option B: psychology of sports
B.3.3: Draw and label graphical representation of the arousal-performance relationship
All graphs have arousal along the x-axis, and performance on the y-axis. Drive-reduction theory: Linear increasing line - more arousal = better performance Catastrophe theory: Increases up to a plateau, then sharp downturn into more gradual decrease Inverted-U hypothesis: Looks like a mountain
B.3.5: Define the term anxiety
Anxiety is defined as the subjective evaluation of a situation, putting in jeopardy one's self-esteem during performance or dangerous/insecure situations. Generally, anxiety is the feeling of nerves or worry about a situation or about failure.
B.3.1: Define the term arousal
Arousal is a state of psychological and physiological alertness where athletes are more perceptive to external stimuli, and have an increased readiness to respond.
B.1.5 Evaluate issues in personality research and sports performance.
Athletes vs non-athletes: Personality research in the field of sports performance often attempts to ascertain whether there are some personality traits that are unique to elite athletes. Due to the high variability off the data that is gathered from personality testing, it is near impossible to gain clear results. However, the general thought is that athletes display higher levels of extroversion, dominance, enthusiasm, assertion and confidence, but there is no clear consistent profile that can discriminate between athletes and non-athletes. Personality and sports type: Personality research in sports also tries to use personality to discover what the ideal sport is for an individual. However, different studies yield different results. Introverts tend to like sports that are individual, and require concentration and precision such as golf or archery. Extroverts tend to prefer sports that are faster-paced, involve more interaction and more exciting such as rugby. Predicting performance: Personality research is also often used to attempt to determine one's future capacity for high level performance in a given sport/s. In some countries, personality testing is used to identify children who are suitable for intensive sports training. The efficacy of this is largely unproven, and ethical debates regarding such research, particularly on children, is still ongoing. Generally, the debate of personality research in sports performance forms two opinions: Credulous psychologists believe in the potential of personality research to improve sports performance in a wide array of different fashion. Skeptical psychologists believe that personality has little bearing on sporting performance or potential, and personality research will yield few successes in improving sporting performance.
B.2.4: Describe Atkinson's model of achievement motivation
Atkinson's model of achievement motivation states that: Achievement motivation = drive to succeed - fear of failure Achievement motivation determines how an athlete responds to challenges. Athletes with high motivation have a great drive to succeed, and continue to exert full effort in the face of a challenge. If an athlete has low achievement motivation and is faced with a challenge, they may give up quickly, as they have a great fear of failure. By making failure appear voluntary, an individual can attempts to avoid the appearance of failure. Athletes and individuals in general have different motivations for different tasks. Tasks within which desire to succeed and fear of failure are almost equal pose the greatest challenge to any individual. This is because the individual must continue to put in effort - even in the presence of such a challenge, without allowing their fear of failure to overcome them and cause them to give up.
B.2.6: Outline attribution theory and its application to sports and exercise
Attribution theory attempts to categorise the different reasons that individuals give for winning or losing. Causal attributions are grouped in five main categories: 1. Locus of stability People can attribute the outcomes of a match or task to what has reliably been done in past experiences. Eg. if a team has lost to another team every time they have played over the last two years and they are largely unchanged, some individuals will attribute the result to this stability 2: Locus of causality An individual can attribute a result to internal or external factors. In some cases, an individual credits the play of their opponent as a reason for a result (a win or a loss), in others they credit their own performance. 3: Locus of control In some cases, people feel as though they had no control over the outcome of a match or game, and therefore attribute the result to this simple lack of control. 4: Learned helplessness If an individual has an ongoing and unchanged reason for losing, then they may being to attribute all of their losses to this same reason, and begin to expect to continue experiencing poor results due to this reason. Eg. A tennis player has a poor backhand, and expects to lose matches because of it 5: Self-serving bias Some individuals can be prone to blaming external stimuli when they have a bad result (eg. balling refereeing for a loss), but crediting victories to their own good performance.
B.1.2 Discuss Social Learning Theory and personality.
