5.1 Individual Differences Flashcards

Question

What is the definition of prejudice?

Answer 1

a preconceived opinion based on a faulty and inflexible generalisation

Answer 2

1 cognitive element (beliefs) 2 affective element (emotions) 3 behavioural element

Answer 3

Our beliefs are formed through our past experiences and by what we have learned from others. Many of our beliefs are learnt from our parents or peers. People who are significant to us are more likely to influence our beliefs.

Answer 4

Our emotional reactions to an attitude object, whether we like or dislike it, also depend on past experiences. If we have previously experiences satisfaction and enjoyment, then if we find ourselves in a similar situation we are more likely to look forward to liking the experience.

Answer 5

Our behaviour is not always consistent with our attitude - for instance, we may believe that exercise is good for us and may enjoy participating but we may not exercise very much. We are, however, more likely to behave in a way that reveals out attitude.

Answer 6

Your attitude to fitness training could be made up of the belief that fitness training will keep you fit and will enhance your body image - this is the cognitive element of your attitude. You enjoy fitness training and you have fun being with others who are training with you - this is the affective element of your attitude. You go fitness training twice a week - this is the behavioural element of your attitude.

Answer 7

the person doing the persuading the quality of the message the characteristics of who is being persuaded

Answer 8

Teachers or coaches have been given authority - a position, therefore they are more likely to be of high status. They may be fit themselves and become role models and they may have good communication and leadership skills.

Answer 9

For persuasion to be successful, the message must make sense and be believable. The information given must be accurate, unambiguous an clear.

Answer 10

The people you are trying to persuade may be intelligent enough to understand the message, but may not accept it. They may put up counter arguments.

Answer 11

This theory states that all of the 3 elements involved in an attitude, according to the triadic model, should be consistent if the attitude is to remain stable and the individual is to be content. If a change of attitude is desired, the individual must experience two or more opposing beliefs. This causes the individual to feel uncomfortable because of the disharmony of dissonance that has been created in the mind. To be comfortable again, one of these beliefs needs to be dominant, which is where teachers and coaches can influence the attitude of the individual.

Answer 12

Behaviours that are deemed 'normal' within a culture and are created through a process call socialisation.

Answer 13

Members of a community learning certain behaviours that are shared among those within the community of people or our society.

Answer 14

They believe in the value of exercise. They enjoy the activities and have fun or enjoy competition. They are good at the activity. They experience excitement because of the physical challenge. They enjoy the physical sensations and personal expression. They experience relaxation and see it as an escape from stress (catharsis). They see participation as a social norm.

Answer 15

They believe that it is harmful or that they are better off doing other activities. They dislike the experiences involved. They lack the physical or perceptual skills necessary for success. They are frightened of the activity. They experiences stress and anxiety when they participate. They see the social norm as being non-participation.

Answer 16

A belief held by a collection of people about traits shared by a certain category of person.

Answer 17

The internal mechanisms and external stimuli which arouse and direct our behaviour.

Answer 18

Directed, motivated or 'energised' behaviour that an individual has towards achieving a certain goal.

Answer 19

1 It involves our inner drives towards achieving a goal. 2 It depends on external pressures and rewards that we perceive in our environment. 3 It concerns the intensity and the direction of our behaviour.

Answer 20

the internal drives to participate or to perform well

Answer 21

A child who learns to swim and who enjoys swimming can be motivated to swim further by receiving swimming badges. After a time, when the child has achieved the full range of badges, he could lose interest in swimming because he may feel that there are no more rewards to be had. The intrinsic motives of the swimmer have mainly been lost because there is no longer sufficient reason to continue.

Answer 22

medals, badges and rewards

Answer 23

Instructors who wish to optimise the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation should involve performers in goal setting and decision-making. An athlete who shares in planning a training programme will view success with a sense of personal achievement.

Answer 24

It refers to the intensity of our behaviour or the amount of drive we experience to achieve something. In sport, it can be seen as the drive or energised state that motivates us to perform.

Answer 25

increase in heart rate, breathing and production of sweat

Answer 26

1 drive theory 2 inverted U theory 3 catastrophe theory

Answer 27

An individual may be motivated to complete a task, which can be seen as 'drive'. When that drive is perceived as being fulfilled, then the drive is reduced.

Answer 28

It sees the relationship between arousal and performance as linear - performance increases in proportion to arousal.

