WEEK 5 - 8

Question 1

WEEK 5

Question 2

MODULE 5 Confidence

Question 3

Introduction mod 5

Answer 3

One of the most oft-cited characteristics of successful athletes is confidence.

In fact, confidence is regarded as one of the most important traits for people in all settings.

Despite the widespread belief that confidence is critical to success, many people still wonder where confidence comes from and how it can be increased.

Are some people naturally more confident than others?

Is confidence a stable characteristic or can it be enhanced?

How can it be increased?

These are all questions that have interested people within sport for years.

In this module you will learn about confidence and how it can impact performance. You will also learn how to increase confidence in yourself and others.

Question 4

Introduction to Confidence

Answer 4

Confidence is an individual’s belief in his/her ability to be successful

Confidence can be seen in a team’s belief that they can win a game, an athlete’s belief that he can make a shot, a runner’s feeling that she can finish a marathon, or a student’s belief that he can pass a course.

We all know that low levels of confidence can be detrimental to performance, but what about overconfidence or arrogance?

Most sport psychology professionals agree that arrogance can lead to decreased performance too.

While this may seem logical, people still have difficulty differentiating between confidence and arrogance.

Confidence is your belief in your ability to get somewhere.

Arrogance is the belief that you are already there.

The key distinction between these two is that confidence implies action.

You believe you can be successful but know that you must work to get there

Arrogance implies inaction.

Confident athletes believe they can be successful if they put in the necessary work

Arrogant athletes think they just need to “show up to win.”

Question 5

Self-Image and Confidence

Answer 5

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

Do you see yourself as a good person, a good student, a good friend?

Self-image refers to how an individual sees him- or herself.

This image that we have of ourselves can dramatically influence our confidence and, in turn, our performance.

Question 6

The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Answer 6

Our expectations can also have an impact on our confidence and performance.

Research suggests that people generally live up to their expectations.

When we expect great things, we tend to perform well.

When our expectations are low, our performance suffers.

This phenomenon is often referred to as the self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question 7

Steps of the Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Answer 7

1. You have a positive expectation of yourself
2. Your expectations influence your preparation for an event
3. Your preparation leads to a positive performance
4. Your performance conforms to your original expectations

Our expectations of others can also impact their performance.

When we expect others to perform well, we treat them differently, which positively impacts their performance.

When we expect people to fail, we treat them accordingly and their performance suffers.

This is often referred to as an “others-fulfilling prophecy” and is an extremely important concept for coaches, teachers, and leaders.

When a coach expects a player to be successful, the coach typically works with that player, helps her through difficult times, and gives her positive feedback.

All of those things lead to increased performance.

If a coach expects a player to be poor, the coach might pay him less attention, explain things in less detail, and give up when the player struggles.

As such, the player’s performance suffers, which confirms the original expectation.

Expectations can have a dramatic impact on confidence and performance.

The expectations we have for ourselves and others can influence our behaviour, which subsequently impacts our performance and confidence.

As such, one of the most important things we can do is hold high expectations for ourselves as well as others.

When you believe in yourself and others, good things happen.

Question 8

Sources of Self-Efficacy

Answer 8

Self-efficacy refers to a person’s belief in his/her ability to be successful in a given task

Examples of self-efficacy include an athlete believing she can make a free-throw, a runner believing he can finish a marathon, or a student believing she can earn an A on an exam.

Sport psychology professionals and coaches are very interested in self-efficacy because of its connection to performance.

In that regard, they are very interested in the sources of self-efficacy, which include:

• Previous accomplishments:
  Previous success is the best source of self-efficacy.
  When people have accomplished something before, this makes them believe they can do it again.
  Even accomplishing something similar can give people confidence in their abilities.
• Vicarious experiences:
  Seeing someone else have success can be a great source of self-efficacy.
  If your friend earned an A in this course, it might make you believe you can do that as well.
• Verbal persuasion:
  When someone who we trust gives us positive feedback and let’s us know they believe in us, we begin to believe in ourselves.
  This is a common technique used by coaches and teachers.
• Imaginary experiences:
  The more often we picture ourselves having success, the more we will believe in our abilities.
  This is why imagery is such a successful technique in sport.
• Physiological states:
  When athletes believe that they “feel ready” before a game, their confidence increases.
• Emotional states:
  Our mood can also impact our confidence.
  When we are happy and energized, our self-efficacy increases.