Bandura's (1997) social learning theory states that people learn by observing the actions others. There are four main constructs that should discussed: 1: Competencies and skills Bandura argues that perception of others influences one's feeling of competence. A lack of confidence in one given context can lead to a more shy or introverted personality than what a person exudes in other environments. 2. Beliefs and expectations One's beliefs and expectations are often formed or at least wrongly influenced by the environment within which they are placed. This can affect their self-confidence as well as other aspects of their personality. 3. Behavioural standards Each environment imposes a different standard of behaviour on an individual that must be met. These standards will affect their personality and the way in which they act. Actions are generally judged against these standards, which can lead to longer-term changes in behaviour and personality. 4. Goals: The identification and realisation of goals in a public forum can often lead to adjustments in an individual's personality, both internally and externally.
B.5.3: Explain the evolution of talent for athlete development
Bloom (1985) and Cote (1999) suggest that the four stages of development that an elite athlete is likely to progress through are: 1. Initiation stage 2. Development stage 3. Mastery stage 4. Maintenance/Perfection stage Different psychological behaviours (self-motivation rather than parent or coach led motivation for example) as well as the goals that an athlete has for participation in sports and exercise (ie. enjoyment vs success) will change as an athlete progresses through these stages. The existence of developmental stages indicates that athletes encounter opportunities, obstacles and progressions, all of which will affect different aspects of their performance and lead to an unstable level of performance. Developing athletes use psychological behaviours to cope with unstable periods of development. These behaviours are essential to their continued development and the consistent production of world-class performances.
B.3.6 Distinguish between cognitive and somatic anxiety.
Cognitive anxiety is characterised by thoughts of worry and doubt, generating negative expectations about performance and one's outward perception. This can occur both during and before executing a task. Somatic anxiety relates to one's perception of their bodily state, such as dry mouth, an increase in heart rate, sweating or shaking. This often subsides once an athlete begins performing or competing.
B.1.4: Outline issues associated with the measurement of personality
Data collection: There are four main ways that personality data can be gathered, each with their own limitations. Life data comes through interviews etc. but is often provided without context Observational data comes from observing one's a actions but generally fails to account for all the relevant factors that form behaviour Test data comes from experiments and investigations but is generally overly standardised and can be unreliable. Self data is given through surveys etc. but is often subject to large amounts of self-bias or denial Validity and reliability: Tests and experiments that gather data about personality have very low validity and reliability. Because personality is so strongly affected by the environment within which someone is, it is almost impossible to make a repeatable exploration - meaning reliability is low. This is just one of the numerous variables that can not be controlled in such an exploration - meaning that validity is also low. Ethical issues: Questions regarding personal history are generally answered in confidence, meaning they can not be used in investigations or experiments. Tests can also be highly invasive, leading to ethical questions regarding their conduction at all.
B.3.2: Describe the theoretical approaches to arousal
Drive-Reduction theory: The drive reduction theory of arousal suggests that the more aroused an athlete is, the better their performance will be. This means that an athlete needs to be very aroused to perform at their best. This is particularly true for elite performers. Catastrophe theory: Catastrophe theory indicates that increases in arousal will improve performance up to a certain point. At this point of arousal there is a 'catastrophe', whereby any more increases in arousal will have detrimental effects on performance. High levels of stress and anxiety resulting from high pressure situations had to large drop offs in performance. The inverted-U hypothesis: The inverted-U hypothesis suggests that an optimal theory of arousal resides somewhere towards the centre of the arousal spectrum. The further arousal is froths optimal point, the more performance will worsen. In contrast to catastrophe theory, that suggests that over-arousal is more harmful than under-arousal, the inverted-U hypothesis suggests that they have similar effects on performance. The optimal point of arousal is different for different individuals and different tasks.
B.2.5: Outline goal orientation theory
Goal orientation theory refers to how individuals evaluate and judge their competence, and how they define success. An individual can be either task-oriented or outcome-oriented. Individuals have different reasons for participation in sports and exercise. An outcome-oriented person partakes in sporting competitions simply for the purpose of victory, and to defeat other competitors. Task-oriented individuals participate for other reasons, such as personal improvement or enjoyment of the task/sport. This orientation determines an individual's interpretation of success and failure. For an outcome-oriented individual, winning and losing are the same as failure and success. The only way that these individuals feel as though they have succeeded is through victory. Task-oriented individuals can see some success, even in a losing result through personal development of skills or enjoying the competition.
