Chapter 13: Sport Psychology

Chinese and greek civilizations

healthy mind in a healthy body

Late 1800's

first sport psychology research
effects of other competitors and audience on cyclist performance times

Past 3 to 4 Decades

recognition and growth of sport psychology as a discipline

sport psychology recent

1. expansion of scientific knowledge and emergence of different branches
2.increased media attention of the discipline

personality

pattern of characteristics thoughts, feelings and behaviours that distinguish one person from another and persist over time and situations

compared to non athletes, athletes are more

stable
extroverted
competitive
dominant
self confident
psychologically well adjusted
authorities
higher levels of self esteem

a clear pattern

_______ of differences between athletes and non atheletes has yet to emerge

personality traits

psychological characteristics of the athletes which remain relatively stable over time

personality states

"right now kinds of feelings" which are situation-specific

State-trait controversy

disagreement of the relative merits of studying states versus traits

Interactional theory

the best state-trait approach, which considers personality traits and states, as well as situation-specific factors

personality traits

it is not yet possible to distinguish between successful and unsuccessful athletes using

mood states

it is possible to distinguish between elite athletes and lesser skilled in terms of

elite athletes below in

tension
depression
anger
fatigue
confusion

vigor

elite athletes higher in

Iceberg profile

a mood profile of elite athletes resemble

enhance personality development

participation in sports can also

gravitational hypothesis

do certain personality traits cause the individual to go out for certain sports

support

evidence tends to ___________the gravitational hypothesis

extroverted

athletes tend to be more ___________, independent and self confident than non athletes + less anxious

iceberg profile

elite athletes vs less skilled distinguished via

winners and losers

it is not possible to distinguish between _________ _____ _________

sport

individuals with certain personality traits tend to gravitate towards

stress

nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it
unemotional bodily response to some type of stressor

eustress

good stress

distress

bad stress

personal interpretation

stress can be good or bad depending on individuals

anxiety

tension and worry that results from distress

emotional state

anxiety is a negatively charged _______ ______ characterized by discomfort and nervousness

two forms of anxiety

trail anxiety
state anxiety

trait anxiety

a personality characteristics

state anxiety

a right now kind of anxiety

Two components of state anxiety

cognitive state anxiety
somatic state anxiety

cognitive state anxiety

(psychological component)
caused by fear of failure
result of worry
"I am afraid im going to lose"

somatic state anxiety

(physical component)
perception of physiological response
"I feel nervous before a major contest"

Precompetitive anxiety

temporal changes in cognitive and somatic state anxiety as competition approaches

right before event starts

pre competitive anxiety peaks ______ _______ _______ _______ and then decreases at event beginning

an inverted U

relationship between somatic anxiety and performance forms

linear and negative

relationship between cognitive anxiety and athletic performance shows to be

somatic activity

increases in _________ __________ are associated with improved athletic performance to an optimal level

psyched up

athletes should get _______ ______ to raise their somatic anxiety

cognitive state anxiety

lower the level of ______ _______ ________ the better the athlete will perform

symptoms of cognitive state anxiety

cold and clammy hanfs
cotton mouth
desire to urinate often
trembling hands
increased heart rate
tense muscles

relaxation interventions to lower cognitive state anxiety

progressive muscular relaxation
positive imagery
positive self talk

positive self talk

reassuring oneself with positive thoughts and statements

positive self talk example

"Im a good free thrower"

positive imagery

Requires practice to be effective

positive imagery steps

1.close your eyes and picture yourself performing well in specific anxiety causing performance environment
2. imagine the positive feelings associated with successful imagery

Progressive Musculair relaxation

takes time initially but with practice canoe complete in a matter of minutes
especially valuable the night before

PMR steps

1.lie or sit in comfortable position
2. inhale and tense a specific muscle group for approximately 5 seconds
3. exhale and release the tension from the muscles concentrating on the feeling of relaxation
4. repeated for a number of muscle groups

motivation determines

the reasons for athlete behaviour

motivation

direction, energy and intensity of behaviour

motivation synonymous with

inspiration, enthusiasm or will to win

Achievement motivation

athletes predisposition to approach or avoid a completive situation

desire or desire to excel

achievement motivation includes the concept of

innate drive

achievement motivation is not an ________ ______, but is likely learned in a sporting environment

