Chapter 8 - Psychology of Athletic Preparation and Performance

Question 1

Achievement motivation

Answer 1

Efforts to master a task, achieve excellence, and engage in competition or social comparison - the desire to win

Question 2

Anxiety

Answer 2

Subcategory of arousal that is a negatively perceived emotional state

Question 3

Arousal

Answer 3

A blend of physiological activation in an individual and refers to the intensity of motivation in a given moment

Question 4

Attention

Answer 4

The processing of both environmental and internal cues that come to awareness

Question 5

Augmented feedback

Answer 5

Feedback provided to the athlete by an observer such as a coach or video/lab equipment

Question 6

Autogenic training

Answer 6

Focusing on a sense of warmth and heaviness in a muscle group to reduce arousal or anxiety

Question 7

Catastrophe theory

Answer 7

Performance theory that states that a catastrophic decline in abilities, rather than gradual decline, can occur past a certain arousal level

Question 8

Cognitive anxiety

Answer 8

Anxiety manifested cognitively as a negative perception of the situation

Question 9

Counterconditioning

Answer 9

Combining mental and physical techniques to replace fear response to cues with a relaxation response

Question 10

Diaphragmatic breathing

Answer 10

Focused attention on the process of breathing to clear the mind and increase concentration

Question 11

Discovery

Answer 11

Instructing the athlete on the overarching goal of the task and the athlete receives little to no direction

Question 12

Distress

Answer 12

Negative stress

Question 13

Drive theory

Answer 13

The arousal theory that proposes that as an individuals arousal or state anxiety increases, the performance also increases

Question 14

Emotions

Answer 14

Temporary feeling states that occur in response to events

Question 15

Enhancement

Answer 15

Increased effectiveness of an already learned movement

Question 16

Eustress

Answer 16

Positive stress

Question 17

Explicit instructions

Answer 17

Prescriptive information that gives the athlete rules for effectively executing a given task

Question 18

Extrinsic motivation

Answer 18

Motivation from an external source - i.e. “trophies, social approval”

Question 19

Fractionalization

Answer 19

Breaking down tasks into subcomponents that must ultimately occur simultaneously

Question 20

Goal setting

Answer 20

A process of pursuing progressively challenging standard of performance with a defined criterion of task success which increases the likelihood of success

Question 21

Guided discovery

Answer 21

Providing prompts for a task without explicitly telling the athlete how to do the task

Question 22

Ideal performance state

Answer 22

Ultimate goal of every athlete - competition performance marked by psychological and physiological efficiency

Question 23

Imagery

Answer 23

A cognitive skill in which an athlete creates or recreates an experience in his or her mind

Question 24

Individual zones of optimal functioning

Answer 24

Different people in different types of performances perform best with very different levels of arousal

Question 25

**Intrinsic feedback**

Answer 25

Feedback provided to the athlete by his or her own senses

Question 26

**Intrinsic motivation**

Answer 26

A desire to be competent and self-determining - i.e. “love of the game”

Question 27

**Inverted-U Theory**

Answer 27

Theory of performance that states that arousal facilitates performance until an optimal level beyond which increased arousal decreases performance

Question 28

**Knowledge of performance**

Answer 28

Feedback regarding an athlete’s movement pattern

Question 29

**Knowledge of results**

Answer 29

Feedback of information about the execution of a task or goal

Question 30

**Long-term goals**

Answer 30

Overarching goal or vision of performance

Question 31

**Mental imagery**

Answer 31

Mental visualization of a movement or experience related to competition or performance

Question 32

**Motivation**

Answer 32

The intensity and direction of effort

Question 33

**Motive to achieve success (MAS)**

Answer 33

The desire to challenge oneself and evaluate one’s abilities

Question 34

**Motive to avoid failure (MAF)**

Answer 34

The desire to avoid the perception of shame that accompanies failure

Question 35

**Negative punishment**

Answer 35

Removal of something valued as a punishment for an undesired behavior

Question 36

**Negative reinforcement**

Answer 36

Removal of something valued as a punishment for an undesired behavior

Question 37

**Observational practice**

Answer 37

Observing a task or skill performed by other novice, intermediate, or expert performers

