Chapter 8: Strength and Conditioning

What are the three major goals of sport psychology?

Measuring psychological phenomena, investigating the relationships between psychological variables and performance, and applying theoretical knowledge to improve athletic performance.

What term describes ‘a blend of physiological and psychological activation in an individual; refers to the intensity of motivation at any given moment’?

Arousal

What term is ‘a subcategory of arousal that is a negatively perceived emotional state’?

Anxiety

What is cognitive anxiety?

The cognitive component of anxiety.

What is somatic anxiety?

The physical reaction component of anxiety.

What ‘is the actual experience of apprehension and uncontrolled arousal’, and can it be altered?

State anxiety. Yes.

What is ‘a personality characteristic, which represents a latent disposition to perceive situations as threatening’, and can it be altered?

Trait anxiety. More challenging or unable to change.

What term describes ‘a substantial imbalance between demands and response capabilities, under conditions in which failure has important consequences’?

Stress

What is positive stress and negative stress called?

Eustress and Distress.

What term describes ‘an environment or cognitive event that precipitates stress’?

Stressor

Which theory states that ‘an individual’s arousal or state anxiety increases, so too does performance’?

Drive theory

What term can ‘increase the latitude of optimal arousal; more skill will correspond to better performance at levels other than optimal arousal’?

Skill level

What term describes how ‘simple or well-learned skills can tolerate higher degrees of arousal due to lower task-relevant cues for an athlete to monitor’?

Task complexity

What theory describes how ‘arousal facilitates performance up to an optimal level, beyond which further increases in arousal are associated with reduced performance’?

Inverted-U theory

What theory describes how ‘different people perform best with very different levels of arousal’?

Individual zones of optimal functioning theory

What theory states that ‘when increases in physiological arousal occur in the presence of cognitive anxiety, a sudden drop (rather than a gradual decline) in performance occurs’?

Catastrophe theory

What theory states that ‘the effect of arousal and anxiety on performance depends on how they are interpreted’? (a. One athlete may interpret high levels of arousal as excitement and feel ready for performance. b. another may be experiencing the same level of arousal, but interprets the feelings as unpleasant and reflective of a lack of confidence).

Reversal theory

What type of motivation is a desire to be competent and self-determining?

Intrinsic motivation

What type of motivation comes from external sources such as awards, social approval, or fear of punishment?

Extrinsic motivation

What type of motivation is the athlete’s wish to engage in competition or social comparison?

Achievement motivation

What term describes ‘the capacity to experience pride in one’s accomplishments, characterized by a desire to challenge oneself’?

Motive to achieve success (MAS)

What term describes ‘the desire to protect one’s ego and self-esteem; more about avoiding the perception of shame than about avoiding failure’?

Motive to avoid failure (MAF)

What are two motivational aspects of skill learning (self-controlled practices)

First, involves the athlete in decisions related to practice structure, including when to receive feedback and which skills to practice, as well as asking how athletes feel they are doing. Second, promotes a more active involvement in the practice session and can enhance feelings of competence and autonomy.

What term describes ‘the act of increasing the probability of occurrence of a given behavior by following it with or presenting an action, object’?

Positive reinforcement

What term ‘increases the probability of occurrence of a given operant by removing an act, object, or event that is typically aversive’?

Negative reinforcement

What term describes ‘The presentation of an act, object, or event following a behavior that could decrease the behavior’s occurrence’?

Positive punishment

What term describes ‘The removal of something valued, such as privileges or playing time’?

Negative punishment

Should coaches use reinforcement motivation consistently or punishment motivation consistently?

Reinforcement motivation.

What term describes ‘the belief that one can successfully perform a desired behavior’?

Self-confidence

What term describes ‘a situationally specific form of self-confidence’?

Self-efficacy

What six sources does self-efficacy derive from?

Performance accomplishments, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, imaginal experience, physiological states, and emotional states.

What is ‘a technique used to enhance self-efficacy, aid in directing proper focus, assist in regulating arousal levels, and reinforce motivation’?

Self-talk

What are four different types of goal setting?

Process goals, outcome goals, short-term goals, long-term goals.

What form of goal-setting defines ‘goals over whose achievement the athlete has control’?

Process goals

What form of goal-setting defines ‘goals over which the athlete has little control, such as winning’?

Outcome goals

What form of goal-setting defines ‘increase the likelihood of success because they are relatively close to the athlete’s preset ability level’?

Short-term goals

What form of goal-setting defines ‘provides relevance to short-term goals’?

Long-term goals

What are four guidelines for using goal setting?

Long-term goals and short-term goals are interdependent, long-term goals provide a sense of meaningfulness for pursuing short-term goals, the attainment of short-term goals provides a hierarchical sense of mastery and success that builds self-confidence, and athletes should define process goals to focus on elements of their performance over which they have control.

What is the SMARTS principle?

Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, Timely, Self-determined.

______ anxiety is the actual experience of apprehension and uncontrolled arousal and ______ anxiety is a personality characteristic, which represents a latent disposition to perceive situations as threatening.

•a. Somatic, cognitive

•b. Trait, state

•c. Cognitive, somatic

•d. State, trait

•d. State, trait

A coach informs his athletes that at the beginning of the competitive season he will be testing the back squat 1RM on all athletes and he hopes to see at least a 5% improvement for each team member. Shelby is excited by this new goal and the chance to evaluate her abilities. She likely is experiencing what type of motivation?

•a. motive to avoid failure

•b. motivation to protect her ego

•c. motivation to avoid shame

•d. motive to achieve success

•d. motive to achieve success

Winning is typically the primary focus of what type of goal?

•a. outcome goal

•b. process goal

•c. optimal goal

•d. master goal

•a. outcome goal

Reinforcement should be used sparingly because it increases the likelihood that the athlete will focus on what he or she is doing incorrectly.

•a. True

•b. False

•b. False

How could we make this goal “I want to get stronger” following the SMARTS format?

I will improve my bench-press 1 RM by 10% in 10 weeks by following the resistance training program as outlined.

Provide a short-term and long-term SMART goal for each of the following athlete goals/ Ensure these would enhance intrinsic motivation.

Short-term goal: I will improve my 10K running time by 5% (45.16 minutes) in 6 weeks by following the running plan as outlined.

Long-term goal. I will improve my 10K running time by 10% (43.20 minutes) in 12 weeks by following the running plan as outlined.