UNC EXSS 181 Exam 2

What is psychological skills training used for?

burn out,

lack of motivation, anexiety/arousal/confidence issues;nerves, attention deficiency; lost concentration; efficacy (situation specific confidence), choked during performance, negative thoughts/self-talk,struggles with getting self ready to play

Why doesn't everyone do PST?

lack of knowledge, lack of time, doesn't think it works

Myths of Psychological Skills Training

not useful, only for "problem" athletes, quick fix

PST has to be _________

personalized; IZOF- the optimal level varies by person and activity

Positive stress

eustress

negative stress

distress

Stress Model

person-envrionment transaction-> cognitive appraisal (primary/secondary)-><- coping (problem-focused/emotion-focused)->stress/emotion outcome

PST purpose

systematic, consistent practice of mental techniques for the purpose of enhancing performance, or increasing satisfaction

PST can...

help athletes at all levels, requires training over time, must be individualized, addresses performance enhancement not clinical psychological issues

mental toughness 4 C model

Control: one's capacity to feel and act as if they could exert an influence in the situation in question

Commitment: one's tendency to take an active role in events

Challenge: one perception of change as an opportunity to grow and develop rather than as a threat

Confidence: strong sense of self-belief

mental skills=

mental toughness

Steps of PST Program

1. Education and Assessment

2. Acquisition

3. practice

4. Evaluation

education and assessment phase

; goal is for participants to quickly recognize how important it is to build their PST repertoire and how those skills affect their performance.

;Needs assessment focuses on determining the areas of various psychological skills athletes need to personally improve upon

What psycholigcal attributes separates the most successful athletes from the rest?

have a competitive plan, daily training goals, use practice to simulate competition, high confidence, task-oriented thoughts, positive imagery, overcome obstacles by planning

Acquisition Phase

focuses on strategies and techniques for learning the various psychological skills;

what does the athlete need?; develop strategies and tachniques for learning new skills based on needs

; prioritize and limit the number of new skills introduced at one time; learn basic skills away from the playing field

Practice Phase (can take a long time)

3 parts:

automation: practicing skill can be performed without a lot of higher-level cognitive control ("automatic")

integration: use the skill, or versions of it in practice, then competition, gradually introduce, find ways to adapt skill to avoid disrupting performance

simulation: re-create the situation that requires use of the skill in a practice setting to get "real world" experience before using it in real competition

Evaluation Phase

Was the PST program carried out as planned? (by ahtlete, coach, consultant); did the athlete improve the mental skill?; did the athlete meet the goal of the program/solve the initial problem?; subjective and performance feedback;

reassessment: what could be modified or done next to deal with the problems or aide in further improvement

Why is evaluation so critical?

shows improvement; helpful for athlete to continue training; if things aren't working well you can change the strategies; be able to show client that what you are doing is working so they can continue to be your client; what is and isn't working

ultimate goal of PST

self-regulation: the ability to work towards ones short and long term goals by effectively monitoring and managing one's thoughts, feelings and behaviors

5 stage regulation model

stage 1: problem identification

stage 2: commitment

stage 3: execution

stage 4: environmental management

stage 5: generalization

When to implement PST program

the best time to begin is in OFF SEASON; athletes take some time to understand the new skills and integrate them into their routines, ont use out of desperation, first of last 15 min of practice (3-5 days a week), neutral setting->practice->simulated competition->competition

Common problems with implementing PST

1. lack of time (priorities)

2. lack of conviction (by athlete)

-not wanting to do something new, not convincing that it will help

3. lack of sport knowledge (by consultant)

4 lack of follow-up (by both athlete and consultant)

- do not expect results from doing only one or two sessions

Mental Training techniques

-arousal reg.

-imagery

-self-confidence

-self-talk

-self-efficacy

-goal setting

-concentration/mindfulness

Increasing self awareness of arousal

-be more aware of them during practices and competitions:

*self-monitoring

*recognizing how emotional states affect performance

-process

1. think of best performance and worst performance

--visualize, feelings, thoughts

--5 min relive

2. complete "checklist of performance states"

3. compare responses between 2 performances

Awareness training

complete checklist immediately after each practice or competitive session over few weeks

Arousal states felt as _________ or _________

facilitative; debilitative

eubank and collins (2000) found that

individuals who see their anxiety as facilitative are more likely to use both problem-focused and emotion-focused coping. those who view it as debilitative are more limited in use of coping strategies

anxiety reduction techniques

1.relaxation training: a method or activity that helps a person to relax or to attain a state of increased calmness or decreased anxiety or stress, or tension;

relaxation techniques are often employed as one element of a wider stress management program can: decrease muscle tension

excess anxiety can produce inappropriate muscle tension which can diminish performance, produce inappropriate thoughts and cognition's (I hope I dont blow this shot)

