Section 6: Sports Psychology Flashcards
What is personality?
a unique psychological make-up of a person
What are the 3 theories of personality?
- trait theory
- social learning theory
- interactionist perspective
What is trait theory?
a theory that suggests innate characteristics produce consistent behaviour
Give an example for trait theory
An extroverted basketballer will behave in a extroverted manner at training, group discussions and while playing
What are the problems with trait theory?
- behaviour can’t always be predicted
- doesn’t take into account personality change
- doesn’t account for a change in situation
- doesn’t consider that personalities can be formed by experience
What is the social learning approach?
a theory suggesting that behaviour is learned from significant others e.g. role models, parents, friends
How does social learning work? (4 words)
observe –> identify –> reinforce –> copy
When are we more likely to copy behaviour?
- if it is seen to be successful and powerful
- if it is consistently shown to us
- witnessed live not through media
- performed by people we hold in high esteem
What is the interactionist perspective?
a theory which combines trait and social learning theory to predict behaviour for a specific situation
State Lewin’s formula
B=f(PxE) behaviour is a function of personality and the environment
What is the Hollander approach to interactionist theory?
personality is made up of 3 components:
- The core
- Typical responses
- Role-related behaviour
Explain the 3 components of personality.
- The core is stable and solid, it isn’t likely to change. It represents the values and beliefs of an individual (e.g. belief in the benefits of team sports)
- Typical responses are the usual responses the player would make in a given situation
- Role-related behaviour implies that further changes to behaviour may be needed as the situation demands
How can a coach use interactionist theory to improve performance?
- predict potential aggressive behaviour and remove the player from the situation by subbing them, to avoid red cards or being sent off
- identify situations that cause inappropriate actions or a drop in performance and create similar situations in training so players learn to cope (e.g. a nervous player learning to cope with a crowd at training)
- change player behaviour by encouraging players to adapt to specific circumstances
Define attitude
a value aimed at an attitude object
How are attitudes formed?
associating with others and picking up on their views and values- called socialisation (learn from significant others)
more likely to repeat behaviour if it is repeated/reinforced and we begin to accept beliefs and attitudes- called familiarisation
What is the triadic model?
the 3 parts of an attitude: cognitive, affective, behavioural
What is the cognitive component?
a belief, e.g. the belief in the ability to win
Define the affective component
relates to feelings and interpretation e.g. enjoyment
Define the behavioural component
the actions of the performer
What are the 2 concepts used to change attitudes?
- cognitive dissonance
- persuasive communication
Define cognitive dissonance
new information given to the performer to cause unease and motivate change
What is persuasion?
an effective communication to promote change
Name the key features needed for effective persuasive communication
communication needs to be:
- relevant
- important
- understood
- quality
- think about timing of the communication
What does the giver of the persuasive communication need to be?
- high status
- role model or expert
Define arousal
a level of activation, a degree of readiness to perform
What is the drive theory to explain arousal?
as arousal increases, so does performance P=f(DxH) (performance is a function of drive x habit)
What is the dominant response?
the stand-out response that the performer thinks is correct
Define the inverted-U theory
theory linking arousal and performance by stating that increased arousal improves performance to an optimal point at moderate levels of arousal
What is the catastrophe theory?
theory suggesting that increased arousal improves performance to an optimal point but there is a dramatic reduction in performance when arousal increases beyond optimal
Why does a dramatic reduction in performance occur?
combination of somatic and cognitive anxiety
Define cognitive and somatic anxiety
cognitive= psychological anxiety e.g. loss of concentration + worries about performance somatic= physiological anxiety e.g. increased HR and muscular tension
What is the zone of optimal functioning?
area of controlled arousal and high level performance
Define peak flow
the ultimate intrinsic experience felt by athletes from a positive mental attitude, with supreme confidence, focus and efficiency
State the factors affecting the peak flow experience
- poor mental prep and failure to reach optimal arousal levels
- environmental influences e.g. pressure from coach
- injury or fatigue during game
What is anxiety?
a state of nervousness and worry, a negative response to a threatening sporting situation
What is competitive trait anxiety?
a disposition to suffer from nervousness in most sporting situations
Define competitive state anxiety
a nervous response to a specific sporting situation
What are the 4 types of others that can be present during sport?
- audience
- co-actors
- competitors
- social reinforces
Define co-actors
those who are doing the same task but are not involved in direct competition e.g. jogger on the other side other road
Define competitive co-actors
those who are in direct competition e.g. runner in a 100m competitive race
What are social reinforcers?
those who have direct influence on the event e.g. coach
What role does the audience and co-actors play in sport?
they are passive as they do not exert a direct influence on the event but their presence causes arousal
What role does the competitors and social reinforces have in sport?
active because they are directly involved in the event and can give advice, cause distractions or offer encouragement
How will a beginner react to being watched?
experience anxiety and over-arousal and may not cope with the pressure, causing poor execution of skills or social inhibition
How will an expert react to being watched?