Answer 29

As arousal level increases so does the level of performance - but only to an optimum point, which occurs usually at moderate arousal level. Once past a moderate arousal level, performance decreases. Participants in sport can become anxious if they are over-aroused and their performance usually suffers.

Answer 30

A novice is best taught basic skills in a low arousal environment. It is better if no-one is watching and if competition is not applied in the early stages if learning as if they become over-aroused due to the competition, their performance is deteriorate and they will not be able to develop the learning of the skill.

Answer 31

If the activity to be performed involved many fine-controlled movements, then the arousal level of the performer needs to be fairly low for optimum performance. For example, pistol shooters and archers go to great lengths to control their emotional arousal levels. If the activity is much more gross, such as weightlifting, arousal levels need to be fairly high to expend so much dynamic strength.

Answer 32

If the performer is highly skilled, many movements are controlled by motor programmes. Many of their actions need little conscious attention and therefore they can cope with higher levels of arousal. A performer who is a beginner and has low skill levels will need to attend to many details related to the movement and consequently will need to consciously process much more information. If the arousal level is even moderate, a novice may lose concentration or become anxious, and so a low level of arousal is likely to produce optimum performance.

Answer 33

Personality types who enjoy high levels of excitement and are generally more extrovert can cope in high arousal situations. People who are more introverted are generally more likely to perform well under low arousal conditions. This is backed up by the link between the RAS and personality.

Answer 34

As arousal increases performance also increases steadily until there is a sudden and dramatic drop in performance after a certain point of arousal.

Answer 35

somatic and cognitive anxiety

Answer 36

Anxiety experiences physiologically or of the body - e.g. sweating

Answer 37

Anxiety experienced by the mind - e.g. worry about failing

Answer 38

performance will decline

Answer 39

performance can suddenly deteriorate - a 'catastrophic' response

Answer 40

Arousal decreases, then performance will once again improve but not back to its originally optimum level.

Answer 41

A phrase that has been used about sportsmen and women who achieve optimum performance levels and associate this with a particular emotional response.

Answer 42

Can be explained by all the arousal theories. All the theories related to arousal show that performance is related to the amount of inner drive and self-motivation. There are mental strategies which can help performers achieve this experience, to motivates them to want to repeat it and drive them to achieve their very best.

Answer 43

centre core of the brainstem

Answer 44

The negative aspect of experiencing stress and can be caused in sport by worry and apprehension experienced, perhaps, due to fear of failing in a competitive situation.

Answer 45

Threat of physical harm Threat of our self-esteem Threat of letting other people down Fear of being punished

Answer 46

A trait that is enduring in an individual. A performer with high trait anxiety has the predisposition or the potential to react to situations with apprehension.

Answer 47

The worry or apprehension experienced during or about competition experiences

Answer 48

A tendency to perceive competitive situations as threatening and to respond to these situations with feelings of apprehension or tension

Answer 49

1 individual differences 2 different types of anxiety 3 general or specific anxiety 4 the competition process

Answer 50

People react differently to different situations. For example, important games will generate more anxiety than 'friendly' games.

Answer 51

Different types of anxiety can be treated in different ways. Spielberger identifies trait anxiety and state anxiety. Performers who have high trait anxiety are more likely to experience high state anxiety in stressful situations but other situational factors can also cause high state anxiety.

Answer 52

High trait anxiety performers are likely to become anxious in highly stressful situations but are not equally anxious in all stressful situations: their anxiety levels may vary. Some performers may be extremely anxious when in a training situations but in a match, with a large crowd watching, they are not as anxious.

Answer 53

This involves the interaction between personality factors, competitive trait anxiety and the situation. This interaction will affect behaviour and may cause state anxiety.

Answer 54

Sport Competition Anxiety Test

Answer 55

It involves giving competitors a self-report questionnaire to assess the anxiety they felt during competitions.

Answer 56

competitive trait anxiety

Answer 57

Cognitive state anxiety increases as the competition approaches, although it does not increase immediately before the competition. It has been said that somatic state anxiety tends to be low leading up to the competition but increases a few hours before.

Answer 58

Often cited by modern sports psychologists as an important state of well-being.

Answer 59

be relaxed be confident be completely focused activity is effortless movement are automatic fun in control

Answer 60

If cues in the environment are not used effectively, then the sports person fails to gather relevant information from around the field of play. There is also the danger that the person could be distracted too easily by irrelevant cues, such as a person in the crowd shouting at them.

