Sport Psychology Test 2

What is the downside to outcome goals?

All of the above (They can cause anxiety during competitions, events, or performances, Focusing on outcome goals can lead to neglect or performance and process goals which are necessary to achieving outcome goals, They are dependent on the performance of others.)

What is the purpose of psychological skills training?

All of the above (To maintain concentration, to enhance confidence, to regulate arousal)

Cognitive-affective stress management training involves the use of biometrics to teach athletes how to bring their heart and breathing rates down.

False

Developing a new strategy to improve golf swing may include focusing on more birdies.

False

Goal setting is usually more beneficial for younger or lower level athletes, who are not as disciplined as older and higher level athletes.

False

Goals that are set far in the future are often easier to meet because the athlete has so much time to achieve the goal.

False

A tennis player feels high levels of anxiety right before a big match. Her trainer notices that she is keeping her shoulders raised higher than she shoulda sign of tension. Which technique would be MOST beneficial for the tennis player to use to combat shoulder tension?

Progressive muscle relaxation

SMART goals include which of the following?

All of the above (Realistic, Measurable, Timely)

An athlete who has the support of their home crowd, no matter their skill level or the difficulty of the situation, will always perform better than players on the visiting team.

False

An athlete's skill level does not influence the association between arousal and performance.

False

An internal focus usually results in a better performance.

False

Focusing in past mistakes and future event can both interrupt present performance.

True

If an athlete is having difficulty recognizing when they feel stressed, using relaxation and biofeedback will help them cope with this problem.

True

It is important for athletes and coaches to set both training and competition goals.

True

One behavioural indicator of stress is nausea.

True

Outcome, performance, and process goals are inter-related with one another.

True

Precompetitive cognitive anxiety tends to be high and stable leading up to a competition or event, and then may fluctuate during the event.

True

Some disadvantages to using physiological measure such as fMRI and EEG are that they are expensive and may in themselves cause stress to those being evaluated.

True

The Inverted U Hypothesis says that moderate levels of arousal are correlated with a boost in performance.

True

When the body is in fight-or-flight mode, energy is shifted from the parasympathetic nervous system to the sympathetic nervous system.

True

Which of the following athletes is most likely to experience flow?

A highly skilled, confident athlete.

In the study done by de Morree, Klein, & Macora (2012) on evidence for effort in the brain, what was the finding?

All of above (Brain activity was greater when heavier weights are lifted, Brain activity was positively correlated with reported and perceived effort, The brain worked harder to lift the weight when the arm was tired than when the arm was fresh)

What happens to the body when fight-or-flight response is triggered by a stressor?

All of the above (Energy is shifted from the nonessential body systems to those necessary to respond to the challenge, The hypothalamus activates the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine systems, Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate increase, and the pupils widen)

How can an athlete help themselves get into a state of flow?

All of the above (Focus, Self-confidence, Positive attitude)

Why is imagery such a powerful tool for athletes to use to prepare for performances?

All of the above (Imagery can help athletes practice new skills, Imagery can help athletes learn and practice strategies for specific situations they may encounter, Imagery may help athletes build confidence in their ability to acquire skills or perform a certain way)

Why might a coach choose not to use psychological skills training?

All of the above (The coach does not believe that those types of skills can be taught, The coach lacks understanding on how PST can help athletes, The coach does not want to fit into physical physical practice time)

Which of the following can be a barrier to achieving goals?

All of the above. (Injuries, Family and work responsibilities, Lack of time)

What is the relationship between arousal and anxiety?

Anxiety is the term for being negatively aroused

Attention control training aids in which key factor in a successful performance?

Avoiding negative thoughts

What is one reason that athletes who act on superstitions tend to perform slightly better than those who do not?

Because they believe in the power of superstition

Which arousal regulation technique may involve measuring heart rate response to relaxing thoughts?

Biofeedback

Analyzing one's thoughts and feelings regarding a performance golfer making a shot selection, a baseball pitcher selecting the next pitch) is in which dimension of attentional focus?

Broad and internal

How are behavioural indicators of stress measured?

By observation

An ice skater is starting to feel very nervous about the competition she is participating in next week. She has practiced hard, but her routine is difficult. Which type of anxiety is she likely to be feeling, in increasing amounts, as the competition draws closer?

Cognitive

A pitcher learning a new pitch to decrease ERA and an ice skater increasing flexibility by completing new stretching exercises twice a day are examples of which goal-performance link mechanism?

Developing new stratagies

Which of the following states that as arousal increases, so does performance, and does not distinguish between somatic and cognitive anxiety?

