Sports Psychology Flashcards
Psychological skills training (P.S.T.)
Systematic and consistent practice of mental or psychological skills for the purpose of enhancing performance, increasing enjoyment, or achieving greater sport and physical activity self-satisfaction
Methods of P.S.T.
Behavior modification Cognitive theory and therapy Rational emotive therapy Goal setting Attentional control Progressive muscle relaxation Systematic desensitization
Earliest mental training model
Self-regulation of arousal Confidence Attentional focusing Distraction control Goal setting
Goal of systematically practice of P.S.T. is to acquire these psychological skills:
Maintaining and focusing concentration
Regulating arousal levels
Enhancing confidence
Maintaining motivation
Mental toughness= being in the zone
Athlete’s ability to focus ability to rebound from failure ability to cope with pressure Determination to persist in the face of adversity Mental resilience
Model defining mental toughness
Control: handling many things at once; remaining influential rather than controlled
Commitment: being deeply involved with pursuing goals despite difficulties
Challenge: perceiving potential threats as opportunities for personal growth and thriving in constantly changing environments
Confidence: maintaining belief in the self despite setbacks
Mental toughness is an interaction between the person and the environment
Individual and perception of the situation of the situation determines the wihether the individual acts in a mentally tough manner
Building mental toughness (techniques)
Creating a positive motivational practice environment
Intense competitive practices
Creating simulations (pressure)
Setting specific goals
Providing instructional and supportive feedback
Building confidence through rigorous physical preparation and conditioning
Enhancing attentional control through self-state,meets
Making appropriate attributions for success and failure
Superior performance intelligence
Knowing how to maximize your potential
Knowing how to work with your environment
Knowing how to deliver high performance
Why sports and exercise participants neglect PST
Lack of knowledge: know how is missing, implicit assumption: player knows how to concrete and relax but is just not doing it
Misunderstandings about psychological skills
Lack of time
Myths about PST
PST is for ‘problem’ athletes only
PST is for elite training only
PST provides ‘quick fix’ solutions
PST is not useful
PST knowledge base
Research on elite athletes
Experiences of athletes and coaches
3 phases of PST
Educational phase: participants must recognize how important it is to acquire psychological skills and how the skills affect performance
Acquisition phase: focus on strategies and techniques for learning the various psychological skills
Practice phase: automate skills, teach people to systematically integrate psychological skills into competition
Self regulation
Ability to work toward one‘s short- and long-term goals by effectively monitoring and managing one‘s thoughts, feelings, and behavior
—> ultimate goal of PST
Five stage model of athlete self-regulation
Problem identification
Commitment to change
Execution: self-evaluate, self-Monitore, develop appropriate expectancies
Environment management: planning and deriving strategies for managing the social and physical environment
Generalization stage: sustaining efforts over time and extending behaviors to new conditions and settings
Injury
Trauma to the body that results in at least temporary (but sometimes permanent) physical disability and inhibition of motor function
Causes of injury
Physical-, Social-, Psychological-, Personality- factors Stress levels
Physical factors
Muscle imbalances, high-speed collisions, overtraining, and physical fatigue
Social factors
Athletes perception that playing with pain and injury is highly valued in society
psychological factors
Stressful situations can contribute to injury
Increase of anxiety—> changes in focus or attention and muscle tension
Moderators to injury: personality, history of stressors, coping resources
Personality factors
No successful Studie about it but recent evidence: optimism, self-esteem, hardiness, and trait anxiety play a role in athletic injuries
Stress levels
Athletes with higher levels of life stress have more injuries than those with lower
Stresses that athletes experience: physical problems, medical treatment, rehabilitation difficulties, financial difficulties, career worries, sense of missed opportunities
Relationship between stress and injury
Attentional disruption: stress reduces peripheral attention —> inattentive
Increased muscle tension: high stress can be accompanied by considerable muscle tension that interferes with normal coordination and increases the chance of injury
Increased stress—> may lead to generalized fatigue, muscle inefficiency, reduced flexibility, and motor coordination problems
Other psychologically based explanations for injury
Act through and give 110%—> rewarding such effort without emphasizing the need to recognize and accept injuries
If you‘re injured you‘re worthless
Emotional responses to injury
Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance and reorganization
3 responses to injury
Injury-relevant information processing: focuses on information related to the pain and injury, awareness of the extent of injury
Emotional upheaval and reactive behavior: emotionally agitated; have vacillating emotions; feel isolated and disconnected
Positive outlook and coping: acceptance of injury and dealing with it
Signs of poor adjustment to athletic injury
Feelings of anger and confusion
Obsession with question of when one can return to play
Denial
Repeatedly coming back too soon and becoming reinsured
Exaggerated bragging about accomplishments
Dwelling on minor physical complaints
Guilt about letting the team down
Withdrawal from significant others
Rapid mood swings
Statements indicating that recovery sill not occur no matter what is done
3 phases of injury and injury recovery
Injury or illness phase: help the athlete deal with the emotional upheaval that accompanies the onset of injury
Rehabilitation and recovery phase: help the athlete sustain motivation and adherence to rehabilitation protocols
Return to full activity phase: full recovery is not complete until the athlete can return to normal functioning within his or her sport
Psychological coping skills (injury)
Goal setting: setting date when to return to competition
Self-talk strategies: help to counteract the lowered self confidence
Visualization: visualizing ones self in game conditions to maintain playing skills
Relaxation training: useful for relieving pain and stress
Other reactions
Identify loss: loss of personal identity
fear and anxiety: worry whether they will recover
lack of confidence: result in decreased motivation
performance decrement: postinjury declines in performance
group processes: affects group processes either negatively or positively
Athletes that are high at risk
Characterized by anxiety, high life stress, low physical and coping skills, low social support, and high avoidance coping
