Chapter 6 - Sport Psychology (Paper 2) Flashcards
(144 cards)
1
Q
What is the trait theory?
A
A theory which suggests that innate characteristics produce consistent behaviour. Is a theory that individuals are born with innate characteristics called traits, that are stable, enduring and stay the same in different situations. Behaviour is said to be consistent so that the sports performer will behave the same in most situations.
2
Q
What does trait theory aim to predict?
A
It attempts to predict behaviour because if sports people are always going to behave in the same way, there is a good chance we can expect and predict the same behaviour most of the time.
3
Q
What is an extrovert?
A
Extroverts have loud and bright personalities.
4
Q
What is the problem of trait theory?
A
It does not take into account personality change as your personality can change with the situation. Trait theory does not consider that personalities can be changed by experience.
5
Q
What is the social learning theory?
A
This theory suggests that behaviour is learned from significant others by socialisation. Rather than being born with a characteristic we learn them from other people. We are more likely to copy behaviour that is consistently shown.
6
Q
What is the interactionist approach?
A
A theory which combines trait and social learning to predict behaviour in a specific situation.
7
Q
What is Lewin’s formula?
A
B=f(PxE) : behaviour is a function of personality and the environment.
8
Q
What is the Hollander approach to interactionist theory?
A
He suggested that personality is made up of three features: the core of the performer, the typical responses and the role-related behaviour.
9
Q
What does the core of the Hollander approach to interactionist theory represent?
A
The core is a stable and solid and not likely to change. Beliefs and vales, such as the belief in the benefits of playing a team, are underlying.
10
Q
What does the typical responses of the Hollander approach to interactionist theory represent?
A
Typical responses are the usual responses the player would make in a given situation.
11
Q
What does the role-related behaviour of the Hollander approach to interactionist theory represent?
A
The role-related behaviour implies that further changes to behaviour may be needed as the situation demands.
12
Q
What is the credulous approach?
A
When the link between personality and behaviour is accepted.
13
Q
What is a sceptical approach?
A
When the link between personality and behaviour is doubted.
14
Q
How can knowledge of the interactionist perspective improve performance? (3 main points)
A
1) Coach could predict any potential unacceptable or aggressive behaviour and remove the player from the situation by substituting them off.
2) The coach could identify situations that cause inappropriate actions or a dropping off of a performance and creat similar situations in training so that the player can learn to cope.
3) The coach could use the interactionist approach to change player behaviour by encouraging players to adapt to specific circumstances.
15
Q
Define attitude.
A
A value aimed at an attitude object. (An opinion)
16
Q
How are attitudes formed?
A
Attitudes are formed by associating others and picking up their opinions and values, a process called socialisation. These attitudes are more likely to be learnt if they are reinforced and successful.
17
Q
What is the triadic model?
A
The three parts of an attitude: cognitive, affective, behavioural.
18
Q
What is the cognitive component?
A
A belief, such as the belief in the ability to win. This is probably the most deep-rooted part of attitude and represents your beliefs.
19
Q
What is the affective component?
A
Relates to feelings and interpretation such as enjoyment.
20
Q
What is the behavioural component?
A
The actions of the performer.
21
Q
What is cognitive dissonance?
A
New information given to the performer to cause unease and motivate change.
22
Q
Give 4 ways the coach can use cognitive dissonance to cause change in a performer.
A
1) The player may be given some new information or presented with a new form of activity so that they begin to question their current attitudes and become motivated to change them. The coach might point out the benefits of a new form of exercise which the player has shown a negative approach to and almost challenge their current thinking about it.
2) Making the activity fun and varying practice may make the session more enjoyable. If the activity is more fun that first thought, it may help to change your opinion.
3) Using rewards as reinforcement may increase the turnout at training and at games if there is a prize for the player of the week.
4) The coach could bring in a specialist or role model player from another clubs to encourage participation.
23
Q
What is persuasion?
A
An effective communication to promote change.
