A2 PE - Chapter 3

“The activation or energisation of goal-oriented behaviour – a drive to complete a given task”

Intrinsic – Internal motivation which is linked to self-efficacy (Bandura)

Extrinsic – External motivation (coaches/peers)

“General term, based on the belief that one can succeed”

Developing Self Confidence:

-          Imagery

-          Be in good shape

-          Think Confidently

-          Act Confidently

-          Prepare well

“Self confidence in a specific situation”

·         Bandura put forward the notion that as people become competent in particular skills and situations, they develop a feeling of self-efficacy

·         This can also affect the choice of activity and effort amounts

“A natural reaction to threat in the environment – part of our preparation for flight or fight”

Anxiety is said to have three dimensions:

·         Cognitive – worry and negative feelings about your own performance

·         Somatic – physiological symptoms such as raised heart rate, increased perspiration and shortness of breath

·         Behavioural – experiencing tension, agitation and restlessness

Sports performers can suffer from two types linked to performance:

·         State Anxiety – situation specific and can be linked to a particular role (penalty taking), place, or level of competition

·         Trait Anxiety – This is a general and enduring feeling of apprehension

‘A fundamental drive to succeed or persist with a task’

·         Also known as ‘Redgraveness’ and ‘Federessness’

·         Directs behaviour to achieve certain goals

·         Competition is fundamental to human interaction

·         Society places a great value on performers who exhibit high levels of achievement motivation

·         Ultimately, the challenge lies within one’s self

Atkinson (1974)

·         Saw achievement motivation as an aspect of personality

·         Also saw it as a personality factor describing our persistence in a task even when we meet obstacles

2 Dimensions

NACH – Need To Achieve (Intrinsically motivated, Completes tasks quickly and efficiently, Often extrovert, Takes reasonable risks, seeks challenges, Takes personal responsibility for actions, Would say yes to taking a penalty)

NAF – Need To Avoid Failure (Gives up easily, Will take too much time on a task, Often introvert, Takes the easy route, wants to be sure of success, Blames others for failure – avoids responsibility, Would say no to taking a penalty)

Developing High Achievement Motivation

·         Raising self efficacy

·         Use of rewards or reinforcement

·         Promote intrinsic motivation

·         Show successful, attainable role models

“Stress arises when there is an imbalance between the persons perception of the demand and their ability to meet the demand”

Stressor – A demand placed on the performer that can begin the stress process

Positive/Negative?

Distress – Performance impaired through an increase in anxiety and negative thoughts (choking)

Eustress – Performance enhanced through increased motivation and energy

Cognitive – Mind, Somatic – Body

Somatic techniques to control stress

-          Breathing – slow down breathing rate

-          Relaxation – reduced muscle tension

-          Biofeedback – heart beat heard on a machine, you can slow it down

Cognitive techniques to control stress

-          Goal setting – achieve targets

-          Mental rehearsal – running through events in your mind

-          Pre-performance routines – e.g. Johnny Wilkinson

Aggression – Intent to harm outside the rules of the game

Hostile Aggression – Real intent to harm outside the rules of the game

Channelled Aggression – Intent to harm within the rules of the game

Assertion – Forceful behaviour within the rules of the game

Instinct Theory

-          (Freud 1933) Born with aggressive tendencies, biologically determined to act aggressively in an attempt to become dominant

-          (Lorenz 1966) Aggression needs to be released and sport could hold the key

Social Learning Theory

-          (Bandura 1969) what we are born with is over ridden by our culture, we learn from watching and copying others behaviour

Frustration/Aggression Hypothesis

-          The more frustrated you become, the more aggressive you become

-          if need or goal is blocked, can lead to frustration then aggressive results, no consequence to aggression can lead to more aggressive behaviour

Aggressive Cue Theory

-          (Berkiwitz 1969) If you have aggressive cues (guns,bats and sport itself) will make you more likely to be aggressive

-          If you have been aggressive before – you are more likely to be aggressive again

Controlling/Eliminating Aggression

-          Substitutions

-          Fines

-          Rewards for good behaviour

-          Punish bad behaviour

-          Sports Psychology

Internal Stable – Used after a win (Ability)

Internal Unstable – Used after both a win and a loss (Effort)

External Stable – Used after failure (Task Difficulty)

External Unstable – Used after failure (Luck)

“The influence of the presence of others on performance, which may be positive or negative”

Co-Actors, Audience and Significant others can have a positive or negative affect on performance

Audience + Skilled Performer = Increased level of performance

Audience + Unskilled Performer = Reduced level of performance

B.E.D.P.O.O (the Behavioural Effects Due to the Presence Of Others) Zajonc 1965

Drive Theory (Zajonc)

-          Learners perform better alone than with an audience

-          Experienced performers do better with an audience due to an increase in psychological arousal caused by the audience

Home Advantage

-          Home teams win an average 64% of their matches

-          Players tend to be more aggressive when playing in front of an away crowd

