EXSS 181 Midterm 2

What are common signs of poor adjustment to athletic injury?

--feelings of anger and confusion --obsessed with returning to play --denial --consistently coming back too soon --guilt about letting others down --withdrawal from significant others

Define and differentiate overtraining, staleness, and burnout.

--overtraining: short cycle of high levels of training that are near or at maximal capacity; part of training cycle (overload) in which training is raised and lowered in order to make the body more fit; overtraining syndrome= excessive overload on an athlete without adequate rest --Staleness: a state in which the athlete has difficulty maintaining standard training regimens and can no longer achieve previous performance results; overall physical and emotional lull; early warning sign of burnout --Burnout: multidimensional cognitive-affective syndrome characterized by dimensions of emotional and physical exhaustion, reduced sense of personal accomplishment, devaluation sport context; largely conceptualized as a response to chronic negative stress

What are some on-site coping/relaxation techniques for athletes? How can practice be used to train for competition?

Smile in response to tension, enjoy the situation, slow down, stay focused in the present, be prepared with a competition plan

What is the advantage of the deep breathing technique?

It's easy and effective, quick

Which antecedent of SE is the strongest predictor?

Performance accomplishments

What are SMARTS goal setting principles?

S=specific M=measurable A=action-oriented R=realistic but challenging T=time based S=self-determined

Describe common ways a practitioner may facilitate injury recovery/rehab.

--Build rapport with injured person --Education --teach psychological coping skills (PST) --realistic expectations --foster social support

What kinds of person and situational characteristics may contribute to a higher risk of burnout?

-- high or conflicting demands (overload) --monotonous training --lack of social support --poor team climate and interpersonal relationships --low autonomy --low rewards --lengthy season

ABC's of Exercise and sport psychology

--A=affect (feeling states) --B=behavior (actions) --C= cognition (thoughts)

Define and differentiate b/t attentional selectivity, attentional capacity, attentional alertness.

--Attentional selectivity: letting some information into the information-processing system while screening out or ignoring other information (spotlight metaphor) --Attentional capacity: attention is limited in that one can only process so much information at one time --Attentional alertness: increases in emotional arousal narrow the attentional field b/c of a systematic reduction in the range of cues that a performer considers in executing a skill

Be able to define, explain, and give examples of the six exercise adherence strategies.

--Behavior modification: prompts, contracting --Reinforcement: self-monitoring, feedback, attendance/participation awards --cognitive/behavioral:goal setting (SMARTS), dissociation vs association --Decision making: decision balance sheet --Social support: group exercise, exercise partner, encouragement or assistance from friend/family --Intrinsic approaches: focus on experience, process orientation, self-determination, purpose/meaning

Self-confidence

--Belief that you can successfully perform a desired behavior --Generally considered a global and relatively stable trait --State perspective as well: B= f(P,E)

What are common issues associated with transition out of sport that can negatively affect athlete mental health and/or cognitive functioning?

--Bitterness of being forced to retire --Loss of camaraderie with teammates and relationships with coaches --Lack of self-identity --Loss of confidence in ability to cope with life situations; loss of adulation from fans --Inability to replace the excitement of the sport experience

Understand the difference b/t stress and non-stress based models of athlete burnout.

--Commitment and Entrapment theory: burned-out athletes experience an entrapment profile of sport commitment; feel they must maintain sport involvement; stay in sport despite desire to leave b/c of social pressure, large investments --Identity and control model: stress is a symptom of burnout NOT driving force; social/organizational structure of sport=burnout --Self-Determination Continuum: less self-determined=less motivated to continue sport

Define imagery. Describe the imagery process. What are its components?

--Creating or recreating an experience on the mind (visualization) --Recall+construction: visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory

Differences b/t the 3 methods of arousal/anxiety control

--Deep breathing: easy, effective; breathing out decreases muscle tension; deep, diaphragm breathing at a slow and controlled pace; best used during breaks in action --Progressive relaxation: objective is to teach/train contrast b/t tension and relaxation; relaxation of the muscles contributes to relaxation of the mind; involves contracting and relaxing major muscle groups in a sequence progressing through the whole body --Autogenic training: aimed at producing heaviness in extremities, warmth in extremities, regulation of heart rate/breathing, abdominal warmth, cool forehead

Describe Kubler-Ross stages of grief as they relate to injury?

--Denial --Anger --Bargaining --Depression --Acceptance and reorganization --Not all stages are always experienced

What is biofeedback?

--Designed to teach control of physiological or autonomic responses --Visual and/or auditory feedback of muscle activity, skin temperature, brain wave, heart rate

What are the 4 steps in a PST program?

