Sports psychology

Question 1

What is the environmental influence continuum

Answer 1

Closed <——> Open
The environmental influence continuum considers the factors that surround the performer as they execute a skill.
- Closed skills= Not affected by environment as they are predictable.
- Open skills= Heavily affected by an unpredictable and changing environment

Examples: Open= Lay up, football tackle Closed= tennis serve, free throw

Question 2

What is the difficulty continuum?

Answer 2

Basic skill <——> Complex skill
The difficulty continuum considers how complicated skills are, and how much attention and concentration is required to complete them
- Basic skills= requires little concentration to execute, does not include complicated movements
- Complex skills= Requires a lot of attention and concentration, includes complicated movements

Examples: Basic= catching,running Complex= high jump

Question 3

What is the organisational continuum?

Answer 3

Low organisational <——> High organisational
The organisational continuum considers how tightly knitted together the subroutines are
- Low organisational skills= can be broken down into multiple subroutines that can be practiced separately
- High organisational skills= cannot be broken down easily as seen as whole actions, must be practiced in their entirety.

Examples: Low= long jump, cartwheel High= golf swing

Question 4

What are the 4 types of guidance

Answer 4

• Visual
• Manual
• Verbal
• Mechanical

Question 5

What is guidance

Answer 5

Guidance is the information given to someone to help them develop a skill, to improve and optimise their performance

Question 6

What is visual guidance?

Answer 6

Visual guidance is presented in a form that the performer can look at. It can include anything from the live demonstration to video, film, or poster.

Question 7

Advantages and disadvantages of visual guidance

Answer 7

Advs:
- Can copy the movement
- Can be done with large groups
- It is good for beginners so they can see what the skill looks like and create a mental image
- It is also good when it is not possible to hear verbal guidance

Disadvs:
- If demonstration is poor incorrect movement learnt
- Time consuming
- Videos are expensive
- Complex movements are difficult to recognise
- If video used unable to ask questions

Question 8

What is verbal guidance?

Answer 8

Verbal guidance is when a coach describes how to perform a skill or tells a performer something

Question 9

advantages and disadvantages of verbal guidance?

Answer 9

Advs:
- Instructions can be given quickly
- Can be used during a performance
- No equipment is required
- Good for more experienced performers who know what a movement looks like

Disadvs:
- Some movements are difficult to explain
- Relies on the coach’s communication skills being good enough for the performer to understand
- Can be overwhelming if too much information given

Question 10

What is manual guidance?

Answer 10

Manual guidance involves a coach physically, moving a performer into the correct position or supporting them as they perform a skill

Question 11

Advantages and disadvantages of manual guidance

Answer 11

Advs:
- Can get a feel for the movement
- Build’s confidence
- Can help break down the movement into phases

Disadvs:
-The feeling is not actually the same as actually doing the skill unaided
- Performer can become dependent on the support
- Incorrect feel can lead to incorrect movement being learned
- Can only be used 1 on 1

Question 12

What is mechanical guidance?

Answer 12

The mechanical guidance takes place when equipment is used to assist in the coaching process.

Question 13

Advantages and disadvantages of mechanical guidance

Answer 13

Advs:
- Can get a feel for the movement
- Builds confidence
- Reduces danger

Disadvs:
- The feeling is not actually the same as actually doing the skill unaided
- Performer can become dependent on the support
- Incorrect feel can lead to incorrect movement being learned
- Cannot be used in large groups

Question 14

Intrinsic feedback

Answer 14

Comes from within, it relates to how a movement feels.
- more experienced are more capable of self-assessing and correcting the movement if they know it feels wrong

Question 15

Extrinsic feedback

Answer 15

Information a performer receives about the performance from a coach

Question 16

Concurrent feedback

Answer 16

Information performer receives about their performance during the activity.
+ Gives them time to make adjustments to their performance
- cant be used for short events
- cant be used for complex skills

Question 17

Terminal feedback

Answer 17

Information performer receives about their performance after the activity has been completed.
- Cant rectify anything during the event
- coach could talk player through what they saw

Question 18

What is fixed practice?

Answer 18

Training focuses on practising one closed skill repeatedly
+ Specific errors/weaknesses can be eradicated from the technique
- It requires a lot of motivation to maintain focus and concentration
E.g. Tennis serve, free throw, penalty kick

Question 19

What is variable practice?

Answer 19

Training focuses on practising an open skill in different situations
+ The skill can be adapted and altered depending on the situation
- Sessions need to replicate a game situation as close as possible
E.g. Goalkeeper training

Question 20

What is massed practice?

Answer 20

Training involves long practice periods without rests, where a skill is repeated continuously, low organisational and basic skills
+ increases the consistency of a skill
- not good for beginners
E.g. darts player

Question 21

What is distributed practice?

Answer 21

Training has breaks for rest, feedback and mental rehearsal, complex skill
+ Good for learning new skills as it allows for feedback on performance
+ Better for less motivated performers
- may be boring and time consuming
E.g. 5 rugby tackles followed by feedback and rest.