10/27 sports psych quiz

Define reinforcement

The use of rewards and punishment, which increase or decrease the likelihood of a similar response occurring in the future

Principles of reinforcement

• If doing something results in a good consequence (such as being rewarded), people tend to repeat the behavior to achieve additional positive reinforcement

• If doing something results in an unpleasant consequence (such as being punished), people tend not to repeat the behavior to avoid more negative consequences

Why are the principles of reinforcement complex?

• People react differently to the same reinforcement

• People are unable to repeat desirable behaviors

• People receive different reinforcers in different situation

Positive approach to influencing behavior

• Focuses on rewarding appropriate behavior, which increases the likelihood of desirable responses occurring in the future

Negative approach to influencing behavior

• Focuses on punishing undesirable behaviors, which should lead to future redirection of these inappropriate behavior

What type of approach should be used?

• Most coaches and instructors combine positive and negative approaches

• Sport psychologists agree that the predominant approach with physical activity and sport participants should be positive because the negative approach often instills fear in participants

Principles of positive reinforcement

• Choose effective reinforcers (e.g., social, material, activity, special outings, intrinsic, and extrinsic)

• Choose the timing or schedule of reinforcement.

  • Early learning: continuous and immediate reinforcement desirable

  • Learned skill: intermittent and immediate reinforcement desirable

• Reward appropriate behaviors - choose the proper behaviors to reward

• With difficult skills, shape the behavior of the learner by reinforcing close approximations of the desired behavior

• Reward performance as well as outcome

• Reward effort

• Rereward emotional and social skill

Motivational feedback influences performance by:

• Enhancing confidence, inspiring greater effort, and creating a positive mood

• Providing valuable reinforcement to the performer

• Establishing goal-setting programs

Instructional feedback provides information about:

• Specific behaviors to be performed

• Levels of proficiency that should be achieved

• The performer’s current level of proficiency

Providing performance feedback

• Knowledge of results: information about the outcome of an action

• Knowledge of performance: feedback regarding the correctness of an action or type of movement patter

• Provide sincere and contingent feedback

• Provide motivational and instructional feedback

• Use varied types of feedback - verbal praise, facial expressions, and pats on the back

Inappropriate approaches to feedback

• Focus on criticism.

• Focus on criticism with sarcasm.

• Use physical abuse.

• Employ guilt.

Define punishment

can control and change behavior, but 80% to 90% of reinforcement should be positive

Support of punishment

• Can serve an educational purpose (i.e., maintain stability, order, mastery).

• Punishment can deter future cheating or wrongdoing

Criticisms of punishment

• Punishment can be degrading or shame-producing.

• Punishment can arouse fear of failure.

• Punishment can act as a reinforcer.

• Punishment can create an unpleasant learning environment.

Effects of punishment on the sport experience

• Yelling can negatively affect athletes’ fun and enjoyment as well as developing negative perceptions of their coaches.

• Being benched stimulated negative perceptions of athletes' abilities as well as reducing athletes’ perceptions of fun and enjoyment.

• Using physical activity as punished fosters detrimental teammate interactions

Effects of punishment on sport participation

Punishment caused athletes to question their abilities and their usefulness to the team

Making punishment effective

• Punish the behavior, not the person - convey to the person that it’s their behavior that needs to change

• Allow for the athlete’s input in making up punishments for breaking rules

• Do not use physical activity or conditioning as a punishment

• Make sure the punishment is not perceived as a reward or simply as attention

• Impose punishment impersonally - do not berate the person or yell. Simply inform the person of the punishment

• Do not punish athletes for making errors while playing

• Do not embarrass individuals in front of teammates or classmates

• Use punishment sparingly, but enforce it when you use it