24
Q
In order to persuade someone to change their attitude, what should the communication be like?
A
The communication to the performer needs to be relevant and important and the message needs to be understood. The person giving the message also needs to be high status so the impact of the message is high. Timing is also important as the information should be given at a time when the performer realises they need to change.
25
What is arousal?
A level of activation, a degree of readiness to perform.
26
What is the drive theory?
As arousal increases, so does performance: P =f(DxH) (function of drive x habit). Represents a directly proportional straight line on a graph.
27
What is the dominant response?
The stand-out response that the performer thinks is correct.
28
What is the inverted-U theory?
Theory linking arousal and performance by stating that increased arousal improves performance to an optimal point at moderate levels of arousal.
29
How does the level of arousal vary between novice and experts?
Experienced players are used to dealing with pressure and can deal with tasks effectively, even if they operate with limited information. The dominant response of an expert is likely to be correct so they can produce a high level of performance at a high level of arousal. A beginner might need to be operate at a low level of arousal since they would be uncomfortable under pressure.
30
What are the problems with the drive theory? Why?
Increased drive does not always improve performance. It is unrealistic to suggest that performance always keeps improving. At high arousal, less information is processed and the performer tends to concentrate on the dominant response.
31
What is the problem with the inverted U-theory?
It suggests that a medium level of arousal leads to best performance however the optimum level of arousal can vary depending on the skill level, personality of the performer and the task being undertaken.
32
How does level of arousal depend on the personality of a person? E.g. Introvert or extrovert.
Extrovert personalities may perform happily at high levels of arousal; introverts would prefer to perform at low arousal. This may be because the reticular activating system (RAS), which controls and measures the levels of adrenaline in the body suggests that extroverts have naturally low levels of activation and can tolerate any increase in arousal; introverts are said to have naturally high levels of adrenaline and therefore would perform best at low arousal.
33
What level of arousal is best for different tasks?
If the task is gross, such when doing a stroke in rowing, it can be performed using large muscle group movements at high arousal, without the need for precise control needed for finer skills such as table tennis return. A complex skill needs decision making and the ability to process a relatively large amount of information. At high arousal, the ability to process a lot of information is reduced so the performer may require a lower level of arousal to execute a complex skill. A simple skill requires less decision making and can still be executed well at high arousal levels.
34
What is the castastrophe theory?
Theory suggesting that increased arousal improves performance to an optimal point but there is a dramatic reduction in performance when arousal increases beyond the optimal.
35
What causes the dramatic reduction in the catastrophe theory?
This slump is caused by a combination of both high levels of both somatic and cognitive anxieties.
36
What does somatic anxiety include?
- Muscular tension
| - Increased heart rate
37
What does cognitive anxiety include?
- Loss of concentration
| - Worries about performance
38
What is the zone?
Area of controlled arousal and high level performance.
39
What are the three things performers are meant to feel when they are in the zone?
1) Things seem to flow effortlessly.
2) The performer reaches a state os supreme confidence and remains calm under the utmost pressure.
3) The athlete feels that they are in total control of their actions and totally focused on the activity.
40
What is peak flow?
The ultimate intrinsic experience felt by athletes from a positive mental attitude, with supreme confidence, focus and efficiency.
41
What are the three main factors that affect peak flow?
1) Poor mental preparation and the failure to reach optimal levels of arousal.
2) Environmental influences such as the pressure from the crowd or the frustration caused by a referee decision.
3) The effect of injury or fatigue during the game will also stop the player keeping up with the flow experience.
42
What is anxiety?
A level of nerves and irrational thinking.
43
What is competitive trait anxiety?
A disposition to suffer from nervousness in most sporting situations.
44
What is competitive state anxiety?
A nervous response to specific sporting situations.
45
What is somatic anxiety?
A Physiological response to a threat such as increased heart rate.
46
What is cognitive anxiety?
A psychological response such as worrying about losing.
47
When does competitive trait anxiety occur?