B.4.2: Outline goal setting
Goal setting is concerned with enhancing self confidence and motivation by setting small targets for an athlete to progressively work towards. Goals can be short or long term, however long term goals are generally broken down into numerous shorter term goals. SMARTER goals are the most effective types of goals: Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic Timely Evaluate Review An athlete can set 3 different types of goals: 1: Outcome goals Goals that are targeted at the achievement of a specific performance outcome (eg winning) 2: Performance goals Goals that are focussed on a specific aspect of performance (eg. tackling) 3: Process goals Goals that are associated with training and preparation - prior to competition or any results
B.2.2: Outline the different types of motivation
Internal motivation is motivation derived from internal factors, generally an enjoyment or satisfaction derived from performing a given skill or task. External motivation is motivation that is derived from external factors such as financial reward, material reward or crowd reaction.
B.4.3: Evaluate mental imagery
Mental imagery involves the perceptual experience of an event in the complete absence of physical involvement, with the goal of understanding and perfecting performance while improving focus and motivation. It is associated with improved concentration, self-confidence, skill acquisition, emotional control, strategy and resilience to pain or injury. External mental imagery comes from an outside source, generally a psychologist instructing an athlete what to picture. Internal imagery comes entirely from the athlete's internal perception and ideas - and they are fully responsible and in control of how the image develops. Mental imagery is most effective when skills are well learned, because a lack of knowledge regarding the skill's performance will lead to inaccurate or incomplete imagery. The protocol for mental imagery involves the complete removal of physical involvement with a skill, and providing total focus to its visualisation. + No equipment required + No physical fatigue + Proven to cause long-term success and improvement to performance - Does not work for low-skill performers - Often doesn't work for young performers - Skill needs to be learnt physically first - The skill of mental imagery also needs to be learnt and practised to be done effectively
B.6.3: Discuss the relationship between self-regulated learning and motivation in sports
Motivation is a critical factor in the framework of self-regulated learning. Forethought phase: - Athletes who do not see value in tasks are unlikely to spend time setting goals or employing SRL strategies - Higher self-efficacy belief increases the use of self-regulation techniques/strategies Monitoring phase: - Intrinsic motivation affects effort levels when completing tasks, and low motivation will lead to less use of self-regulation strategies, whereas more motivation will lead to greater use of SRL Reflection stage: - An athlete's causal attribution affects whether or not they choose to engage in an activity, or use self-regulation techniques in future activities Athletes who are motivated to learn are more likely to invest the time and energy needed to learn and apply SRL skills. Similarly, athletes who are able to successfully employ self-regulation techniques/strategies often become more motivated to complete learning tasks.
B.2.1 Define the term motivation
Motivation is the internal mechanism and external stimuli which direct and arouse an individual's behaviour.
B.4.1: Discuss psychological skills training (PST)
PST refers to the systematic and consistent practicing of mental or psychological skills. There are 3 stages of any PST programme: 1: Education An athlete is told what PST entails and what the programme will require from them - to achieve improvement 2: Acquisition An athlete learns the different strategies that they can use, and perform them with the guidance and instruction of a psychologist 3: Practice Athletes apply the psychological skills they have learnt in their training and competition, without the aid of a psychologist, and then implement them into their competitive and performance environments. It is important to note that PST: - Is not just for elite athletes PST can benefit athletes of all standards, because all athletes can become mentally stronger - Is not just for problem athletes As PST can make all athletes, regardless of their initial mental strength or struggles (or lack thereof) with perfjoamcne anxiety, mentally stronger - Does not provide quick-fix solutions Because it requires the consistent and systematic practice of skills, and commitment to a long term programme to acquire the requisite skills
B.3.4: Discuss the emotions that may influence an athlete's performance or experience during physical activity
Participation in physical activity leads to a large range of emotions including anxiety, pleasure or depression. Positive emotions such as relief, excitement or pride can lead to increased effort. This will lead to better performance, which often leads to greater enjoyment of a task. Negative emotions such as anger, guilt, shame, anxiety and boredom all generally lead to worsened performance. Sometimes this is due to worsened effort, other times a performer is no longer able to perform at their best. Either way, this generally leads to a worsened enjoyment of the task. Specific emotions have a discrete impact on performance. For example, a negative mood often leads to an athlete channeling the emotions that they felt during past failures, reducing their confidence and worsening performance. A positive mood often leads to an athlete channeling emotions caused by past successes, increasing confidence and improving performance.
