Sport Psychology Flashcards
What is personality
The sum total of an individuals psychological characteristics which make him or her unique
Equation for trait theory
Behaviour = function of personality
Main ideas of trait theory
It doesnt change over time Genetics play a large role Born with traits Cant help how u act Stable, consistent and long lasting in a variety of situations (always act the same)
Extrovert personality
Achieve better in high arousal
Prefer team orientated games
Involve gross motor skills
More outgoing
Introvert personality
Precision activities
Shy, quiet and reserved
Dont need added stimulation
Neurotic personality
Unstable
Varied
Extreme
Stable personality
Consistent
Predictable
Outline Eysenck’s theory of personality
Two major dimensions Introvert/extrovert Stable/unstable 75% traits 25% environmental
What is the reticular activating system? (RAS)
Introverts are more likely to become aroused than extroverts
Sensitivity in an area of their brain
Type A personalities
Impatient Rapid pace Anxiety in stress Lack tolerance Easily aroused Makes quick decisions without much though
Team games
Type B personalities
Relaxed Patient Less competitive Tolerant of others mistakes Allows time to complete tasks
Individual sports
Main ideas of Bandura’s social learning theory
Learn from observing others around you
Social reinforcement
Demonstration, attention, retention, motor reproduction, motivation -> leads to matching a performance
Dependant on environment
Social learning theory equation
Behaviour = function of the environment
Vicarious conditioning
Learning of emotional responses by watching others
Ideas about the interactionist approach
There’s a relationship between personality, environment and performance
Determining factor is the situation they’re placed in
Hollander’s 3 levels of personality
Psychological core - beliefs/views that remain permanent
Typical responses - how a person responds to a situation
Role related behaviour - different behaviour depending on the situation
Social environment - behaviour/expectations of others effects our role
Disadvantages of using personality questionnaires
- no proof that the tests can determine a persons personality
- questions could be answered differently depending on the day/how a person is feeling
- people answer because they feel like they should and dont give honest answers
Attitude
A learned emotional and behavioural response to a stimulus or situation
Attitude object
What u make judgement about and what u have feelings towards
Triadic model
Cognitive component - knowledge and beliefs, formed on info about an attitude object
Affective component - emotional response to an attitude object
Behavioural component - how a person intends to behave towards and object
Cognitive dissonance theory - Festinger 1957
Individuals like to be consistent in what they do/feel/believe
This results in individuals having contradictory thoughts about someone/something
Persuasive communication theory
Persuader - attempts to change beliefs
Receiver - trying to be changed
Message - quality of info the persuader is giving
Active attempt to reinforce/modify/change the attitude of others
Evaluation of trying to change peoples attitudes
+ consistency will help to change it
+ very simple to do
+ helps a person become more knowledgeable
- some people are stubborn and they wont change their mind
- some people arent open to listening to others
What is achievement motivation?
Fundamental drive to succeed/persist with a task
Achievement motivation = intrinsic motivation - cognitive state anxiety
What is the probability of success?
How likely you are to win/achieve/succeed
What is incentive value?
How much a person thinks they’ll gain/lose by accepting a challenge
Need to achieve personality (NACH)
Very driven Likes feedback Not afraid of failure Likes a challenge Always persistent
Need to avoid failure personality (NAF)
Gives up easily
Avoids challenges if they think they’ll fail
Dont want to listen to feedback
How to change a NAF personality
Reduce punishments
Give negative feedback on effort rather than ability
Use positive reinforcement
Somatic arousal
Changes to the state of the body
Cognitive arousal
Psychological changes
Driver theory of arousal
An increase in arousal is proportional to an increase in the quality of physical performance
Higher arousal would benefit an expert
What is arousal
Level of inner drives that a person has
Can have a positive or negative effect
Inverted U theory of arousal
Optimum point for performance/arousal
Performance then starts to decrease as arousal becomes too high
What happens is a person is under aroused
Performance will decrease
Not prepared or in the right frame of mind to compete
What happens when a person reaches optimum arousal
The point will vary for everyone
Peak performance
What will happen if a person becomes over aroused
Not focused
Lose control
Performance will decrease
Catastrophe theory of arousal
Cognitive arousal must be kept low for optimum performance to be reached
If cognitive & somatic are too high then it may send the performer ‘over the edge’ and performance will drastically decrease
What is aggression
Physical/symbolic behaviour with the intention of harming someone or something
What is hostile aggression
Deliberate intention to harm/injure
Breaks the rules of the games
What is channelled aggression
Robust play
Not to inflict injury
Directed towards completing the skill successfully
Causes of aggression
Frustration at yourself/others Parents/spectators Bad refereeing Fouling Bad state of mind People not listening Rivalries Poor performance
Instinct theory of aggression
Freud
Innate & instinct
Based on traits
Social learning theory of aggression
Bandura
Observation & imitation
Assume the behaviour is socially acceptable
Frustration aggression hypothesis
Dollard
Achievement is being blocked which leads to frustration
Aggression cue hypothesis
Berkowitz
Readiness for anger
Initiated by a certain cue/event
Environmental
Cognitive strategies to eliminate aggression
Imagery Mental rehearsal Positive self talk Walk away Reason with yourself Count to 10
Somatic strategies to eliminate aggression
Breathing exercises
Relaxation techniques