Question 9

Building Confidence

Answer 9

With regards to confidence, most people in sport and performance disciplines are most interested in how to build confidence. To that end, there are several ways to build confidence:

1. Set People up for Success
   As we discussed previously, past success is the most effective source of self-efficacy.
   Therefore, if we can put people in a position to have success, their confidence will increase.
   As a personal trainer or coach, it is critical to put your clients or athletes in a position to have success early.
2. Act Confident
   When we act confidently, we not only impact our own feelings and behaviours but we also impact those of others as well.
   Even when you don’t have confident thoughts, it can be beneficial to “fake it till you make it” and act confidently.
3. Think Confident
   As we already discussed in this module, confident thoughts and expectations can enhance confidence.
4. Prepare
   Have you ever shown up for an exam or an interview unprepared?
   If so, you know how it feels to lack confidence.
   The more prepared we are for an event, the more confident we will be.
   Building confidence is very similar to learning sport skills: it takes time and practice.
   The more practice you have thinking and acting confidently, the easier it will become.
   By sufficiently preparing yourself, acting confidently, thinking confidently, and having high expectations for yourself, you can increase your confidence and performance.

Question 10

MOD 5 Summary

Answer 10

In this module we covered the concept of confidence and how it can impact performance.

There are many people who believe that confidence is the most important component in success.

Confident people tend to perform at high levels.

Unfortunately, confidence can be difficult to develop and nurture.

However, research has suggested that confidence can be influenced by self-image, expectations, actions, and thoughts.

As coaches, teachers, leaders, athletes, students, or exercisers, it is critical to utilize these different techniques to enhance confidence and performance.

Question 11

Test Yourself

Answer 11

1. This term refers to the phenomenon by which our expectations of others influence their performance.

Others-fulfilling prophecy

2. According to the self-fulfilling prophecy, our expectations influence our behaviour, which ultimately leads to a specific outcome.

True

3. Watching someone else have success is the best way to build self-efficacy.

False

Question 12

WEEK 6

Question 13

MODULE 6 Goal Setting

Question 14

Introduction MOD 6

Answer 14

Did you set your alarm clock before going to bed last night?

Have you ever made a to-do list?

When you go to the grocery store, do you bring a list with you?

If you have done any of these things, then you have used goal setting.

Anytime you have an objective or decide on something you would like to accomplish, you are setting a goal.

Goal setting is one of the most commonly used techniques in sport, business, and everyday life.

In fact, of all the skills we discuss in this class, goal setting is likely the one you have utilized the most in your life.

While using goal setting is an important step to success, it is critical to apply effective goal-setting techniques if you want to maximize your results.

In this module you will learn effective goal-setting techniques.

That will include the different types of goals you can set and an easy 4-step process you can use to set goals for yourself and others.

You will also gain an understanding of the theory behind goal setting and why it is effective.

Question 15

Defining Goals

Answer 15

When people set goals, they generally say things like, “I want to get good grades,” “I want to get in shape,” or “I really want to start eating healthier.”

Unfortunately, setting these types of ambiguous goals often leads to failure and disappointment.

In order to successfully use goal setting, it is important to have an understanding of the different types of goals and when to use them.

Question 16

Objective vs. Subjective Goals

Answer 16

One of the simplest ways to look at goal setting is to differentiate between objective and subjective goals.

Objective goals:
- are very specific, clearly defined goals that leave no room for interpretation.
- In other words, when evaluating an objective goal, it is easy to see whether or not the goal was met.
- Losing 15lbs in 6 months, running 10k in less than 45 minutes, and making above 80% of free throws are all examples of objective goals.
- It is extremely easy to identify whether or not those goals have been achieved.

Subjective goals:
- are general statements that are difficult to measure or define and are up to interpretation.
- When evaluating subjective goals, it can be hard to identify if they were met, and the answer may be different depending on the person evaluating them.
- Getting in shape, eating better, and doing well in school are all examples of subjective goals.

