psychological strategies

• psychological strategies

  • motivation
  • confidence
  • arousal
  • concentration
  • sleep
• motivation

  ⭐: intensity and direction of a person’s effort

  • Athletes must train hard to elicit chronic adaptations to perform at their best
  • Frequent training requires high motivation levels
  • Types of motivation:
  • Intrinsic (internal)
  • Satisfaction of performing well
  • Extrinsic (external)
  • Prize money, medals
  • Increasing motivation
  • Mental imagery
  • Goal setting
  • Variety
  • Energising music
  • Rewards
• confidence

  ⭐: an individual believes that they can successfully perform a task and achieve their goal

  • Important for athletes to reach the optimum confidence zone (neither underconfident or overconfident)
  • Increasing confidence
  • Positive self talk
  • Goal-setting
  • Mental imagery
  • To achieve optimal confidence
  • Persevere when things are not going to plan
  • Show enthusiasm and motivation
  • Be positive
  • Remain calm under pressure
• What does arousal refer to in the context of performance?

  Level of readiness or activation when faced with performance
• What is the optimal level of arousal for an athlete?

  When an athlete is ready to perform but does not experience excessive anxiety or performance inhibition
• What factors influence the level of arousal in athletes?

  Type of competition, confidence, experience, and level of arousal
• What are the characteristics of being under-aroused?

  Low motivation, boredom, tiredness, and lack of effort/concentration
• What happens when an athlete is under-aroused?

  They aren’t able to focus on relevant cues
• What are some methods to increase arousal in athletes?

  • Mental imagery
  • Energising music
  • Positive self-talk
  • Acting energetically
  • Warm-up
  • Elevated breathing
• What are some methods to decrease arousal in athletes?

  • Controlled breathing
  • Relaxing music
  • Progressive muscle relaxation
  • Stress inoculation training
  • Biofeedback
  • Meditation
• Sleep

  • Benefits of sleep:
  • Tissue recovery + growth
  • Increased motivation
  • Reduced stress
  • Increased concentration
  • Lack of sleep can:
  • Impair decision making
  • ↑ recovery time
  • ↓ performance
  • Quality sleep = quiet, dark, cool, comfortable bed
  • Techniques for good sleep hygiene:
  • Controlled breathing
  • Conducive sleeping environment (comfortable bed)
  • Meditation 
  • Progressive muscle relaxation
• What is the definition of concentration in the context of sports performance?

  Ability to focus on relevant environmental cues and ignore distractions
• How does concentration drop for an athlete?

  Concentration drops when an athlete is distracted by future-oriented thinking
• What are the types of concentration in sports?

  • Broad + internal: Individuals' general thoughts/feelings
  • Broad + external: Focus on opponent’s actions
  • Narrow + internal: Focus on next movement
  • Narrow + external: Focus on one thing like the ball
• What does 'broad' and 'narrow' refer to in concentration types?

  'Broad' refers to focusing on many things, while 'narrow' refers to focusing on one thing
• What does 'internal' and 'external' refer to in concentration types?


  'Internal' refers to self-focus, while 'external' refers to focusing on others
• What are some methods to increase concentration?

  • Pre-set routines
  • Meditation
  • Positive self-talk
  • Adequate sleep
  • Mental imagery
  • Stress inoculation imagery (SIT)