What is anxiety
An emotional state, similar to fear, associated with physiological and psychological arousal and with feeling of nervousness and apprehension
Cognitive anxiety
Mental response to a situation
Somatic anxiety
Physical response to a situation
State anxiety
Anxiety felt in a particular situation
Trait anxiety
Personality traits
- the same in each situation
Imagery (Cognitive anxiety techniques)
Internal - looking at surroundings External - look at yourself from environment Imagine successful performances Use all senses Can focus on specific elements
Mental rehearsal (Cognitive anxiety techniques)
Go over the performance in your mind without moving
Build confidence
Can be done even if youre injured
Positive self-talk (Cognitive anxiety techniques)
Athlete endorses their own ability by talking to them self
Inner voice
Boost confidence
For people at a higher level
Rational thinking (Cognitive anxiety techniques)
Help anxiety that grows from an imbalance of perception between ability & situational demands
Evaluate the situation
Biofeedback (Somatic anxiety techniques)
Learn methods that work best to get in the best physiological state
Listen to HR monitor and try techniques to see which works best
Breathing (Somatic anxiety techniques)
Reduce & control erratic breathing
Deep breaths to reduce tension
Feel more relaxed
Progressive muscular relaxation (Somatic anxiety techniques)
Tensing and relaxing muscles all over the body
Use with other techniques
What is social facilitation
Positive influence of others who may be watching/competing
What is social inhibition
Negative influence of others, leads to a decrease in sports performance
Zajonc’s model of social facilitation
Present others
- passive
- audience/performers
- interactive
- emotive supporters/co-active competitors
Cottrell’s theory of evaluation apprehension
If an audience is perceived as evaluating performance, then this will cause anxiety and possibly over arousal
This would mean that people could be stressed even though the audience werent evaluating their performance
Effects of social facilitation on performance - home advantage
Interactive audience
Not sure why it exists
Presence of a supportive audience
Havent traveled so not as tired
Effects of social facilitation on performance - personality factors
Type A will perform worse than Type B in the presence of others
Extroverts prefer high arousal
Effects of social facilitation on performance - levels of experience
Experiences of good/bad audiences will influence future feelings
Highly skilled are likely to perform better
Knowledge of the crowd could increase evaluation apprehension
Presence of peers increases pride and enhances performance
Effects of social facilitation on performance - type of skill
Complex/fine will be better in low arousal
Cant focus on the skill due to being distracted by the crowd
Effects of social facilitation on performance - proximity effect
If the audience is closer than it will have a greater effect on arousal
Effects of social facilitation on performance - distraction-conflict theory
Lose concentration
Audience evaluation apprehension
Attention is disrupted
Practice skills in distracting situations
Effects of social facilitation on performance - audience characteristics
Facilitate or inhibit
Home advantage
Intimacy of audience
Rowdy crowds
Strategies to minimise the effects of social inhibition
Selective attention Mental rehearsal Positive self talk Practicing in the presence of an audience Dominant response Confidence building
Definition of group dynamics
Social processes operating within the group between individual members
Formation of groups - forming
Leader plays the dominant role
Make an effort to get to know eachother
Positive/polite/anxious
Formation of groups - storming
Conflict between members
Question the worth of the teams goal
Challenging authority
Many teams fail at this stage
Formation of groups - norming
Resolve differences
Socialise together
Develop stronger commitments
Could be new conflicts
Formation of groups - performing
Everyone works together towards the goal
Hard work without friction
People joining/leaving wont disrupt it
What is a group
Social aggregates that involve mutual awareness, a common goal and the potential for interaction
Steiner’s model - productivity equation
Actual productivity = potential productivity - losses due to faulty processes
Ringlemann effect –> co-ordination losses
Players being selfish/aggressive
High levels of interaction
Not working together
Social loafing –> motivation losses
People dont work as hard in groups as they would individually
Rely on others to pick up the slack
SMARTER goal setting - specific
Based on what youre trying to achieve
Clear
SMARTER goal setting - measurable
Know when youve met it
Target to aim for
SMARTER goal setting - accepted
Everyone agrees with it
Team goals
SMARTER goal setting - realistic
Achievable
Suitable for your own skill set
SMARTER goal setting - timed
More motivated to get it done before the deadline
SMARTER goal setting - exciting
Dont want to get bored and lose motivation
SMARTER goal setting - recorded
So you wont go back on your word
Clear focus
How does goal setting influence performance
1 - directs attention to certain task
2 - increases effort applied
3 - improves persistence
4 - increases motivation
Long term goals
Ultimate aim
Extended period
Could appear daunting
Short term goals
Immediate success
Set at existing capabilities
Progressively more difficult
Medium term goals
Occur during short term goal sequence
Endorse effectiveness
More significant improvement indicatiors
Performance goals
Made against previous performance
Measurable
Process goals
Improve techniques
Better performance
Product goals
Winning outcomes
End result
Externally controlled
Evaluation of time based goals
+ motivated to get it done
+ success from short term
- lose motivation if you dont meet target
- long term seem daunting
- become stressed near end of time frame
Evaluation of activity based goals
+ process goals are best for cognitive
+ product goals best for autonomous stage
+ improve technique
+ adaptable
- may not be suitable for skill levels
- some people wont pull their weight on team goals