Based on these definitions, objective goals are much more effective than subjective goals, and, as such, we should be careful to make sure all of our goals are objective.

Question 17

Outcome, Performance, and Process Goals

Answer 17

In addition to being objective, effective goals fall within three basic categories: outcome, performance, and process goals:

1. Outcome goals:
   - as the name would suggest, typically refer to the result of a competition or other event (e.g., exam, weight-loss program, semester).
   - Outcome goals give us a sense of purpose and remind us what we are working toward.
2. Performance goals:
   - are generally used by people to improve upon a previous performance or standard.
   - Examples include improving running time for a 1-mile race, increasing a free-throw percentage from 70% to 80%, or earning an 80% on a final exam after earning a 75% on the midterm.
3. Process goals:
   - focus on the small steps, or processes, an individual must go through to be successful in a performance.
   - To be successful in a course, a student might set a goal of attending all classes or reviewing her notes after every class for 1 hour.
   - A person trying to lose weight might set a goal of running for 30 minutes 5 times per week.
   - Process goals are almost entirely in the control of the individual and are extremely effective, as they give the person something to focus on every day.

When used together, outcome, performance, and process goals can be very effective.

In fact, when used in combination, these goals can provide people with an excellent roadmap for success.

Let’s take the example of a student who would like to get 80% or better in his math course.

Earning 80% in the class would be his outcome goal.

After receiving a 75% on his midterm exam, he might set a performance goal of earning 90% or better on his final exam.

That performance goal will help him reach his outcome goal.

Finally, to achieve his outcome and performance goals, he might set the process goal of studying for his final exam for 2 hours per day, for 10 days.

By using all three types of goals, the student has set the course for success.

Question 18

Why Goal Setting Works

Answer 18

When used correctly, goal setting is an extremely effective technique for improving performance.

In fact, over 90% of studies show that goal setting positively affects behaviour

There are two explanations for why goal setting works: the indirect thought-process view and the direct mechanistic view.

The Indirect Thought-Process View:
- The indirect thought-process view suggests that goal setting influences psychological factors, including anxiety and confidence.
- When people set goals, they feel in control, less anxious, and have a greater belief in their ability to be successful.
- By influencing those psychological factors, goal setting indirectly enhances performance.

The Direct Mechanistic View
- According to the direct mechanistic view, goal setting improves performance because it puts people in action.
- In other words, when people set goals, they start working to achieve those goals and persist even in the face of failure.
- This leads to improved behaviour and enhanced performance.

Question 19

The 4-Step Process of Goal Setting

Answer 19

Effective goal setting can be accomplished through a simple 4-step process:

Step 1: Climb the stairs to goal achievement.

• The first step to achieving a goal is to identify the small steps you must take to reach that goal.
• Just as you need to take several steps to climb a flight of stairs, you also need to take several small steps to achieve a goal.
• These small steps give you something to focus on every day as you work toward your goal.

Step 2: Set S.M.A.R.T. goals.

After you identify the small steps you must take to achieve your goal, it is important to make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T.:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Time based

Step 3: Set goal-achievement strategies.

• The third step of goal setting is to identify a few things that you can do to set yourself up for success.
• These are things you can do soon (within a week) that will help you get started on your journey.
• Buying running shoes, joining a gym, or buying healthy cookbooks are all examples of goal-achievement strategies.

Step 4: Flag the minefield.

• The final step in goal setting is to identify any mines or roadblocks that might impede your progress.
• When you can identify these mines, you are able to develop strategies to avoid them, which can prevent a relapse.

Question 20

Summary MOD 6

Answer 20

In this module we covered goal setting.

Goal setting is one of the most popular and effective performance-enhancement techniques.

When used appropriately, goal setting can have a dramatic impact on your performance and life.

While you may have used goal setting in the past, I encourage you to employ the techniques discussed in this module in the future.

In our next module we will discuss how arousal, stress, and anxiety impact performance.