Question 38

**Operant**

Answer 38

The targeted or desired behavior of positive reinforcement

Question 39

**Outcome goals**

Answer 39

Goals over which the athlete has little control which are typically focused on winning or competitive result in an event

Question 40

**Part practice**

Answer 40

Separating a skill into a series of subcomponents practice individually

Question 41

**Physiological efficiency**

Answer 41

Employing only the amount of physical and mental energy to accomplish the task at hand

Question 42

**Positive punishment**

Answer 42

Presentation of an act/object that could decrease an undesired behavior’s occurrence - i.e. pushups after practice do to poor performance

Question 43

**Positive reinforcement**

Answer 43

The act of increasing the probability of occurrence of a given targeted behavior by rewarding the behavior

Question 44

**Process goals**

Answer 44

Goals that the athlete has control over which typically focus on actions needed to execute a skill

Question 45

**Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR)**

Answer 45

Self-regulation of physical and psychological arousal through control of skeletal muscle tension

Question 46

**Progressive-part training**

Answer 46

Practicing two skill subcomponents individually before combining them then practices the third component and adding it to the first two until the whole skill is mastered

Question 47

**Psychological efficiency**

Answer 47

The ability to overcome negative thoughts and arousal that may impede performance

Question 48

**Pure-part training**

Answer 48

Practicing each skill subcomponent independently before combining them together

Question 49

**Random practice**

Answer 49

Practicing multiple skills in a random order in the same session

Question 50

**Repetitive part training**

Answer 50

Practicing first part in isolation, then adding each subsequent part until the whole skill is done as one movement

Question 51

**Reversal theory**

Answer 51

Athlete’s perception of arousal/anxiety as important for performance as the level itself

Question 52

**Routine**

Answer 52

Mental checklist that consciously directs thoughts to task-relevant and controllable concerns

Question 53

**Segmentation**

Answer 53

Breaking down tasks into subcomponents that have clear breaks

Question 54

**Selective attention**

Answer 54

The Inhibition of attention on some stimuli to focus on others

Question 55

**Self-confidence**

Answer 55

The belief in oneself that one can be successful at a given endeavor

Question 56

**Self-controlled practice**

Answer 56

Allowing athlete feedback and input regarding practice, performance, or which skill to work on

Question 57

**Self-efficacy**

Answer 57

Perception of one’s ability to perform a task under a specific set of circumstances

Question 58

**Self-talk**

Answer 58

Inner dialogue within the athlete - can be internal or spoken out loud

Question 59

**Short-term goals**

Answer 59

Goals related to current training or competition that are attainable in a relatively short time-frame

Question 60

**Simplification**

Answer 60

Adjusting task difficulty by changing characteristics or equipment

Question 61

**Somatic anxiety**

Answer 61

Anxiety manifested through physical symptoms such as tense muscles, fast heart rate, and upset stomach

Question 62

**Sport psychology**

Answer 62

A multifaceted discipline that employs exercise science and psychological principles to understand behavioral processes and cognitions on movement.

Question 63

**State anxiety**

Answer 63

Acute subjective experience of apprehension and uncertainty

Question 64

**Stress**

Answer 64

A substantial imbalance between demand and response capability where consequences of failure to meet demand are present

Question 65

**Stressor**

Answer 65

An environmental or cognitive event that precipitates stress

Question 66

**Systematic desensitization (SD)**

Answer 66

Combining mental and physical techniques to replace fear response to cues with a relaxation response

Question 67

**Trait anxiety**

Answer 67

Enduring personality disposition towards perceiving an environment as threatening

Question 68

**Variable practice**

Answer 68

Variations of a skill performed within a single practice

Question 69

**Whole practice**

Answer 69

Practicing a single skill and all its subcomponents at once