Attitudes and Attribution in Sports

These flashcards cover key concepts related to attitudes, cognitive dissonance, attribution theory, and their impacts on performance and motivation in sports.

Describe the defining characteristics of an attitude, including how it is acquired and its stability.

A learned behavioral predisposition linked to personality; all attitudes are unstable, learned, and can change.

What is Socialization?

The process of mixing and relating to people, influencing the formation of attitudes.

Explain Cognitive Dissonance Theory: What causes psychological discomfort, and how might it lead to changes in beliefs or attitudes?

A theory that explains discomfort from holding conflicting ideas, leading to potential changes in beliefs or attitudes.

What defines a stereotypical attitude, and how does it influence expectations of behavior regarding specific groups?

An attitude that leads individuals to expect specific behaviors from people belonging to particular groups.

What methodologies are typically employed for the direct measurement of attitudes in research, and provide examples?

Methods such as Likert scales and semantic differential scales used to measure attitudes directly.

Illustrate the concept of Self-Serving Bias by explaining how individuals typically attribute their successes versus their failures.

The tendency to attribute successes to personal effort while blaming failures on external factors.

Define Learned Helplessness, outlining the process through which an individual develops a belief of lacking control over events.

The belief that one has no control over certain events over time, leading to feelings of hopelessness.

In the context of sports, what specific phenomena does Attribution Theory analyze regarding the explanations coaches and players provide for their performance outcomes?

Analyzes the reasons given by coaches and players for their success or failure in sports.

How do 'high achievers' typically attribute their successes and failures in a way that helps maintain their motivation?

Individuals who attribute success to internal factors and failure to external factors, maintaining high motivation.

In contrast to high achievers, describe how 'low achievers' tend to attribute success and failure, and what impact this has on their motivation.

Individuals who attribute success to external factors and dismiss failure as internal causes, resulting in lower motivation.

Explain the Actor-Observer Effect, focusing on how individuals tend to attribute the causes of others' behaviors differently from their own.

The tendency to attribute others' behaviors to dispositional factors while attributing one's own to situational factors.

Elaborate on the triadic model of attitude, detailing its three main components: cognitive, affective, and behavioral.

The triadic model includes cognitive (knowledge), affective (feelings), and behavioral (intended behavior) components.

Discuss how a coach's feedback and corrective actions can significantly, either positively or negatively, influence an athlete's attitude.

A coach can positively or negatively influence an athlete's attitude through feedback and correction.

Define prejudice and explain how such an attitude, based on inadequate knowledge and inflexible beliefs, can negatively impact participation in sports.

An attitude based on inadequate knowledge and inflexible beliefs, which can negatively affect participation in sports.

What is Effort?

An internal and unstable factor affecting success, varying by individual determination and application.

What is Luck?

An external and unstable factor, often viewed as uncontrollable, influencing performance outcomes.

Describe goal-setting as a strategy to enhance self-efficacy, making sure to include the SMART criteria for effective goal formulation.

An effective strategy to enhance self-efficacy by setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals.