Exs 385 Exam 1

Question 1

Sport psychology vs exercise/health psychology

Answer 1

-sport psychology: scientific study of people and their behavior in sport(athletic competition)
(Behavior is what we are trying to shape or form)
-exercise/health psychology is in exercise or physical activity related to health

Question 2

Objectives of sport and exercise psychology

Answer 2

-understand how the mind affects the body
How does anxiety affect shooting accuracy?
How does reinforcement and punishment influence team cohesion?
-understand how the body affects the mind
Does participation in athletics enhance personality development?
Does running reduce anxiety and depression?

Question 3

Why use a sport/exercise psychologist?

Answer 3

• improve performance
• overcome the pressures of competition (causes stress and anxiety, can affect motivation and confidence)
• to enhance the experience of youth sport participants
• to provide psychological assistance with injury rehabilitation

Question 4

3 roles of sport and exercise psychologists

Answer 4

• *Teaching: university courses
  
  • clinical (training in psychology, emotional disorders): help with eating disorders and drug use
  • educational (training in sport and exercise science, physical education, kinesiology)- “mental coach”, anxiety management, development of confidence, may see in olympics with athletes, help with motivation
• *research: increasing body of knowledge in sports psychology, growing the field from a scientific standpoint
• *consulting: work with athletic teams, olympics, fitness industry. Help develop psychological skills for enhancing performance and training

Question 5

Psychological orientations

Answer 5

Social psychological
Psychophysiological
Cognitive behavioral (interactional)

Question 6

Social psychological

Answer 6

-determinants of behavior come from the environment
Ex. how leadership styles can influence exercise adherence/participation
(How interactions between the social environment and personal makeup of the athlete or exerciser influence behavior)

Question 7

Psychophysiological

Answer 7

-process of the brain/CNS and their influence on activity (heart rate and brain wave activity)
-brain influences our body. When aroused, motivated, etc, brain releases chemicals, which then create a physiological response
(Study physiological processes of the brain and their influence on physical activity)

Question 8

Cognitive behavioral

Answer 8

-interactional
-behavior determined by both environment and thoughts(cognition)
-thoughts and interpretation play an especially important role
-how you personally interpret the environment
-most common
Ex) crowd is loud, you just made a bad play, coach is yelling at ya. Someone more anxious might choke on a free throw cuz even more nervous, someone more laid back may enjoy the challenge
(How an individual’s thoughts and environment determine behavior)

Question 9

Big 5 personality traits

Answer 9

O-openness to experience (need for variety, curiosity): new physical pursuits
C-conscientiousness (achievement striving, self-discipline): set goals, rule followers, more organized
E-extroversion (enthusiasm, sociability, assertiveness)
A-agreeableness (amiability, modesty, altruism): team player, avoid conflict
N-neuroticism (nervousness, anxiety, depression, anger) :measure of emotion, harder to manage emotion

Question 10

Personality

Answer 10

Who you are 
Characteristics that make up a person
Parts of personality:
Psychological core
Typical responses 
Role related behaviors

Question 11

Behavior

Answer 11

Changes and is moldable

Question 12

Psychological core

Answer 12

Base of personality
 – deepest component, attitudes, interests, values, beliefs about yourself (self-worth)
•Your identity – the “real you”
•Most stable part of your personality
•Internal; fairly consistent

Question 13

Typical responses

Answer 13

-after psychological core in pyramid
•What you normally do in certain situations (how we usually respond to the world, what we typically do when anxious, sad)
•Introvert vs. extrovert (more outgoing)
•Type A (strong sense of urgency, excess of competitive drive, and an easily aroused hostility) vs. type B personality

Question 14

Role-related behaviors

Answer 14

•Changes in personality w/ changes in environment or situation
•how you act differently depending on what role you are playing (Student, coach, athlete, friend, etc.)
-most changeable part of behavior

Question 15

Example of typical responses vs role-related behaviors

Answer 15

Ex. Person is typically introverted. (Typical responses) but in certain situations, can exhibit extroverted tendencies (role related behavior)
Psychological core stays constant

Question 16

Is there such a thing as an athletic vs a non athletic personality?