Question 21

Test Yourself

Answer 21

1. This view of goal setting suggests it is successful because it focuses a person’s effort and sets him/her in motion.

Direct mechanistic view

2. Objective goals are more effective than subjective goals.

True

3. Performance goals relate to the outcome of an event or competition.

False

Question 22

WEEK 7

Question 23

MODULE 7 Arousal, Stress, and Anxiety

Answer 23

Think about a time when you played in an important game, took a critical exam, or had a key job interview.

How did you feel before and during that performance? Were you nervous, excited, or scared? How did you perform in that situation? Did your anxiety inhibit your performance?

We have all experienced anxiety and stress.

Some of us are more affected by it than others.

Whether you experience anxiety on a consistent basis or you tend to be fairly relaxed, it is important to understand how anxiety and stress can impact your performance.

In addition, it is important to identify ways to deal with anxiety and stress so they do not negatively impact your life.

In this module you will learn about arousal, stress, and anxiety and how they impact performance. We will also discuss ways to reduce anxiety and stress.

Question 24

Defining Arousal and Anxiety
Arousal

Answer 24

Arousal refers to the general activation of a person.

It includes physiological and psychological activation and falls along a continuum from low (coma) to high (frenzy).

In simple terms, arousal refers to a person’s activation or energy level.

As you are reading this page, you likely have low arousal levels and are relatively relaxed.

However, if you check your email and find out you just received a job offer, your arousal level might increase as you become more excited.

Arousal itself does not refer to a positive or negative emotion. Rather, it simply refers to activation or energy levels.

Arousal is the general activation of a person.

Arousal can have an impact on how we perform.

Think about how you feel under conditions of high arousal (i.e., extremely nervous or angry).

What happens to you physically and mentally?

You probably experience muscle tension, and it can be very difficult to perform motor skills when your body is tense.

What do you tend to focus on when you are angry?

In most cases, you obsess over what is frustrating you and not the task at hand.

Ultimately, we do not perform well under conditions of high arousal.

On the other hand arousal can be very beneficial to performance.

Think about a time when you were extremely excited or energized before a competition.

In many cases you might have performed exceptionally well in that situation.

Ultimately, arousal alone does not impact our performance as much as our perception of the arousal.

If we perceive it as positive it can be beneficial.

Question 25

Anxiety

Answer 25

While arousal does not have a negative or positive connotation, anxiety is defined as a negative state characterized by negative thoughts and heightened arousal, which is also perceived to be negative.

As such, anxiety has two components:

1. cognitive anxiety: which refers to negative thoughts or worry
2. somatic anxiety: which means increased arousal that is also perceived to be negative (e.g., sweating, increased heart rate, etc.)

Occasionally we might describe a person and “anxious” or “neurotic” because they seem to experience high levels of anxiety most of the time.

On the other hand you might know someone who is typically very relaxed.

These describe another way of looking at anxiety: trait anxiety.

Trait anxiety refers to the level of anxiety a person usually feels and it is relatively stable.

Alternatively, state anxiety refers to temporary, moment-to-moment, changes in anxiety.

For example, you might feel very anxious before an exam but not at all before a basketball game.

Trait and state anxiety are useful ways to study anxiety in performers.

We have all experienced anxiety and know how it manifests itself.

When we are anxious, we worry about things, think negatively, expect the worst, get butterflies in our stomach, sweat, and experience shortness of breath.

One of the most important things to do before discussing how to deal with anxiety is to assess your own levels of anxiety.

Question 26

How Arousal Impacts Performance

Answer 26

Since arousal and anxiety are common states experienced by all people, sport and exercise psychologists are very interested in identifying how they impact performance.

In order to do this, several different theories have been proposed that discuss the impact of arousal and anxiety on performance.

Question 27

Drive Theory

Answer 27

An early explanation of the relationship between arousal and performance. It is based on the idea that under the conditions of high arousal (excited, angry, scared) we all have a dominant response/natural response. As our arousal increases, the blood drains away from our brains and into our limbs – our flight or fight response kicks in. If we are going to fight, the blood needs to be in our arms and hands to punch and fight. If we are going to run, the blood needs to be in our legs.