2. Somatic: to reduce physiological arousal associated with increased somatic anxiety:

Progressive relaxtion: objective is to teach/train contrast between tension and relaxation

major premises:

-tension and relaxation cannot occur simultaneously

-relaxation of the muscles (body) contributes to relaxaxtion of the mind

-involved contracting and relaxing major muscle groups in a sequence progressing through the whole body.

practice and integration of progressive relaxation (somatic)

full program= 30 min

abbreviated program (shorter time periods)

relax on-site in competition

assumptions of progressive relaxation

-possible to learn difference b/w tension and relaxation

-tension and relaxation mutually exclusive~not possible to be relaxed and tense at the same time

-relaxation of the body through decreased muscle tension with decrease mental tension

Breath control

easiest, most effective ways to control anxiety and muscle tension

: breathing out decreases muscle tension.. but tendency in stressful situation to hold breath or increase breathing rate

:deep diaphragmatic breathing at a slow and controlled pace

- complete breaths

-rhythmic breaths: 4-4-4 count

best use in competition: during breaks in action

calm, confident, in control (breath personality)

smooth, deep, rhythmic

under pressure, tense (breath personality)

short,shallow, irregular

1:2 ratio of inhalation/exhalation

helps slow breathing and deepens relaxation by focusing on exhalation phase

biofeedback

-designed to teach control of physiological or autonmoic responses

-visual and/or auditory feedback of:

~muscle activity

~skin temp

~brain wave

~Heart rate

Cognitive (relaxing the mind) -> autogenic training

-exercises aimed at producing 6 types of sensations

*heaviness in extremities

*warmth in extremities

*regulation of heart rate

*regulation of breathing

*abdominal wall

*cool forehead

****longer time to learn and extensive practice

Multimodal: (alleviate both somatic and cognitive)

provide systematic strategies for rehearsing coping procedures under simulated stressful conditions

-cognitive-affective stress management training

-stress-inoculation training

-hypnosis

coping

problem-focused: efforts directed at changing the transaction/ (getting solution for the problem)

emotion-focused: focusing on emotional responses

imagery

creating or recreating an experience on the mind, put simply visualization

-involves recalling from memory pieces of info stored from experience and shaping these pieces into meaningful info

-imagery= recall + construction

Imagery

uses

-visual aide

-auditory aide

-tactile aide

-olfactory aide

characterisitcs of imagery

-multisensory

-internal v external imagery

* vividness

*controllability

-timing in imagery should match physical performance

Uses of imagery

-improve concentration

-enhance motivation

-build confidence

-control emotional responses

-develop sport skills

-acquire and practice strategy

-competition preparation

-cope with pain and injury

-solve problems

WHEN to use imagery

-before and after practice

-before and after competition

-during the off season

-during breaks in action

-during personal time

-when recovering from injury

how does imagery work

-psychoneuromuscular theory: mental imagery of an action provokes subliminal stimulation of the muscles that are used in the actual movement patterns being imaged

-symbolic learning theory: sates that mental practice and imagery work because the individual literally plans her actions in advance.

-bioinformational theory: the person focuses on making the image more vivid and real so that actual performance can be enhanced

-triple code theory: 3 impacts of imagery:

1. the picture itself, an interior feeling which is symbolic of the exterior world

2. somatic reaction, which is the psychophysiological reaction to the picture

3. connotation of the picture that is unique to the person

imagery v physical practice

should be used in addition to physical practice.

-physical practice is better than imagery practice

-imagery practice is better than no practice

-imagery is not more effective than physical practice over time period, but is effective when added above and beyond physical practice

Roger Bannister 1954

medical student in UK

trained differently

do something that was said to by physiologically impossible

self-confidence

belief that you can successfullt perform a desired behavior

-generally considered a global relatively stable trait

B=f(P,E)

Sport Confidence Model

line 1: factors influencing sport confidence:

-demographics and personality

-organizational culture

line 2: sources of sport confidence:

-achievement

-self-regulation

-social climate

line 3: constructs of sport confidence

-confidence in decision making skills

-confidence in physical skills and training

-confidence in resiliency

line 4: consequences of sport confidence

-affect/behavior/cognition

consequences:

sport confidence is related to positive emotions, productive achievement patterns such as effort and persistence, more skilled and efficient use of cognitive resources such as attributional patterns, attentional skills, and coping strategies

benefits of self confidence

-arouses positive emotions

-facilitates concentration

-affects goals

-increases efforts

-affects game strategies

-affects psycholigcal momentum

-affects performance

misconceptions of confidence

-either you have it or you dont

-only positive feedback can build confidence

-success always builds confidence

-confidence equals outspoken arrogance

-mistakes inevitably destroy confidence

self-fulfilling prophecy effect

coaches form expectations based on: person cues (body size, gender, race, social skills)