--Education and Assessment Phase: goal is for participants to quickly recognize how important it is to build their PST repertoire; convert importance of PST; needs assessment --Acquisition phase: focuses on strategies and techniques for learning the various psychological skills --Practice phase: automation; integration; simulation --Evaluation phase: reassessment; subjective and performance feedback

What are 3 characteristics/dimensions of burnout?

--Emotional and physical exhaustion --Reduced sense of personal accomplishment --Devaluation sport context

Enhancing Self-efficacy

--Ensure successful experiences --Modeling techniques --Positive communication techniques --Reduce anxiety

What do we know about the relationship b/t exercise, depression, and anxiety?

--Exercise associated with lower levels of both depression and anxiety symptoms --Some studies show exercise at least as effective as medication in lowering symptoms --There are negative associations without extremely strong causal evidence

What are the sensations that we focus on in AT?

--Heaviness in extremities --Warmth in extremities --Regulation of heart rate/breathing --Abdominal warmth --cool forehead

Explain the relative effectiveness of using imagery vs. physical practice to improve performance in sport. Which should be primary?

--Imagery should be used in addition to physical practice; physical practice is better than imagery practice --Imagery practice is better than no practice at all --Imagery not more effective than physical over same time period, but is effective when added above and beyond physical practice

What are common problems in goal setting?

--convincing athletes to set goals --failing to set specific goals --setting too many goals too soon --failing to adjust goals/recognize individual differences --not providing follow up and evaluation

List the psychological benefits of exercise.

--Increases: assertiveness, confidence, emotional stability, intellectual functioning, internal locus of control, memory and perception, positive body image, self-control, well-being, work efficiency --Decreases: substance abuse, anger, anxiety, confusion, depression, headache, hostility, tense, work errors

Why does goal setting work? (2 views)

--Indirect thought process view: goal setting-->increasing confidence, reducing anxiety, enhancing satisfaction-->performance --Direct mechanistic view: directs attention to important elements; mobilizes effort; prolongs effort; fosters the development of new learning strategies

Explain the difference b/t an internal and external perspective in imagery.

--Internal: athletes visualize themselves doing the task --External: athletes visualize themselves from a third-person's perspectives

List and explain common internal and external attentional distractors.

--Internal: attending to past events, future events; choking under pressure; overanalyzing body mechanics; fatigue; inadequate motivation --External: visual distracters, auditory distractors

What are common problems in implementing PST programs?

--Lack of conviction (by athlete): not wanting to do something new --Lack of time (by athlete): priorities --Lack of sport knowledge (by consultant) --Lack of follow-up (by both athlete and consultant)

What are the advantages to setting both short-term and long-term goals?

--Long term goals provide direction while short term goals serve as intermediate steps the lead to long term objectives

What is thought stopping? How does it work?

--Notice yourself making a negative self-statement --Say "stop" in your head or out loud --Follow this up by replacing the thought with a more positive self-statement

Give examples of outcome, performance, and process goals.

--Outcome goals: focus on a competitive result of an event (winning a race; earning a medal) --Performance goals: focus on achieving standards or performance objectives independently of other competitors; more flexible (running a mile in 6 minutes) --Process goals: focus on the actions an individual must engage in during performance to execute or perform well (squaring up to basket while shooting)

What are the predictors of self-efficacy in order of their effect on self-efficacy?

--Performance accomplishments --Vicarious experiences --Verbal persuasion --Imaginal experiences --Physiological/emotional states

What are the key antecedents of self-efficacy?

--Performance accomplishments: most dependable information; most powerful effects on SE --Vicarious experience: watching someone else accomplish the skills (modeling) --Verbal persuasion: less powerful, deception --imaginal experiences --Physiological/psychological states: perceptions of arousal/nervousness influence efficacy

Understand the broad findings regarding exercise, personality and cognitive functioning.

--Personality: hardiness= personality style that enables a person to withstand or cope with stressful situations; exercise + hardiness--> less stress and better health --Cognitive functioning: exercise= acute effects on memory, cognition; diseases/disorders; long term outcomes=exercise protective against normal affects of aging on brain

3 types of self talk

--Positive/motivational: results in motivation and increased effort --Instructional: results in focus and motivation --Negative: results in hopelessness and frustration

List and describe the psychological and physiological explanations for psychological health benefits of exercise.

--Psychological: enhanced feelings of control, feelings of competence and SE, positive social interactions, improve self-concept and self-esteem, fun, enjoyment --Physiological: increased cerebral blood flow, changes in neurotransmitters (serotonin), increases maximal oxygen consumption and delivery, reductions in muscle tension, structural changes in brain

Name and describe the common emotional/psychological responses to athletic injury?

--Psychological: identity loss, fear and anxiety, lack of confidence, performance decrements, relief, injury-relevant information processing, emotional upheaval and reactive behavior, positive outlook and coping

Define and differentiate the 4 theories of imagery.