B.1.1: Define the term personality
Personality is defined in many ways. The main definition is:The relatively stable and enduring aspects of individuals that distinguish them from other people, making them unique while also permitting comparison between individuals
B.4.5: Outline self-talk techniques
Positive self-talk can be motivational or instructional, and can help to improve arousal (motivational) and decrease anxiety (instructional). Most athletes respond best to positive self-talk, however there are some exceptions where athletes respond well to negative self-talk. In most cases, negative self-talk reduces motivation and arousal and worsens performance. Thought-stopping is a traditional method of stopping negative self-talk, whereby one simply surpresses negative thoughts they may have about their performance. Generally, these thoughts will resurface later and the athlete will need to continue suppressing them - which they are not able to do indefinitely - limiting the application of such a technique. Modern mental health research suggests that addressing the cause of the thoughts will be more effective in reducing their frequency and even eradicating the thoughts completely. Self-talk is associated with improved: - concentration - attention - cognitive regulation - motivation
B.6.1: Describe Self-Determination theory (SDT)
Self Determination theory describes how the level and amount of energy that athletes devote to learning activities is a dynamic continuum, characterised by the balance between: 1. Autonomy Making one's own decisions about actions and behaviours. Eg. training by choice not because of being forced to 2. Competence One's perceived feeling of ability to complete a task Eg. One's expectation of whether or not they can finish a running race 3. Relatedness One's feeling of shared experiences, belonging and acceptance. Eg. being part of a team
B.6.2: Describe self-regulated learning
Self-regulated learning refers to the process that assists learners in managing their own thoughts, behaviours and emotions, in order to control their own learning experience. SRL encourages athletes to become more independent in their learning, to enhance learning outcomes. Athletes exert this control by planning and regulating their own actions towards their personal learning goals. There are four interdependent cyclical phases through which an athlete manages their progression. 1. Forethought phase Goal-setting and planning 2. Monitoring phase Tracking progress and current performance, relative to one's goals 3. Control phase Adapting learning strategies to better complete a task 4. Reflection phase Evaluating performance relative to goals, and the effectiveness of learning strategies that were employed Self-reflections influence an athlete's future planning and goals, causing the cycle to restart
B.5.2: Distinguish between talent identification (TI) and multidimensional talent identification and development (TID) processes
Talent identification is a traditional methodology of identifying young players who show great potential in a given activity or sport. It involves subjective assessments, where coaches or scouts simply watch a prospect play and gauge their perceived potential, as well as objective tests of physiological, psychological, performance and motor factors of current ability/skill. Multidimensional talent identification and development recognises that talent can evolve as a result of active interaction with one's environment, and an athlete's ability to cope with setbacks and challenges. Behaviours that are important to develop talent are: - mental imagery - realistic-goal setting - effective self-evaluation - self reinforcement - training to a high intensity - handling failure - controlling one's arousal Multidimensional TID includes - Monitoring progress and behaviour overtime, throughout a development program, to analyse an athlete's ability to adapt - something that can't be seen in a traditional talent identification assessment. - Analysing whether the athlete balances their weaknesses with corresponding strengths to compensate - Providing the opportunity for an athlete to develop positive psychological behaviours as well as sport-specific skills over a prolonged period of time - to facilitate their further progress and talent development.
B.5.1: Outline the term talent
Talent is a multidimensional characteristic, identified by characteristics that are only partially determined by genetics. It involves factors such as: Psychological factors (resilience and drive), physiological factors (Endurance and strength), motor skills (coordination and reaction time), Environmental factors (upbringing and access to opportunity), and sociological factors (leadership and inter-personal skills) PPMES: Psychological, physiological, motor, environmental, sociological
B.5.4: Outline talent transfer for elite athletes changing to a second sport
Talent transfer involves the reduction or cessation of participation in one sport, in order to pursue another sport that has similar skill or psychological requirements. - This may be prompted by a plateau in performance, an injury, loss of motivation or retirement - This may be initiated by an individual athlete, or by a club/organisation from a different sport looking to attract talent - It commonly prolongs an athlete's career, and athlete's often enjoy greater success than what was experienced prior to transferring sports Progress through the stages of development in the new sport is often rapid because: - The athlete can use psychological behaviours to respond to challenges they encounter - The athlete uses existing psychological traits and motor skills - The athlete has already developed high levels of motivation, being an athlete with experience competing at a high level.