-performance cues( skills outcomes)

-are those expectations accurate? flexible?

coaches expectations affect their own behavior

-frequency of interactions/feedback with athletes

-quality/type of interactions/feedback with athletes

coaches behavior affects athlete performance and behavior

-degree of skill improvement

-perceptions of competence

-self-esteem

-goals

athletes performance confirms coaches expectations

-reinforces coach beliefs

-some athletes "resilient" many are not

-at risk athletes for this phenomenon:

--children and late-maturing adolescents

--members of groups susceptible to stereotypes

self-efficacy

the strength of persons conviction that he or she can execute the behavior needed for successful performance - in specific situation

Bandura

(-performance accomplishments,-vicarious experiences, - verbal persuasion, - imaginal experiences, -physiological emotional states)-> efficacy expectations-> athletic performance

Antecedents of self-efficacy

-performance accomplishments: most dependable information: most powerful effects of self-efficacy, coaching tactics to elicit feelings of successful performance

-vicarious experience: watching someone else accomplish skill (modeling)-not as effective as experience

-verbal persuasion: less powerful, deception, danger or undermining credibility and trust

-imaginal experience: imagining selves or others

-physiological/psychological states: perceptions or arousal/nervousness influence efficacy. relaxation training;interpretations of arousal

Enhancing self-efficacy

-ensure successful experiences: developmental sequences,modify activities, performance aids, physical guidance, *optimal challenges (realistic goals)

-modeling techniques: effective demonstrations, peer models (age,gender, ability), coping models (gradual improvement)

-positive communication techniques: praise given specific to accomplishments, liberal use of instruction on how to improve,encouragement given specific to skills attempts, praise effort, adherence, attitude*

-reduce anxiety: relaxation techniques, imagery, *concentration techniques

Gillham and Weiler (2013) (GOAL SETTING)

-case study, college womens soccer team

-determine what type of goals work best, how it was implied, ow it went, and what were the strategies or intervention

-outcome: increase of team performance/success/reaching metrics they hadnt before

goal setting

create a roadmap to success

-hope- involves having realistic goal and being able to reach the goal

Why does goal setting work?

indirect thought process view: goal setting -> increasing confidence, reducing anxiety, enhancing satisfaction -> performance

direct mechanistic view:directs attention to important elements, mobilizes efforts (motivation), prolongs effort (persistence), fosters the development of new learning strategies

types of goals

-outcome v performance v process

-short terms v long term

guidelines of goal setting

-set specific goals

-set moderately difficult but realistic goals

-set long and short term goals

-set performance, process, and outcome goals

-set practice and competition goals

-record goals

-develop goal achievement strategies

-consider participants personality and motivation

-foster an individuals goal commitment

-provide goal support

-provide eval and feedback about goals

Acronym for goal setting principles : SMARTS

S:Specific

M:Measurable

A:action-oriented

R:realistic but challenging

T: time-based

S: self-determined

Problems with goal setting

-convincing athletes to set goals

-failing to set specific goals

-setting too many goals too soon

-failing to adjust goals

-failing to recognize individual differences

-not providing follow up and evaluation

self-talk

self- referenced thoughts, to thoughts that we can think to ourselves about ourselves

self-talk awareness

-most of us are not really aware of the type of self-talk we use, or its content. - studies show 70-80% of peoples self talk is negative

-need to raise awareness before we can modify self-talk and evaluate change

self talk behavioral responses

-positive/motivational

-instructional

-negative

guidelines for use of self-talk

-use short specific phrases; easy to remember, less interference with automatic processing

-speak in the first person: enhances personal meaning

-use the present tense: keeps hte focus on process, orients you to action

-say with meaning and attention: enhances personal meaning and helps connect the words to their intended action outcomes

-speak kindly to yourself: keep positive motivating tone

-repeat phrases often: helps to remember creates habit

-use specific task instructions rather than genral instructions

-consider using metaphirical language: some people prefer this others do not "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"

Caution: How might self-talk disrupt automatic processing of well-learned skills?

