O-data which may yield varying degrees of accuracy.
T-data: specific tests that might be used to assess someone. These can be used to assess someone’s suitability for a specific occupational role, but the use of this type of data by sports scientists, particularly sport psychologists, is comparatively rare.
S-data: information provided by the individual.The problem with self-report data is that it may be inaccurate. Firstly, an individual may want you to evaluate them in a favourable light and present a more flattering, though inaccurate, picture of what they are and what they do. It is described by psychologists as self-presentation. The second reason this form of data may be inaccurate relates to a tendency among certain individuals referred to as denial. Individuals with substance abuse problems or mounting financial debts can erect mental barriers that prevent them from consciously assessing their true emotional and behavioral state.
Motivation
the direction and intensity of one’s effort (Sage 1977) or “the study of motivation is the investigation of the energization, direction and regulation of behavior” Roberts (2001)
Types of motivation
Intrinsic motivation comes from within the person and is associated with doing an activity for itself and for the pleasure and satisfaction derived from participation. Intrinsic motives for taking part in sport and physical activity include excitement, fun, enjoyment and the chance to improve skills (Deci, Ryan, 1985).
Extrinsic motivation results from external rewards such as money, trophies and prizes, and less tangible rewards such as praise and status.
Additive principle
Intrinsic motivation can be boosted by extrinsic motivators. However, contrary to popular belief, this is not always a good idea. In fact, in some situations where the task is being performed because of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic rewards can lower the person’s intrinsic motivation.
Deci and Ryan (1985) developed cognitive evaluation theory to explain this phenomenon. This theory states that rewards can be divided into two types: controlling rewards and informational rewards. Controlling rewards include praise and trophies and are given to influence (control) an individual’s behavior. Informational rewards on the other hand convey information about an individual’s competence at a particular task. According to Deci and Ryan, rewards perceived by the recipient as controlling decrease intrinsic motivation, whereas rewards viewed as informational increase intrinsic motivation.
Self-determination theory
Deci & Ryan.
Amotivation
External regulation: Behavior that is driven by external forces rather than our own desire.
Introjected regulation: participate because we feel that we shuld in roder to avoid disapproval or feelings of guilt.
Identified regulation: because we feel it is personally important to do so and we value the activity.
Integrated level: Self-regulation, because we feel the activity is a key part of ourselves.
The three psychological needs (self-determination theory)
Autonomy: To make our own decisions and to be in control of one’s own behavoiur.
Cometence: Be able to accomplish things.
Relatedness: To realte to others and feel a sense of belonging.
McClellenad-Atkinson Theory of Achievement Motivation
The desire to succeed - The fear of failure
For some, the desire to succeed outweighs the fear of failure and these individuals are said to be high in achievement motivation. For others, the fear of failure is the more important factor and these individuals are said to be low in achievement motivation. . However, it is not only personality factors that predict behaviour but situational factors as well, such as the probability of success and the incentive for success. Thus, even if individuals are low in achievement motivation, if the probability of success is high and the rewards are great, they are likely to be motivated to participate. There are five components that contribute to need achievement theory, including personality factors, situational factors, resultant tendencies, emotional reactions and achievement-related behaviors. High achievers seek out challenges because they enjoy competing against others of equal ability and performing challenging tasks. Low achievers, on the other hand, avoid challenges, opting for easier tasks where failure is less likely, or very difficult tasks where no one expects them to win. Low achievers avoid the negative evaluation associated with failure and a 50–50 chance of success causes maximum uncertainty and worry. Both high and low achievers want to experience pride and minimize shame, but high achievers focus more on pride, whereas low achievers focus more on shame and worry. High achievers select more challenging tasks, display high levels of effort, focus on the pride of success and continue to try hard in difficult situations. Low achievers avoid challenging situations, exert less effort and persistence and focus more on the shame of failure. Gill (2000) reviewed the research into need achievement theory on the choice of high and low difficulty tasks and found strong support for high achievers seeking out difficult tasks and low achievers’ preference for easy tasks. However, according to Gill, the theory does not reliably predict sporting performance. That said, this approach has been very important in developing an understanding of motivation and serves as the framework in more contemporary motivational theories.
Attribution theory
the reasons people use to explain their successes and failures. Information about the reasons for the outcome of an event affects the expectancy of future success and failure and also the feelings people experience, which in turn affects achievement behaviour. Originally, Heider (1958) classified the attributions for success and failure into four categories: ability, effort, task difficulty and luck. However, Weiner (1985) identified that these attributions did not cover all possible reasons for success and failure. Consequently, Weiner provided a classification system that can be used for all possible attributions, not just the four that Heider originally proposed. These categories are: locus of stability (stable or unstable), locus of causality (internal or external) and locus of control (under control or not under our control)
Following a defeat there is a tendency for most people to adopt external attributions and blame other factors (e.g. luck), whereas after a success most of us tend to use internal reasons (e.g. effort or ability) to explain the outcome. This is known as the “self serving bias”. If, however, an individual perceives that his or her failure is due to a lack of ability (which is both stable and internal) and their actions have no effect on the outcome of the task (are out of their control) then a state of “learned helplessness” can exist. In this situation, the individual feels doomed to failure and feels that nothing can be done about it.