be able to cope with the demands of the crowd and be motivated/encouraged by support. skills performance can be enhances- social facilitation
Define social inhibition
the negative effect of the presence of others on performance
Define social facilitation
the positive effect of the presence of others on performance
Define evaluation apprehension
the perceived fear of being judged
Identify the strategies to prevent social inhibition
- Getting the players familiar with playing in front of a crowd
- Gradually introducing evaluation
- Improving focus and concentration
Define aggression
intent to harm outside the rules; hostile behaviour
Define assertion
well-motivated behaviour within the rules
Characteristics of aggression
- the intent to harm
- outside the rules
- reactive
- out of control
- deliberate and hostile
Characteristics of assertion
- controlled
- well-motivated
- generally within the rules
- goal-directed
- not intended to harm
Define instrumental aggression
has an intent to harm but is within the rules
What is instinct theory?
all players are born with an aggressive instinct so aggression is spontaneous and innate
Characteristics of instinct theory
- evolutionary, used to defend territory or when under threat
- can surface as a reaction to a bad foul
- catharsis can occur
Define catharsis
cleansing the emotion; using sport as an outlet for aggression
What are the problems with instinct theory?
- not all aggressive acts are spontaneous, can be pre-intended or learned
- some players increase aggression throughout the game
- not all ancestors were aggressive
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
suggests that inevitable aggression occurs when goals are blocked and the performer becomes frustrated
How can built up aggression be reduced?
if an aggressive act is initiated and a catharsis occurs
Does all frustration lead to aggression?
no, some players are good at controlling emotions
State the reasons players may react with aggression
- losing
- the player played poorly
- poor play by team mate
- high pressure game
- being fouled
Define the aggressive cue hypothesis
suggests that aggression is caused by a learned trigger
According to the aggressive cue hypothesis what is the reason aggressive responses occur?
if certain learned cues are present to act as a stimulus for aggressive acts
How is aggression learned?
through significant others e.g. coaches and fellow players
Name some aggressive cues
- sporting venues e.g. rivalry
- sporting equipment e.g. thrown racquets
- boxing gloves
- main rival player/team
Define social learning theory (in terms of aggression)
aggression is seen as a learned response and can be copied from others, particularly if the behaviour is reinforced
What is the process Bandura suggested aggression is learned through?
observe—> identify—> reinforce—> copy
In the social learning theory who is behaviour learned from?
- significant others
- people held in high esteem
- team mates
- coach
What makes aggressive behaviour more likely to be copied?
if it is consistent, powerful, bright and live
Explain the weaknesses of the frustration-aggression hypothesis using other psychological theories
- not all frustration leads to aggression
- not all aggression is the result of frustration
- no allowance for the situation
- aggressive-cue hypothesis suggests that aggression occurs when specific cues are present
- instinct theory suggests aggression is innate
- social learning theory suggests that aggression is learned from others
Define motivation
a drive to succeed
Define intrinsic motivation
motivation from within
Define extrinsic motivation
motivation from an outside source
Define tangible rewards
rewards that can be touched or held, physical
Define intangible rewards
non-physical rewards
What strategies and tactics are used to prevent aggression?
- offering rewards and incentives early on
- making the activity fun and enjoyable
- pointing out the health benefits of doing the task
- breaking the skill down into parts, to allow success on each part
- pointing out role models
- making the performer feel responsible for success
- attributing success internally
- setting achievable goals
- using feedback
What are the characteristics of a team?
- a collective identity
- interaction
- communication
- a shared goal or purpose
State the stages of group formation
- forming
- storming
- norming
- performing
- mourning
Define cohesion
the tendency for individuals to work together to achieve their goals, the forces that keep the group members on task
What is co-action?
when others do the task at the same time but separately
What’s interaction in terms of cohesion?
when a group works together to produce results but have different roles in the team
Define task cohesion
individuals working together to achieve an end result
Define social cohesion
individuals relating to each other to interact in the group
How can a coach maintain intrinsic and extrinsic motives?
- offering rewards and incentives early on e.g. player of the week
- making the activity fun and enjoyable
- pointing out heath benefits of the task
- breaking skills down to allow success at each part
- pointing out role models
- making performer feel responsible for success by giving praise
- attributing success internally
- setting achievable goals or targets
- using feedback to inspire and correct errors
State the characteristics of a team
- a collective identity
- interaction
- communication
- shared goal or purpose
State and describe the stages of group formation
1) Forming- group comes together, an assessment is made on the strengths of the individual compared to the strengths of others in the group
2) Storming- stage of potential conflict when individuals compete for positions, status or role
3) Norming- once conflicts are resolved, team starts to settle down and co-operate. group standards accepted and cohesion develops
4) Performing- all players now interactive and working together to achieve their goals. team members support each other and understand their role
5) Mourning- occurs when goals have been achieved and team may break up and disband and start again.
