Sport Psychology Flashcards
Mental Skills
(scams)
- stress management
- concentration
- arousal
- motivation
- self confidence
Mental skill strategies
(grips)
- goal setting
- relaxation
- imagery
- performance routines
- self talk
Stress management
occurs when there is an imbalance between the demands of the task and the ability level of the performer to respond in a situation where failure has consequences.
Concentration
the ability to focus on a task at hand whilst ignoring irrelevant cues or distractions.
Arousal
the degree of stimulation or alertness present in a performer about to perform a skilled task.
Motivation
the direction of intensity of effort by a performer towards a given task.
Self-confidence
the belief that a performer has in their own ability to successfully perform a desired skill or behaviour.
Goal setting
the process of deciding on something you want to achieve, planning the steps to follow to reach the goal, and then working towards to achieve the goal.
Relaxation techniques
an activity undertaken to reduce tension and the effects of physical and mental stress.
Imagery
the recreation in the mind using as many senses as possible of a past successful performance or skill.
Performance-routines
a ritual a performer follows in the preparation, during or after the execution of a task.
Self talk
talking to / thinking to yourself positively before, during or after performance.
Group cohesion
the term used to describe the extent to which a group stays together and united in the pursuit of common goals and objectives.
Task cohesion
how committed are the team members to achieving their predetermined common performance goal.
Social cohesion
the degree to which team members like each other and enjoy being together.
Ways of measuring group cohesion:
- questionnaires/self reports
- sociograms
- observation
Sociograms
a diagram which shows the inter-relationship between individuals in a team. often used to represent the answers to a questionnaire presented to the playing group.
Observation
a coach can use a checklist to observe how players in there group relate to each other, who they mix with, who they avoid, who they interact with.
Factors effecting team cohesion (carron’s model)
- personal factors
- environmental factors
- leadership factors
- team factors
Personal factors
refer to the individual characteristics of group members, such as their motives for participating.
(personal factors) 3 Main reasons players participate:
- task motivation - associated with task cohesion and being apart of a successful team. a player with high task motivation will increase task cohesion.
- affiliation motivation - associated with the social cohesion and desire to be apart of a group. a player with high affiliation motivation will increase social cohesion.
- self-motivation - associated with a desire to obtain personal satisfaction through improving personal performance.
Environmental factors
refers to the normative forces which bring and hold a group together. EG:
- contracts
- family/significant other expectations
- father/son rule
- age (under 16 team)
- school team
- geographical limitations (play for your local district / town / suburb)
Leadership factors
refers to the leadership style and how this affects the dynamics of the group.
- requires appropriate leadership styles
- leaders must display appropriate behaviour
- compatibility between leaders and players is essential
Team factors
relates to the characteristics of the team including team stability, prior successes and failures.
Team factors include:
- team stability - maintaining the same playing group over a long period of time
- prior successes and failures increase cohesion
- having common goals within the team increase cohesion
- high team norms for productivity
- develop a team sense of identity
Three levels of communication / interaction for team factors
co-acting activities, mixed activities, interacting activities
Co-acting activities
little to no communication between the players and results are determined by tallying individual scores, eg- team surfing, golf, darts, swimming carnival
Mixed activities
have a combination of co-acting and interacting activities
example - cricket: only communication on the batting team is between the two players currently batting (other 9 players do not interact)
Interacting activities
require a high level of communication between team members if the team is to achieve its goal.
EG:
- ball games such as hockey, netball, rugby + football are interactive as all players are required to communicate continuously if optimum performance is to be achieved
- high levels of communication required
Developing task cohesion
- communicating clearly and regularly so all members know their roles and responsibilities
- having clear and understood expectations
- set challenging but realistic goals for the team as a whole + for individual players
Developing social cohesion
- encouraging social interaction away from the sport (bbqs/paintballing)
- maintain open and honest communication
- resolve conflicts quickly
- team building activities (pre-season camps)
- develop trust and respect within the group
Benefits of cohesion
- communication and motivation within the group is extensive
- increased feeling of group as a whole rather than individuals
- players work together to achieve team goals ahead of personal goals
- players enjoy each others successes
Barriers to group cohesion
- personality clashes between members
- frequent changes to the group
- disagreement on group objectives
- lack of communication
Social loafing
the tendency of individuals to lessen their effort when they are part of a group. the larger the group, the greater the likelihood of social loafing. social loafing occurs as a result of a decrease in individual motivation.
Social loafing occurs under the following conditions:
an individual perceives other athletes to be working at a lower intensity which then gives them an excuse to put less effort in themselves
believe that their efforts won’t make a difference to the team and desired outcome will still be reached
when individual effort cannot be determined
task is perceived to be meaningless
Players who are social loafing display these traits:
decreased effort at training
arrives late/ leaves early from training
misses training
player does not fulfil their designated role in the team
expects teammates to cover their mistakes
does not help with set up for training
decreased form