-          1995 Rugby World Cup – South Africa hosted and won

-          1998 Football World Cup – France hosted and won

-          Supporters, familiarity, no travelling and increased arousal are all factors in home advantage to a team

Away Disadvantages

-          Pitch, Changing rooms often worse, Travel time and preparation time, Hostile crowds

-          Some of these could be advantages, and it all depends on a number of factors

Social Inhibition

Social inhibition is a term used to describe the behavioural or performance restraint — or lack of restraint — a person displays in the presence of other people. A mild level of social inhibition might not cause much notice, and may even be considered normal. If an individual's level of inhibition is too high or too low, however, social situations and relationships may prove difficult. For example, a person who restrains himself too much might seem withdrawn and have difficulty participating in conversations and social events. A person who is too uninhibited, on the other hand, may behave in a way that alienates others and makes it hard for others to appreciate his company.

Evaluation Apprehension

-          Cottrell (1972) disputes the model of drive theory, stating that it isn’t the mere presence of an audience that causes arousal, but the fact that the audience may be perceived as evaluating the performance.

-          Depends on who is in the audience, how significant they are and if they are evaluating your performance (e.g. scout)

How To Cope With External Influences

Strategies such as Self talk, imagery, relaxation techniques and cue utilisation help combat the effect of external influences.

Self-Talk – Cognitive, helps keep motivated in training and competition

Imagery – Seeing success, perfecting skills and re focusing on the task in hand

Cue Utilisation – Concentrating on the most relevant cues and reacting to them, blocking out the irrelevant

Performance Profiling

-          Identify areas for intervention and objectives

-          Aid motivation, compare/copy success, monitor changes

Psychological Skills Training Programme

-          Introduction

-          Construction

-          Implementation

-          Assessment

Characteristics Of Successful Performers

-          Better concentration, Higher self-confidence, More positive thoughts, Lower anxiety levels

Strategies To Improve Psychologically

-          Imagery

-          Mental rehearsal

-          Self-talk

-          Goal setting

-          Concentration techniques

Issues With Performance Profiling

-          Lack of time

-          Lack of sport-specific knowledge

-          Failure to follow up and reassess the programme

“A formal or ceremonial event or action”

Purpose

-          Unites performers and crowds, Generates respect and courtesy, Strengthens social bonds, enhancing group cohesion, Demonstrates respect for, or submission to opponents

-          Defines affiliation to cultural heritage

-          Physically raise level of arousal

-          Create a bond of belief

Examples

-          Opening and closing ceremonies, Singing national anthems before games, Exchanging gifts before a fixture, Singing club songs, Shaking hands before a game

-          The Haka

Task Cohesion – the degree to which members of a group work together to achieve common goals

Social Cohesion – reflects the degree to which members of a team like each other and interact accordingly

“Cohesion is the motivation that keeps the group together and inhibits the break up of the group. Group members may be motivated to be in the group because of the success it brings them, or because they value the relationships within the group”

Carron (1980)

Characteristics of a group – Collective identity, A sense of shared purpose, Structured patterns of communication

Building Group Cohesion

Forming – group meets or is assembled

Storming – tension as roles are defined

Norming – rules and standards agreed

Performing – group works and matures together

4 Factors Affecting Development of Group Cohesion

-          Environmental factors, Personal factors, Leadership factors, Team factors

Perception - The ability to interpret what is happening consciously as a result of sensory information received

Scanning - Visual perception when an individual attends to many aspects in their field of vision

Channel Capacity - How information has to pass through channels of limited capacity in the brain – the brain can be trained to receive only relevant information

Peripheral Vision – The ability of a performer to perceive actions from ‘the corner of their eye’

Depth Perception – The ability of a performer to see down-field and to judge how far away player, objects or targets are

Static Acuity –The attention to fine detail, essentially concerned with clarity and sharpness with no movement

Dynamic Acuity - The attention to fine detail, essentially concerned with clarity and sharpness with movement (positions of players or the ball while in motion)

Accommodation - The ability of the eye to change focus accurately from distant to near objects

Vergence - The ability to fixate an oncoming or receding object

Extrapolation - The ability of the brain to anticipate accurately what will happen next

Improvisation - Interactive sport requires performers to think on their feet – quickly. Events never unfold as planned, so those performers who can react most quickly and improvise, performing instinctively, have the edge over their opponents

Pursuits - Movement of the eyes in smoothly following a moving object

Saccade - A fast movement of the eye, head or other part of the body

Attentional Focus - The ability to pay attention and concentrate. This is often a restricting factor in sports performances. Attentional focusing differs in width, and in whether the situation is internal or external. The ability to maintain focus and pay attention explains how performers overcome the high speeds of certain games.

Psychological Refractory Period - When a performer has been ‘sold a dummy’ and recognises they can’t do anything about it. It is that moment when the recipient experiences a split second in limbo – realising they have enacted an incorrect response and want to change it, but can’t.