Psychology Notes Flashcards
What is interactionist theory?
An explanation of behaviour that assumes that our personality depends on our traits and the environment
What is trait theory?
Suggests that personality is made up of a number of broad traits. Traits are innate, enduring personality characteristics that allow behaviour to be predicted.
What is the inner layer of Hollanders model?
The psychological core
This is an inner core of beliefs and values and attitudes. This is fairly stable and unlikely to change.
What is the middle layer of Hollanders model?
Typical responses
What is the outer layer of Hollanders model?
Actual responses
The most changeable aspects of our personality. Hollander suggests that our behaviour will vary depending on how we feel and the situation we are in.
What are the three methods of personality testing?
Questionnaire
Interview
Observation
What is Lewins equation?
Behaviour = function (personality x environment)
What are the six factors measured in POMS?
Tension
Depression
Anger
Vigour
Fatigue
Confusion
Who came up with POMS?
Morgan (79)
What is the iceberg profile?
The shape of the results for the elite athlete on POMS
Tend to score higher on vigour and lower on negative mood States
Unsuccessful tend to score approx. equal across all mood States
What are the disadvantages of POMS?
Some elite athletes do not have this profile
Some non elite athletes display the profile
Elite performers may only develop positive mood States as a result of success
What is achievement motivation?
The theory that an individual’s behaviour is determined by their interaction with the environment and their desire to succeed.
What is the formula for achievement motivation?
Achievement motivation = desire to succeed - fear of failure
What factors must be considered when looking at achievement motivation?
Incentive value of success
Chances of success
Personality of performer
What is nAch personality?
The motivation to succeed or attain particular goals. This is approach
What are the characteristics of approach behaviour?
Seek out challenges
Task persistence
Value feedback from others
Concerned with standards of performance and excellence
Enjoy being evaluated
What is nAf behaviour?
The motivation to avoid failure. This is avoidance behaviour.
What are the characteristics of avoidance behaviour?
Avoids challenging tasks
Performs worse when being evaluated
Lacks task persistence
Does not value feedback
What is arousal?
Arousal is the state of general preparedness of the body for action, involving physiological and psychological factors
Summarise hulls drive theory
A theory of arousal that proposes a linear relationship between arousal and performance.
Hulls view was that higher levels of arousal would intensify the dominant response
What is the dominant response?
Max. Skill level
Why is drive theory now considered inaccurate?
Even the most successful performers show that there is a point when arousal reaches a very high level but performance fails to improve.
Summarise is inverted U theory
A theory that considers that optimal performance occurs when the performer reaches optimal levels of arousal. If arousal continues performance will then decrease.
Inverted U theory has had to be adapted because research indicates a number of reasons why beginners are not able to perform as well as experts as arousal levels increase. What are these?
The skill is less habitual to a beginner
Increased arousal may take a performers attention away from the skill performance
Beginners rely heavily on expected cues and signals
Summarise catastrophe theory
Performance is affected by cognitive and somatic anxiety
When cognitive high but somatic low, performance is enhanced
When both are high, performance can suddenly deteriorate
The performer tries to regain control by decreasing arousal
Some performers will continue to deteriorate though
What are the physiological signs of arousal?
Increased heart rate
Sweating
Increased muscle tension
Feelings of nausea
Dazed look in the eyes
What are the Psychological signs of arousal?
Optimal
- increased focus and concentration
- decreased reaction time
- heightened awareness of important cues
Over
- anxiety
- negative self talk
- fear and anger
What is the peak flow experience?
Reefers to a period when a performer experiences a heightened state of consciousness
What are some characteristics of peak flow experience?
Highly focused
High levels of confidence
Movement or skill feels effortless
Sub conscious feelings of control
What is cognitive anxiety?
Thoughts, nervousness, apprehension or worry that a performer has about their lack of ability to complete a task successfully
What is somatic anxiety?
Physiological responses to a situation where a performer feels that they may be unable to cope
What is state anxiety?
Anxiety felt in a particular situation
What is trate anxiety?
An enduring personality trait giving a tendency to view all situations as threatening
What does SCAT stand for?