Is when a player feels nerves before most games and occurs before all competitions, regardless of the importance of the event and the possibility of winning.
48
When does competitive state anxiety occur?
Is more temporary and is a response to a particular moment in the game or a specific sporting situation.
49
What is the link between competitive trait anxiety and competitive state anxiety?
An individual with high trait anxiety is more likely to experience high state experience when faced with a stressful situation.
50
What are the three methods of measuring anxiety in sport?
- Self-report questionnaire
- Observation
- Physiological testing
51
What are questionnaires?
A set of questions to measure or assess something, in this case anxiety.
52
What are the advantages of questionnaires?
- Quick
- Cheap
- Efficient
53
What are the disadvantages of questionnaires?
Results can be invalid because:
- Players may not understand the question being asked and their answer may be one that they think they ought to give rather than the actual truth.
- Answers may also depend on mood state. The answers given after a win might vary to after a loss.
- The questions are inappropriate so that biased results are give.
- The responses can be influenced by the time it takes to do all the questions; rushing to complete may lead to an incorrect response.
54
What is the Sports Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT)?
A questionnaire used by sports psychologists to measure anxiety.
55
What is the Competitive Sport Anxiety Inventory (CSAI)?
A questionnaire used by sports psychologists to measure anxiety.
56
Define observation.
Gaining a measure of (in this case) anxiety simply by watching the performer.
57
What is the advantage of observation?
This realistic approach gives observation studies an advantage in that they are true to life.
58
What are the disadvantages of observation?
- The results are based in the opinion of the observer and, where numerous observations are made, these opinions can vary, making the results highly subjective.
- Can be time consuming as the observer needs to know what the people are like normally so that changes from the norm can be noted.
- If the people being observed in sport realise they are being watched, then their behaviour might change or they might feel more uneasy and suffer some anxiety, thus making the results invalid.
59
What are the advantages of physiological measures to measure anxiety?
- They are factual so that that comparisons can be easily made.
- Responses to anxiety could be measured in training or even real game situations. With recent advances in technology, heart rate can be measured by an electronic device contained within the clothing of the performer and relayed immediately to the coach, who could judge anxiety while the game is in motion.
60
What are the disadvantages of physiological measures to measure anxiety?
- Training is often required so that coaches can learn how to use the devices; the cost of them may deter amateur performers from using them.
- In some cases actually wearing the measuring device, such as a heart rate monitor, may restrict movement in sport.
- The fact that the performer is aware that they are being measured may cause additional stress and give a false reading.
61
What is aggression? What are its characteristics?
Intent to harm outside the rules; hostile behaviour. It is reactive, out of control, deliberate and hostile.
62
What is assertion? What are its characteristics?
Well-motivated behaviour within the rules. It is controlled, well motivated, generally within the rules, goal-directed, not intended to harm.
63
What is instrumental aggression?
Has an intent but is within the rules.
64
What is the instinct theory?
When aggression is spontaneous and innate.
65
What is catharsis?
Cleansing the emotions; using sport as an outlet for aggression.
66
What are the four theories that try to explain how aggression is caused?
- Instinct theory
- Frustration-aggression hypothesis
- Aggressive cue hypothesis
- Social learning theory
67
What is the problem with the instinct theory?
Not all aggression is reactive and spontaneous - some aggression is learned and pre-intended.
68
What is the frustration-aggression hypothesis?
This theory suggests that inevitable aggression occurs when goals are blocked and the performer becomes frustrated. The theory argues that once a performer has been prevented from achieving their aim, their will be a building up of frustration leading to aggressive tendencies.
69
What is the aggressive cue hypothesis?
Suggests that aggression is caused by a learned trigger.
70
What is the social learning theory?
Learning by associating with others and copying behaviour.
71
When does learning from others tend to occur?
-When a behaviour is reinforced
72
How did Bandura suggest that aggression is learnt?
Observe, identify, reinforce, copy.
