sport psychology

• personality- a unique psychological makeup
• trait theory- the idea that personality is a stable, enduring characteristic that is inherited and is not influenced by the environment
• extrovert- loud and bright personality
• social learning theory- rather than being born with characteristics, we learn then from others
• social learning approach

  1. observe
  2. identify
  3. reinforce
  4. copy
• interactionist approach- combines trait and state learning to predict behaviour in a specific situation
• lewins formula

  B= f ( P x E )
• Hollander approach to interactionist approach

  1. core- beliefs and values, not likely to change
  2. typical responses- traits displayed to specific situations
  3. role related behaviour- performer may adapt to specific roles
• improvement in performance through interactionist approach

  • coach can predict any aggressive behaviour and remove them from the situation
  • can encourage peformers to adapt to specific situations
• attitude- what you think about something, an opinion
• socialisation- attitudes learnt from significant others
• triadic model- three parts of an attitude: cognitive, affective, behavioural
• cognitive component- a belief
• affective component- relates to feelings
• behavioural component- actions of the performer
• cognitive dissonance- new information given to the performer to cause unease and motivate change.
• examples of cognitive dissonsnace

  • a new form of activity can question their current attitudes
  • varying practice so its more fun
  • using rewards
  • introduce a role model
• persuasive communication- an effective communication to promote change
• persuasive communication examples

  • relevant and important message
  • given from a high status
  • give after a loss
• arousal- a level of activation, a degree of readiness to perform
• drive theory- as arousal increases, so does performance
• drive theory formula

  • P = F (D x H)
  • performance is a function of drive multiplied by habit
• dominent response- the stand out response that the performer thinks is correct
• inverted-U theory- increased arousal improves performance to an optimal point
• factors affecting optimal levels of arousal

  • experience
  • personality
  • the task classification
• somatic anxiety- physiological anxiety
• cognitive anxiety- psychological anxiety
• catastrophe theory- increased arousal improves performance to an optimal point but there is a dramatic reduction in performance when arousal is too high
• zone of optimal functioning- area of controlled arousal and high level performance
• peak flow experience- the ultimate intrinsic experience felt by athletes from a positive mental attitude, with supreme confidence, focus and efficacy
• factors affecting peak flow experience

  • poor mental preparation
  • environmental pressures
  • effects of an injury
• anxiety- a level of nerves and irrational thinking
• competitive trait anxiety- a disposition to suffer from nervousness in most sporting situations
• competitive state anxiety- a nervous response to specific sporting situations
• anxiety measures

  • questionnaire
  • sports competition anxiety test
  • competitive sport anxiety inventory
  • observation
  • physiological measures
• disadvantages of questionnaire

  • performer may not tell the truth
  • answers depend on mood state
  • answers may be rushed
• advantages of physiological measures of anxiety

  • factual
  • heart rate can be monitored
• disadvantages of physiological measures of anxiety

  • training is required to use devices
  • wearing a device may restrict movement
  • may endure stress causing a false reading
• aggression- intent to harm outside the rules, hostile behaviour
• assertion- well- motivated behaviour within the rules