Drive theory

A study of elite and non-elite boxers suggested that a goal setting program was effective for:

Elite boxers more than non-elite boxers

A basketball player who feels as though they barely have to think, and know exactly what to do, and feel as though they are in a very positive state would be described as:

Experiencing flow

A tennis player is imagining himself getting ready to take a serve, and can see himself take a serve, and can see himself as a spectator would, from several yards away. his position is good, but he needs to turn his body slightly. What technique is the tennis player using?

External imagery

Athletes who are the most effective goal setters tend to set and focus on outcome goals.

False

Attention is defined as the ability to focus on relevant information and to ignore irrelevant information.

False

Autogenic training is a behavioral arousal-regulating strategy.

False

Choking is more likely to occur in the presence of strangers, rather than in the presence of supportive friends, family, or fans.

False

Cognitive anxiety and somatic anxiety are positively correlated, meaning that as one goes up, so does the other.

False

Keeping your goals private usually leads to higher levels of goal attainment than making them public.

False

Multidimensional anxiety theory states that peak performance will occur when cognitive state anxiety is moderate and physiological arousal/somatic anxiety is very low.

False

Objective goals are vague and hard to measure.

False

Problem-focused coping is best used in situations when the athlete has no control and is mainly dealing with stress levels.

False

Somatic anxiety describes anxiety that results from thoughts or concerns.

False

The transactional model states that levels of anxiety depend upon the skill level of a player, with professional or advanced players experiencing little or no anxiety in most situations.

False

Which of the following theories on the power of imagery states that mentally imaging actions and actually engaging in these actions involve the same neurophysiological processes?

Functional equivalence hypothesis

Which of the following would a researcher or sport psychologist use if they were interested in measuring arousal by looking at blood flow in the brain?

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)

How might a person in the crowd (a fan of the visiting team) try to influence a home-team player to focus on irrelevant information while the player is trying to take a free throw?

Hold up a distracting sign

What does the transactional model say is the most important predictor of the experience of a stressful event?

How the athlete interprets the event

Which arousal regulation technique involves a series of phases, including the induction phase and walking phase?

Hypnosis

How is the difficulty level of a set goal related to success in meeting the goal?

If the goal is too easy, the athlete does not push themselves to excel; if the goal is too challenging, the athlete can become discouraged and withdraw effort

Which of the following is an example of a practice goal (tennis)?

Improve the accuracy of my serve

Which of the following goals is most likely to be set by an Olympic athlete?

Improving overall performance.

What are symptoms of cognitive anxiety?

Inability to concentrate and repetitive negative thoughts

Evidence supporting the idea that different athletes reach their peak performance at different levels of arousal would be linked with which of the following?

Individualized Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) Model

What did researchers Ntoumanis, Healy, Sedikides, Duda, Stewart, Smith, & Bond (2013) find when they tested how motives impact goal pursuit?

Internal motivation results in longer persistence than external motivation.

What is a benefit of allowing athletes to set their own goals?

It increases commitment to the goal

Why is a goal of, "trying my best" not a very effective goal?

It is general and hard to measure

A collegiate baseball player is at bat and is being watched by his coach, a few of his family members, and a talent scout. Although the player has a good batting average of .350, he is a sophmore and this is the first game of the season. How is moderate-to-high level of arousal likely to impact his performance?

It is likely to impact his performance in a negative way, as he is relatively young and knows he is being judged.

Why is it helpful to record and monitor goals?

It promotes goal attainment and allows for goal revision if necessary

Which of the following senses is especially important when using imagery?

Kinesthetic

Which of the following techniques can be used as an arousal energizing strategy?

Listening to loud, fast music

Which arousal regulation technique often involves focusing attention on, and sometimes verbalizing a single thought?

Meditation

A soccer player is frequently distracted by the intrusion of negative thoughts don't falldon't mess up) while she is trying to move the ball toward the goalWhich of the following techniques would help her MOST to move past her negative thoughts?

Mindfulness

According to theories on the effect of stress and arousal on performance, at which of these levels would stress be most likely to actually increase levels of performance?

Moderate

Which arousal-performance-link theory says that cognitive and somatic arousal influence performance in different ways?

Multidimensional anxiety theory

Focusing on the execution of a given skill (an ice skater performing a toe loop or a football quarterback throwing a pass) belongs to which dimension of attentional focus?

Narrow and external

A hockey player sets a goal of making at least three on-target goal attempts during practice. Which type of goal is this?

Performance

If a basketball player has a goal of increasing their free-throw percentage, which type of goal does that describe?

Performance

According to the Inverted U Hypothesis, what should happen to an athlete as their arousal reaches very high levels?

Performance levels go down, because the athlete is anxious.