Answer 16

.•No distinguishable specific “athletic personality” exists to differentiate between non-athletes
•But, female athletes tended to be more aggressive/assertive/independent then female non-athletes

Question 17

Is there a personality that makes an athlete successful?

Answer 17

.•No specific trait differences between athletic subgroups
•Success in sport appears to be predicated on confidence, cognitive strategies and coping skills (controlling emotions, etc.) - i.e., more state specific skills
(Some traits do make athletes more successful)

Question 18

Testing Do’s

Answer 18

.Inform participants about purpose and use
•Integrate tests with other info about participant(look at interactions with others, don’t just rely on test)
•Use sport and exercise specific tests if possible
•Use both trait and state measures of personality
•Use a S.P. to interpret results
•Give feedback
•Compare against self, not others

Question 19

Testing dont’s

Answer 19

-Don’t use clinical personality tests
•Not looking for abnormalities with this population
•Don’t give/interpret unless qualified to do so
•Don’t use only tests to determine behavior; consider performance assessments and observations
•Don’t use for team selection

Question 20

Personality research and sports

Answer 20

-Injury Rates & Type A vs. type B (Bretl, et al., 2005)
•Type A personality score had a significantly greater injury rate (more uptight, anxious, perfectionist)
•Exercise helps to reduce the anger-hostility/time urgency portion of type A behavior (i.e., increases health benefits)
-Self-concept/self-esteem (Wiggins, 2002)
•Increase with the perception of improvements in fitness (as well as actual improvement)

Question 21

Perfectionism

Answer 21

-when make a mistake it’s not a good thing
-organized, high strung, goal setting
-can be positive or negative
Maladaptive Perfectionism
•Associated with excessive exercise, poor performance, and athlete burnout
-perhaps bcuz don’t meet goals. harmful, need to self validate.
-Results in suboptimal performance
•Adaptive Perfectionism
•Better learning and performance
-can better manage tendencies

Question 22

Cognitive strategies and success in sports

Answer 22

.•Cognitive strategies are not personality traits, but they do reflect behavior
•Elite athletes vs. non-elite score higher on:
•Coachability
•Concentration
•Coping skills
•Mental preparation
•Mental preparation and planning are critical components of athletic success
-looking at personality helps you figure out how to make them mentally ready

Question 23

Building cognitive strategies and success

Answer 23

.•Practice specific plans to deal with adversity
•Practice dealing with distractions/unusual circumstances
•Good concentration
•Mental rehearsal (imagery) before competition
•Focus on themselves (control what they can)
•Regulate arousal and anxiety

Question 24

Big 5 personality traits and sports

Answer 24

-Physical activity: positive correlation with extraversion and conscientiousness; negative correlation with neuroticism (handle emotions well)
•Sport: athletes in high-risk and team sports score higher on extraversion and lower on conscientiousness than other athletes; athletes in general score higher on extraversion than nonathletes

Question 25

Different ways of looking at personality

Answer 25

-Interactional view or approach -A combination of an individual’s personality traits and the situation (environment) allow us to predict behavior more accurately •Example: anxiety level when shooting free throws (also example of one of the objectives, how the mind affects the body) -Phenomenological view or approach -Also accounts for situations and personal traits, but includes understanding and interpretation of self and environment •More subjective •Used more often among contemporary S.P.’s

Question 27

Measuring personality (how it can be skewed)

Answer 27

Use self-report measures: but be cautious •Directed toward researcher judgment rather than athlete’s interpretation (researchers are sometimes biased and can influence the ppl filling out forms) •Socially biased answers may be provided by participants to “look good” in the eyes of the researchers Factors to consider pertaining to accuracy •1. inventories cannot predict athletic success (i.e., don’t use for team selection) •2. know about testing and measurement error (reliability & validity, power) -3. Socially desirable answers skew data -intra-individual approach: compare individuals to their previous scores and performances, not scores of other people on team

Question 27

Trait and state confidence example

Answer 27

-Measuring Trait Confidence: in general •On a scale of 1-9, compare your confidence in your ability to perform under pressure to that of the most confident person you know •Measuring State Confidence: puts you in middle of situation •On a scale of 1-9, Compare the confidence you feel right now in your ability to perform under pressure with that of the most confident person you know

