Psychology of Sport

Bruce Ogilvie

"Father of North American Applied Sport Psych." Wrote book "Problem Athletes and how to Handle Them".

Franklin Henry

"Grandfather of Sport Psych." Created first class and lab in Sport Psych. He shaped kinesiology to what it is today.

Strategies to enhance motivation in sport settings

- make practice fun and varied - teach skills that lead to performance enhancement and success - end practice on a good note - create appropriately challenging goals - create healthy competition

Identify two major objectives of Sport Psych.

1. How psychological factors affects the athlete's performance. Ex: The player freezes in a fast play..why? 2. How participation in sport or exercise can affect a person's psychological development, well-being, and health. Ex: running reduces anxiety..why?

Influence of competitive sport on kid's experiences

10% of kids experience some form of competitive stress. This can lead to: - attrition - medical dysfunction (insomnia) - psychological dysfunction (low self-esteem)

Norman Triplett

1st to conduct Sport Psych research. His experiment consisted of little kids reeling in fishing lines. Social Facilitation Theory came form this experiment.

Key expectancy effect findings related to: impression cues

3 types of impression cues: - personal - performance - psychological

Major sport personality research findings

Although there are no differences between the sub-groups of athletes (gender, ethnicity, age), John Silva found that level of competition helped explain personality.

2 types of Sport Psychologists

Clinincal - abnormal to normal behavior. Educational - normal to supernormal behavior

Dorothy Harris

Developed first graduate program in Sport Psych.

Key expectancy effect findings related to: feedback patterns

Head coaches offer differential treatment to high and low expectancy athletes. Why is this an issue..because athletes characteristics are not good indicators of performance. Athletes that are perceived as low expectancy are less likely to receive the same opportunities to improve. Assistant coaches however were not pygmalion prone like the head coaches.

Attrition in youth sport

Kids dropping out. There are two types. Those who quit sport all together and those who quit that particular sport but begin a different one. Major reasons for dropping out are: - too much pressure - coaching issues - lost interest - too much time

Key issues surrounding sport psych

Psychology is synonymous to pathology. Very few job positions available. It should NEVER be written as sportS psychology

Four- Factor theory

Rosenthal. Factor 1: socioemotional climate...non-verbal feedback like head nods or smiles. Factor 2: quantity and quality of feedback. Factor 3: input opportunities Factor 4: output opportunities

Hollander's Model of Personality structure and how it relates to athletic settings

The Hollander's model doesn't assume that personality is stable and unchangeable, rather it has 3 levels. 1. Psychological core:this is the most stable of the three. It is made up of your basic values, beliefs, and attitudes. 2. Typical Response: these responses reflect what your core expresses; how you typically respond. 3. Role related behavior: this is where situation comes into play. Ex: how you act in class versus how you act at a party.

Key expectancy effect findings related to: perceptual flexibility

The idea that once you make a first impression you are able to modify that impression if needed later. Coaches expectations are likely to remain inflexible over time.

Social Learning Theory of Personality

This is a macro theory that states that behavior is determined by the different situations you are in. Your behavior is thus learned by experiences shaped through modeling and reinforcement.

Achievement Goal Theory

This is a very usable theory. There are three factors that interact to determine a person's motivated behavior: 1. goal orientation: is focused on either outcome (winning vs. loosing...external factors) or task (mastery of skill...internal factors) 2. perception of ability: is whether you think highly or lowly about your ability. 3. achievement behavior: is what sport psychologists try to impact. It consists of the difficult of the task chosen, the amount of effort expended, and the persistence over time.

Attribution Theory

This is how we explain successes and failures. Attributions are classified into three categories: 1. locus of control - controllable/uncontrolable (my tennis racket broke) 2. locus of casuality - internal/external (my fault vs the ref's fault) 3. stability - stable/unstable (luck vs unlucky)

Trait Theory of Personality

This is the oldest theory in psychology. It suggests that your personality is a collection of traits and behaviors. Since traits are stable, behavior is thus easy to predict. Ex: if your aggressive on the field, you'll be aggressive off the field too.

Historical foundations of Expectancy Theory

This phenomenon is also known as the self-fulfilling prophecy and Pygmalion effect. Robert Merton coined the term self-fulfilling prophecy when he discovered that expectation causes stimulus to behavior which then makes it come true.

Four-step expectancy process

This process applies to sport via the expectancy theory. Step 1: Coaches evaluate the athlete and form expectations based on 1st impressions. 3 Ps: - personal: gender, ethnicity, appearance, & height. - psychological: confidence, ability, & anxiety control. - performance: speed, agility, strength, & history. Step 2: The coach's expectations change his behavior toward the athlete. Step 3:The athlete changes due to different treatment. Step 4: Coach is reinforced that he was accurate about his initial impression. This is a critical part in the process.

Interactional Theory of Personality

This theory represents the Hollander model. It suggests using both traits and situations to determine behavior. Most used theory.

3 major personality theories of personality in sport setting

Trait Social Leanring Interactional

Major issues in personality assessment

a. limitations of self-report technique (lack of reflective abilities or individual seeks social desirability). b. ethical issues in administration (not ok to use personality assessments for team selection) *better to use a multi-method approach vs. personality assessment when dealing with athlete. Use questionnaires, observation, and interviews.

Common attributions in sport

ability: internal and stable but uncontrollable effort: internal stable and controllable luck: external, unstable, and uncontrollable task difficulty: external stable, and uncontrollable

Coleman Griffith

aka "Father of Sport Psych"; he conducted research on Chicago cubs.

3 roles of Sport Psychologists

conducting research consulting teaching

Wilhem Wundt

created 1st psychology research lab.

What makes kids get into sports?

fun competence fitness affiliation

Personality predictors of elite performance athletes

positive pre-performance attitude stronger emotional stability and control self-discipline low trait anxiety

What influences kid's initial entry to competitive sport?

significant others (parents) situations (geographic location...beach vs. mountains)