Define goal setting
setting targets
State the benefits of goal setting
- increases motivation and makes sure performers keep on trying, players can become task persistent since they aim for a target that requires effort to reach- once player has succeeded, pride and satisfaction is experienced which increases intrinsic motivation
- increases confidence-as performer experiences improvements in technique or results as the target is being reached
- regulates and sustains effort
Define an outcome goal
a goal set against the performance of others and based on a result
Define a performance goal
when the athlete sets a goal to better their own performance rather than comparing to others e.g. achieving a personal best
Define a process goal
based on improving technique
What are the principles of effective goal setting and what do they mean?
SMARTER
Specific: goals should be clear and precise, should reflect a performer’s individual playing position or event
Measurable: goal must be quantifiable so progress can be assessed e.g. distances, times, number of passes
Achievable: performer must be able to reach their goal within the time frame
Realistic: goal must be within the performer’s reach to promote motivation and sustain effort, if it is too difficult it will cause anxiety
Time-bound: short-term and long-term goals clearly set to gauge progress
Evaluate: performer + coach gauge/evaluate whether the goal was reached and which methods were successful
Re-do: repeat efforts with goals that were not met, looking at the evaluation to make any adjustments to the goal
Why do some sports psychologists think that it is difficult to predict behaviour in sport?
some are sceptical because there is no link between personality and performance, behaviour can change during the game and personality research can be invalid and unreliable
What can cause an increase in arousal? (3)
- level of competition e.g. major game or championship event
- the effect of an audience (especially if not used to it or being watched by an expert)
- frustrating circumstances e.g. not playing well, losing
What factors will affect the optimal levels of arousal in the inverted-U theory?
- experience of performer: experts can deal with higher arousal levels (dominant response correct)
- personality: extroverts perform better at high levels, their reticular activating system (RAS) that controls and measures adrenaline levels suggests that they have naturally low levels of activation so can tolerate increases in arousal- introverts have naturally high levels of adrenaline so perform best at low arousal
- task: gross skills, large muscles groups so more arousal as fine control not needed as with fine skills. complex skills-lower arousal as more information needing to be processed (high arousal levels reduces information processing ability)
What are the experiences of the performer when they’re in the zone of optimal functioning?
- things flow effortlessly
- performer reaches a state of supreme confidence and remains calm under pressure
- athlete feels in total control of their actions and totally focused on activity
What can being in the zone of optimal functioning lead to?
the peak flow experience
Name five features of the peak flow experience
- effortless movement
- total control
- high confidence
- low anxiety
- extreme focus
What is the link between state and trait anxiety?
an individual with high trait anxiety is more likely to experience high state anxiety when faced with a stressful situation (especially if felt that others are watching or evaluating performance)
Give examples of cognitive anxiety
=psychological and refers to irrational thinking that may occur before or during performance
- loss of concentration
- believing they don’t have the ability to complete the task
- nervousness
Give examples of somatic anxiety
=physiological, the response of the body to the individual’s belief in their lack of ability to complete the task
- increased HR
- increased sweating
- increased muscular tension
- may even cause sickness
What is the effect of somatic anxiety on performance?
increases in somatic anxiety can improve performance up to a point, after which further increases in somatic anxiety will impair performance- same as inverted U theory for arousal
What is the effect of cognitive anxiety on performance?
the greater the cognitive anxiety, the worse the performance
What is the relationship between cognitive and somatic anxieties in the lead up to a competition?
- somatic anxiety tends to increase just before a competition and reduces when performance is underway
- cognitive anxieties are present much earlier than somatic, can be at high levels a week before competition
What are the 3 methods of measuring anxiety in sport?
- self-report questionnaires
- observation
- physiological testing
Define questionnaire
a set of questions to measure or assess something (like anxiety)
What is the Sports Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT)?
a questionnaire used by sports psychologists to measure anxiety
What are the advantages of questionnaires as a method of measuring anxiety?
-quick
-cheap
-efficient
so large numbers of players can be assessed quickly
What are the disadvantages of self-report questionnaires?
- players may not understand the question
- players may give the socially desirable answer than the truth
- answers may depend on mood state e.g. would be different after a win than a loss
- questions inappropriate so biased results are given
- responses can be influenced by time given, rushing to complete answers may lead to incorrect response
What are the advantages of observations for measuring anxiety?
-true to life
What are the disadvantages of observations for measuring anxiety?
- subjective, based on observer’s opinion
- time-consuming because the observer needs to know the player’s normal behaviour so they can note changes from the norm
- player’s behaviour may change as a result of being watched or feel more uneasy, suffer some anxiety
Define observation as a method of measuring anxiety
gaining a measure of anxiety simply by watching the performer
What kind of physical responses to anxiety could be measured?
- increased heart rate
- increased level of sweating
- increased rate of respiration
- increased hormone secretion
State the advantages of using physiological measures to measure anxiety
- provides factual/objective data so that comparisons can easily be made
- responses to anxiety could be measured in a game or training and information relayed directly to coach
State the disadvantages of using physiological measures to measure anxiety
- costly and training may be required for coaches to use the equipment
- wearing the measuring device can restrict movement in sport
- the fact the performer is aware they are being measured may cause additional stress and give a false reading