73
Who do people learn from?
Learnt from significant others or those we hold in high esteem.
74
What is the problem with the social learning theory?
Aggression can be instinctive and reactive rather than being learned.
75
List ways to prevent aggression.
Most important for exam:
- Punish aggression with fines or by sending them off.
- Apply sanctions immediately.
- Reinforce non-aggressive behaviour.
- Talk to players to calm them down.
- Walk away from the situation.
- Use mental rehearsal or relaxation to lower arousal.
- Point out non-aggressive role models.
- Channel aggression into assertion
Less important:
- Do not force aggressive acts in training.
- Promote peer-groups pressure within the team.
- Apply rules consistently and fairly.
- Point out responsibilities to the team
76
Define motivation.
A drive to succeed
77
What is intrinsic motivation?
Motivation from within.
78
What is extrinsic motivation?
Motivation from an outside source.
79
What are tangible rewards?
Rewards that can be touched or held, physical.
80
What are intangible rewards?
Non-physical rewards.
81
When do you feel intrinsic motivation?
It is the external stimuli and the internal mechanism that drive direct behaviour. It comes from within the performer and is an inner drive. Intrinsic motivation would show itself when a climber completes a difficult route or when a runner completes a marathon. It gives a feeling of self-satisfaction.
82
When do you feel extrinsic motivation?
It comes from an outside source such as a coach or other player; or it could even be from a spectator cheering you on.
83
What are the two forms of extrinsic motivation?
Tangible and intangible
84
Which form of motivation is better?
Intrinsic because it is stronger and longer lasting.
85
What do you need to consider when using extrinsic motivation?
Coaches and players must be careful not to place too much emphasis on extrinsic rewards,since over-use may lead to a loss in value and incentives. If there is always a trophy on offer, then this might become the norm rather than the exception and players may even compete to get rewards and not for the true value of the game.
86
What is the problem with extrinsic motivation?
Extrinsic motives can undermine the intrinsic reasons for competing; players may start to compete just to get a reward and not for the benefits of exercise, health and skill improvements.
87
What tactics and strategies can be used to maintain intrinsic and extrinsic motives?
- Offering incentives and rewards early on.
- Making the activity fun and enjoyable, perhaps by including mini-games and easier tasks to allow success.
- Pointing out the health benefits of doing the task.
- Breaking the skill down into parts, to allow success on each part.
- Pointing out role models to whom the performer can aspire to.
- Making the performer feel responsible for any success achieved by praise.
- Attributing success internally, in other words telling the performer that a good result was down to them.
- Setting goals or targets that are achievable by the performer.
- Using feedback to inspire and correct errors.
88
Who are the four types of others that can be present when playing sport?
1) Audience
2) Co-actors
3) Competitors
4) Social reinforcers
89
Who are the audience?
Those who just watch the event.
90
Who are the co-actors?
Those who are doing the same task but are not involved in direct competition.
91
Who are the competitive co-actors?
Those who are in direct competition.
92
Who are the social reinforcers?
Those who have a direct influence on the event.
93
Give an example of a social reinforcer?
A coach
94
The audience and co-actors are described as being ...
Passive
95
The competitors and social reinforcers are said to be ...
More actively involved
96
What is social inhibition?
The negative effect of the presence of others on performance.
97
What is social facilitation?
The positive effect of the presence of others on performance.
98
Who experiences social inhibition?
Beginners
99
Who experiences social facilitation?
Experts
100
What did Zajonc suggest about how experts perform with an audience and why?
Zajonc suggests that if a performer is an expert, it is likely that the responses are well learned and familiar to them. When performing in the presence of others, such well learned responses are performed automatically, with ease and there is no pressure on the performer. The response is made simple because it can be done without much thought or attention. The response will be correct, even when performed under pressure.
101
What did Zajonc suggest about how beginners perform with an audience and why?
