week 8

Question 1

What is attention in sport psychology?

Answer 1

The concentration of mental effort on sensory or mental events (Weinberg & Gould, 2019).

Question 2

What are the three key types of attention?

Answer 2

Concentration, divided attention, and selective attention.

Question 3

What is concentration?

Answer 3

Deliberate investment of mental effort into information that seems most important at any given time (Moran, 2010).

Question 4

What are the four key components of concentration?

Answer 4

1. Focusing on relevant environmental cues
2. Maintaining attentional focus
3. Situation awareness
4. Shifting attentional focus when necessary

Question 5

What is divided attention?

Answer 5

Processing different information sources and successfully performing several tasks at a time.

Question 6

How is divided attention typically developed?

Answer 6

Through extensive practice, requiring skills to be efficient due to limited attentional capacity.

Question 7

What is selective attention?

Answer 7

The process of directing our awareness to relevant stimuli while ignoring irrelevant stimuli.

Question 8

What are the implications for practice regarding attention?

Answer 8

Identify relevant cues and teach performers what is and isn’t relevant.

Question 9

What are the two types of distractors?

Answer 9

Internal and external distractors.

Question 10

What are internal distractors?

Answer 10

Thoughts, worries, and concerns that come from within ourselves (Weinberg & Gould, 2015).

Question 11

What is choking in sports?

Answer 11

Underperformance under pressure or in situations of increased importance, often due to directing attention towards automatic processes.

Question 12

What are the antecedents of choking?

Answer 12

Event importance, high expectations, evaluation apprehension, unfamiliarity, and overload.

Question 13

How can choking be overcome?

Answer 13

By adopting external narrow attentional focus and engaging in simulation training.

Question 14

What are the principles of effective concentration?

Answer 14

1. Decide to concentrate
2. Focus on one thought at a time
3. Focus on specific, relevant actions under own control
4. Do what you’re thinking

Question 15

What is the conclusion regarding attention in sports?

Answer 15

Different tasks need different types of attention, which has significant implications for practice.