Weiner (1985) established an interesting link between attribution theory and need achievement theory. It seems that individuals with a high need to achieve attribute their success to internal causes of ability and effort and their failure to lack of effort, while low need achievers attribute their failure to external factors and in some cases to a lack of ability.
The theory has been criticized on the basis that, although it may be useful in telling us why things go wrong, it does not tell us how to put them right, as well as its lack of application to sport. It has also been criticized for focusing on why people expect to succeed, but not on why they want to succeed.
Achievement goal theory
Nicholls 1989: In achievement settings such as sport and exercise, an individual’s main concern is to demonstrate high ability and to avoid demonstrating low ability. Ability, however, can be viewed in different ways based upon two states of goal involvement known as task involvement and ego involvement. When individuals are task involved, they focus on mastery of the task, the learning of skills, exerting effort, and self-improvement. In contrast, ego involved individuals focus on demonstrating superior ability compared to others and on winning in competitions with less effort than others.
According to achievement goal theory, three factors combine to determine motivation:
@ achievement goals
@ perceived ability
@ achievement behaviour.
Nicholls (1989) argued that perceived ability has a moderating effect on an individual’s behaviours and that this effect is dependent on whether the individual adopts task or ego goals. When task goals are adopted and the individual is task involved, perceived ability is not relevant, since the criteria for success is self-referenced rather than comparative to others. In such circumstances, behaviours are most likely to be positive and the individual is predicted to persist in the face of difficulty, exert effort, choose challenging tasks and be interested in the activity. On the other hand, when an individual adopts ego goals and is ego involved, perceived ability is of greater importance because the demonstration of ability compared to others is now highly significant to the individual. According to Nicholls (1989), in such circumstances, if perceived ability is high, positive motivational behaviours are predicted, as it is likely that high ability will be demonstrated. However, if perceived ability is low then more negative behaviours such as avoiding challenges, lack of effort, reduced persistence and the devaluing of tasks are predicted.
Achievement goal theory states that an individual’s goal involvement in a particular situation is the combined result of his/her achievement goals (goal orientations) and the prevailing situational factors (motivational climate). Achievement goal orientations are an individual’s proneness to be task or ego involved, which result from childhood socialization experiences at home, in the classroom or through previous experiences of sport and exercise activity. Although there is some evidence that these goal orientations can be influenced over time, they are relatively stable and unlikely to change in the short term. Nicholls argued that task and ego goal orientations are independent dispositional tendencies, which means that an individual can be high or low in either, or both, at the same time.
In order to study differences in dispositional goal orientations in sport and exercise settings, Duda and Nicholls (1989) developed the “Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire” (TEOSQ). Research has found a consistent pattern of motivational responses for task versus ego oriented individuals in sport and physical education settings. Task orientation has been positively related to effort, enjoyment, persistence, satisfaction and interest. In contrast, ego orientation has been negatively associated with enjoyment and interest and positively related to boredom. Furthermore, task oriented individuals have been found to be more intrinsically motivated than ego oriented individuals. The achievement goal theory approach has been criticized for having a Western and male bias and for only considering the two goals of task and ego. Fontayne et al. (2001) argued that people may hold multiple goals, each of which may influence their level of motivation for a particular social domain. Furthermore, limiting the study of motivation to the study of task/mastery and ego/social comparison goals could be considered reductionist, particularly when people from minority cultural groups are concerned.
In addition to an individual’s goal orientations, the particular environment or motivational climate created by the teacher, coach, peers or parents can induce a state of task or ego involvement in sport and exercise situations. Ames (1992) contended that the perceived motivational climate influences an individual’s thoughts, feelings and achievement behaviours. Consistent with task and ego goal orientations, two climates have been found to be dominant in sport and educational environments: a performance (ego) climate and a mastery (task) climate.
@ In a performance climate, comparison with others is the most important source of information for self-evaluation; the focus is on winning and improvement is of little or no significance. In a mastery climate, performance is evaluated in terms of personal mastery and improvement and not in comparison to others.
Perceptions of a mastery climate are related to a task goal orientation, intrinsic motivation, a preference for challenging tasks and beliefs that success is due to effort. Furthermore, a positive attitude, high satisfaction, low boredom and anxiety, high self-rated improvement, continued involvement and self-determined reasons for participation have also been associated with perceptions of a mastery climate. In contrast, perceptions of a performance climate have been associated with high levels of worry, a focus on comparative ability and a preoccupation with enhancing one’s social status.
Ames identified the dimensions of achievement situations that influence the motivational climate as the task, authority, recognition, grouping, evaluation and time structures (TARGET).
Manipulating these TARGET structures to be mastery focused has been found to improve pupils’ motivation in physical education lessons, resulting in greater satisfaction with the activities, a more positive attitude towards the activity and a preference for more challenging tasks.
