Sport Psych

processing operations:


recall past experiences and learning from memory

processing operations:

has been stored for later time

memory systems:

short amount of time, bits of information taken in,
unlimited supply

memory systems:

small and doesnt last long, working memory, get from now or
long term, brain says ok to remember

memory systems:

unlimited storage, drawn on by past experience

as skill of athlete increases, ___________ conveyed
increases

selective attention becomes better the _______ the athlete

to narrow of focus

cue utilization theory involves

____ _____ cues

____ ______ cues

Cues:

things that can damage performance if attended to

ex.) crowd

Cues:

things that enhance performance if attended to

ex.) thinking about swing of golf club

high levels of arousal can cause this?

narrow focus but able to scan area

primary task consumes most of the available information processing space

looking at body cues before execution of some task
-good thing
-predicts next move

when relevant are processed and plans are made
-seeing cues before acting

thoughts of escape or task irrelevant thoughts
ex.) choking

_____________ and ______________ preperation are necessary for a great performance

3 things that go into making a mental genius
1.
2.
3.

beginning phase of learning when athlete attends to details of execution.... _________ processing

advanced phase of learning in which execution of skill requires little concious effort .... _______ processing

shifting of attention from automatic mode to a controlled processing mode (thinking to much)

athlete reverts to instinct and quits thinking logically (thinking about nothing)

internal vs. external attentional focus

attend to internal bodily actions such as "keep elbow straight"
-happens when not very good at sport or just starting the skill

internal vs. external attentional focus

attend to goal and to external effects of skill execution such as "focus upon catchers target"
-good at sport/experience with sport

spectrums:

broad vs. _______
internal vs. _________

Thought stopping steps

1-4

associators (internalizers) -

type of athlete?
think about what?

dissociatiors (externalizers)

Type of athlete?
think about what?

generic term used to describe emotions, feelings, and moods

a situation specific response to the enviroment

there are 15 specific manifests of emotion, of which anxiety is a one important manifestation

discrete responses to the enviroment that last only seconds, minutes, or perhaps hours

are more diffuse and last for weeks or even months
- more stable than emotion

is a specific emotion that is closely related to Han Selye's concept of stress

is defined as the "nonspecific response of the body to any demand placed upon it"

2 kinds of stress:

1.
2.

good stress (before event)

bad stress (during and before)
-prolonged
-synonymous to anxiety

immediate emotional state chacaterized by apprehension, fear, tension, and increase in arousal

predisposition to percieve certain enviromental situations as threatning and to respond to these situations with increased state anxiety
-comes from parents
-more likely to have state anxiety also

type of anxiety caused by such things as fear of social evaluation, fear or failure and loss of self-esteem
-worry in mind
-not good for performance

physical componant of anxiety and reflects the perception of going through the body
-positive or negative
-ex. increased heart rate

three parts of the stress process
1.
2.
3.

only occurs if coping skills percieved to be inadequete to deal with situation (imbalance)
- stressed to exhaustion without starting= bad
-arousal = good
-coping skill= imaginary, thought stopping

antecendents before event state anxiety

fears of what? (3)

-starts high and remains high as event approaches.
-fluctuates throughout the contest as probability of success changes
-causes catastrpohies
-thoughts

-starts low but increases rapidly as event approaches
-dissipates rapidly once event begins
-body response

perfectionism in sport:

two over arching dimensions
1.
2.

-considered to be positive and adaptive.
-Characterized by perfectionism strivings (self and other),
-high personal standards and desire for organizations
-good perfectionism

-considered to be negative and maladaptive
-chacterized by concern over mistakes, parental expectations and critism, self-doubts and socially prescribed expectations
-causes anxiety and stresss
-bad perfectionism

________ prediction of perfectionism
-lower leves of state anxiety = feel in control
-higher levels of self confidence
-adaptive attributes
-autonomenous motivation = you, yourself, = motivated
adaptive goal orientations

________ prediction of perfectionism
- higher levels of state anxiety
-lower levels of self confidence
-maladaptive attributions
-controlling motivation
-maladatptive goal orienations

2 theories that have a relationship between arousal and performance
-proxy is state anxiety
-arousal increases with increase with state anxiety

most well known
best performance occurs at moderate level of arousal
chances in performance are gradual as arousal increases
easy task - high arousal
task difficutly - arousal varies

