KNS 200: Exercise & Sport Psychology

Flashcards covering key concepts in exercise and sport psychology, including motivation, arousal, social aspects, mental skills training, burnout, and research methods.

Sport and exercise psychology

The mental processes of humans as they engage in physical activity.

The 'ABC's of physical activity'

Affect (what we feel; moods and emotions), Behavior (what we do; actions and inactions), and Cognitions (what we think).

Key goals of sport and exercise psychologists

Understand psychosocial factors that influence PA performance, understand psychological effects of PA, and enhance experiential outcomes for PA participants.

Motivation

Complex set of internal and external forces that influence organisms to behave in certain ways.

Motivation exists on a continuum (Self-Determination Theory)

Amotivation >> Extrinsic >> Intrinsic

Four ‘Fuels’ to foster more self- determined forms of motivation

Enjoyment, Competence, Autonomy, and Relatedness.

Flow

Total absorption in a task.

Arousal

State of bodily energy; degree of activation.

Social aspects in sport

Presence of others increases arousal.

Cohesion

Tendency to stick together / remain united

Social Loafing

Decrease in individual performance.

Extreme Cohesion

Conformity and elitism.

Forms of intervention for Mental Skills Training

Increase exercise adherence, improve sport performance, aid in rehabilitation after injury / disease, and enhance career transition and retirement from sport.

Imagery

Using one’s senses to vividly create or re-create an experience in the mind; creation of a ‘mental blueprint’

Association

How and when to focus on the body.

Dissociation

How and when to distract ourselves.

Choking

Deterioration of performance below expected level based on expertise; incapable of regaining control.

Mindfulness

Maintaining focus on the present moment in an open, non-judgmental way.

Burnout

Feelings of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion, negative changes in response to other people, feeling a lack of accomplishment, and increase disillusion with their involvement in an activity.

Questionnaires

Psychological inventories (standardized measures of target thoughts, feelings, or behaviors).

Physiological Measures

Biofeedback (BP, HR, HRV) and fMRI and PET scans to monitor brain activity.