Typically at high arousal, our blood flows into our limbs and not into our brains. Therefore, we are less likely to think clearly/rationally. Our response isn’t always to fight or flight, but everyone has some sort of typical response. Ex, when you’re angry, you could tend to act instead of think

The drive theory suggests when our dominant responses are ideal for the situation at hand, as our arousal increases, our performance increases. The more aroused/excited we can get, the better our performance will be.

Ex. a boxer’s dominant response is to attack and fight; this increases their performance in high-arousal situations in the ring.

If the boxer’s dominant response is to run away, this would not be a positive response for boxing – therefore, as arousal increase, performance would decrease

Overall, the drive theory is not the ideal explanation for arousal and performance since it doesn’t take into consideration that arousal could get too high and negatively impact performance.

Question 28

Inverted-U Hypothesis

Answer 28

Another explanation for the rel bwt arousal and performance. It explains some of the faults of the drive theory. The Inverted-U Hypothesis suggests that as our as our arousal increases, our performance increases to a specific point. At the point, we are at our optimal level of arousal and performance will be at it’s greatest.

Once we past that point, and our arousal increases past that point, performance starts to slowly decrease. Therefore, we want to be at an optimal of arousal to be at our best performance.

Critics of this theory:

• we might have more than one point of optimal arousal
• for each person, their optimal point of arousal may be different
• as our arousal passes the optimal point, it doesn’t make sense that our performance just slowly decreases – more likely that our performance will quickly decrease at some point

Question 29

Catastrophe Model

Answer 29

Provides another explanation for the rel bwt arousal and performance. Very similar to the inverted U hypothesis, the Catastrophe Model suggests that as our arousal increases, our performance also increases to an optimal point of arousal. At a very specific point of arousal, our performance will be at it’s highest.

Differs from inverted u:

• after the point of optimal arousal, performance slowly decreases until it’s completely gone = there is a cataphoric event where our performance drops off a cliff and dramatically decreases

This theory explains those times where extreme lvls of arousal (particularly worry, anxiety) cause our performance to dramatically decrease – ex. freezing up during a speech, athletes loosing it and not knowing what they’re doing

Question 30

Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning

Answer 30

IZOF model provides the best explanation for the rel bwt arousal and performance. Each person has their own zone/range of arousal and anxiety, which they will perform at their best.

Rather than thinking of one specific point, each individual has their own zone/range that they will perform at their best.

Ex. there could be an athlete that is in their zone at very low lvls of arousal, one athlete whos in their zone at moderate lvls, and one at high lvls.

Any time a person is out of their zone, they aren’t going to perform at their best.

Application for sport psych professionals:

• your goal as a professional is to identify the zone in which an athlete performs at their best and then help them get there

either increase arousal with techniques or decrease arousal, depending on what their zone is

Question 31

Stress

Answer 31

Stress is a common feeling among athletes, students, and professionals.

Stress is defined as having an imbalance between the demands placed on a person and that person’s ability to meet those demands.

In other words, stress is the perception of having more to do than you have the ability to complete.

We often experience stress during busy times when we feel as though we cannot get everything done.

Stress is the imbalance between the demands placed on a person and that person’s ability to meet those demands.

Stress often leads to arousal and anxiety and can negatively impact performance.

This can be seen through the simple four-step process developed by McGrath:

Stage 1: Environmental demand (physical and psychological)

Stage 2: Individual’s perception of the environmental demand (amount of psychological or physical “threat” perceived)

Stage 3: Stress response (physical and psychological)

• arousal
• state anxiety (cognitive and somatic)
• muscle tension
• attention changes

Stage 4: Behavioral consequences (performance or outcome)

Question 32

The stress process

Answer 32

Stress is an environmental demand.

ex. give a presentation, make a shot in a game

The 2nd stage of the stress process is the individual’s perception of that demand. This varies by individual. For some people, a situation could be extremely negative/stressful. Other people may see the same situation as exciting and energizing.

Stage 3: the stress response

• our physical and psychological responses to that stress
• based entirely on the perception in stage 2
• if our perception is negative, our stress response will be very negative & we’ll feel cognitive and somatic signs of stress and anxiety
• if our perception is positive, our stress response could be excited, energized, highly aroused in a positive way

Stage 4: Behavioral consequences

• negative stress response = neg behav consequences - muscles tense, shaking, frozen, heart racing

The stress process gives us a unique idea of how we can help ppl deal with stress.