WHAT IS THIS THEORY?

performance = arousal x skill level
performance increases as arousal increase (linear)
high arousal = best performance
early learning (skill level low)= low arousal
late in learning (skill level high)= arousal up
strength of theory is that it helps explain relationship between learning and arousal

WHAT IS THIS THEORY?

are brief responses to enviromental situation

are less intense but prolonged experiences that relate to the individual as well as situation

What model is this?

successful athlete is viewed as a mentally healthy individual
mentally healthy elite athlete exhibits an iceberg profile relative to the six POMS subscales
1. above norm on vigor
2. below norm on other 5

4 alternative theories to inverted u-theory

Theory?

-negative linear relationship exsists between cognitive and athleteic performance = bad (cognitive anxiety increases, performance decreases)
-inverted u-theory exsists between somatic anxiety and performance ( best oerformance occurs at mod. level of somatic anxiety)

Theory?

-challenges invereted u-theory
-models proposed : Cusp catastrophe model
-cognitive anxiety causes catastrophe
-can't come back from it

Model? of Fazey and Hardy

-three dimensional (cognitive, psychological and performance) - may cause catastrophe if all to high
-cognitive state anxiety interacts with physiological arousal to produce performance result
-low anxiety = inverted u- theory between arousal and performance
high anxiety = increase in arousal results in a catastrophic drop in performance at some point along the arousal continuum

Theory?

-concept of being in the zone
-specifically challenged the notion that best performance occurs at a moderate level of of arousal/anxiety
-everyone has a different anxiety level based on high, low or mod. anxiety each person performs best at each center of one.

focus upon individual zone of optimal functioning for state anxiety

person experiences flow when fully engaged in an interesting activity for its own sake and no other external purpose
flow is the epitome of positive psychology
not necessary to have peak performance
not prediction in best performance
based on 9 characteristics: loss of self-awareness

intrinsic motivation, athlete engagement, and mindfullness all correlate with what?

degree to which athlete engages in an activity with confidence, dedication, enthusiasm, and vigor

nonjudgemental focus of ones attention on here and now

mentally preparing for event and dealing with stress and anxiety

situation specific coping
1. _______ focused
2. _______ focused

dispositional coping style
1. ______
2._______

focus is on eliminating root cause of stress response
ex. task, action

goal is to regulate emotions in order to reduce stress response
ex. behavior coping

type of coping includes: mental distraction, distancing, venting emotions, ipod

athletes have a certain learned or innate way of coping with all stress related situations

athletes coping responses are dynamic and fluid changing from situation to situation

reconize similar stimuli
internal focus
learned resourcefulness
do what for coping?

sex of athlete
proactive (antipate) and automated (practiced) nature of coping
percieved controllability of stressor
these factors ______ coping effectiveness

where and when of self-talk
what of self talk
why of self talk
research support
self talk as an ___________

overt or covert personal dialogue in which the athlete interprets feelings, perceptions, and gives self instructions and reinforcement.

4 W's of self talk

takes place most often during competition, with during performance/training a distant second

self talk?

takes place equally either before or during competition

self talk?

used more by individuals/skilled sport athletes

self talk?

structure of self talk describes the use of cue words, phrases, and sentences
use of task instruction is usually specific
categories of self talk are three types
self talk ?

task specific statements relating to technique
encouragement and effort
mood words (go)
type of self talk

brief and simple
associated with skill
timing of task performed
__________ of effective self talk

two functions
cognitive componant
motivational componant
self talk?

these strategies involve:
anxiety/stress spiral
relaxtion response and deep breathing
progressive relaxtion
autogenic training
meditation
biofeedback training

mental device
passive attitude
decreased muscle tone
quiet enviroment

these factors necessary for _______ response

tense muscle then relax it
systemic tensing and relaxing all muscles beginning with upper limbs
after training - can be done in minutes

type of relaxation?

warming/heaviness/calm/sensation of the body

type of relaxation?

athletes focuses attention on a single thought, sound or object
mantra is used

type of relaxation?

training uses instruments to help people control responses of autonomic nervous system

type of relaxation?

team goal setting
pep talks
bulletin boards
publicity and news coverage
fan support
coach, athlete, and parent interaction

individual goal setting
self-talk
attentional focus
imagery
self-activation