Answer 61

Intent to harm outside the rules of the sport

Answer 62

Forceful behaviour within the laws of the event

Answer 63

This theory views aggression as being natural response and is important in the well-being and evolutionary development of the species.

Answer 64

It states that frustration will always lead to aggression because any blocking of goals that an individual is trying to reach increases that individual's drive, which in turn increases aggression. Aggression, once initiated, will then reduce the frustration, leading to catharsis.

Answer 65

The release of frustration which leads to a feeling of well-being

Answer 66

It states that when an individual is frustrated there is an increase in their arousal level, which creates a predisposition or readiness for aggression. If aggression is going to occur then certain stimuli must be present that act as cues for the athlete, who would then associate the cues with having to be aggressive.

Answer 67

Bandura advocated that aggression is a learned response rather than instinctive. It states that we learn by observing and copying the behaviour of others or by direct reinforcement of our own behaviour.

Answer 68

The positive influence of others, who may be watching or competing, on sports performance

Answer 69

The negative influence of others, who may be watching or competing, which leads to a decrease on sports performance

Answer 70

1 The presence of an audience or coactors increases the arousal level of a performer. 2 This increase in arousal makes it more likely that the performer's dominant response will occur. 3 If the skill to be performed is simple or if the performer is an expert, the dominant response is likely to be the correct one and the performance will improve. 4 If the skill is complex or if the performer is a novice, the dominant response is likely to be incorrect and performance may decline.

Answer 71

The sports psychologist Cottrell (1968) stated that it was not the presence of the audience of the coactors alone that raised arousal levels and that, at times, the presence of others had a calming effect rather than raising anxiety. Cottrell stated that arousal level increased only when the others present were evaluating, or were perceived by the performer to be evaluating or judging, the performance.

Answer 72

Teams win more often at 'home' than they do 'away'. This may have something to do with the nature of the audience - whether they are hostile, whether the team has its own supporters in any numbers and whether the team feels alienated by the environment. Some research suggests that playing at home can be a disadvantage as the performer may suffer increases pressure in front of people that he or she knows, or may feel that he or she is being evaluated more as an individual.

Answer 73

High anxiety (type A) individuals perform less well in the presence of others than individuals with a low anxiety trait (type B). Extroverts tend to seek situations with high arousal levels and they therefore perform better with an audience. Introverts shy away from social situations because they have high levels of internal arousal.

Answer 74

Previous experiences in front of an audience effect future responses. If an individual has failed before in front of an audience, he or she may expect to fail again. Conversely, having been through the experience before may have removed the threat of an audience and future performances may be better.

Answer 75

The elite or highly skilled performers are more likely to do well in front of an audience and will experience social facilitation rather than inhibition. This is because of their dominant responses are more likely to be correct. Well-learned performers have motor programmes stored in their long-term memories that can be applied with little conscious control. Therefore, distractions are less likely to interfere with these almost automated responses.

Answer 76

The crowd's knowledge of the sport may increase evaluation apprehension, or the performer may feel supported because of the crowd's will-informed empathy.

Answer 77

Performing in front of people you know can increase anxiety levels and hinder performance. If the performer is an expert, the presence of peers can increase the sense of pride, thus enhancing the performance.

Answer 78

If skills to be performers are simple or gross, then high arousal caused by the audience can facilitate or help performance. This is because these types of skills do not require high levels of perceptual processing and are often dynamic in nature, requiring high levels of arousal or drive.

Answer 79

If skills are more complex or fine, then lower levels of arousal are more desirable to optimise performance. Therefore, the presence of others as an audience can inhibit the performance of these skills.

Answer 80

The nature of the audience can affect the arousal level of the performer. For example, if the crows is noisy and very competitive, the performer may feel more anxious and possibly more aggressive.

Answer 81

The physical proximity of the audience can also affect arousal level and in turn affect performance. If the crowd is very close, the performer may feel threatened (conversely they may feel reassured by the closeness of the crowd).

Answer 82

Teachers and coaches should be aware that an audience can impair performance in the early stages of skill learning and so it is best to teach skills in a non-evaluative atmosphere. The athletes must be aware of the negative effects of distractions and must be prepared to deal with the potentially negative reactions of co-actors, as well as hostile spectators.

Answer 83

They try to shut out the audience so that they can mentally prepare for the task in hand, some using imagery techniques, some using relaxation techniques. A number of coaches prepare their athletes to cope with an audience by getting them used to people watching during training.