Sports Psychology Flashcards
(44 cards)
Operant conditioning
Learning though trial and error.
It is a behaviourist theory.
When you do something right you receive positive reinforcement.
When you do something wrong you receive a punishment.
Negative reinforcement -> removal of an unpleasant stimulus.
The stimulus response bond
The link between the stimulus and response.
Positive reinforcement -> praising when you do something right. strengthens the stimulus response bond.
Negative reinforcement -> taking away an unpleasant stimulus when the performer does something right.
Punishment -> giving an unpleasant stimulus when you do something wrong. weakens the stimulus response bond.
Observational learning (Bandura)
Learning by watching.
5 parts (DARMM):
Demonstration -> needs to be memorable, technically correct.
Attention -> must pay close attention and focus on the demonstrator’s behaviour and how the skill is performed.
Retention -> retaining the information on how the skill is performed correctly. can be done by practising, through mental imagery etc.
Motor production -> learner must be able to physically reproduce the behaviour that’s observed. may require practice and feedback.
Motivation -> must be willing to learn and perform the skill.
Social development theory - constructivism (Vygotsky)
When you do something (such as successfully complete a skill), you look for what you can o next.
Someone who can help you with that is an MKO (more knowledgeable others).
Zone of proximal development -> range of tasks a learner can do with the help of an MKO.
Application to Learning Sport Skills:
- social interaction -> interaction with coaches and teammates help athletes navigate their ZPD.
- cooperative learning -> athletes learn from serving and interacting with more skilled teammates.
Insight Learning - Gestalts
Learning through actively thinking.
Key Concepts:
Aha moment -> sudden realisation or understanding of a skill without a trial and error process.
Gestalt Perception -> ability to perceive the whole situation instead of the individual elements.
Application to Learning Sport Skills:
- perception of game flow.
- anticipation and reaction.
Implications for coaching:
- design drills that encourage athletes to perceive the situation as a whole.
Personality
Unique combination of characteristics of an individual.
Trait theory- Eysenck (1965)
Personality is made up of characteristics that influence someone’s behaviour.
Personality is innate, generalised, underlying, enduring, predisposition.
Four dimensions:
Introvert, extrovert, stable and neurotic.
Social learning
Behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation of others and through positive reinforcement.
Coaches use positive role models to influence and shape an athlete’s behaviour.
Weaknesses:
- doesn’t take into account inherited behaviours.
Interactionist - incl. Lewin
A mixture of social learning and trait theory.
Lewin:
B = F x (PE) -> behaviour is a function of both the person (personality) and the environment.
Takes into account both inherited characteristics and environmental influences.
Suggested to have better validity,
Interactionist - incl. Hollander
Hollander:
Traits determine behaviour, but can be influenced or changed by situations.
Might explain why we change our behaviour from one moment to the next.
Includes:
- the psychological core -> the beliefs and values that remain more or less permanent.
- typical behaviour.
- role related behaviour -> in different situations, we may behave differently.
- social environment -> how the behaviour and expectations of others affect our role.
Measuring personality - Questionnaires
SCAT -> Sport Competition Anxiety Test.
CSAI -> Competitive State Anxiety Inventory.
Advantages:
- quick and easy
- objective
- standardised
Disadvantages:
- relies on honesty
- limited depth
- cultural bias
Measuring personality - Interviews
Advantages:
- more in-depth answers
- naturalistic
- direct assessment
Disadvantages:
- observer bias
- time consuming
- might not be representative across all situations
Other ways of measuring personality
Observations and personality profiling.
Attitudes
An enduring evaluation - positive or negative - of people, objects and ideas. (Aronson et al. 1994).
Attitude object -> focus of your attitude.
Prejudice -> preconceived opinion that isn’t based on reason or actual experiences.
Stereotype -> a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.
How they are formed:
- family, friends, experiences, media, role models, peers, teachers and coaches.
Socialisation -> watching others with a positive attitude, copying what they do and having it reinforced.
Familiarity > if you’ve done something a lot this will affect your attitude towards it.
Common factors:
- can be positive and negative.
- are generally stable and enduring.
Triadic model
Affective -> feeling/how you feel/feel prepared.
Cognitive -> think/your thoughts. e,g, thinking about when to run and where.
Behavioural -> act/how you act. e.g. calm, getting into place (defensive short corner - running one).
Changing attitudes - Persuasive communication theory
People you are trying to persuade must be receptive.
Message must be clear.
Message must come from someone with a high status.
Respecting an official in a match.
(used in advertising)
persuader
message
the recipients
the situation
Changing attitudes - Cognitive dissonance (Festinger)
Dissonance -> feeling uncomfortable.
Making someone uncomfortable so that their cognitive and affective attitudes change leading to a change in behavioural attitude.
e.g. give or take responsibilities to or from a player.
Arousal
The psychological and physiological feeling of readiness.
Varies from deep sleep to intense excitement.
What controls it?
Reticular activating system (RAS) -> cluster of brain cells that maintain arousal.
Types of Arousal
Cognitive -> a thought of excitement. thought process.
Somatic -> change in the body’s response. e.g. heart rate or sweating.
Optimum level of arousal isn’t always in the middle of the continuum.
Optimum level doesn’t occur at a specific point.
Is arousal a good or bad thing in sport?
Good:
- if at the right level of arousal, performance will be optimal.
Bad:
- if too high, anxiety increases and performance decreases -> might happen (be more likely) for complex skills.
Arousal - Drive Theory
As arousal increases, performance increases - linear relationship.
Better explanation for autonomous learners and extroverts.
P = f (H x D) -> performance = function of habit x drive or arousal.
With increased arousal the dominant habit will be reproduced.
Poorly learned skill will give a performance full of mistakes.
Well learned skill will give a skilled performance.
Problems with Drive Theory
Suggests that there is no limit to arousal.
Even highly skilled players make mistakes in highly charged situations.
Increasing arousal may cause performers to resort to previously learnt skills because they’re dominant, but it might be incorrect doesn’t take into account only somatic or only cognitive anxiety.
Arousal - Inverted U theory
As arousal increases, performance increases, until it reaches the optimum arousal level. After this performance decreases, as arousal continues to decrease.
Problems with the Inverted U theory
Each athlete has their own optimal level of arousal.
Doesn’t explain how a performer may become over aroused but then have their arousal decrease to their optimum arousal level.