Combining motivational climate theory with attribution theory may help us to understand why a perceived mastery motivational climate has consistently been associated with positive motivational outcomes. A mastery motivational climate is associated with effort and self-referenced criteria for success. Attribution theory tells us that effort is seen as internal, controllable and unstable, thus allowing individuals to view success as achievable in the future with continued application of effort and, perhaps more importantly, to view failure as redeemable with greater effort.
Arousal
a blend of physiological and psychological activity in a person, varying from deep sleep to intense excitement. Often considered to be the immediate response (“fight or flight”) to a stressor and is governed by the sympathetic nervous system and corresponds to the alarm reaction of the general adaptive system. Autonomic arousal causes the sympathetic nervous system to close down any of the body’s physiological systems that are non-essential to fight or flight and accelerates those that are essential. Generally as a consequence all parasympathetic activity is curtailed.
Pounding heart, muscles tense, irritable, dry mouth and throat, cold sweat, butterflies, trembling, a sense of unreality, confused, weak or fainy, unable to remember details or events of the mission immediately afterwards, sick to the stomach, unable to concentrate, wet or soiled pants.
Anxiety
a negative emotional state in which feelings of nervousness, worry and apprehension are associated with arousal of the body.
“subjective evaluation of a situation, and concerns jeopardy to one’s self-esteem during performance or social situations, physical danger, or insecurity and uncertainty” (Schwenkmezger, Steffgen 1989).
Central to understanding anxiety is the view that it is based on the subjective experience, often called “relational meaning”, of an event. In this way a situation is not stressful to an individual unless they perceive it to be so. Anxiety has been found to be multidimensional comprising of both cognitive and somatic anxiety and possibly also a behavioural component.
@ Cognitive anxiety is the worry component and has been effectively defined by Borkovec as a chain of thoughts and images negatively affect-laden and relatively uncontrollable (Borkovec 1993).
@ Somatic anxiety is closely linked to physiological arousal and is best explained in terms of an awareness of physiological changes that provides a signal to the individual that they are anxious. So a performer who experiences some trembling and nausea may feel more anxious because these symptoms confirm to them that they are becoming anxious. This
kind of physiological feedback and interpretation would support and enhance feelings of anxiety.
Choking
the occurrence of inferior performance despite striving and incentives for superior performance. Under pressure performers attempt to increase the degree of conscious control on movement. However many relatively well-learned movements become less effective, smooth and efficient when tighter step- by-step control is applied. In short increased efforts to improve performance actually result in worse performance (“choking”).
Stress
“a non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it” (Selye 1979).
Time-limited “voluntary” stress, TIme-limited “compulsory” stress, stressful event sequences, chronic stress, distant stressors.
Furthermore the word “stress” can be used to mean an external force or influence, such as ambient temperature as a source of stress for desert marathon runners. Or stress can be used to describe an internal response that may be moderated by individual factors, so core body temperature may show that an acclimatized individual is under less stress than a non-acclimatized individual. Stress can also be considered in terms of whether it involves a physical threat or danger to the individual (or someone close to them), or whether it relates
to social evaluative concerns in which the persons feels that their status or position will be affected.
Under stress, people sometimes report symptoms of arousal.
Inverted U-approach
Yerkes and Dodson suggested that for complex tasks there was an optimal level of arousal above and below which performance levels would decrease.
The data on which the inverted-U approach was based was collected from a study examining the performance of mice learning to get through a maze under different conditions of electric shock. Surprisingly it is still often presented to explain performance of humans in sport settings even though there is little supporting evidence for this. Conceptually the inverted-U approach provides a simple description and this simplicity may partly explain why it is often used and remembered. However there is significant doubt over the value of this model, not least when we consider real-life examples of performers experiencing stress where the decline in performance level is not slow and progressive but rapid and dramatic.
The limitations of the inverted-U approach are:
@ a lack of credible weight of evidence on responses in sport
@ real-world performances are often comprised of several components and anxiety may affect different components in different ways
@ real-life declines are often sudden and rapid
@ descriptions of relationships do not provide explanatory mechanisms for the effects
@ arousal is not accurately defined (different elements may change independently of each other)
@ anxiety or other important cognitive processes associated with stressful performances are not included.
Cortisol and adrenaline
Cortisol has often been referred to as a negative stress marker and in other (non-sport studies) it has been shown that the more extreme cortisol levels (either high or low) can impair aspects of cognitive function such as memory, vigilance and decision-making. In contrast the adrenaline responses show the opposite effect with facilitators benefitting from a late surge in this hormone that is positively associated with physical performance, a vital ingredient to a good canoeing performance.
The transactional model of stress
The key difference in these experiences lies in how performers personally interpret the meaning of the situation for them (this is termed the ‘transaction’ between person and situation). The ratio of perceived challenge and threat is thought to lie at the heart of whether a performer feels anxious or excited.
Imagine two hypothetical athletes in the 100 meter Olympic final. One athlete is the returning champion and clear favourite, with ten years’ experience competing at the top level. The other athlete was a junior just last year and by chance became a surprise selection to the team and has reached unexpected levels of performance to reach the final. The first athlete carries the weight of expectation that they
will win. In fact to win merely meets expectation and any other place is a failure. This situation offers this athlete very little opportunity (apart from staying the world’s top sprinter) and a very large threat, since anything less than a win will reduce their position and status. The second athlete however has already surpassed all expectations to reach the final and finishing last would not have any significant negative impact. In fact this athlete has nothing to lose (low threat) and everything to gain (high challenge).
