Download 1. Individual aspects of sport performance

Section B: Psychology of sport
performance
1. Individual aspects of sport
performance
Syllabus
• Personality
– Trait perspectives
– Social learning perspectives
– Interactionist approaches
– Justification of the limitations of personality
profiling in sport
Syllabus
• Attitudes
– The nature of attitudes, inconsistencies and prejudice
in sporting situations
– Understanding of their origins and influences
(including the effects of socialisation)
– Identification of the components of attitudes
(cognitive, affective, behavioural)
– Identification of the links between attitudes and
behaviour in sporting situations
– Cognitive dissonance
– Persuasive communication
Syllabus
• Motivation
– Atkinson and McClelland’s theory of achievement
motivation (the need to achieve and the need to
avoid failure)
– Awareness of sport-specific achievement
motivation (i.e. competitiveness)
Definition of personality
• The sum of an individuals characteristics which
make them unique
• The pattern of psychological characteristics that
make each person unique
• The unique psychological and behavioural
characteristics of an individual
• Those relatively stable and enduring aspects of
individuals which distinguish them from other
people, making them unique but at the same
time permit a comparison between individuals
Measuring personality
• Measuring and assessing individual personality
traits may be useful in identifying and predicting
future sporting talents from a young age
• There are however, questions over validity and
reliability as well as the time consuming and
expensive nature of such testing
• The following are methods by which personality
can be measured:
– Interviews
– Questionnaires
– Observation
• Interviews and Questionnaires allow an
element of 'cheating' by answering questions
in such a way as to influence the outcome.
During observations the individual must be
aware of the process as observations in secret
are unethical.
• This however, leaves the testing open to
changes in the individuals behaviour as a
result of being watched
Types of tests
• Eysenck’s personality inventory (EPI)
• Cattell’s 16 personality factors questionnaire
• Sport competition anxiety test (SCAT)
• Interviews
– Rorschach inkblot test
Testing
• Reliability
– Reliable research achieves consistency of results after
two or more applications of tests
• Validity
– Internal
• Assesses whether the research measures what it is supposed
to
• The instrument or method
– External
• Assesses whether the results of the research can be
generalised to the population as a whole
Trait theory
• A relatively stable, highly consistent attribute that
exerts a widely generalised causal effect on
behaviour‘
• Inherited / genetic (from parents)
• The following are examples of personality traits:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Shy
Outgoing
Arrogant
Relaxed
Temperamental
Sensitive
Eysenck’s theory
• He identified two dimensions of personality which act
as continuums, with an individuals personality falling
anywhere along the two lines, as shown below
• These two dimensions are stable/unstable and
introverted/extroverted.
• For example, if an individual is introverted (shy of social
contact) but stable, they are likely to be reliable, calm
and controlled. An extroverted (enjoys social affiliation)
unstable individual is likely to be tough, aggressive and
excitable.
Recticular activating system
• Regulates the amount of arousal experienced by
the brain
• Extroverts prefer high arousal situations
– Their RAS operates at low levels of activity
– High arousal situations are stimulating
– Enables them to drive toward their goals
• Introverts prefer low arousal situations
– Their levels of internal arousal are high and do not
require extra external stimuli for drive or motivation
Narrow band approach
• The narrow band approach is a more
straightforward approach to personality which
states that every person has either a Type A or
Type B personality.