A novice is unlikely to have learned responses that are performed automatically and may not even be able to identify the correct response and may produce an incorrect action. Therefore, responses are made complex as the novice uses a lot of attention to find the right answer and the affect of the crowd is to add pressure and cause inhibition.
102
What is evaluation apprehension?
The perceived fear of being judged.
103
Why does evaluation apprehension occur? What happens?
The effects of an audience could be intense if you are being watched be a professional or a professional scout. The effects of the audience would be intense: it could really motivate the performer to play well but could also increase anxiety and arousal to high levels, meaning that there is a significant reduction in performance.
104
What are three main strategies used to limit the effects of social inhibition and evaluation apprehension?
1) Getting the players familiar with training in front of a crowd. Using the concept of familiarisation to make players get used to playing in front of a crowd so that the players learn to be watched and learn to cope with it.
2) Gradually introducing evaluation. The level of assessment and evaluation should increase so that they learn to deal with scrutiny.
3) Improving focus and concentration. The players should learn to concentrate on the game and not on the audience. This is known as selective attention.
105
What are the following characteristics of a team?
- A collective identity - this means that the team can be recognised easily since they are usually wearing the same colour kit. Often team members will feel a strong affiliation to the team and gain a sense of pride when they wear the team clothing. This affiliation is important to give motivation and a sense of belonging to the team.
- Interaction - The team members should operate in their own role successfully and also be able to link this role with other members of the team. Interaction can be seen as the way the team players work together to complete a task.
- Communication - To help with interaction, the individual players in the team should talk to each other and communicate non-verbally.
- A shared goal or purpose - the prospect of achieving success is what often keeps players in the team and working for each other. All the players should want to aim for the same goal to have maximum motivation.
106
What are the four stages of group formation? Explain each stage
Forming - the group comes together and gets to know each other, with individuals often finding out how they feel about the team and if they think they will fit in. An assessment is made on the strengths of the individual compared to the strengths of others in the group.
Storming - This is the stage of potential conflicts when individuals may compete with others to establish position, status or role in the team. It may be that two players are competitions for the same position and the coach or captain should resolve such issues as quickly as possible to ensure players may accept an alternative.
Norming - Once conflicts have been resolved, the team begins to settle down and co-operate, with the intention of achieving their goals. Group standards are accepted and cohesion of the team develops.
Performing - All the players are now interactive and working together to achieve their goals. The team members support each other and understand their role in the team.
107
What does the length of the forming of the team depend on?
The size of the group, the difficulty of the task and the experience of the players.
108
Define cohesion?
The tendency for individuals to work together to achieve their goals, the forces that keep the group members on task.
109
What is co-action?
When others do the task at the same time but separately.
110
What is interaction?
When a group works together to produce results.
111
What does Carron's antecedents mean?
These are the factors that influence cohesion.
112
What is task cohesion?
Individuals working together to achieve an end result.
113
What is social cohesion?
Individuals relating to each other to interact in the group.
114
What are the two types of cohesion?
Task and social
115
What does task cohesion look at?
It looks at the end result and involves every player working together to achieve the goal, either by doing their own role well, so that the other team members can also make their contribution, or by working hard, along with everyone else on the task.
116
What does social cohesion look at?
It looks at the interaction of the individuals in the team and how they work with each other. It may be that there is a degree of trust in each others ability and there is support for each team member.
117
Which the of cohesion is best for achieving results? Why?
It is best to have both types of cohesion (social and task). Social cohesion will help the team to be interactive and will help communicate and team spirit. Task cohesion yet is also important.
118
What is the problem with social cohesion?
It might produce sub-groups or cliques that mean some members of the team will not co-operate, or at training they may not contribute to team questions or suggestions on tactics.
119
What can override the problems of social cohesion?
Task cohesion.
120
What is the equation that sums up the influences of cohesion?
Actual productivity = Potential productivity - Losses due to faulty processes
121
Who came up with the equation that sums up the influences of cohesion?
Steiner
122
What is actual productivity?
The outcome of group performance.