Sport competition anxiety test
SCAT uses self report by applied specifically to sports competitions (mainly measures state anxiety). According to martens, what four factors are related to competitive anxiety?
Individual differences in how performers react with different situations
The types of anxiety that a performer experiences
Competitive trait anxiety
The competition itself
What does CSAI 2 stand for?
Competitive state anxiety inventory
What is CSAI 2 ?
This uses self report to measure somatic state, competitive state and self confidence in a competitive situation.
It’s a questionnaire given out before different competitions but more than once to allow researchers to discover the base line of anxiety and compare with pre competition anxiety.
How can imagery be used as a cognitive technique for controlling anxiety?
Creating mental images to escape the immediate effects of stress
E.g. An athlete imagines lying on the beach feeling warm and relaxed
How can visualisation be used as a cognitive technique for controlling anxiety?
The process of creating a mental image of what you want to happen or feel
E.g. A goal keeper sees himself saving a goal
How can thought stopping be used as a cognitive technique for controlling anxiety?
Conditioning the mind to think of alternatives to the anxiety-causing negative thought
E.g. A gymnast focuses on a routine and believes he can do it
How can self talk be used as a cognitive technique for controlling anxiety?
Developing positive thoughts about ones actions
E.g. A high jumper tells herself she can clear the jump
How can cue utilisation be used as a cognitive technique for controlling anxiety?
Focus must be attained by the performer when attention narrows
E.g. A basketball coach could remind a player to ‘liven up’
How can biofeedback be used as a somatic technique for controlling anxiety?
An athletes physical responses to stress management techniques are measured
E.g. A dancer is attached by electrodes to a computer with changes in heart rate/breathing/sweating monitored
How can centering be used as a somatic technique for controlling anxiety?
Using deep breathing as a way of refocusing concentration
How can progressive muscular relaxation be used as a somatic technique for controlling anxiety?
Learning to be aware of the tension present in muscles and removing it by relaxing
E.g. An athlete starts by relaxing facial muscles and ends by relaxing feet muscles
What does the acronym SMARTER mean?
Specifics
Measurable
Accepted
Realistic
Time bound
Exciting
Recorded
What is an outcome goal?
This depends on the performer achieving a particular result. The method of achieving the result is not important, it is the outcome that counts.
What is a performance goal?
The performers attempts are judged by others or even themselves
What is a process goal?
This concentrates on the performers techniques and tactics. Process goals will often influence performance goals.
What is an attribution?
The perceived cause of an event, e.g. A loss or win
What were weiners for categories of attribution?
Ability
Effort
Task difficulty
Luck
What is locus of stability?
The stable/unstable factors that a performer believes caused an event or outcome
What is locus of causality?
The internal/external factors that a performer believes caused an event or outcome
What is self serving bias?
The tendency to attribute success to internal factors and failures to external factors to protect our self esteem
What is learned helplessness?
When a performer believes that failure is inevitable and that they have no way of changing the outcome.
What are the characteristics of learned helplessness?
The performer believes that they have limited ability
Too focused on outcome goals
Performer is unwilling to try new skills or situations
Attribute performance to stable/uncontrollable factors
How could a coach help a performer use attributions correctly?
Observe and listen to what players are saying
Draw attention to progress
Focus on process goals rather than outcome
Try and ensure initial success to avoid learned helplessness
What is self confidence?
A persons belief in their ability to achieve success.
What is self efficacy?
Situation specific self confidence
According to banduras a performers self efficacy is based on 4 primary sources of information. What are these?
Performance accomplishments - previous success at task
Vicarious experiences - watching others of similar ability perform successfully
Verbal persuasion - encouragement from significant others
Emotional arousal - perceiving physiological arousal as indicating emotion
What strategies can be used to increase self efficacy?
Goal setting
Ensure success
Watch good quality demonstrations
Correct use of attributions
Attribution retraining
Positive feedback
What is social facilitation?
The behavioural effects due to the presence of others
Social facilitation entails two forces, what are these?
Audience - people watching
Co actors - others independently undertaking the Same task
Zany once explained that the presence of others produces two types of effects, what are these?
Improved performance of simple/well learned skills
Decreased performance of complex/not well learned
What is social inhibition?