Self-report data
Determining levels of anxiety has one fundamental problem which is that it is primarily a cognitive function. Despite the very best technological advancements in brain imaging and scanning there is no immediate prospect of determining specific types of thought from such data sources. Consequently the only mechanism to assess what a person is thinking is to ask. In anxiety research, questionnaires and interviews are the primary sources of data collection.
Asking people to report anxiety states carries a number of limitations. Like many scientific measurements it is intrusive and hard to apply in real, time-pressured situations. However self-report data also has limitations if the respondent lacks sufficient awareness to accurately answer the questions. There is also a danger that respondents may “manage” their responses to appear in a positive light. This is called social desirability. Questionnaires are also less robust to the effects of language comprehension, reading ability and educational background compared to a simple physiological measure. There are steps that can be taken to reduce, although not remove, some of the limitations above.
Catastrophe model
Hardy and Fazey 1987. The model presented was three-dimensional and centered on the concept of a “performance surface” to describe the combined effects of physiological arousal (closely allied to somatic anxiety although not the same) and cognitive anxiety on performance levels. The performance surface is best thought of as a soft sheet with a large fold at the front and a small ridge at the back. Unlike inverted-U theory, the Catastrophe Model suggested that when cognitive anxiety was high (towards the front of the performance surface), continued increases in physiological arousal would result in a catastrophic decline in performance. At the back of the model you will see the performance surface is shaped in a gentle inverted-U shape and suggest that at low cognitive anxiety physiological arousal will influence performance with a gradual increase to an optimal level followed by gradual decline. One aspect of this model not evident from the diagram relates to what happens following a sudden catastrophic decline. Hardy and Fazey proposed that small reductions in physiological arousal were not sufficient to regain the level of performance. Instead they suggested that significant reduced arousal was required before the performers could begin to approach the same performance level again. The crucial aspect of this part of the model is that performance does not follow the same path when physiological arousal is increasing as when it is decreasing.Catastrophe theory was a significant development in understanding what happens to performance when anxiety increases because it considered the interaction between physiological arousal and cognitive anxiety. However the contribution of catastrophe theory failed to address two important issues.
@ A key requirement of any “theory” is that it identifies a mechanism to explain events. Catastrophe theory, whilst suggesting a relationship between anxiety, arousal and performance, did not offer any explanation as to why this relationship is thought to occur.
@ The model of catastrophe theory presented the idea of a “performance surface” but did not explain how it would be possible to accurately determine where a performer was on this surface. This significantly limited the potential for this theory to have real-world application. The failure of catastrophe theory to offer a clear mechanism to explain the consequences of anxiety on performance, or to be practically useful, suggest that an alternative explanation was required. A viable explanation that has been linked to anxiety relates to the changes in attention. For many years it has been recognised that attention changes under conditions of anxiety, with increased anxiety being associated with decreased breadth and flexibility of attention. Under anxiety people seem to attend to less information, even ignoring information that is useful, and are not able to quickly move attention to different areas even when the situation demands this. However attention changes are not just symptoms of anxiety but have been suggested as a causal explanation of performance changes.
Processing Efficiency Theory
The work of Michael Eysenck and colleagues has been instrumental in developing a clear explanation of the way in which anxiety affects performance through attention processes. Attention is fundamental to performance, not only influencing the quality of information on which decisions are made by selecting all the correct cues to attend to, but of equal importance, by avoiding all of the distractions. Distractions can be deliberate (a dummy pass), due to conditions (a large noisy crowd), internal (fear of failing) and external (lots of
moving opponents). Sometimes attending to factors normally of the highest relevance is a mistake and shows the performer has failed in attending to the most important cue at the time. Consider the example from the start of this chapter of Jean van de Velde in the final stages of the British Open golf championship in 1999. In golf the main objective is to get the ball in the hole in less shots than your opponent. However on this final hole, the situations demanded that he attend to a different and unusual goal. The well learned goal of “fewest shots” may have distracted him from the new goal that would have resulted in him winning the tournament.
Attentional processes are assumed to take place in and be organised by working memory. This limited capacity system is also easily affected by worry and the “uncontrollable thoughts and images of failure” that characterise worry use up valuable working memory capacity. Ultimately the combined demands of skilled execution and worry exceed capacity and, because worry dominates attention it can occupy attention space required for performance and produce a decline in performance level. The concept of working memory capacity being exceeded suggests there is a period in which performance efficiency gradually declines although absolute performance level is maintained. You can think of this like energy consumption in two swimmers completing the same distance in the same time. One swimmer may be skilled and have a very efficient stroke requiring less energy to complete the swim. The novice can keep up to begin with by applying more effort but this reduced efficiency means they have less capacity in reserve. Performers also expend mental effort in performance and similar to physical energy may expend different amounts. As tasks increase in complexity more effort is required to complete them and as more distractions occur even more effort is required to maintain correct focus. Processing Efficiency Theory (proposed by Eysench and Calvo in 1992) emphasizes that the relationship between anxiety and performance is best explained by changes in efficiency rather than changes in absolute performance level.