-self-talk should focus the performers attention on appropriate cues that are not disruptive

-in other words, self-talk strategies should be different based on the performers ability level

thought stopping

notice yourself making a negative self-statement

-say STOP in your head or out load

-follow this up by replacing the thought with a more positive self-esteem statement

reframing

changing a negative into a positive self-statement

-positive statement provides you with and alternative focus to replace the negative statement

-must be postitve but also BELIEVABLE

-use re framing to focus on an instructional form

concentration in sport and exercise

-focusing on relevant cues in the environment -> selective attention

-maintaining attentional focus over time

-having awareness of the situation and performance errors

-shifting attentional focus when necessary

attentional focus

-attentional selectivity

-attentional capacity: there are limits to our attention consciously

-attentional alertness

Attentional focus

-width: broad v narrow

-direction: external v internal

4 possible combos:

-broad external: use to rapidly asses a situation

-broad internal- used to analyze and plan

-narrow external- used to focus exclusively on 1 or 2 environmental cues

-narrow internal: used to mentally rehearse an upcoming performance or control an emotional state

recognizing attentional prblems

internal distractors:

-attending to past events

-attending to future events

-choking under pressure

-overanalyzing

-fatigue (most common)

-inadequate motivation

external distractors:

-visual distractors

-auditory distractors

improving concentration

-simulation in practice

-use cue words

-use non judgmental thinking

-establish routines

-develop competition plan

-practice eye control

-monitor yourself

-overlearn skills

psychological benefits of exercise

increase:

-assertiveness

-confidence

-emotional stability

-intellectual functioning

-internal locus of control

-memory-perception

-positive body image

-self-control

-well-being

-work efficacy

decrease:

-substance abuse

-anger

-anxiety

-confusion

-depression

-headache

-hostility

-tense

-work errors

physiological explanations or exercise health benefit

-increased cerebral blood flow

-change in neurotransmitters (serotonin)

-increases in maximal oxygen consumption and delivery

-reductions in muscle tension

-structural change in the brain

-increased serum concentrations in neuroreceptors

Psychological explanation of exercise health benefit

enhanced feeling or control

-feelings of competence and self-efficacy

-positive social interactions

-improve self concept

-fin

-enjoyment

exercise personality and cognitive functioning

personality:hardiness: peronality style that enable a person to withstand or cope with stressful situations

exercise + hardiness= less stress and better health

exercise and development of the self:body satisfaction-> self esteem

cognitive functioning:

-exercise -> acute effects on memory, cognition

-disease/disorders -> ADHD (executive function

-long-term outcomes-> exercise protective against normal affects of aging on the brain

exercise depression and anxiety

-exercise associated with lower levels of both depression and anxiety symptoms

-some studies show exercise as effective as medication in lowering symptoms

- BOTTOM LIN: there are neg associations extremely strong casual evidence

Transitions out of sport: psychological well being

-bitterness of being forced to retire

-loss of camaraderie with teammates and relationshops with coaches

-lack of self-identity

-loss of confidence in ability to cope with life situations

-loss of adultation from fans

-inability to replace the excitement of the sport experience

Exercise behavior and adherence

overtraining

short cycle of high levels of training that are near or at maximal capacity

overtrainiing syndrome

excessive overload on an athlete without adequate rest, resulting in decreased performance and the inability to train

staleness

a state in which the athlete has difficulty maintaining standard training regimens and can no longer achieve previous performance results

athlete burnout

multidimensional cognitive-affective syndrome characterized by dimensions of :

emotional and physical exhaustion

reduced sense of personal accomplishment

devaluation of sport context

cognitive affective stress model

(smith 1986)

situation (demands and resources) -> cognitive appraisal (individual interpretation of the situation <-->Physical and psychological response (tension, irritability, fatigue)--> behavioral response (coping, task behaviors, interpersonal problems, withdrawal from sport, burnout)

situational factors that can lead to burnout

high or conflicting demands,

monotonous training, lack of social support, poor team climate, low autonomy, low rewards, lengthy season

cognitive appraisals associated with burnout

-perceived lack of ability to meet situational demands

-perceived lack of control over the situation

-perceived lack of meaning in the situation

Personality factors contributing to burnout

-perfectionism

-type a

-tendency to make attributes that have an external locus of control

-high trait anxiety

-low self-confidence

-being overly "other oriented"

physical and psychological responses to burnout

tension

anxiety

anger

depression

insomnia/fatigue

inconsistent eating habits

susceptibility to illness

lack of concentration

negative self talk

Commitment and entrapment theory

burnout athletes experience an entrapment profile f sport commitment

feel they must maintain sport involvement -participate becuase they have to not because they want to

stay in sport despite desire to leave beacuse f: social pressure, large investments, lack of attractive alternatives

Identity and control model

stress is a symptom of burnout NOT driving force

-social/organizational structure of sport-> burnout

sport-> development of burnout in young athletes

--unidimensional athletic identities

--perceived lack of control over sport participation

burnout in young athletes is not about individual response to participation but about fundamental structure of sport

self-determination continuum

explains how whole range of different extrinsic and intrinsic motivation influences behavior and how we develop these different types of motivation

-less to more continuum

-key: whether they are self-determined or not (internally controlled or not )

-motivations that are in self-determined group tend to have more positive or