The negative effect of an audience on performance
What is evaluation apprehension?
When we think people who are watching us are judging our performance
What is barons distraction conflict theory?
Suggests performers must focus on task and ignore audience
What strategies can be used to limit the effected of an audience on performance?
Learn new skills in absence of an audience
Improve self efficacy
Use attributions correctly
Self talk/imagery
Reduce importance of event
Encourage team mates to be supportive
Improve selective attention
What is home field advantage?
The suggestion that a team playing a game at home will always have an advantage
What points support the home field advantage?
Boosts self efficacy
More matches won at home than away
Audience can create functional assertive behaviour
Proximity effect - closeness of crowd has negative effect on visiting teams
Away team becomes overs aroused so commit more fowls
What points disagree with the home field advantage?
Increased pressure from home crowd
The more important the game the greater the pressure - choke effect
Performers become more self conscious - more expectations
Social inhibition for home team
Evaluation apprehension for home team
What is a group?
Two or more individuals interacting with each other or connected to each other via social relationships, often with a common objective.
What are the features of a group?
Sense of group identity
Share norms and values
Share a common objective
What is a sociogram?
A chart that shows the inter-relationships, connections, and shared objectives that exist within a group.
What are group dynamics?
The study of, and a general term for, the interactive processes that occur between people in a group
Group develop a number of dynamic processes, give some examples.
Norms
Roles that individuals play within group
Relationships between individuals
Social influences on each other
Effects on behaviour of the people within the group
What are tuckmans five stages of group development?
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Mourning
What are some characteristics of the forming stage group formation?
Get to know each other
Find out about task/objectives
Coach tells team what to do
What are some characteristics of the storming stage group formation?
Alliances formed
Different types of leader emerge
Establishment of positions
Discussion of ideas
What are some characteristics of the norming stage group formation?
Agreement of roles
Group gains stability
Development of trust
What are some characteristics of the performing stage group formation?
High levels of independence and motivation
Consultation expected and leadership developed
Authority and direction accepted in times of stress
What is the mourning stage of group formation?
When the team breaks up because the task has been complete
What is cohesion?
The dynamic forces that cause a team to stick together
What is task cohesion?
Found in a group that is bound together in a drive to achieve a common objective, a focus on the task.
What is social cohesion?
Found in a group that is bound together social bonds, social attractiveness and relationships
Carton proposed that their are four key antecedents to the development of cohesiveness, what are these?
Environmental factors
Personal factors
Leadership factors
Team factors
What is carrons environmental antecedent?
Contractual obligation
Organisational factors - group size, age etc
What is carrons personal antecedent?
Similarity/dissimilarity to the group
Gender
Satisfaction
What is carrons leadership antecedent?
Leader behaviour/style
Leader-team member relationship
Leader-team relationship
What is carrons team antecedent?
Team stability
Team ability
Group productivity
Shared experiences
How can team cohesion be achieved?
Maintain open communication channels
Set challenging but realistic individual and team goals
Set and strive for agreed norms of behaviour
Ensure role clarity
Value personal contributions by each team member
Use team meetings to resolve conflict
Create a sense of distinctiveness, e.g. Uniform
Identify social loafers
What is steiners model?
Steiner proposed a theoretical model to relate the potential productivity of a team and the actual productivity.
What is steiners formula?
Actual productivity = potential productivity - losses due to faulty processes
What are faulty processes?
Refers to such things as lack of coordination, due to poor communication or strategies, and lack of motivation due to lack of recognition. Coordination losses occur when the groups timings or strategies do not function well, poor communication, lack of team work.
What is the ringlemann effect?
Motivational losses tend to occur more as group size increased.
What is social loafing?
This is loss of individual effort in a group due to reduction in motivation.
How can coordination losses be reduced?
As part of team selection, take note of individual interactive skills - timing, vision, ability to learn set plays etc
Engage in drills that develop interactive play
Ensure that all members of the team understand their role and how it relates to other roles.
How can motivation losses be reduced?
