Sport Psychology: Exam 2
problem-solving coping
alter or manage the situation (the situation can be changed)
perceived control
belief about whether one can meet the competitive challenge
How long should training last?
- 10 to 15 minutes a day, three to five days per week. - Answers to this do vary...**** - Should progress from practices to actual competition
Steiner's model
- Actual productivity = potential productivity − losses due to faulty group processes. - Losses result from motivation and coordination
what are useful PST topics?
- Arousal regulation- Imagery- Confidence building- Increased motivation and commitment (goal setting) - Attention or concentration (Self-talk, Mental plans) - Cohesion building - Coping with injury
why regulate arousal?
- Athletes who don't effectively cope with stress may experience decreases in performance as well as mental and physical distress - Athletes need to be able to regulate arousal to stay focused and in control
what should leaders do to help cohesion?
- Communicate effectively. - Explain individual roles in team success. - Develop pride within subunits.- Set challenging team goals.- Encourage team identity. - Avoid formation of social cliques.- Employ Transformational Leadership- Avoid excessive turnover.- Conduct periodic team meetings.- Enhance team efficacy. (beliefs about team)- Get to know others; enhance personal disclosure.
four stages of stress process
- Environmental demands - Perception of demand - Stress response - Behavioral consequences
what team members can do to build cohesion?
- Get to know other members of the group.- Help group members whenever possible.- Give group members positive reinforcement.- Be responsible.- Communicate honestly and openly with leaders. - Resolve conflicts immediately- Give 100% effort at all times.
breath control
- Inhale deeply • Push down diaphragm, push belly out • Expand chest, raise ribcage• Raise shoulders - Exhale• Pull abdomen in• Force diaphragm up,• Lower chest/shoulders• (let it out, don't push it out) - Use 1:2 ratio for inhale/exhale
group goals (a correlate of cohesion)
- Most important factor in task cohesion. - Second most important factor in social cohesion. - Group cohesion increased as commitment to, clarity of, and importance of the goal increased for players - Player participation in making team goals increased cohesion
best used coping strategies
- Thought Control (blocking distractions) • "I can do it"- Task focus - Rational thinking and self-talk- Positive focus and orientation- Social support- Mental preparation and anxiety management- Time management (keeping up other areas of life)- Training hard and smart
effective sport psychology consultants
- are accessible and establish rapport with athletes - are flexible and knowledgeable enough to meet the needs of individual athletes - are likeable and have something very concrete or practical to offer - conduct several follow-up sessions with athletes throughout the season - are trustworthy and able to fit in with the team
Ineffective Sport Psychology Consultants
- have poor interpersonal skills - lack sensitivity to the needs of individual athletes - lack specific psychological knowledge to apply to the sport setting - demonstrate inappropriate application of consulting skills at competitions - rely on a "canned" approach when implementing psychological skills
Most effective focus (most to least)
- team goal setting- interpersonal relationships- adventure experiences - task variables• roles, distinctiveness, cooperation
cohesion is related to
- team performance - increased adherence - group size - attributions for responsibility for performance outcomes - reduced absenteeism - member satisfaction - intrateam communication
multidimensional anxiety theory
-Cognitive anxiety is negatively related to performance. - Somatic anxiety is related to performance in an inverted-U pattern (little support for this) Weinberg & Gould say this because some factor analysis and correlation studies do not show good orthogonality of the cognitive and somatic anxiety components. Also does not account for the athlete's interpretation of their anxiety as affecting performance. • But there are a class of theories that may be useful and seem to explain complications in the literature...
Why is PST important?
-Many coaches/athletes attribute daily variations in sport performance to mental causes - Choking, nerves, over-arousal, etc.- But then they resort to more repetitions of the same physical skills training to rehab. Athletes tend to spend little time practicing psychological skills
arousal inducing techniques
-increase breathing rate -act energized -use mood words and positive statements -listen to music -use energizing imagery -complete a precompetitive workout
how does cohesion go beyond sport?