Question 28

Personality changes during competition

Answer 28

-Assess before competition (30 min). and after competition: may see some change. Help determine whether in pressure situation personality stays same (state) •Example: •Championship situation (may be more anxious) •First-time exerciser

Question 29

Sport specific measures for personality

Answer 29

-Provide more reliable and valid data than general psychological inventories alone -speaks to them as an athlete or exerciser •Example: “I get caught up in my thoughts and become oblivious to what is going on around me” VS. “When playing tennis, I find myself distracted by the sights and sounds around me”

Question 30

Trait and state measuring of personality

Answer 30

Personality characteristics -traits: typical style of behaving (general) -states: situations effects on behavior (situational) Ex) someone with the psychological trait of anxiety likely to be more anxious in competitions too (state)

Question 31

Specifically, how can personality be measured?

Answer 31

Interactional approach Should asses both psychological traits and states Sport specific measures are more reliable

Question 32

Mental health

Answer 32

-Morgan’s Iceberg Profile •Reflects greater positive mental health in successful elite athletes •Negative traits (tension, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion): part of the iceberg underwater •Positive trait (vigor): persistence, tip of the iceberg Successful athletes exhibit vigor to a higher degree than all their negative traits

Question 33

Motivation

Answer 33

•A force that directs effort/energy/persistence toward participatory choices -direction (seeking out the opportunity) and intensity of behavior (how much effort you put into it) Extrinsic:externally motivated (example: award, money) Intrinsically: internal motivation, emotion driven, do it cuz you enjoy it

Question 34

Step 1 of building motivation

Answer 34

Best way to understand motivation is to look at how personal and social factors interact (interactional: situation and personal characteristics) •motivation Can change over time especially as you become more cognitively mature, can have things happen that affect motivation level as well as experience changes in priorities •Sorrentino and Sheppard swimming study: affiliation motivation. -Team vs non team (reasons behind swimming, some motivated by the team, others it had a negative impact) •Fastest swimmers won’t necessarily make the best relay team

Question 35

Personal factors that infuence motivation

Answer 35

Physical maturity:want to physically look different •Parents = beliefs & expectations (dad playing ball whole life) •Goals: having goals is good motivator •Cognitive maturity: as become older, may play a sport bcuz it's healthy (intrinsically motivated) Younger may do it because you get a trophy (extrinsically motivated) •Socialization history:were they an only child, have lots of friends, etc •Interests, needs

Question 36

Social factors that influence motivation

Answer 36

* Reward structures: feedback from coaches, friends etc * Coaching and leadership styles * Sociocultural influences * Environmental factors * Presence of others * “Surface” stuff – like the facility and equipment; win/loss record of a team so want to play for that team

Question 37

Building motivation step 2

Answer 37

-Understand that there may be multiple motivating factors contributing to beginning participation (and continued participation) (aka participatory differences)

Question 38

Participatory differences

Answer 38

.Why do children participate in sport? •Do you (as an adult) participate for the same reasons you did as a child? What is more/less important to you? -as cognitive more mature, more intrinsically motivated Boys and girls participate for same reasons, but prioritize differently Girls– social and skill benefits; competition, fitness •Boys– competition, social benefits, fitness •U.S.– intrinsically motivated (more independent) •Korean– extrinsically motivated

Question 39

Building motivation step 3

Answer 39

-You can’t motivate others. you can only put them in situations where they can motivate themselves •Change the environment to enhance motivation since you have a more direct control over the environment than the person themselves -Keep it fun: enjoying the companionship can be just as motivating as the physical/mental training •May have to change what you say and how you say it: know your teammates, patients, clients, etc.

Question 40

Building motivation step 4

Answer 40

-Your influence is extremely important when it comes to participatory motivation •i.e. What you do MATTERS •Directly: instructional techniques (see you on regular basis, proper skills and proper technique) •AND indirectly – Holocaust button (you have an impact on everyone you come in contact with)

Question 41

Building motivation step 5

Answer 41

Behavior modification: Make changes when necessary •example: Reinforce good clean play, punish aggressiveness intended to harm •Rehab example - “I’m only doing this because my doctor wants me to.” So show them reasons to enjoy or to motivate themselves Be an influence but ultimately it's their decision