McClelland-Atkinson Model

achievement motivation is a function of

motivation to achieve success
fear of failure

motivate to achieve success

an athlete's instrinsic motivation to engage in an exicting activity

fear of failure

a psychological construct associated with cognitive state anxiety

achievement motivation =

intrinsic motivation - cognitive state anxiety

not

McCelland Atkinson model of achievement motivation could _______ predict athletic success

extrinsic motivation

therefore ________ ______ was added to original McClelland Atkinson model

extrinsic motivation examples

praise, money, trophies

factors external

modified model acknowledges that _______ ________ to the athletes may influence an individual overall motivation

Factors affect achievement motivation

self confidence
self efficacy
goal setting

self confidence

discriminating factors between individuals high and low in achievement motivation

high

confident athlete has a _______ motive to succeed and _____ expectation for success

Self efficacy

based on Bandura's model
individual's belief that he or she is capable of succeeding at a particular task

self efficacy

situation specific self-confidence

sporting environment

self efficacy used in sport psychology because the __________ __________ represents a very specific situation

self efficacy enhanced by

successful performance
vicarious experience
verbal persuasion
emotional arousal

Successful Perfromance

the most important factor in improving self-efficacy
raises expectations for future successes

Best results for successful performance

break down skill learning into small steps to ensure success early
practice, practice, practice
highlight successes and downplay setbacks

Vicarious experience

demonstrating repeated success through participatory modelling

Best results for Vicarious Experiences

1.provide specific rather than general feedback
2.have the athlete repeat your instructions back to you fore beginning
3.focus on the positive aspects of athlete's performance

Emotional Arousal

-An optimal level of arousal is required to develop self-efficacy
-Too much or too little arousal will impact negatively on the development of self-efficacy

Best results for emotional arousal

1. in early stage of learning keep things relaxed
2. get to know athletes one-on-one (some will need more arousal, while others less)
3.Help athletes recognize when they need to "psych up or calm down"

Goal Setting

way to improve achievement motivation to employ effective _______ _________ strategies

Goal setting strategies for maximum motivation

1.set goals that are observable, measurable, and achievable
2. set realistic, yet challenging goals
3. set positive goals, not negative
4.coaches should negotiate goals for their athletes or students
5. Set short term as well as long term goals
6.set goals for your practices as well as your actual competitions
7.Set goals related to the athletes performance or technical execution not contest outcome

attribution theory

is a cognitive approach to motivation

explain understand

attribution theory assumes that people strive to ___________,____________, and predict events based upon their own perceptions

true

attribution theory says what the athlete ________ to be true is important for future motivation

Stable attributions

relatively unchanging from one day to the next (ability and task difficulty)

unstable attributions

vary markedly from time to time (effort and luck)

Locus of Control Dimensions

internal and external attributions

Internal attributions

includes attributes perceived as controllable (ability and effort)

External Attributions

perceived to be outside of athletes control (task difficulty and luck)

focus on effort vs ability

Before competition the athlete should be encouraged to

effort

Both effort and ability are within athletes control but ______ is unstable from game to game

task difficulty vs luck

athletes must focus on preparing strategies that will be effect against

task difficulty

both luck and task difficulty are beyond an athlete's control but ______ ______ is stable and predictable

effort ability task difficulty luck

Casual Attributions greatest to lowest affect

effort

After a win an athlete is going to feel more pride if the win was a result of an _____ rather than opponents poor ability or luck

Internally

after a success athletes attribute the success ______ they typically respond with pride, confidence and satisfaction

Externally

after a success athletes attribute the success _____________ they typically feel gratitude and thankfulness

affect of failure

negative and possibly subdued

future expectation

Causal attributions lead to

motivation

future expectation lead to

is different

Whenever an outcome __ ______ than what was expected based on past experience the athlete tend to endorse an unstable attribution

is expected

when outcome ____ _________ based on past performances a stable attrition is endorsed