A physical educator might use relaxation training to teach a hyperactive child to calm down. A physical therapist or athletic trainer might use goal setting to maintain motivation for an individual out with a serious, prolonged injury. A fitness instructor might use positive self- statement to enhance self-esteem in a client who is overweight.
relapse prevention in teams
1. Focus: be present, have positive thoughts, self-talk concentrated on positive performance, attention on task. 2. Intensity: play hard, with confidence3. Tenacity: persist in the face of obstacles
four steps of stress inoculation training
1. Prepare for the stressor. ("It's going to be rough; keep your cool.") 2. Control and handle the stressor. ("Keep your cool since he's losing his cool.") 3. Cope with feelings of being overwhelmed. ("Keep focused; what do you have to do next?") 4. Evaluate coping efforts. ("You handled yourself well.") Uses threat hierarchy (like Systematic Desensitization). Uses imagery, role playing, etc. to build coping skills.
five stages of stress management
1. Pretreatment assessment (assess skills/deficits) 2. Treatment rationale 3. Skill acquisition (integrated relaxation response thru muscular relaxation, cognitive restructuring, self-instruction) 4. Skill rehearsal (under induced stress) 5. Posttraining evaluation athlete self monitoring, performance, trait and state anxiety inventories
Cohesion
A dynamic process reflected in the tendency for a group to stick together and remain united in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives and/or for the satisfaction of member affective needs
trait anxiety
A personality disposition that is stable over time. It is an acquired disposition that predisposes a person to perceive a wide range of objectively non-dangerous circumstances as threatening and to respond to these with disproportionate state anxiety levels. (a stable predisposition across time and situations)
hypnosis
An altered state of consciousness that can be induced by a procedure in which a person is in an unusually relaxed state and responds to suggestions designed to alter perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and actions. (Kirsch, 1994)
matching hypothesis
An anxiety management technique should be matched to a particular problem. (i.e. cognitive anxiety should be treated with mental relaxation, and somatic anxiety should be treated with physical relaxation) [McGrath, 1970] • Note: Some crossover effects occur (e.g., somatic anxiety relaxation techniques produce cognitive anxiety relaxation as well)
all arousal performance view
Arousal is multifaceted, consisting of:- Physical activation of arousal- Interpretation of arousal- Optimal arousal is not always at the exact midpoint of the arousal scale. (IZOF) Arousal & state anxiety don't always negatively affect performance. They can be facilitative or debilitative depending on the interpretation. - Self-confidence and enhanced perceptions of control are critical to perceiving anxiety as facilitative. -Some optimal level of arousal leads to peak performance, but optimal levels of physiological activation and arousal-related thoughts (worry) are not the same. - Interaction of physiological activation and arousal interpretation is more important than actual levels of each. Caution should be employed with "Psyching-up" because recovery from a catastrophe is difficult. Athletes should have well-practiced skills for coping with anxiety (self-talk, imagery, relaxation, and goal-setting).
Reversal theory
Arousal's affect on performance depends on an individual's interpretation of his/her arousal level. (Kerr, 1985; 1997) Arousal interpreted as 'pleasant' (excitement) facilitates performance. Arousal interpreted as 'unpleasant' (anxiety) hurts performance. These interpretations can sometimes quickly reverse. • This view is interesting, but it is too early to draw firm conclusions.
Assessing mental skills for PST
Assess strengths and weaknesses (either objectively or subjectively). Use psychological assessment techniques (performance profiling, oral interviews, psychological inventories). Consider the unique demands of the sport. Observe athletes competing and practicing. Obtain the perspectives of other parties involved (e.g., coaches, athlete trainers).
Phases of PST
Assessment • Educationalphase- Help participant recognize that psychological skills can be taught and learned, and that they must be trained regularly but will affect performance. • Acquisition Phase- Learn the skills • Practice Phase- Adopt the practice of using the skills in the time and manner that will improve performance (make sure you know this isn't them learning the practice) • Assessment
Kohler Effect
At times, working together in teams might produce performance increases instead of decreases Occurs when a groups potential productivity is equal to the productivity of its least capable member. This inspired the weak member to increase effort so as not to let teammates down. Works best with only moderate different between weakest and next weakest member When trying is to maximize motivation/effort during training/exercise, individuals should select a partner who is moderately more capable than themselves. Create task conditions that maximize interdependence between group members to achieve group goals, and, in particular, one's indispensability to group process (e.g., a relay race with other group members who are superior in ability or prior performance)
olympic athlete coping
Athletes who prepared for unexpected events (e.g., bad call by a ref, loud roommates) were more successful than athletes who did not Psychological skills (e.g., mental prep, routines) help with psychological (e.g., anxiety, loss of concentration, lack of confidence) and nonpsychological (e.g., poor housing, injury) stressors. A delicate balance existed between training and overtraining, which was seen as critical to success. All athletes reported mental preparation was important and effective in improving performance. • Departures from routine, media distractions, coach issues, and injury most undermined Olympic performance
multidimensional anxiety theory with catastrophe model
Cognitive anxiety is slightly positively related to performance for low arousal, and negatively related for high arousal levels.- Physiological Arousal has a u-shaped relation to performance at low cognitive anxiety and has a catastrophe relationship at high cognitive anxiety. - Accounts for some contradictions in the literature (look at slide 24)
multimodal anxiety reduction packages
Cognitive-affective stress management training (SMT) teaches a person specific integrated coping responses using relaxation and cognitive components to control emotional arousal - Stress Inoculation Training [SIT] (Meichenbaum, 1985) - Hypnosis
cohesion-performance relationship
Cohesion is positively related to performance
Inverted U
Describes the relationship between arousal and performance. Both low and high levels of arousal produce lower performance than does a moderate level of arousal.