• Type A: Impatient; highly strung; intolerant; high
stress levels
– Continue with tasks such as training schedules, even
when they feel tired
• Type B: Relaxed, tolerant; low stress levels
– Suffer less from anxiety
Sheldon’s somatotyping personality
formation
• This theory is based on body shape relating to
personality:
• Ectomorph (tall, slim figure): Self-conscious;
tense; private; introverted
• Endomorph (short, rounded figure): tolerant;
sociable; relaxed
• Mesomorph (muscular, athletic figure):
extroverted, risk taker, assertive
Data collection and trait theory
• Attempts to profile sporting personalities
using trait theory have been largely
UNSUCCESSFUL
• Personality can change with the situation
Problems with questionnaires
• The respondents may fail to understand the
question asked
• …or may be tempted to give the answer they
feel they ought to give
• …this leads to a biased response
• How often the test is done – frequency can
develop a better “picture”
Problems with observing
• If the subjects realise that they are being
watched, their behaviour can change
• It is a subjective way of assessing personality
• …observers need to be trained so consistent
results can be found
Problems with physical testing
• Includes the measure of heart rate to assess
anxiety and stress
• Sports performers do not like to be wired up
as it can restrict movement
• …difficult to get measurements in real-life
situations (games)
Bandura’s social learning theory
• Bandura believed that personality is learnt
through our experiences, observing those
around us and imitating their behaviour.
• Dependent on the situation (the environment
you are in)
• Possible to control arousal levels and modify
behaviour if correct reinforcement is applied
– Positive / negative / punishment
Interactionist approach
• The theory states that behaviour is a combination
of both inherent (built-in) personality traits and
environmental factors. The following equation
describes the theory:
• B = F (P.E)
• Behaviour is the Function of Personality
and Environment
• The theory also states that Personality traits can
be used to predict behaviour in some situations,
but this is not exclusive.
Attitudes
• A relatively stable belief or view on a specific
attitude object
• Developed through past experiences,
significant others, the media or any other
interaction with the social environment
• May be positive, negative or neutral
Attitude made up of 3 parts
• The triadic model
• Cognitive component
– Relates to what we think or believe (thoughts/ideas)
– Formed through past experiences and what we have learned
from others
• Affective component
– Relates to feelings and emotions
– Also depend on past experiences
• Behavioural component
– Relates to what we do and how we behave
– Not always consistent with our attitude
Attitude tests
• Methods used to assess the opinions and feelings
of an individual, which are used to describe their
attitude
– Observation of body language and behaviour
– Physiological tests (galvanic skin response)
– Questionnaires (Likert, Thurston and Osgood scales)
• Testing for attitude can be difficult due to the
problems of reliability and validity
La Piere: prejudice and attitude
• Look up this study
– *Hint – Chinese in America*
• Prejudice can affect behaviour
• Attitudes expressed as a behaviour in one context are
different to the attitudes expressed in a written
response
• In sport: a black football player is openly welcomed to
the club but not picked for the team because of racial
prejudice
Changing attitudes
• Should you wish to alter an individual’s
attitude the two most commonly employed
methods are
– Cognitive dissonance
– Persuasive communication
Cognitive dissonance
• Method of changing an attitude by creating feelings of
psychological discomfort with conflicting cognitions
within the performer
• Must experience opposing beliefs (dissonance), and to
return to a consistent state one must become
dominant
– E.G. an individual knows swimming is beneficial to health,
but does not enjoy participating as they think it is boring,
so they do not take part
– To create dissonance the person may be encouraged to
attend a group where the emphasis is on fun and
enjoyment
Persuasive communication
• The person is exposed to new information or
experiences in an attempt to change their
mind
• The effectiveness of this depends on:
– The status of the person delivering the message
– The quality of that message
– The nature of the audience
– The situation at the time
Attitudes associated with physical
education and sport
• Some have positive attitudes because:
– They believe in the value of exercise
– They enjoy the activities
– They are good at the activities
– They experience excitement because of the
physical challenge
– They experience relaxation and see it as an escape
from stress (catharsis)
Attitudes associated with physical
education and sport
• Some have negative attitudes because:
– They believe that it is harmful
– They dislike the experiences involved
– They lack the physical or perceptual skills
necessary
– They experience stress or anxiety when they
participate
Motivation
• Motivation is thought to be a combination of
the drive within us to achieve our aims and
the outside factors which affect it. With this in
mind, motivation has the following two forms,
intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic motivation
• This is motivation from within. A desire to perform well
and succeed. The following will be true:
– Desire to overcome the problem or task
– Development of skills and habits to overcome that
problem
– Rehearsal of successful habits until they are perfect
– A feeling of pride and enjoyment in performing the skill
– Repeated goal setting in order to progress and maintain
motivation
Extrinsic motivation
• Extrinsic motivation comes from a source outside of
the performer. These are things which can encourage
the athlete to perform and fall into two groups:
• Tangible rewards: Physical rewards such as medals and
money. These should be used sparingly with young
athletes to avoid a situation where winning a prize is
more important than competing well
• Intangible rewards: Praise, recognition and
achievements. These should be used on a regular basis
to encourage the athlete to repeat the behaviour
which earned the praise.
