Sport
Psychology-
is a field of study that looks at how the body or physical factors and the mind
or psychological factors can affect performance and participation in sport and
exercise.
INTRODUCTION TO SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY
Lecture materials:
Fallacies
Only athletes with serious mental problems need a sport psychologist?
Only athletes with serious mental problems need a sport psychologist?
- Any athlete can seek help from a sport psychologist as there are plenty
of qualified individuals within the world of sport psychology that are willing
to help both athletes, and teams. Sport psychology does not just try to help
fix problems, but also work on positively developing athlete’s psychological
skills, such as managing stress, focusing attention, and altering motivation.
A distinct elite athlete personality exists.
- Human personality is so individualistic that no matter how much research
is conducted it will always be difficult to pinpoint personality traits that
cause or create elite athletes.
Pre-competition anxiety or nervousness always negatively affects sport performance.
- There have been many examples of athletes that have excelled during
competition despite having feelings of pre-competition anxiety. Athletes have
to learn to harness that anxiety and use it to help facilitate positive
behaviours and thoughts.
To become elite athletes, children must specialize in their sport as early as possible.
- Although there is evidence showing that early specialization does
produce elite athletes, there is also evidence that suggests that athletes who
are able to sample a variety of different sports at an early age can also lead
to elite performance. The ability to sample many different sports helps to
improve physical, social, and psychological traits, which is seen as a
healthier route to elite performance rather than early specialization.
At the elite level of sport, where most of the
players are of similar ability, and have similar access to technology and
training methods, it is the mental strength of the individual which
separates the great player from the good player.
Lecture #2
Inverted U Law:
This law states that arousal improves performance up to an optimal point. Past this point, performance begins to decrease. When drawn on a graph this appears as an upside down U shape.
Anxiety - a negative emotional state with feelings of worry, nervousness, and apprehension that is associated with the activation of the body.
2 Types of Anxiety:
TRAIT ANXIETY is the general level of stress that is a characteristic of an individual. This can be controlled significantly by a coach through support, positive feedback, and relaxation techniques.
STATE ANXIETY is more specific and appears due to a response to danger or fear. It is situational and is often described as 'choking'.
- Motivation - a reason or reasons for acting
or behaving in a particular way.
2 Types> intrinsic and extrinsic motivation; or also known as internal and external motivation
Motivation
- Self-confidence - Two factors
1. Self-esteem – overall sense of self-worth or personal value.
2. Self-competence - sense of ability to perform a given task.
- Concentration - the ability to completely focus one's attention on something for a
period of time.
- Stress - a stimulus resulting in arousal or a response to a specific situation.
AROUSAL & ANXIETY
- Arousal - general physical and psychological preparedness
before an activity.
- It can have positive and negative effects upon performance.
- Performance will be best at an optimum level of arousal, after this
level> performance deteriorates.
Inverted U Law:
This law states that arousal improves performance up to an optimal point. Past this point, performance begins to decrease. When drawn on a graph this appears as an upside down U shape.
Anxiety - a negative emotional state with feelings of worry, nervousness, and apprehension that is associated with the activation of the body.
2 Types of Anxiety:
TRAIT ANXIETY is the general level of stress that is a characteristic of an individual. This can be controlled significantly by a coach through support, positive feedback, and relaxation techniques.
STATE ANXIETY is more specific and appears due to a response to danger or fear. It is situational and is often described as 'choking'.
The Relationship between Anxiety & Arousal
Arousal and anxiety are different. Anxiety is predominantly a psychological state, whereas arousal is primarily the physiological readiness of the athlete. The level of arousal of the athlete will either help or hinder the outcomes of performance. The Inverted U hypothesis below shows the relationship between arousal and performance.
A skill is performed most successfully when the level of arousal is optimal for that particular task and that individual. A low level of arousal, perhaps resulting from distraction, disinterest or a depressed level of motivation leads to a poor performance. Over-arousal, whereby the athlete is unable to perform the required movements with precision because he/she is excessively tense and unable to concentrate can also lead to a poor performance.
Levels of arousal vary considerably between individuals (see diagram below). Generally, athletes who have high trait anxiety require less arousal than those who have a low trait anxiety.
The optimal level of arousal not only differs from different individuals but also between sports and contexts.
When difficult tasks involving few muscle groups are involved — for example, archery and putting in golf — levels of arousal need not be high to be optimal. However, many other activities that may be easier to execute or that involve large body movements — for example, running and weight-lifting — require an increase in the level of arousal for performance to be optimal.
Visualization
and Mental Imagery
- Cognitive Specific: Refers to imagining specific sport skills, such as a free throw in basketball or a free kick in soccer.
- Cognitive General: Refers to imagining routines, strategies or specific basketball plays.
- Motivational Specific: Refers to specific imagery about one's own goals, such as winning the Stanley Cup.
- Motivational General - Arousal: Refers to imagery that relaxes or causes positive forms of stress and excitement, such as imagining yourself on a relaxing vacation.
- Motivational General - Mastery: Refers to imagery that helps increase mental toughness and self-confidence, such as imagining yourself beating your opponent over and over again.
Self Talk and Goal Setting:
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Performance Techniques:
sport_psychology_lecture_7_performance_routines_teacher_copy.pdf | |
File Size: | 1702 kb |
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September 19, 2017:
lecture_8_aggression_in_sports.pdf | |
File Size: | 4308 kb |
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Digital Leadership Project: Due Monday October 2, 2017
powtoons_leadership_in_sports_project_2.pdf | |
File Size: | 137 kb |
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