sport psychology

Question 1

define imagery

Answer 1

imagery is the recreation of the performance in the mind of a skill or group of skills. A previous positive experience / picture of new events to prepare an individual mentally for performance

Question 2

define relaxation

Answer 2

An athlete can use personal relaxation techniques to minimise the stress and tension which will result in increased performance

Question 3

define self talk

Answer 3

self talk involves talking or thinking to yourself prior or during performance

Question 4

define goal setting

Answer 4

goal setting is the process of deciding something you want to achieve, planning steps to follow that, working towards achieving the goal

Question 5

define performance routines

Answer 5

A ritual a performer follows in the preparation for or during the execution of a task or skill

Question 6

define confidence

Answer 6

belief that you can successfully perform a desired task or behavior

Question 7

define concentration

Answer 7

ability to focus attention on required task by focusing on relevant cues, blocking out distractions

Question 8

define stress

Answer 8

the imbalance between the task demands and response capability

Question 9

define motivation

Answer 9

intensity and direction of effort

Question 10

define arousal

Answer 10

the amount of mental energy or preparedness a person has prior to performance

Question 11

what is group cohesion

Answer 11

the extent to which a group stays together and united in pursuit of common goal or objective

Question 12

what is task cohesion

Answer 12

how committed the team members are to achieving their predetermined goals

Question 13

how to develop task cohesion

Answer 13

• clear expectations
• regular team meetings
• developing pride within sub units
• communicate clearly and regularly so members understand their roles and responsibilities
• set goal

Question 14

what is social cohesion

Answer 14

the degree to which team members enjoy being together

Question 15

developing social cohesion

Answer 15

• encourage social interaction away from sport
• open, honest communication
• team building activities
• develop trust and respect

Question 16

how to measure cohesion

Answer 16

1. sociograms
2. questionnaires
3. observation

Question 17

benefits of cohesion

Answer 17

• players enjoy others successes
• communication and motivation is of a high standard
• players work together to achieve team goasl

Question 18

barriers to group cohesion

Answer 18

• lack communication
• personality clashes
• frequent changes to the group
• unclear / conflicting roles among players

Question 19

what is social loafing

Answer 19

the tendency of individuals to lessen their efforts when they are apart of a group

Question 20

why does social loafing occur

Answer 20

• individuals perceives another athlete working at lower intensity and they feel they can do the same
• belief that their efforts wont make a difference
• avoiding hard work and assume no one notice in large group
• feel their input isn’t essential to achieving the goal

Question 21

result of social loafing

Answer 21

less effort = decreased individual performance = decreased team performance

Question 22

how to reduce risk of social loafing

Answer 22

1. write team contract
   - group expectations, individual responsibilities, communication and discipline
2. develop rules conduct
   - establish rules of expected behavior to help achieve team goals and objectives
3. create appropriate group sizes
4. evaluate all members individually

Question 23

what players exhibit when they are social loafing

Answer 23

• player isn’t training at required intensity
• players not engaging / encouraging team mates
• lack training attendance
• lack mental toughness
• doesn’t fulfill predetermined role/responsibility

Question 24

what is the ringleman effect

Answer 24

the phenomena where the performance of members in a group decreases as the number of people increases

Question 25

Carrons model - environmental factors

Answer 25

The factors binding members to a team

organisational orientation: eligibility rules, geographical factors

• playing within associations, state teams
• pride associated likely enhance s+t cohesion

normative pressures of society which discourage quitting:

• enables group to stay together, could decrease self-motivation therefore possibility of social loafing
• negative impact on task cohesion

contractual responsibilities:

• assist in developing task cohesion as athletes strive towards achieving same goals
• could negatively impact on cohesion e.g. pay diff

group size:

• task cohesion increases in smaller group as unity anf commitment is higher
• social cohesion may decrease if there is personality clashes

Question 26

Carrons model - define leadership

Answer 26

refers to the style of leadership adopted and the relationships developed

Question 27

Carrons model - personal factors

Answer 27

refers to the individual characteristics of group members

individual differences:
- individual satisfaction felt by each team member. higher lvl cohesion likely if each team member has similar attitudes, commitment, expectatins and goals

individual orientation - participation motivation:
- task motivation - associated with task cohesion and being involved in successful team

affiliation motivation - associated with social cohesion and desire to be apart of a group

self-motivation - attempt to obtain personal satisfaction through improving personal performance

Question 28

Carrons model - team factors

Answer 28

relates to the characteristics of the sport/task/event and factors relating to the group as a whole

team stability:

• length which team been together
• team with minimal changes in personnel can have greater level of cohesion

desire for group success:
- prior success and failures

group productivity norms:

• team goals
• placing the team goals over personal goals will enhance team cohesion
• shared understanding of strategy and tactics - desire for group success and no blaming

demands of the task:
interacting - require high lvl interaction between team mates
co-acting - little or no communication result determined by tallies of individuals
mixed - combination of interacting and co-acting