Motivation, arousal and performance
• Motivation is related to the intensity and
direction of behaviour. That is, the level of
arousal and the way in which we behave affect
our motivation and hence performance. There
are currently two theories which try to explain
this link:
Hull’s drive theory
Inverted U law
• There are three factors which surround this
theory:
– Activity
– Skill level
– Personality: Extroverts perform better in highpressure, high arousal situations. Introverts tend to do
better in a state of low arousal. This is thought to be
connected to part of the brain called the RAS or
reticular activating system. This controls the level of
arousal. Introverts have a highly stimulated RAS and
so avoid stressful situations, whereas extroverts need
high arousal situations to stimulate the RAS
Motivation and personality
• Some people are more naturally driven to
achieve set goals than others. These people
like to push and challenge themselves. What is
it within this type of person that motivates
them? And why do others not have this
desire?
• It is thought that when it comes to motivation,
there are two personality types:
Need to achieve
• These are the people that thrive on a
challenge.
• They are usually determined, quick workers
who take risks and enjoy being assessed.
• Gain pride and satisfaction from participation
• Display perseverance
• like feedback and personal responsibility
Need to avoid failure
• These people tend to avoid challenges
because they do not want to risk failing.
• They are slow workers who avoid
responsibility, are easily dissuaded from taking
part and do not like being assessed.
• We can better this theory by including the
following…
• Within those who compete in sports, there
are those who are ego oriented and those
who are task oriented.
– Ego oriented - measure their success on beating
others and being the 'top' competitor
– Task oriented - Measure their success by their
own achievements such as running a p.b.
Competitiveness
• Sport Orientation Questionnaire
– Gill 1986
Self-confidence
• A specific form of confidence, known as selfefficacy.
• This is not an overall self-confidence but varies
within each situation we find ourselves in.
• Most people will choose to participate in
sports at which they have a high self-efficacy,
or belief in their ability at the task in hand.
Self-efficacy is affected by four factors:
• Performance accomplishments - Past achievements in the activity
encourage a feeling of self-efficacy
• Vicarious experiences - Seeing someone else, who you believe to be of
the same or lower standard to yourself, complete the task well provides
confidence that you too can achieve
• Verbal persuasion - Encouragement and positive words from those close
to you can instill a sense of confidence
• Emotional arousal - Control over arousal levels provides greater selfefficacy
These four factors can help athletes with low self-efficacy to boost their
confidence and perform better by:
• Setting achievable goals and highlighting successes
• Using a peer to demonstrate new techniques
• Promoting support and encouragement from the athletes family and
friends
• Using stress management techniques to aid relaxation
Experience
• Past performances and experiences will
influence an athletes confidence.
• Their last performance will affect they way the
approach the next performance.
• Weiner related this to examinations and
produced a 2D model. This was not thought to
be specific enough to sports and so Roberts
and Pascuzzi adapted the model in 1979
• Successes are often attributed to internal
causes whereas failure is often blamed on
external factors such as equipment and
officials! This is called a self-serving bias.
• Repeated failures or disappointments often
lead to the belief that failure is inevitable in
certain situations, leading to feelings that the
outcome is uncontrollable. This is known
as learned helplessness.
Attributions
• The perceived reasons for the success or
failure of an event or pattern of behaviour
Attribution retraining
• Involves the coach or teacher developing and
changing an individual’s perception of failure,
allowing them to deal with it effectively and
improve future performances, avoiding
learned helplessness
• Goal setting is vital in this process, especially
the use of outcome or task goals rather than
performance goals