There are 2 areas in which we can intervene:

1. the perception of the demand

• if we can get ppl to perceive stress positively – look at it as a positive energizing thing, all of a sudden their stress response becomes more healthy and positive = opportunity vs threat

a threat is something that is scary, you want to avoid, causes anxiety = very negative response

opportunity = excitement, energizing, something I want to do = positive stress response

First thing to do: work towards perceiving every situation as an opportunity rather than a threat

2. the physical and psychological response (in stage 3)

• there are still going to be times when you’re scared and see something as a threat
• start to employ techniques to deal with stress and anxiety = positvie thinking, thought stopping and thought replacement, taking deep breaths to lower physical arousal

Question 33

Strategies for Managing Arousal, Stress, and Anxiety

Answer 33

Since there is such a strong connection between arousal, stress, anxiety, and performance, sport and exercise psychologists have spent a considerable amount of time identifying ways to manage these states.

Some of the most common suggestions are:

1. Identify an individual’s optimal level of arousal:

• One of the first questions a sport psychology consultant might ask an athlete is, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited or energized do you like to be when you play?”
• Once a consultant has identified an athlete’s optimal level of arousal, she can work on ways to help the athlete reach that point.

2. Recognize factors that lead to stress and anxiety:

• The more you know about a person, the more you know the situations that cause him/her to feel stress or anxiety.
• Once you have identified those situations, you can develop strategies to help that person avoid or cope with them.

3. Recognize signs of increased arousal, stress, and anxiety:

• What does a person look like when their arousal, stress, and anxiety increase?
• When you know what to look for you can develop strategies to manage those feelings

4. Recognize signs of decreased arousal, stress, and anxiety:

• It is just as important to identify what a person looks like when they have low levels of arousal.
• Some athletes have difficulty “getting up” for a big game and might need to be energized in order to perform well.

5. Develop personal strategies to manage arousal, stress, and anxiety:

• Each person deals with arousal, stress, and anxiety differently.
• It is important to develop individualized interventions to help people deal with those emotions.

When looking at specific strategies for managing arousal, stress, and anxiety, breathing and relaxation techniques are some of the most common.

Breathing is an effective way to manage your arousal.

Take a few deep breaths right now.

Notice how it makes you feel.

Your body probably became more relaxed, and your heart rate slowed.

Now take a series of short, quick breaths.

How did that make you feel? You might have noticed your arousal level increase.

Learning to control your breathing is an effective way to manage arousal.

Over the next few days, try to practice this using deep breaths to relax yourself and short, quick breaths to energize yourself.

Relaxation techniques are another important tool for managing arousal, stress, and anxiety.

One of the most common is Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR).

Now you are going to have the opportunity to experience PMR.

Question 34

MOD 7 Summary

Answer 34

In this module we covered arousal, stress, and anxiety

You should now be able to differentiate between those terms and discuss how they can impact performance.

Having the ability to manage arousal, stress, and anxiety is critical for performance in both sport and life.

If you can identify your optimal zone and the strategies that will help you get there, you can positively impact your performance.

Question 35

Test Yourself MOD 7

Answer 35

1. This theory suggests that as arousal increases our performance also increases in a linear fashion.

Drive Theory

2. Arousal is a negative emotion characterized by worry.

False

3. The Inverted-U Hypothesis states that high levels of arousal lead to increased performance.

False

Question 36

WEEK 8

Question 37

MODULE 8: Concentration

Question 38

Introduction

Answer 38

If you go to a local sporting event or watch a behind-the-scenes special about professional sports, you will no doubt hear a coach beg her team to “focus.”

When you go to the local playground, you are likely to hear a parent plead with his child to “pay attention” or “focus” while climbing on the monkey bars.

While words and phrases such as “focus,” “concentrate,” or “pay attention” are very common in our vernacular, many people do not have a great understanding of their meaning.

More importantly, most people do not understand how to enhance concentration for themselves or others.

