Psychology Terms Flashcards
sport psychology
seek to understand the influence of behavioral processes and cognitions on movement.
Goals:
- measuring psychological phenomena
- investigating the relationships between psychological variables and performance
- applying theoretical knowledge to improve athletic performance
task-relevant focus
not wasting attention on task-irrelevant processing such as worrying, catastrophizing, or thinking about other things such as a critical audience or coach
efficiency
skilled performance, when actions are fluid and graceful
ideal performance state
goal of every athlete, in the zone
characteristics:
- absence of fear, no fear of failure
- no thinking about or analysis of performance (related to the motor stage of automaticity)
- a narrow focus of attention concentrated on the activity itself
- a sense of effortlessness, an involuntary experience
- a sense of personal control
- a distortion of time and space, in which time seems slow
absence of negative self-talk, a strong feeling of efficacy, and an adaptive focus on task-relevant cues
energy management
athletes who deplete energy through worry, anger, frustration, or anxiety experience a greater likelihood of distraction and decreased self-confidence, and they have less physical energy for when they really need to perform - must maintain self-control
mental energy
generated, maintained, depleted, and refreshed via our emotions
emotions
temporary feeling state that occurs in response to events and that have both physiological and psychological components
can be both beneficial and detrimental
beneficial emotions
they get us excited, cause us to feel motivated, elevate confidence in ourselves, and reinforce our commitment level
detrimental emotions
either too much or too little (performer being too “amped up” or “too flat”) or when we lose control of our emotions and cease to function effectively in a performance environment
arousal
a blend of physiological and psychological activation in an individual and refers to the intensity of motivation at any given moment.
always present in an individual to some degree, on a continuum ranging from being deeply asleep, or comatose, to highly excited; but in and of itself it is not automatically associated with pleasant or unpleasant events
measurement index: heart rate, blood pressure, electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and catecholamine levels, or with self-report instruments such as the activation-deactivation checklist
anxiety
subcategory of arousal. negatively perceived emotional state characterized by nervousness, worry, apprehension, or fear and is associated with a physiological activation of the body
cognitive anxiety
mental / cognitive component
somatic anxiety
physical reaction. evidenced through physical symptoms such as tense muscles, tachycardia (fast HR), and upset stomach.
state anxiety
subjective experience of apprehension and uncertainty accompanied by elevated autonomic and voluntary neural outflow and increased endocrine activity. effects on athletic performance can be positive, negative, or indifferent
moment-to-moment changes in feelings of nervousness, worry, and apprehension associated with arousal of the body
trait anxiety
primer for the athlete to experience state anxiety.
a personally variable or disposition relating to the probability that one will perceive an environment as threatening. also affects the appropriate level of arousal for a given individual
an acquired disposition that predisposes a person to perceive a wide range of objectively non dangerous circumstances as threatening and to respond to these with disproportionate state anxiety levels
ineffective state anxiety
skeletal muscles are tense, the heart is racing, and negative thoughts intrude
factors present:
- a high degree of ego involvement, in which the athlete may perceive a threat to self-esteem
- a perceived discrepancy between one’s ability and the demands for athletic success
- a fear of the consequences of failure (such as a loss of approval from teammates, coach, family, or peers)
stress
substantial imbalance between demand (physical, psychological, or both) and response capability, under conditions in which failure to meet that demand has important consequences
stressor
environment or cognitive event that precipitates stress
distress
negative stressor
compromises cognitive and somatic anxiety
eustress
positive stressor
compromises positive mental energy and physiological arousal
drive theory
individual’s arousal or state anxiety increases, so too does performance. true for relatively low levels of arousal to somewhat higher amounts BUT more arousal is not always better, as performers can clearly be too “pumped up” to perform well
when athletes perform well-learned or simple skills, a higher level of arousal can benefit performance.
BUT the more complex a given skill becomes, or the less experience an athlete has with that skill, the more arousal can produce catastrophic performance outcomes.
can be influenced by skill level and/or task complexity
optimal arousal point = lower for less skilled athletes than for more advanced players
coaches should lower arousal and decision making responsibilities of developing or novice athletes, and have them focus on simple assignments to prevent attentional overload
inverted-U theory
arousal-performance relationship
arousal facilitates performance up to an optimal level, beyond which further increases in arousal are associated with reduced performance
helps to explain why arousal affects performance and how to gain greater control over the appropriate level of arousal for a given athlete
individual zone of optimal functioning
Dr. Hanin looked at individual factors that affect optimal arousal for performance
ie) different people, in different types of performances, perform best with very different levels of arousal
(1) ideal performance does not seem to always occur at the midpoint of the arousal continuum, and (2) rather than there being a single defined arousal point at which optimal performance occurs, this best performance can occur within a small range, or bandwidth, of arousal level
positive and negative emotions can either generate enhanced performance OR debilitate performance
catastrophe theory
Hardy assessed the cognitive and somatic dimensions of arousal can sharpen the ability to predict (control) their impact on performance. believe / see that there is more of a dramatic decline in performance after optimal level is reached
somatic arousal has a curvilinear, inverted-U relationship to athletic performance, whereas cognitive anxiety shows a steady negative relationship to performance.
practical implication of this theory is that the arousal constructs need to be more clearly delineated as cognitive anxiety, physiological arousal, somatic anxiety, or some combination of these.
reversal theory
Kerr states that it is the way in which arousal and anxiety affect performance depends on the individual’s interpretation of that arousal
implies that athletes have within their power the ability to reverse their interpretation of their own arousal. controlling not just the amount of arousal but also its significance, whether it is beneficial or detrimental to performance is within the individuals control
motivation
intensity and direction of effort
intrinsic motivation
the desire to be competent and self-determining
athletes are driven because of their love of the game and inherent reward they feel from participation. motivation comes from within the athlete and is exhibited regardless of the existence of material reward or punishment
focus on the enjoyment or fun they experience in the activity and generally desire to learn and improve because of this love for the behavior in and of itself
athletes continue with the sport because of process or performance goals AND voice in decision making
extrinsic motivation
motivation that comes from some external source. motivators are based on an individualized reward construct
ex) trophies, awards, praise from coaches and teammates, social approval, and fear of punishment
achievement motivation
person’s effort to master a task, achieve excellence, overcome obstacle’s, and engage in competition or social comparison
between two athletes, whoever is higher in achievement motivation will be the better athlete because he or she has a greater appetite for competition
motive to achieve success (MAS)
capacity to experience pride in one’s accomplishments and is characterized by a desire to challenge oneself and evaluate one’s ability
MAS-dominated athletes are most intrigued by situations that are either uncertain or challenging, with an approximate 50% probability of success
motive to avoid failure (MAF)
desire to protect one’s ego and self-esteem. avoiding the perception of shame that accompanies the failure
MAF-dominated players are more comfortable in situations in which it is either very easy to achieve success (avoiding shame) or so extremely difficult that there would be no expectation of winning (eliminating likelihood of feeling shame)
self-controlled practice
involves athlete in decisions related to the practice structure, including when to receive feedback or which skill to practice, it also involves simply asking athletes how they believe they are doing.
promotes more active involvement in the practice session and can enhance feelings of competence and autonomy, results in heightened motivation, performance and learning improvement.
positive reinforcement
act of increasing the probability of occurrence of a given behavior by following it with a positive action, object, or event
ex) praise, decals on the helmet, or prizes and awards
operant
target behavior
ex) correct footwork in basketball