Processing efficiency = Performance / Effort
This theory explains the sudden drop in observed performance level is actually the end phase of a more gradual reduction in processing efficiency which has then reached capacity limits. The role of attention in explaining anxiety effects has been further developed by identifying three key functions of attention which are illustrated below with reference to athletic sprinting.
Attention functions:
Inhibition: prevent sprinter from focusing on appratent power and physical abilities of rivals. Focus on relevant “threat” of opponent’s physique.
Shifting: Enable focus on different factors in sequence, like warm up, coach instructions, holding room and keep arousal level in balance with breathing, recall positive memories, mentally rehearse race. Cannot listen to coach properly whilst completing warm-up. Rehearsal fo race fixated on perceived weakness in start.
Updating: Keep aware of time, where to be and when, monitor emotional state. With anxiety, constant checking required to avoid mistakes.
@ Anxiety increases are associated with performance efficiency decreases.
@ Cognitively complex tasks are affected more than simple tasks (because they require more capacity).
@ Anxiety results in attention being led more by immediate sensory input (e.g. what you see) and less by goal-directed plans (game strategy).
@ Susceptibility to distractions increases with increases in anxiety.
@ Performances requiring switching between two or more sub-tasks are more prone to error under anxiety.
@ Anxiety will reduce the frequency and accuracy of performers’ ability to monitor and update information.
Working memory
Imagine a basketball player beginning a match. In his head he is re-running the last instructions the coach said “real fast in attack; don’t let them boss you; keep the defensive
shape”. He also recalls long term memories about his opponents and their individual skills and preferences—a player who always spins to change direction, a player who always tries to go around the outside and another with a great three-point shot. For each opponent he decides how to play against them well. Simultaneously he becomes aware he feels a little sluggish, so claps his hands and does a couple of jumps telling himself to be sharp. These activities all demonstrate working memory in action; replaying auditory material, extracting information from long term memory, making decisions, and comparing current
with planned situations. Working memory has been likened to a “computer desktop”, which processes (not just stores) internal and external generated information. However working memory is limited and too many processes at once will mean some are overlooked or not completed. It is also transitory which although means it does not become encumbered, does mean it may repeatedly go over processing which is especially relevant when we consider how it responds to anxiety and worrisome thoughts. This effect is particularly evident when people are travelling and frequently check tickets and travel documents, but often cannot remember where they are when they are requested for inspection.
Researching and measuring stress and anxiety
Triangulation
To research stress and anxiety effectively it is necessary to devise ways to measure these “constructs” in ways that are sufficiently valid and reliable to provide valuable information and understanding. The term “construct” is used to label an idea or concept that does not have a tangible form (e.g. you cannot touch or see it), but is created to explain a phenomenon. Some examples of other constructs might include fatigue, aggression or center of gravity. Each is determined through examining the outcome of usually two or more other primary measurements. The construct of anxiety has been measured in several different ways in the research outlined in case studies presented in this chapter. One way of measuring the anxiety construct is to measure the changes we know that are associated with increased anxiety. So the symptoms and responses discussed earlier in this chapter, for example increases in heart rate, offer ways to measure anxiety. We can very broadly group these symptoms under five category headings (though note that strictly speaking biochemical would be a subset of physiological – but it warrants specific attention).
Measuring changes under just one of these symptoms is a weak approach to determining if someone is anxious because changes may be due to other factors. For example if we measured the cortisol of football players turning up to training in the morning we might find it was higher than during the afternoon. However high cortisol does not mean the player is stressed or anxious as it is affected by other factors including a significant diurnal (daily) peak in the morning. To overcome this problem good research designs use a combination of measurements. When the results converge to provide a consistent picture then researchers can be more certain the measurement is valid. This process is often referred to as triangulation. Even though the word “triangulation” suggests three measurements are used, the term is used for any combination of two or more measurements to increase validity.
Determining what a person feels or thinks (emotion and cognition) is largely dependent on asking them and usually this occurs via a questionnaire or interview. There are several potential problems associated with this approach. There are strategies that can help to minimise, though never remove, the potential for this source of information to be inaccurate
There are several questionnaires that have been developed for use in sport settings that have established reliability and validity, this is important to enhance the quality of information. Non-sport specific questionnaires should not be used unless they are assessing the general tendency or predispositions of participants which are expected to affect general life as well as sport. Despite the limitations, self-report contains too much information of value to ignore so it has to be used, but with care, to provide the best possible information whilst accepting its limitations.