Question 39

Defining Concentration

Answer 39

There are several definitions of concentration but the majority of them agree that concentration refers to focusing mental effort on a specific cue

In other words, when we ask people to concentrate, we are imploring them to focus their mental effort on a specific target.

As such, when a coach or parent asks someone to focus or concentrate, he or she is really saying, “Focus your mind on what is important right now.”

Concentration is the focus of our mental effort on a specific cue.

The terms “concentration” and “focus” are often used synonymously.

Now that you understand the definition of focus, your next question might be, “What does it mean to have good, or ideal, focus?”

What do we mean when we say someone is “really focused”?

Question 40

Ideal focus includes four components:

Answer 40

1. Focusing on relevant cues

• When coaches tell athletes to focus, their response should be, “On what?”
• To have really effective focus, you must direct your mental effort on the appropriate cues.
• In Activity 16.4 (in the online study guide that accompanies the textbook), that meant focusing on the specific number you were looking for.
• Therefore, when we talk about focus, the first thing we should be doing is teaching people what to focus on.

2. Maintaining focus over time

• Once you know what to pay attention to, the next step of effective focus is being able to maintain that focus over time.
• Many sporting events last for several hours, and one small mistake can change the outcome.
• The best athletes are able to stay focused during the entire competition.

3. Situational awareness

• We are constantly bombarded with distractions, including screaming fans, talking opponents, disapproving bosses or evaluators, and even battling your own negative thoughts.
• Being able to avoid or block out distractions is a key element to effective focus.

4. Shifting focus when necessary

• The final component of effective focus is having the ability to shift focus when necessary.
• At various times during a given play, a quarterback might need to focus on the defence’s alignment, his receivers running their routes, the defensive lineman bearing down on him, and the specific receiver he is throwing to.
• This ability to shift focus is critical for success.

Question 41

Types of Focus

Answer 41

As you know, one of the components of effective focus is the ability to shift focus when necessary.

That can include changing the object you are focusing on, but it might also include changing your type of focus.

There are four different types of focus that people can use during a performance; please see page 372 in your text for a more detailed review of each type of focus:

1. Broad external:

• Focusing on many things in your external environment (e.g., a basketball point guard surveying the entire court; a teacher focusing on her entire classroom after asking the class a question).

2. Narrow external:

• Focusing on a few (1–2) things in the external environment (e.g., a baseball player focusing on the ball as it leaves the pitcher’s hand).

3. Broad internal:

• Focusing on many things inside of you, such as thoughts or the feeling or position of your body (e.g., a runner focusing on relaxing her entire body during the last few miles of a race).

4. Narrow internal:

• Focusing on a few (1–2) things inside of you (e.g., a basketball player focusing on following through with her wrist after a shot).

During a performance an athlete might be required to quickly shift between these four different types of focus.

Question 42

Let’s look at the example of a golfer preparing to hit her first shot in a round of golf, and see if you can guess what type of focus she is using.

Answer 42

1. The first thing she might do is survey the hole to identify any hazards (e.g., water, sand), the direction of the wind, distance to the pin, etc.

What type of focus is she using here? = If you answered “broad external,” you are correct. She is focusing on a large number of things in her external environment.

2. After surveying the hole, the next thing she might do is process all of that information to decide what club she will use and what type of shot she might hit. In other words, she is identifying her “game plan” for playing this hole.

If you answered “broad internal,” you are correct. She is processing a large amount of information and is focusing on her thoughts to make important decisions.

3. After she has chosen her club and the type of shot she wants to hit, the golfer will stand over the ball and focus on her swing with one thought in mind, such as “stay smooth” or “follow through.”

If you answered “narrow internal,” you are correct. She is focusing on one thought to prepare for her shot.

4. In the moment before she starts her swing, the last thing the golfer will focus on is the ball.

If you answered “narrow external,” you are correct. She is just focusing on the ball before she begins her swing.

This is a good example of how quickly an athlete must shift among the different types of focus in a competition.

When an athlete does not use the ideal type of focus for a given situation, his performance is likely to suffer.

Question 43

Gorilla video

Answer 43

Were you able to see the gorilla the first time?

If you did not see it, what do you think caused that?

The answer lies in the type of focus you were using.