B.1.3 Discuss the interactionist approach to personality
The interactionist approach to personality suggests that personality is developed through constant interaction between person and environment. This means that neither nature nor nurture can be wholly credited with forming one's personality, but it is a combination of the two. A sporting example of this is a long jumper who has performance anxiety. This athlete is naturally predisposed to nerves, but they are brought on because of the large competition environment within which they are placed. This combination of nurture and nature creates their personality within the given environment. Epigenesis is the study of how and why genes interact with the environment. This supports the interactionist approach to personality as it suggests it is the genes (nature) that interact with the environment (nurture) to form personality. Emergenic genes are genes that require certain environmental factors to be seen
B.3.9: Describe the stress process in sports
The stress process is defined as a substantial imbalance in the demand of a situation, and one's perceived response capability, when conditions of the situation dictate that a failure to meet such demand has large or important consequences. Factors of the stress response include: - Environmental demand The cause of stress, including the severity of potential consequences of failure will influence how stressed an athlete becomes - Stress response: An individual's ability to respond positively to stressful situation and maintain their psychological health will dictate the severity of their stress - Stress experience: Some individuals are better equipped to cope with stress because they have large amounts of past experience doing so. This will affect their stress response. Outcome: The action that an athlete chooses to take, as well as the behaviour that they need to execute will affect the severity of stress - as more dangerous or high-pressure tasks will lead to greater stress
B.3.7: Distinguish between trait and state anxiety
Trait anxiety is an enduring disposition to high pressure situations, or an innate personally dimension that causes people to feel threatened or nervous when faced with a situation. State anxiety is a temporary negative emotion of apprehension or tension, experienced in response to a specific situation. State anxiety fluctuates over short time periods.
B.3.8: Evaluate how anxiety is measured
Trait anxiety is tested via the Sport-Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT). + Can be specific to a sport + Cost effective + Can gather large amounts of data and have multiple candidates undertake the questionnaire at a time + Encourages self-reflection - Personal perception inaccuracies and bias can skew results - Relies on a candidate's emotional awareness and intelligence - Emotions often change, meaning test results would be different at each different moment State anxiety is tested by the Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI-2R) + Reflects the multi-dimensional state of anxiety + Information is useful for coaches + Reliable and valid test - as it relates to just one situation + Sport specific measure of state-anxiety - Athletes react differently to anxiety, meaning that the generalised scoring system does not have the same effect on all candidates - It can only be administered retrospectively, meaning that it can't be helpful during competition for that specific situation
B.4.4: Outline relaxation techniques
Types of relaxation techniques include: - Progressive muscular relaxation (PMR) The slow relaxing of muscles systematically to reduce muscular tension and stress. This reduces muscle tension, also reducing somatic anxiety to prevent the onset of catastrophe theory. - Breathing techniques One focusses on their breathing, to distract the mind from sources of anxiety, often slowing down breathing to reduce somatic anxiety - Biometric feedback Tracking biometrics such as heart rate, breathing and blood pressure, and then working to manipulate and adjust them to optimise control over bodily functions, and optimise arousal for performance Relaxation techniques are associated with improved arousal regulation, and the reduction of somatic and cognitive anxiety
B.2.3: Discuss the issues associated with the use of intrinsic and extrinsic motivators in sports and exercise
When an athlete is intrinsically highly motivated, the addition or introduction of external motivation can actually hinder overall motivation. The drive reduction theory of arousal states that if an individual receives some external reward for completing a task, they may begin to feel a sense of satisfaction and no longer perform at their best. However, when external feedback takes the form of positive evaluation or is constructive regarding an athlete's competence, this can enhance the pre-existing intrinsic motivation If an athlete lacks intrinsic motivation to start with, the introduction of external rewards can work to motivate them at least somewhat. Each athlete has a different level of intrinsic motivation, and will respond differently to the introduction of further extrinsic motivators.
