psych of movement exam #1

what is the continuum of human movement?

play, games, recreation/fitness, sport

what is the definition of play?

relatively unstructured and and unorganized movement activity, “free”

what is the definition of games?

formalization of rules. external regulation

what defines recreation/fitness?

development of internal rules; personal goals, aims, objectives; unwritten rules you live by

what defines sport?

institutionalization, bureaucratization, rationalization

as we move across the continuum, spontaneity ____ while while organization _____

decreases, increases

what defines personality?

personality refers to the characteristics or blend of characteristics that make a person unique

what is the structure of personality?

psychological core, typical responses, role-related behavior

what is your psychological core?

the most basic level of personality, the deepest component, the “real you” the hardest part to get to know, includes your attitudes, values, interests, motives, beliefs about yourself and your self worth

what are our typical responses?

the ways we learn to adjust to the environment or how we “usually” respond to the world around us, a good indicator of your psychological core

what is role related behavior?

how you act based on what you perceive your social situation to be, the most changeable aspect of your personality, your behavior changes as your perceptions of the environment change, different situations require different roles

what is the psychodynamic approach to personality?

places emphasis on unconscious determinants of behavior (the id or instinctive drives) and how these conflict with more conscious aspects of personality (such as the super ego, one’s moral conscience), focuses on understanding the person as a whole rather than identifying isolated traits or dispositions

what is the trait approach to personality?

the trait approach assumes that the fundamental units of personality - it’s traits - are relatively stable, and claims that traits are enduring and consistent across a variety of situations

what is the situation approach to personality?

agrees that behavior is determined largely by the situation, draws from social learning theory, which explains behavior in terms of observational learning (modeling) and social reinforcement (feedback) (what you “observe” in others and what you “receive” from others), environmental influences and reinforcements shape the way you behave

what is the interactional approach to personality?

considerers the person and the situation as co-determinants of behavior, as variables that together determine behavior. 1) personality traits 2) particular situation

what is the phenomenological approach to personality?

contends that behavior is best determined by accounting for both situations and personal characteristics. instead of focusing on fixed traits as the primary determinant of behavior, the psychologist examines the person’s understanding and interpretation (their perception) of himself/herself and their environment

what is the definition of motivation?

the direction and intensity of one’s efforts

what is the trait centered view of motivation?

motivated behavior is primarily a function of individual characteristics. the personality, needs, and goals of the person are the primary determinants of motivated behavior.

what is the situation centered view of motivation?

motivation level is determined primarily by the situation the person finds themselves in (big crowd, important game, special person in the audience)

what is the interactional view of motivation?

looks at how the participant factors (personality, needs, goals) interact with situational factors

how do you build motivation in others?

consider both situations and traits when motivating people, understand people’s motives for involvement, change the environment to enhance motivation, be motivated to motivate (influence motivation)

what is achievement motivation?

a person’s efforts to master a task, achieve excellence, overcome obstacles, persist in the face of failure, perform better than others, take pride in displaying talent

what is competitiveness?

making comparisons with some standard of excellence in the presence of “evaluative others”

what are the stages of developing achievement motivation?

1. autonomous competence stage: occurs before the age of four, children focus on mastering their environment and self testing

2. social comparison age: begins about age 5, child focuses on directly comparing performance with that of others

3. integrated stage: no typical age, knows when it is appropriate to compete and compare and when it is not appropriate

what are the 4 theories of achievement motivation?

1. need achievement theory

2. attribution theory

3. achievement goal theory

4. competence motivation theory

what is the need achievement theory?

interactional view that considers both personal and situational factors as important predictors of behavior

what are the 5 components of the need achievement theory?

personality factors, situational factors, resultant tendencies, emotional reactions, achievement related behavior

what is the attribution theory?

focuses on how people “explain” their successes and failures, essentially are they internal or external?

what are the three categories of attribution theory?

stability, locus of causality, locus of control

what is the achievement goal theory?

understanding what success and failure mean to that person

what does it mean to have achievement goals be outcome oriented?

focus on comparing oneself with and defeating others (scoreboard)

what does it mean to have achievement goals be task oriented?

focus on improving relative to one’s past performance

what is the competence motivation theory?

people are motivated to feel worthy or competent and these feelings are the primary determinants of behavior

what is arousal?

a blend of physiological and psychological activity in a person, refers to the intensity dimensions of motivation at a particular moment

what is anxiety?

a negative emotional state characterized by nervousness, worry, apprehension, and associated with activation or arousal of the body

what is cognitive anxiety?

worry, apprehension, the degree to which one worries or has negative thoughts

what is somatic anxiety?

degree of physical activation “perceived”, concerns the moment to moment changes in “perceived” physiological activation

what is state anxiety?

State anxiety is a temporary, situation-driven emotional reaction

what is trait anxiety?

stable, long-term personality disposition to worry across many settings

what are situational sources of anxiety?

event importance/uncertainty

what are personal sources of anxiety?

trait anxiety, low self-esteem, social physique anxiety

what is drive theory?

well learned tasks involving established habits should always improve performance as arousal increases

what is the social facilitation theory?

contends that an audience creates arousal which negatively affects performance on difficult tasks that are not yet learned (performance = habit strength x drive)

what is the inverted u-hypothesis?

behaviors, however well learned, will be hampered at some point, given too much (or too little) arousal

what are the individual zones of optimal functioning?

top performers have a zone of optimal state anxiety in which their best performance occurs, but optimal level of state anxiety is not always at the midpoint, and optimal level is not a single point but rather a bandwidth

what is catastrophe theory?

explains how sudden, dramatic drops in an athlete's performance happen under high pressure