When you were asked to count the number of passes, you naturally used a narrow external focus so you could watch the ball.

With that narrow focus, you were able to count the passes but might have missed other information in the environment (e.g., the gorilla).

If you shifted to a broad external focus, you would definitely see the gorilla but be unable to count the passes.

If you were daydreaming about vacation while watching the video (narrow internal) or thinking about all the things you need to get done today (broad internal), it is likely that you missed everything that happened in the video.

This phenomenon can happen in sports as well.

When a quarterback is focused on his receiver, he might miss the lineman coming to sack him.

A basketball player who is looking at the crowd might miss what her coach is saying during a time-out.

One of the keys to successful focus is having the ability to use the appropriate type of focus in a given situation.

Question 44

Choking

Answer 44

“Choking” is a commonly used term in sports.

When a basketball player misses a key free throw, a golfer misses a short putt, or a receiver drops an easy pass, people will shout, “What a choke!”

While choking does occur in sports, the term “choking” is often misused and misunderstood.

Many people oversimplify the word “choke” to explain any time a player fails in a critical situation.

In reality choking is much more complicated than that.

Failure is a part of sports.

Every athlete has failed at some point in his or her career.

However, every failure is not a choke.

Just because you missed a shot or dropped a ball does not mean that you choked.

Choking has little to do with the outcome of an event and is much more about the process.

When you allow a situation to negatively impact you physically and mentally and do not put yourself in a position to succeed, that is choking.

Choking occurs when you are unable to control your body, thoughts, or focus and thus do not put yourself in a position to succeed.

Sometimes we do everything correctly and the shot still does not go in.

That is not choking.

However, if you tense up or lose focus in a key situation, that is choking.

Question 45

The choking process

Answer 45

Choking is not simply failing in a critical moment.

Rather, it is when the moment becomes overwhelming, and you do not put yourself in a position to succeed.

For example, when a performer is faced with an important game or situation or knows he/she is being evaluated (e.g., a tryout or job interview), that can lead to several physical and psychological consequences.

Often the performer will experience muscle tension, increased heart rate, sweating, and quick breathing.

Those physical feelings typically lead to decreases in performance.

In addition to those physical feelings, the person might also experience changes in focus.

In general, stress causes people to shift to a narrow internal focus.

This commonly manifests itself in overwhelming thoughts of failure and worry.

When coupled with the physical reactions to stress, this shift in focus becomes detrimental to performance.

Question 46

Enhancing Concentration

Answer 46

Concentration is a critical skill for performance in all settings.

Therefore, it is important for people to understand how to enhance their concentration.

Some of the most valuable strategies include:

Practicing concentration:

• Concentration is a skill that can be improved with practice.
• Try to identify situations where it may be difficult to focus, and challenge yourself to concentrate on the appropriate cues for a few minutes at a time.
• Increase the length of time with each trial, and you will see improvements in your ability to focus.

Simulate distractions in practice:

• When football coaches are preparing their team for the noisy crowd, they often make them practice with loud music.
• Therefore, when the team is actually faced with a loud crowd, they are prepared to deal with the distraction.
• Try to anticipate possible distractions and simulate them in practice.

Cue words:

• Cue words remind us of what we want to focus on.
• When you remind yourself to “see the ball” or “relax,” your body will respond accordingly.
• Before a performance, try to identify some cue words you can use to keep you focused.

One additional strategy for increasing focus is to utilize the “release, relax, refocus” routine.

One of the most common times for people to lose focus is when something goes wrong.

When you make a poor play in a game or do not know the answer to an exam question, it becomes easy to lose focus.

In order to prevent that, you can use the “release, relax, refocus” routine.

Question 47

Summary

Answer 47

In this module we discussed concentration, which can affect all aspects of our lives.

Whether it is sport, work, or our personal life, having the ability to effectively focus can lead to improved performance.

While many people implore themselves and others to “get focused,” it is important to know exactly what that means.

Ideal focus includes:

Focusing on relevant cues
Maintaining focus over time
Situational awareness
Shifting focus when necessary

While it can be difficult to focus in all situations, you can improve your ability to focus through practice.