Ensure each individual’s contribution is noted and identified
Develop motivation via praise, acknowledgement and rewards
Be aware of situations where social loafing may occur
Ask all team members to acknowledge the contribution of others
Develop cohesion, especially task cohesion, by ensuring that the team objective is clearly understood
What are some causes of coordination losses?
Poor communication
Lack of team work
Failure of tactics
Misunderstanding of positional role
What are some causes of motivational losses?
Wrong arousal levels
Lack of concentration
Not being noticed/valued
Reliance on others
Avoidance behaviour
What is leadership?
The behavioural processes influencing individuals and groups towards set goals.
What qualities are expected form an effective leader?
Good communication
Effective decision making
Enthusiasm
Clear vision of what is needed
Charismatic
Ability to motivate/inspire
What is a prescribed leader?
A leader who is appointed by an external source
What are the advantages and disadvantages of a prescribed leader?
Bring new ideas
Tend to disrupt group harmony
What is an emergent leader?
A leader who comes from within the group
What are the advantages and disadvantages of an emergent leader?
Maintain group harmony
Tend to not bring fresh ideas
What is a task orientated leader?
Concentrates on setting goals/completing task quickly
What is a person orientated leader?
Concentrates on developing relationships within group
What is the autocratic style of leadership and when is it most effective?
Usually win orientated, very structured and task orientated
Team sports where more people are involved
What is the democratic style of leadership and when is it most effective?
Athlete centred, cooperative and person orientated
Individual sports and coaching situations
What is the laissez faire style of leadership and when is it most effective?
Leader makes few decisions and let’s the group do as it wishes
Not recommended in sport
What does fiedlers contingency model suggest?
Leaders should decide whether to be task or person orientated in their leadership style, and that the decision should depend on the favourableness of the situation.
What type of leader should be used in the most favourable situation?
Task orientated
What are the characteristics of a most favourable situation?
Clear discipline
Leader highly respected
Good relationships
High ability
Motivation high
Task is clear and simple
Excellent physical resources
What type of leader should be used in a moderately favourable situation?
Person orientated
What are the characteristics of a moderately favourable situation?
Leader has friendly relationships with group
Limited physical resources
Limited external support
Moderate motivation levels
What type of leader should be used in a least favourable situation?
Task orientated
What are the characteristics of a least favourable situation?
Poor relationship with group
Leaders authority questioned
Low ability group
Poor motivation
Poor physical resources
Complex task
In general, what leadership approach is most preferred with experienced players?
Democratic
In general, what leadership approach is most preferred in team sports?
Autocratic
In general, what leadership approach is most preferred with females?
Democratic
In general, what leadership approach is most preferred with older players?
Democratic
What is chelladurais model of leadership?
Chelladurai argues that effective leadership can and will vary, depending on the characteristics of the athletes and the constraints of the situation. Sports leaders have therefore to be more dynamic and changeable in relation to the characteristics of the situation.
Describe chelladurais model?
The sutuational, leader and member characteristics lead to 3 kinds of behaviour. If the leader shows the appropriate behaviour for that situation, and these preferences match the preferences of the group members, members will achieve their best performance and feel most satisfied.
Define personality
An individual’s pre disposition to behave in a certain way
Summarise the frustration aggression hypothesis
Blocked goal leads to frustration
Frustration causes aggression
What are some criticisms of frustration aggression hypothesis
Not all individuals who experience frustration exhibit aggressive behaviour
Individuals who become aggressive when frustrated do not do so on every occasion
Individuals display aggression even when no obvious cause of frustration
Summarise aggressive cue theory
Frustration only leads to aggression when socially desirable cues are present
What are some examples of stimuli that can trigger aggression?
Aggression related objects e.g. Bats, boxing gloves
Aggression related sports e.g. Rugby, boxing
Aggression related people e.g. Specific player, coach
Summarise social learning theory of aggression
We learn by observing others
If we see individuals punished for aggressive behaviour we may conclude not to behave like this and vice versa
What are some possible triggers of aggression?
Biased ref
Coach encouraging aggression
Nature of game
Pain
Importance of match
Level of rivalry
Personal performance
Punishing aggression is a strategy to reduce aggression. What are e individual, coach and NGB actions to this?