how to design a PST program
Discuss your approach with the client. Assess the athlete's mental skills. Determine which psychological skills to include. Design a PST schedule.- Do it (educational, acquisition, practice phases)* Evaluate the program.
how to make PST effective
Educationally based psychological skills training enhances sport performance. • Intervention must be individualized, employed systematically over time, and multimodal (combining different psychological skills such as imagery, self-talk, and goal setting). Knowledge of Psychological skills training is important for consultants but so are: - Building a connection with athletes—enables the SPC to educate athletes and lead them toward positive changes in behavior. - Building a professional consulting relationship— empathetic, accepting, open, approachable, and maintain professionalism at all times. - Meeting athletes' needs
Vealey (2007) Mental Skills Model
Emphasizes that multiple types of mental skills are important for success and well-being in coaches and athletes - Foundation skills: Intrapersonal resources that are the basic mental skills necessary for achieving success. - Performance skills: Mental abilities critical to the execution of skills during sport performance. - Personal development skills: self-concept, self- awareness that allows for further scaffolding - Team skills: collective skills of the team (cohesion, leadership, efficacy, etc.) (see in depth in the slides)
conceptual model of cohesion
Environmental Factors- Sport regulations, group size, life circumstances, etc. • Personal Factors- Individual characteristics of the team members • Demographics, cognitions & motives, behavior • Individual satisfaction = best predictor of task & social cohesion • Leadership Factors- Coaching, team leaders' styles, etc. • Clear consistent communication of tasks, goals, roles • Team Factors- Group task and norms, team ability and stability, individual vs team sport, ...
how to enhance cohesion
Exercise settings: Classes high in group cohesion have fewer dropouts and late arrivals than do classes low in cohesion. Distinctiveness: have a group name, group T- shirt, hand out neon headbands Such distinctiveness manipulations keep cohesion as high in large groups as in small ones (the former typically have lower cohesion) Sport settings: Team-building exercises, clear and meaningful roles, team goals, communication, and personal sacrifice are related to increased cohesion. Distinctiveness activities (group activities outside the sport, t-shirts, etc.). Team-building exercises
IZOF (zone of optimal state anxiety in which best performance occurs)
Found that athletes have optimal zones of other factors, such as positive and negative emotions.
relationship between trait and state anxiety
High-trait anxiety individuals usually feel more state anxiety in highly evaluative situations than do those with low-trait anxiety (look at slide 9)
how to design a schedule for PST
Hold frequent, short (not long) meetings Hold informal as well as formal meetings. If possible, begin PST before the season. Schedule PST as part of daily practice. Periodization: planned variation in key training variables, particularly volume and intensity, over predetermined training cycles. For PST: Preparatory - image the skills (high volume) Competitive - image in more detail and more specific situations Peaking - image a specific event (against specific opponents, in specific place, etc.)
which skills should you include in PST?
How much time is available?- Prioritize just a few skills if time is tight Skills are qualities to be obtained (e.g., self- awareness, confidence). Methods are procedures or techniques for developing psychological skills (e.g., arousal regulation, imagery, goal setting).
how to discuss your approach for PST
Identify services to be provided. Explain the differences between educational and clinical sport psychology consultants. Discuss your approach. Build trust and a good relationship with the client.
why arousal affects performance
Increased muscle tension, fatigue, and coordination difficulties • Changes in attention, concentration, and visual search (attention field shouldn't be too broad nor too narrow)
stages of hypnotic intervention
Induction phase- Relaxed state- Imagery or attentional focus • Hypnotic phase - Post-hypnotic suggestions (cue, & response) - "When you shoot the ball, you'll feel relaxed and confident." • Waking phase- Leave relaxed state on prearranged cue • Posthypnotic phase
major problem focused strategies
Information gathering- Precompetition and competition plans- Goal setting- Time management skills- Problem solving- Increasing effort- Self-talk- Adhering to injury rehabilitation program
does team building work?