Performers in sport will always experience heightened arousal and very commonly stress and anxiety. Performing in such environments is directly associated with meeting challenges, excitement and later satisfaction and pride at one’s achievement. So it seems that we should not strive to reduce or remove the stress or anxiety inherent in sporting situations. Performing in the presence of stress in sports settings may also teach people something that is of benefit them away from sports settings, in other parts of their life. Viewing sport in this way places it as a valuable learning opportunity to experience and practice a general life skill. Understanding stress and anxiety in sport also emphasises the important distinction between performance situations that require physical and mental
factors, such as most sports, in contrast with performance in an office or school setting where there is little physical component. Deep physical relaxation may help counter anxiety but is inappropriate for a sport performer who needs significant arousal levels to perform well. In contrast physical relaxation before a school exam may actually help performance in this mental task. Finally, understanding how performers learn to effectively cope with anxiety provides useful information to develop better coping skills training. The research also shows clearly that how people respond to situations is partly dependent on the transaction between them and the stress source(s). This means that it is possible for a person to be taught how to modify their anxiety experiences through their own thinking processes, and by managing and using effective coping responses. In this way understanding developed through sport psychology research on performers who are good at coping can help provide the basis for helping all of us cope more effectively.
Psychological skills
Psychological skills can be learned in formal teaching settings through consistent training, as well as more informally through life or sport experiences.Anyone can learn and improve their ability to use mental skills effectively, at any stage in their life.
Vealey (1988) made an important distinction when she highlighted the difference between useful psychological states (e.g. confidence, motivation, concentration) and the skills that can be applied (e.g. goal setting, imagery, self-talk, relaxation) to help improve them. This is important because it is very difficult to just “be confident” without guidance, especially when someone feels low in confidence. For example, coaches often assume that athletes know how to “concentrate” or “relax” when they are told to do so from the touchline. However, they probably have never thought about how the athlete can do those things and are even more unlikely to have trained such skills. Because of this, it is important that athletes (and coaches) know what practical steps need to be taken to improve psychological states, and take time to practice them.
Misconceptions about sport psychology support
Pain and Harwood (2004). @ Psychology is a quick fix.
@ It is only required for problem athletes.
@ It is only pertinent for elite athletes.
@ Psychology isn’t useful in a sport context.
Process of developing psychological skills
Phase 1: General education phase
It is very important to incorporate a general education phase into psychological skills training (PST). This can be used to clarify what psychological skills are, how they can be trained, what role and level of commitment is required on the behalf of the psychologist, coach and athlete, and what improvements such training can bring. This helps to clarify expectations and understand the potential usefulness for any given individual. Of course, every person has specific needs and circumstances and PST can be adapted to take on many different forms to best suit each individual. Equally, PST is not for everyone, which must also be respected.
Phase 2: Acquisition phase
The acquisition phase focuses on learning and understanding specific strategies and skills that will help to develop positive change where required. This phase will typically involve a thorough needs analysis of the athlete in their development and performance environment to ensure that PST is targeted at the athlete’s needs. It will also focus on teaching the athlete how to implement strategies within the context of why they work. This is important because helping athletes to understand themselves, their emotions and behaviour in different situations will enable them to become independent problem-solvers when new or novel challenges arise. This forms part of the process of helping athletes self-regulate effectively (Richards 2011), which is an important overriding aim for many sport psychologists, and one that ultimately enables the athlete to function independently.
Phase 3: Practice phase
The final phase of the PST programme is the practice phase, which according to Weinberg and Gould (2011) has three primary objectives:
@ to automate skills through overlearning
@ to teach athletes to systematically integrate psychological skills into
performance situations
@ to simulate skills athletes will want to apply in actual competition.
It is well documented that psychological skills cannot be taught effectively in isolation from the context in which they need to be applied (MacNamara et al. 2010). This is why in more formal PST settings, “homework” is set where the athlete practises different strategies under more realistic, sometimes increasingly pressured, situations. Regular evaluation is important as are meetings with the sport psychologist and/or personal reflections (e.g. logbook or journal) on the effectiveness of the strategies in different situations. These will enable the athlete to gain feedback, identify improvements and adjust and develop the strategies over time as required.
Goal setting
Essentially a goal has broadly been defined as “what an individual is trying to accomplish; it is the object or aim of an action” (Locke et al. 1981). Locke and Latham (2002) highlighted that goals stimulate motivation and improved performance through one or more of the following mechanisms.
@ Goals focus attention.
@ Goals mobilize effort in proportion to the demands of the task.
@ Goals enhance persistence.
@ Indirectly, having goals encourages the individual to develop strategies for
achieving them.
In other words, goals help direct and mobilize effort, while encouraging a problem-solving approach. Alternatively, goal setting has been shown to indirectly facilitate performance through knock-on effects on other psychological states. For example, Burton (1989) showed evidence of the positive effects of goals on performance through the manipulation of confidence and anxiety levels.
Types of goals
Different types of goals have been identified: outcome, performance and process goals.
@ Outcome goals relate to the outcome of an event, and usually involve a comparison with others (e.g. winning a race or being selected for a team).
@ Performance goals relate to a specific product of performance, which is normally relatively independent of others (e.g. swimming a certain race time or jumping a certain height).
@ Process goals relate to the processes that a performer will focus on during the performance (e.g. high knees or long stride pattern).