Individual - peers discourage aggressive behaviour
Coach - substitute, fine
NBG - code of conduct, support refs, punish aggressive players
Reinforcing assertive play is a strategy to reduce aggression. What are the individual, coach and NGB actions to this?
Individual - praise others
Coach - praise assertive play in team talks, show assertive role models
NGB - fair play awards
Reducing arousal is a strategy to reduce aggression. What are the individual, coach and NGB actions to this?
Individual - stress management techniques, channel aggression, be aware of aggressive cues
Coach - do not over arouse pre match, avoid win at all costs attitude, focus on process as well as outcome
NGB - educate refs to lower match temperature, discuss with coaches
Avoiding aggressive situations is a strategy to reduce aggression. What are the individual, coach and NGB actions to this?
Individual - learn to walk away, mark another player
Coach - move player to another role, ask player to take on responsibility, substitute player
NGB - stagger Derby matches, play at neutral grounds
Define aggression
In sport, behaviour intended to harm another person physically or psychologically outside the rules of the game
What is hostile aggression?
The intention to harm outside the rules, often as an emotional response to another performer or situation, the sole purpose being to cause hurt or injury.
What is instrumental aggression?
The intention to harm as a means to another goal.
Define assertive behaviour
The use of physical force that is within the rules or ethics of a sport
Define channelled aggression
Feelings of aggression that are diverted into useful positive actions.
Summarise the instinct theory of aggression
Aggressive behaviour is inherited
aggressive impulses build up and must be released
What is catharsis?
The release of pent-up emotions or feelings of aggression through harmless channels such as the physical and emotional activity of sport.
What are some of the criticisms of instinct theory?
No biological basis for aggressive behaviour
Implies that aggressive behaviour is spontaneous but there are times where it is clearly pre-planned
Several studies show aggression can be learnt
Define attitude
A complex mix of feeling and beliefs that predisposes somebody to behave towards an attitude object in a consistent way
Define attitude object
A person, event or behaviour to which a person has an attitude
Define prejudice
A pre-formed opinion or judgement of someone based on irrational, incomplete or inaccurate stereotypical views
Define social norm
A rule that is socially enforced, or a standard of behaviour. Can apply to appropriate or inappropriate values or attitudes
What is the Triadic model?
A hypothetical, testable proposition that holds that attitudes are made up of three components - cognitive, affective, behavioural
What is the cognitive component of the Triadic model?
What we know and believe about the attitude object
What is the affective component of the Triadic model?
How we feel about the attitude object
What is the behavioural component of the Triadic model?
How we actually behave towards, respond to or intend to respond to the attitude object.
To get performers to behave in accordance with a set of general values and their own attitudes, what must be ensured?
They understand the specific goals of a training session
They have a positive experience and reinforce their attitudinal intentions
Any negative attitudes are recognised and dealt with
How do peer groups influence attitude formation?
An acceptance of a groups attitudes towards an attitude object object is a way of gaining membership of a group and a sense of identity.
How does conditioning influence attitude formation?
A performer who is praised for training will have their attitudes towards training strengthened.
How does social learning influence attitude formation?
We learn a lot form watching significant others - parents, teachers, coaches, role models and the media
How can a persons attitude be measured?
Observation
Questionnaire
What are the issues with questionnaires and scalers for measuring attitude?
Some respondents just give the answer they think is wanted
Not everyone understands question in same way
Most aren’t specific to sport
Knowledge of person analysing results can affect interpretation
What is persuasive communication?
An active, non coercive attempt to reinforce, modify or change the attitude of others.
What pre-conditions apply to the persuader in persuasive communication?
Their status in the eyes of the receiver
Their popularity
Their credibility
Social/cultural background
What pre-conditions apply to the message in persuasive communication?
The accuracy of the message
Is the message stated with confidence/enthusiasm
Clarity
Is the message logical and factual or is it emotional
What pre-conditions apply to the receiver in persuasive communication?
Are they ready for the message
How strongly held is the current attitude
Are they open to the possibility of change
What is cognitive dissonance?
Tension resulting from having contradictory thoughts or beliefs about something or someone.
By changing one of the three elements of the Triadic model so that there is no longer consistency within the triad, dissonance is created.