123
What is a team?
A group that has interaction, shared goals, an identity and communication.
124
What is potential productivity?
The best performance based on player ability and group resources.
125
What are faulty processes?
The things that go wrong to reduce group outcomes and prevent group potential being reached.
126
What are the two types of problems which prevent a team from reaching its true potential?
- Co-ordination problems
| - Motivational problems
127
What are co-ordination problems?
- Co-ordination problems occur when players in the team fail to listen to the coach's instructions or employ incorrect tactics.
- The players in the team may also fail to communicate with one another.
- The players may misunderstand their role in the team.
128
When do motivational problems in a team occur?
- Social loafing
| - Ringlemann effect
129
What is social loafing?
Individual loss of motivation in a team player due to lack of performance identification when individual efforts are not recognised.
130
When a player is social loafing what do they tend to do in a game?
They tend to take the easy options in the game and make a limited contribution to the team cause.
131
What are the causes of social loafing?
- Lack of confidence when the player does not believe in their ability to compete with the opposition.
- When the coach or captain may have displayed poor leadership by not offering incentives and reinforcement.
- Player might not understand the role they need to play in the team or they may not accept their role in the team for the whole game.
- Goals set by coaches may be too general and lack meaning.
132
What is the ringelmann effect?
When group performance decreases with group size.
133
How do coaches avoid social loafing?
- The coach should make sure efforts of the players are recognised and rewarded. This can be done by giving specific roles to play in the team.
- The coach should use statistics such as tackle counts, number of assists or pass completion rates to highlight individual performance.
- The coach should use a goal-setting strategy, setting goals that are realistic and specific and not just based on the results.
- Coach could use video analysis to highlight the performance of individuals and use feedback to evaluate and assess their performance.
134
What is goal setting?
Setting targets.
135
What are the three main benefits of goal setting?
1) Increasing motivation and making sure the participants in the sporting activity keep on trying. Players can become what is called task persistent, since there is a target to aim for that requires some effort to reach, but once the player has successes in reaching that target, a sense of pride and satisfaction is experienced. This sense of pride increases intrinsic motivation.
2) Improving confidence since the performer can experience an improvement in technique or in results as the target is being reached.
3) Regulating and sustaining effort. As the player continues to strive to reach a target, they might begin try a little harder as the goal nears completion. The coach needs to adjust the target to account for specific competition or event so that a short period of effort is applied in the build-up to competition.
136
What are the different types of goals?
- Outcome/product
- Task-orientated
- Performance
- Process
137
What is an outcome goal?
A goal set against the performance of others and based on a result.
138
What is the disadvantage of outcome goals?
There is a danger here that the goal may not be achieved and then motivation is lost.
139
What are task-orientated goals?
Getting a better performance
140
What is the advantage of task-orientated goals?
They are concerned about improving performance or technique. This means an athlete could achieve a goal, even if they do not win, because their performance has improved. Motivation is still maintained when task-orientated goals are used. The athlete does not compare against others but makes an evaluation based on their own past performances.
141
What are performance goals?
When the athlete sets a goal to better their own performance rather than comparing to others.
142
What are process goals?
Based on improving technique.
143
What is the advantage of performance goals?
These reduce anxiety in competition and provide more consistent motivation.
144
What are the factors to consider when setting goals? What is the acronym?
S - Specific - Goals should be clear and precise to the performer and the sport.
M - Measured - Measurements in the form of statistics which allows the performer to track their performance.
A - Achievable - performer should be able to reach their goal.
R - Realistic - Goal should be within reach, not too difficult or not too hard.
T - Time-bound - Short team and long term steps should be clearly defined so that there is a clear deadline.
E - Evaluate - Performer and coach should evaluate how and when the goal was achieved so that future attempts at reaching targets can be assessed.
R - Re-do - if the goal has not been reached, if progress is slow or after evaluation the performer thinks that something could have been done better, do it again! Target can be adjusted to ensure success.