There are clear distinctions between the nature of these three types of goals (e.g. the extent of control the performer has over reaching their goal) and each of these goals has their own advantages and disadvantages within different contexts. For example, outcome goals can be useful for facilitating motivation in training, but have been shown to increase anxiety and irrelevant thoughts if used just prior to competition (Weinberg, Gould 2011). On the other hand, performance goals can help provide specific feedback about progress, and process goals can help provide a relevant focus in the middle of a race. Given these differences, it is perhaps unsurprising to see that using a combination of goal types has been shown to be more effective than using one alone (e.g. Filby et al. 1999).
Research into goal setting suggests that it is a technique that generally works very well. However, it has also been shown that if goals are not set properly they can impair the athlete’s progress and be a major source of stress. Having said that, a broad review of the goal setting literature with collegiate, youth and Olympic athletes revealed that almost all of the athletes used goal setting of some sort and found it to be effective.
Setting effective goals
The acronym SMARTER is often used for guidance when setting effective goals. While there are some merits in following the SMARTER guide (for example, it is easy to remember), rather confusingly many authors often use the acronym differently.
SMARTER goal setting
1) Specific
2) Measurable
3) Achievable
4) Realistic
5) Time-based
6) Exciting
7) Review
Also, SMARTER guidelines do not present a full picture of the evidence, providing a rather simplistic overview. For a more full review of the goal setting literature see Hardy et al. (1996). Having said this, summary guidelines are still very useful, so a more substantial set of evidence-based goal setting principles are presented below.
1 Set specific goals
Research has shown that specific goals often lead to better performance than ‘do your best’ goals or no goals (e.g. Tenenbaum et al. 1991). The more well defined you can make your goals the better. For example, “I want to be better at golf ” can be made more specific, observable and measurable by changing it to “I want to lower my handicap from 5 to 3, by improving the accuracy of my iron play to the green from 100 yards”. The more specific the goals, the more easily you can plan, practice and identify when you have been successful.
2 Set moderately difficult but realistic goals
Kyllo and Landers (1995) found that “moderately difficult” goals lead to the best performance, but they must be accepted by the athlete. However, Bueno et al. (2008) warned that if goals are perceived to be too difficult it can lead to learned helplessness. As such, it is important to try to find the right balance for the individual and adjust your goals when necessary—you will probably know if you are challenging yourself to the right level.
3 Set both short- and long-term goals—stepping stones to success
A combination of short- and long-term goals has been shown to be most effective (Kane et al. 2001). This is particularly true if long-term goals are broken down into relevant short-term goals which act as stepping stones, providing more regular feedback, ongoing focus and success experiences. Starting with a long-term goal in mind, then working backwards in time to form stepping stones to achieving your long-term goal is a common technique. Leading on from this, it is important to finish by identifying relevant practice
goals and a good understanding of “what I want to achieve today”.
4 Set a combination of outcome, performance and process goals
For every outcome goal that an athlete sets, there must be a range of different performance and process goals to support and underpin it (Filby et al. 1999). Remember the outcome goal (e.g. winning, getting selected, beating someone) often drives motivation while the process goals (e.g. technical, tactical, mental and/or physical tasks) and performance goals (e.g. specific times, splits, distances, shots) provide timely feedback and focus for day-to-day activities.
5 Always have training and competition goals
Athletes spend a lot of time practicing and relatively little time performing. Given the importance and specific nature of the deliberate practice required to improve (Ericsson et al. 1993), it is crucial that training goals are set, in addition to competition goals. Interestingly, Orlick and Partington (1988) found that one of the factors that differentiated between successful and less successful athletes was “setting practice goals”. Doing this will ensure you remain focused, motivated through training and in competition.
6 Record your goals and make sure you get feedback on your progress
Research has shown the importance of recording goals and placing them where they can be seen as constant reminders. Furthermore, getting regular feedback on progress is an essential part of the process, enabling athletes to build confidence and motivation effectively over time. This will ensure you recognize and understand any progress and success on a regular basis.
7 Always identify strategies to help you be successful
Locke and Latham (2002) highlighted that goals work by encouraging someone to develop a plan of action. As such, this is a crucial part of the process of goal setting. It is common for sporting careers to have plenty of ups and downs, where challenges and barriers are encountered regularly. As such, identifying potential barriers, problem-solving and perseverance become crucial skills for negotiating the journey successfully.
8 Foster individual commitment to your goals and ensure you have adequate support
It is important that the aspirations of the individual are developed through goal setting in order to foster intrinsic motivation and commitment. As such, it is important to understand what an athlete really wants, encourage choice and perceptions of ability through the process. Furthermore, Dishman (1988) found that good support networks facilitated adherence to goal pursuit. As such, both of these aspects should be incorporated into the goal setting process.
Mental imagery
Imagery is “using all the senses to recreate or create an experience in the mind” (Vealey, Walter 1993) and is also sometimes known as mental practice or mental simulation. Imagery is a “central pillar” of applied psychology practice (Perry, Morris 1995) and has been shown to enhance motor task performance, increase muscular strength, and increase movement speed.
Lang’s bio-informational theory (1977). This theory proposes that the same neural pathways in the brain used in performing skills are activated during the use of vivid imagery. This carries important implications for applied interventions as the same areas of the brain should be activated during imagery as during performance itself.