--Psychoneuromuscular theory: imagery facilitates the learning of motor skills b/c of the nature of the neuromuscular activity patterns activated during imaging --Symbolic Learning Theory: imagery may function as a coding system to help people understand and acquire movement patterns --Bioinformational theory: an image is a functionally organized set of propositions stored by the brain; response propositions and stimulus propositions --Triple code model: ISM (image itself), (somatic response), (meaning of the image)

What is self-talk?

--Self-referenced thoughts, or thoughts that we think to ourselves about ourselves

What is the ultimate goal of PST? What are its 5 stages?

--Self-regulation: the ability to work toward one's short and long term goals by effectively monitoring and managing one's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. --Problem identification, commitment, execution, environmental management, generalization

Ways to improve concentration.

--Simulation in practice; use cue words; use nonjudgmental thinking; establish routines; develop competition plans; practice eye control; monitor yourself; overlearn skills

List the most common reason for initiating, continuing, and discontinuing from sport? Exercise?

--Sport: reasons for participating= competence/skill development, fun, affiliation, excitement/challenge of competition, fitness; reasons for discontinuation= other interests, lack of ability, lack of fun and excitement, pressure, hard training, dislike of coach, lack of teamwork --Exercise: reasons to start= weight control, health factors, psychological (stress reduction); reasons to continue= enjoyment, increased self-esteem and confidence, socializing

What are common physical and psychological responses associated with burnout?

--Tension --State anxiety --Anger, depression --Insomnia, fatigue --Inconsistent eating habits --Susceptibility to illness --lack of concentration --negative self-talk

What are two assumptions of PMR?

--Tension and relaxation can't occur simultaneously --Relaxation of the muscles contributes to relaxation of the mind

Describe common coping strategies of elite athletes.

--Thought stopping, narrowing focus, rational thinking and self talk, positive focus, social support, PST, time management, training hard and smart

What are guidelines for the effective use of self-talk?

--Use short, specific phrases --Speak in first person --Use present tense --Say with meaning and attention --Speak kindly to yourself --Repeat phrases often --Uses specific task instructions rather than general instructions --consider using metaphorical language

What are the 2 characteristics of skilled/effective imagery?

--Vividness and controllability

Differentiate width and direction of attentional focus; what are the 4 possible combinations of these factors?

--Width: broad vs narrow --Direction: external vs internal--Broad external: use to rapidly assess a situation --Broad internal: used to analyze and plan --Narrow external: used to focus exclusively on one or two environmental cues --Narrow internal: used to mentally rehearse an upcoming performance or control an emotional state

What are benefits of self-confidence for athletes?

--arouses positive emotions --facilitates concentration --affects goals --increases effort --affects game strategies, psychological momentum, performance

What are two primary explanations for the stress-injury relationship?

--attentional changes: stress creates a narrowed attention by disrupting an athlete's peripheral vision; this causes athletes to misperceive situations that may cause injury; can also cause distraction in the form of irrelevant thoughts --Muscle tension: high stress can be accompanied with increased muscle tension which interferes with coordination --Toughness: discomfort and pain vs. injury --Worthlessness: athletes may be socialized to feel worthless if they are hurt

What is reframing?

--changing a negative into positive self-statement --Positive statement provides you with an alternate focus to replace the negative statement --Must be positive but also believeable

What is the self-fulfilling prophecy effect?

--coaches form expectations based on person cues (body size, gender, race); performance cues (skills, outcomes) --coaches' expectations affect their own behavior: frequency of interactions/feedback with athletes; quality/type of interactions/ feedback with athletes --Coaches behavior affects athletes performance and behavior: degree of skill improvement, perceptions of competence, self-esteem --Athlete performance confirms coach expectations: reinforces coach beliefs

Self-efficacy

--the strength of a person's conviction that he or she can execute the behavior needed for a successful performance in a specific situation; a state characteristic (situation specific self confidence)

List 5 misconceptions of confidence

1. Either you have it or don't 2. Only positive feedback can build confidence 3. Success always builds confidence 4. Confidence equals outspoken arrogance 5. Mistakes inevitably destroy confidence

Why are the phases of PST programs described as a circular process?

Because of the reassessment aspect of the evaluation phase; looks at what could be modified or done next to deal with problems or aid further improvement

List and describe some common uses of imagery.

Improve concentration, enhance motivation, build confidence, control emotional responses, develop sport skills, acquire and practice strategy, competition preparation, cope with pain and injury, solve problems

Describe techniques which could increase athlete arousal.

Increased breathing rate, act energized, self-talk, energizing music/imagery, pre competitive workout

Which sense(s) should you use when you do imagery?

Multisensory