Interventions lasting longer than 2 weeks had a moderate effect (less than that had minimal effect)
Drive Theory
Linear relationship between arousal levels and performance - increases in arousal are associated with higher levels of performance (ONLY DIRECT RELATIONSHIP)
Cohesion is
MULTIDIMENSIONAL- many factors control why a group sticks together • DYNAMIC- can change over time • INSTRUMENTAL- groups are created for a purpose • AFFECTIVE- members' social interactions produce feelings among group member
Major emotion-focused categories
Meditation Relaxation Wishful thinking Reappraisal Self-blame, mental and behavioral withdrawal Cognitive efforts to change the meaning (but not the actual problem or environment) of the situation
When is the best time in one's career to engage in mental training?
Mental training should continue throughout an athlete's sport participation.
signs of underarousal
Moving slowly, not getting set Mind wandering, being easily distracted Lack of concern about how one will perform Lack of anticipation or enthusiasm Heavy feeling in legs, no bounce
facts about hypnosis
Openness to suggestions (suggestibility), increases response to them. Deeper trance states cause more effective response to suggestions given under hypnosis General arousal techniques affect muscular strength and endurance better than do hypnotic suggestions. Positive suggestions facilitate performance, regardless of whether the athlete is hypnotized. Negative suggestions typically cause a decrement in performance. Hypnotic responsiveness depends more on the efforts and abilities (suggestibility) of the individual being hypnotized than on the skill of the therapist. The ability to experience hypnotic phenomena does not indicate gullibility or personality weakness.
PST Myths
PST is for "problem" athletes only. PST is for "elite" athletes only. PST provides quick-fix solutions. PST is not useful.
goal setting and pep talks
Setting performance (task) goals can improve activation when playing a weaker tram • Guidelines for a successful pregame talk - Give them a plan.- Make them believe they can win.- Do not lie. - Be yourself. - Use humor.
sources of stress and anxiety
Situational sources - event importance - uncertainty Personal sources - trait anxiety - self-esteem -social physique anxiety
Effect of Individual Skills on Group Performance
The greater the need for cooperation and interaction in a task, the more the importance of individual ability decreases and the importance of group productivity increases. Teams of equal ability tend to play best.
conformity
The more cohesive a group is, the greater its pressure to conform to the attitudes and behaviors of the group
social support
There is a positive relationship between the social support an individual receives and that person's evaluation of group cohesion
arousal
a blend of physiological and psychological activation, varying in intensity along a continuum
anxiety
a negative emotional state with feelings of worry, nervousness, and apprehension associated with activation or arousal of the body
biofeedback
a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension - Sensors monitor autonomic responses • Example: ear clip coherence monitor for iphone - Display gives visual or auditory feedback - Can help you gain more control over some normally involuntary functions - As relaxation improves, try short session without machine - Increase non-feedback durations - Olympic shooters train with biofeedback to fire between heartbeats
Progressive muscle relaxation
a technique of learning to relax by focusing on relaxing each of the body's muscle groups in turn Tension and relaxation are mutually exclusive —it is not possible to be relaxed and tense at the same time. Relaxation of the body through decreased muscle tension will, in turn, decrease mental tension.
stress inoculation training (SIT)
a therapy that helps people to cope with stressful situations by developing positive ways to think about the situation
self-regulation
ability to work toward short- and long-term goals by effectively monitoring and managing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors Affect, Behavior, Cognition
Mental toughness
an athlete's ability to focus, rebound from failure, cope with pressure, and persist in the face of adversity Mentally tough athletes- have a high sense of self-belief and an unshakeable faith that they can control their own destiny. (internal locus of control) - can remain relatively unaffected by competition or adversity. The constructs of motivation, dealing with pressure, confidence, and concentration make up mental toughness (Jones et al., 2002). These attributes of mental toughness are employed before (e.g., goal setting), during (e.g., coping with pressure), and after competition (e.g., handling failure).
state anxiety
an emotional state characterized by subjective, consciously perceived feelings of apprehension and tension, associated with activation or arousal (right now feelings that change from moment to moment)
types of anxiety
cognitive (worry, apprehension, negative thoughts) and somatic (perception of physiological activation)
coping
constantlychangingcognitiveandbehavioral efforts to manage specific external or internal demands or conflicts appraised as taxing or exceeding one's resources (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)
how does one become more aware of arousal states?