Indeed, Holmes and Collins (2001) suggest the extent to which this happens will determine the success of the imagery technique. They went on to devise seven elements to consider in the delivery of motor imagery-based interventions: Physical (should resemble as closely as possible to the actual performance), Environment (resemble to the environment), Task (mirror the attention demands and changes of the actual practice), Timing (prepare for and exectue movements in real time), Learning (difficulties should be included to keep it realistic), Emotion (experience the feelings and emotions of the performance), Perspective (internal or external, from the inside looking out or from the outside) (PETTLEP). The PETTLEP model of imagery is built on Lang’s theory, but still requires testing and is far from complete. Nevertheless this model provides a way of incorporating all the relevant senses into an imagery intervention.
Of course, individuals will use imagery techniques differently depending on what type of activity is being performed (e.g. number of natural breaks in play and frequency of set plays/shots) and what level the athlete is performing at (e.g. novices may image a specific aspect of the skill, while experts may image the whole skill). Similarly, there may be a whole host of reasons why an athlete is using imagery as part of their preparation or performance (e.g. concentration enhancement, self-confidence, skill acquisition, emotional control, practice strategy, and coping with pain and injury). In addition, imagery may be integrated with other psychological skills as part of a wider performance intervention (e.g. imagery may feature as part of a pre-performance routine along with relaxation and self-talk techniques).
Relaxation techniques
Top level sports performers use a variety of skills and strategies to help them cope with pressured situations and among these relaxation is prominent. The ability to relax is considered important as a form of anxiety control and to ensure arousal levels are such that they will facilitate rather than debilitate performance. Additionally, literature in the area has identified that being relaxed during performance is one characteristic of peak performance although this is dependent on the sport (Krane, Williams 2006). For example, a golfer may benefit from feeling relaxed before performing, but a judo player almost certainly won’t. This is because, in general, a higher level of arousal is required for certain sports such as combat sports than for others such as target sports.
Progressive muscle relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is one of the most common forms of relaxation used in sport. Modern techniques are all variations of Jacobson’s PMR (1938), so this is not a new phenomenon. The technique involves the systematic focus of attention on various gross muscle groups throughout the body and requires the individual to progress through the body, tensing and then releasing each of the muscle groups in turn.
PMR enhances greater self-awareness of degrees of body tension and the impact of this on performance. The goal of relaxation is to be able to achieve a relaxed state in seconds; however, as with developing any skill, it takes practice in order to be able to achieve this. The PMR training schedule below illustrates how PMR can be practiced to reduce the amount of time it takes to achieve a relaxed state.
@ The first phase of training involves a 15–20 minute PMR session practiced twice a day (the use of PMR scripts or tapes can assist with this).
@ You can then move on to a release-only phase, which should take between 5–7 minutes to complete.
@ The time is reduced to a 2–3 minute version with the use of the self- instruction “relax”.
@ The time is further reduced until only 20–30 seconds are required and then the technique is practiced in specific situations.
It is extremely important to consider how the use of relaxation fits into athletes’ pre-performance and performance routines. For example, the use of PMR just before a competition may not leave the performer in an optimum state. It is a technique that could be adapted for use both in the build up to and on the day of competition, however it would be most beneficial in its trained form as a rapid relaxation technique or if used as an aid to heighten awareness of unwanted tension. Only if sports performers are aware of any tension that may adversely affect their performance can they take measures to reduce or eliminate it.
Breathing techniques
Breathing techniques can be used to calm the body and distract the mind from the pressures of competition by giving the performer a specific task to focus on. The power of deep breathing as an aid to relaxation should not be underestimated. Not only does it increase the amount of oxygen in the blood, carry more energy to the muscles and facilitate the removal of waste products (Williams, Harris 2006) but a deep, regular and slow pattern of breathing is very relaxing to the body and mind (Cox 2007). Breathing techniques require regular practice in order for them to be used effectively in the build up to and during competition. As with relaxation an awareness of effective and ineffective breathing is the first step towards breathing control. For example, under stressful conditions performers may hold their breath (e.g. just before a performance) or breathe rapidly and shallowly; both of which limit the amount of oxygen in the blood and increase muscle tension. One of the simplest forms of slow breathing is to breathe in to the count of four and breathe out to a count of eight. This technique encourages breathing control and provides a focus for the performer, so they are less likely to be distracted by irrelevant or unhelpful thoughts. When used in combination with relaxation and mental imagery, breathing techniques can assist athletes in reaching a hypnotic state. This may be particularly useful during a break or time out during a match or just before a performance (Weinberg, Gould 2011).
Biofeedback
Biofeedback is the use of instruments to measure physiological systems (e.g. heart rate, muscle activation, brain waves, skin temperature) and feed that information back to the athlete (Wilson, Peper, Schmid 2006). Awareness of these systems and in particular whether they are operating to the optimal level can assist athletes in controlling them. For example, it has been shown that pistol shooters can not only lower their heart rates through the use of relaxation and breathing techniques, but can train themselves to shoot between heart beats, so as to reduce the amount of physiological variability involved at the point of release (Hatfield, Landers, Ray 1987).