A coach sets all the goals for players each season, rather than having players to set their own goals. Which of the following outcomes is most likely?

Players will experience decreased goal commitment

How can an athlete increase their ability to show selective attention?

Practice necessary physical skills

According to matching hypothesis, which of the following should a baseball player use to help with nearly always striking out when the pitcher is throwing curve balls?

Problem-focused coping

A gymnast sets a goal of landing dismounts off the vault with bent knees. Which type of goal does that describe?

Process

How might the primary appraisals of high pressure situations differ between amateur athletes and professional athletes?

Professional athletes are more likely to interpret their anxiety as helpful.

Milton, Solodkin, Hlustik, & Small (2007) examined how experience affects brain activity during an athletic task by having amateur and professional golfers imagine hitting a golf ball to a hole very far away. What did they find?

Professional golfers showed brain activation in areas that involve planning and carrying out specific actions.

How does creating and maintaining routine help athletes perform at higher levels?

Routines create a feeling of structure and familiarity

How can a runner, who has a goal of taking 30 seconds off of her time to run 1 mile, make the goal more manageable?

Segment the goal into smaller goals, such as increasing her running cadence and increasing speed over 400 meters.

The ability to focus on only important factors and not be distracted by irrelevant information is called:

Selective attention

Why might a researcher choose to use a self-report measure when measuring levels of anxiety of a sports team?

Self-report is relatively inexpensive and easy

Which of the following strategies is being used in this exampleand athlete talks to herself as she prepares to shoot the basketball, "Ok, just focus, knees bent, arms strongeyes on the netyou've got this"

Self-talk

Which strategy involves verbalizing out loud or in one's head, specific thoughts and feelings?

Self-talk

How can athletes and coaches combat off-task behaviours during practice sessions?

Set practice goals as well as competition goals

What is the relationship between goal setting and directing attention?

Setting a goal helps athletes focus their attention on a particular aspect of the game that is related to their set goal.

Why is it so important to set appropriately challenging goals?

Setting unattainable or overly challenging goals may lead to discouragement and a withdrawal of effort

Which type of anxiety is likely to spike or peak just before beginning a gymnastics routine in a major competition?

Somatic

Why is it preferable to set specific, rather than vague or general goals?

Specific goals are precise and measurable

Researchers studying the link between automatic movement and performance asked soccer players to squeeze a ball with either their left hand or their right hand right before they took penalty kicks in a high-pressure situation. What was the finding of the experiment?

Squeezing the ball with the left hand improved performance because the right hemisphere of the brain controls automatic movements

Which arousal regulation technique involves the athlete practicing their new skills in low-stress, and then, over time, high-stress situations?

Stress inoculation training

What is a major reason certain situations cause athletes to feel stressed?

Stress occurs when the athlete believes that the situation is too demanding for their ability to cope with the situation.

According to the catastrophe model, what will happen to an athlete who is in a very high pressure situation and is already experiencing high levels of cognitive anxiety, and somatic anxiety starts to occur?

The athlete will have a sudden and substantial drop in performance

Which of the following situations demonstrates choking?

The home team is down by one goal in a soccer match, but the striker completely misses the net when he takes a shot

An athlete is most likely to choke when they are in high-pressure situation and they have internal distractions.

True

An athlete wishes to learn a technique to help them calm down before performances. Meditation would be beneficial to this athlete.

True

Arousal can be both positive and negative

True

Under what circumstances does choking usually occur?

There is support from a home crowd, and the situation is very high pressure

According to drive theory, why do athletes who are about to be traded show lower levels of performance than after they are traded?

They are experiencing high levels of arousal (anxiety) before the trade, and lower levels of arousal after the trade.

According to the transactional model, an athlete playing in a high-stakes game will still perform well if:

They interpret the situation in a positive way

What is one of the primary goals of "trash talk"?

To distract the other player

What is the purpose of creating an action plan?

To identify and work on the skills needed to achieve a specific goal

What us the main purpose of goal-setting for athletes?

To improve outcomes

() anxiety described a behavioral disposition, whereas () anxiety is caused by a given situation and is temporary.

Trait, state

A flashing advertisement on a baseball field can easily be an external distraction to the pitcher.

True

Although they can be positive, social relationships can also be a barrier to goal achievement.

True

When might an athlete need emotion-focused coping, rather than problemfocused coping?

When the situation is out of the athlete's control, and stress levels are involved

According to social facilitation theory, what should happen if you are good at a task, you are currently performing that task, and there are people in your presence, observing you?

You should perform even better than normal

Reversal theory states that performance is impacted by how the athlete:

interprets arousal

Which of the following happens during the acquisition phase of PST?

learning specific strategies for mastering psychological skills.