education, self-monitoring, see arousal as facilitative, not debilitating
adherence
greater cohesion is related to greater adherence - Better attendance - On-time arrival - Fewer drop outs - Resistant to group disruptions - Positive emotions - Stronger efficacy belief
how practice affects anxiety
have optimal combinations of arousal-related emotions for best performance, recognize how personal and situational factors interact to influence arousal, recognize signs of arousal and state anxiety, tailor coaching strategies to individuals
team satisfaction
increased cohesion is related to increased satisfaction
overlearning
leads to better performance in high-stress situations, e.g. taking an exam or performing in front of an audience, because what you've learned becomes more automatic and requires less effort
measuring arousal and anxiety
psychological signs (hear rate, respiration) and global and multidimensional self-report scales
how to measure cohesion
questionnaires, subscales (task and social of both group and individual)
Psychological skills training (PST)
refers to the systematic and consistent practice of mental or psychological skills for the purpose of enhancing performance, increasing enjoyment, or achieving greater self-satisfaction.
emotion-focused coping
regulate emotional response to situation (when situation is less likely to be changed)
sociograms
seeing how each person interacts/ feels about the other people in the group
social support coping
seek others help to cope
emotions in sport psychology
short-lived feeling states that occur in response to events, comprised of both state and trait components, positive or negative, influence performance
anxiety reduction techniques
somatic or cognitive anxiety reduction
means control
the benefits that a member can derive by being associated with the group
task cohesion
the degree to which group members work together to achieve common goals and objectives
attractiveness of the group
the individual's desire for interpersonal interactions with other group members and a desire to be involved in the group's activities
social cohesion
the interpersonal attractions among group members
Ringelmann effect
the phenomenon by which individual performance decreases as the number of people in the group increases.
stability
turnover rate for group membership; length of time group members have been together
cohesion-performance relationship depends on
types of measures and task demands (old and new ways of thinking), THERE IS A CIRCULAR RELATIONSHIP (BOTH AFFECT EACH OTHER)
Social loafing
when individuals within a group or team put forth less than 100% effort due to loss of motivation. (see how it is increased and decreased)
Four C Model of Mental Toughness
• Control: handle many things at once and remaining influential rather than controlled. • Commitment: deeply involved with pursuing goals despite difficulties. • Challenge: perceive potential threats as opportunities for personal growth and thriving in constantly changing environments. • Confidence: maintain self-belief in spite of setbacks.
Why Are Psychological Skills Neglected?
• Lack of knowledge and comfort with teaching mental skills - "Don't choke," "Get psyched up," "Be confident," "Stay loose," "Be mentally tough," "Concentrate", "just relax" • Misunderstanding psychological skills (e.g., thinking they can't be learned or don't need to be trained) • Lack of time
common PST implementation problems
• LackofConviction:coaches/athletesdon'tthink PST will work • "Lack"ofTime:coachesoftenfinditdifficulttogive practice time to something unless they really believe in it • LackofSportKnowledge:theconsultantmight not know enough sport specific info to properly tailor the program. • LackofFollow-up:Psychskills,likeanyother need to be properly practiced. Practice often strays from the original method.
somatic anxiety reducing techniques
• Progressive Muscle* Relaxation- Learn to feel the tension in your muscles and then to let go of the tension. • Breath control- Tense - breathing is short, shallow, and irregular.- Calm/confident -- breathing is smooth, deep, rhythmic. - So make your breathing smooth, deep, rhythmic • Biofeedback - Sensors monitor autonomic responses, to help you be aware of them and change them. - Can help you gain more control over some normally involuntary functions
somatic anxiety techniques
• Progressive Muscle* Relaxation- Learn to feel the tension in your muscles and then to let go of the tension. • Breath control- Tense - breathing is short, shallow, and irregular.- Calm/confident -- breathing is smooth, deep, rhythmic. - So make your breathing smooth, deep, rhythmic • Biofeedback - Sensors monitor autonomic responses, to help you be aware of them and change them. - Can help you gain more control over some normally involuntary functions
cognitive anxiety reducing techniques
• Relaxation Response teaches individuals to quiet the mind, concentrate, and reduce muscle tension by applying the elements of meditation. • Autogenic Training focuses on producing two physical sensations—warmth and heaviness— to produce a relaxed state. • Systematic Desensitization: pair relaxation with anxiety producing stimuli to reduce anxiety
