SPORT PSYCHOLOGY THE PERFORMER AS AN INDIVIDUAL Is Your

1
SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
2
THE PERFORMER AS AN INDIVIDUAL
Unit 1
3
Is Your Unique Individual Make-up
PERSONALITY

• THERE ARE 3 THEORIES

1) Trait Theory

• Personality is innate, consistent in all
  situations and enduring
• -Attempts to profile the individual

E.g. Esyenck 4 personality types on a matrix
4
PERSONALITY (cont)

• 2) Social Learning Theory

Personality is Learned from significant others
e.g. role models, our peers and the media Learned
from experience by the process
Copy
Reinforced
Observe
Identify
(BANDURA)
5
PERSONALITY (cont)

• 3) Interactionist Theory

-Combines both Trait and Social Learning theories
-Summarised by the formula B f (P x E)
-Behaviour is adapted to the situation
-Accounts for behaviour change
6
PERSONALITY (cont)
E.g. a boxer is calm at home, but assertive and
determined in the boxing ring.
7
PROBLEMS WITH PERSONALITY RESEARCH

• Attempts at profiling are unsuccessful because

inconclusive
unreliable
Personality changes within the game
RESEARCH
invalid

• Traits are poor predictors of behaviour

Personality changes when not competing in the game
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HOW TO MEASURE PERSONALITY
TASK Complete the table suggesting 2 advantages
and 2 disadvantages for each method
-Efficient
-Biased Answer
-misunderstand questions
-Deals with lots of info
-Subjective
-True to life
-During real game
-Behaviour change when watched
-Factual, can compare
-Cumbersome
-Increased stress
-During performance
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ATTITUDES
Are states of readiness directed at attitude
objects
THERE ARE THREE PARTS
1) Cognitive Your thoughts
e.g. a belief in exercise benefits
2) Affective Your feelings
e.g. enjoying training
3) Behavioural Your actions
e.g. training 3 times a week
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FORMATION OF ATTITUDES
Attitudes can be positive or negative
Enjoyable Experiences
Stress Release After Competing
Role Models
A Belief in Ability
The Media
Influence of Significant Others
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FORMATION OF ATTITUDES
A Bad Experience e.g. an injury
Lack of Ability
The Media
Stress in Competition
Influence of Significant Others
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CHANGING ATTITUDES
Negative attitudes can be changed to positive
attitudes by

• Persuasion from a perceived expert

• Make it fun when training

• Allow early success

• Use positive reinforcement and rewards

• Point out the benefits of exercise

• Use role models

• Cognitive Dissonance

13
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE
Is a challenge to existing beliefs causing
disharmony in an individual and a motivation to
change attitudes
E.g. a rugby player who thinks aerobics is for
girls may change his opinion if told only the
fittest people do aerobics
Is a rugby player fit enough for this?
14
PREJUDICE

• Is an extreme attitude

Bad Experience
Influence of Significant Others
Your Team
Officials
Fitting In With The Group
The Media
Age
Gender
Race
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PREJUDICE
TASK Discuss how you as a teacher or coach could
prevent a prejudice in sport
Use Role Models
Cognitive Dissonance
Media Education
PREVENTION
Punish Unfair Behaviour
Reinforce Fair Play
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AGGRESSION IN SPORT
Definitions

• Aggression

Assertion

• Controlled
• No intent to harm
• Within rules
• Motivated

• Uncontrolled
• Intent to harm
• Outside rules
• Reactive

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AGGRESSION IN SPORT
In most sports it is easy to distinguish between
aggression and assertion, but in some sports it
is a grey area
TASK Discuss whether you think boxing is
aggressive or assertive
- Intent to harm
- Within the rules
- Motivated
- Reactive
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THEORIES OF AGGRESSION
THERE ARE 4 THEORIES
1) Instinct Theory

• The aggressive response is innate
• It is a product of our evolution and will
  surface under provocation

• Instinct theory suggests we are born with
  aggressive inclinations and we will use them if
  we need to

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THEORIES OF AGGRESSION
2) The F-A Hypothesis
- Aggression is inevitable when frustrating
circumstances cause our goals to be blocked
E.g. a referees decision, poor play or being
fouled
- If the aggressive tendency can be released,
Catharsis may occur. If the aggression cannot be
released even more frustration can occur.
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THEORIES OF AGGRESSION

• 2) The F-A Hypothesis (Cont)

• Here is a model to explain the F-A Hypothesis

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THEORIES OF AGGRESSION
3) The Aggression Cue Hypothesis

• Aggression only occurs if learned cues are
  present
• Such pre-learned cues, learned from the coach or
  other players, trigger the aggressive response

E.g. A coach may have allowed a football player
to elbow the defender as his team works for
positions in the penalty area as a corner is
taken. The taking of a corner is a learned cue
for an aggressive response

• Here is a model to explain the Aggression Cue
  Hypothesis

Goals Blocked
Aggression Unlikely
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THEORIES OF AGGRESSION
4) Social Learning Theory
- Aggression is learned from experience, coaches,
role models and significant others - Aggressive
behaviour will be copied if it is reinforced
E.g. A basketball player sees her team captain
foul an opponent she is marking closely and the
opposing player is put off her game
Observe
Identify
Reinforced
Copy
- Bandura suggested that children will copy the
aggressive behaviour of adults, especially in a
live situation
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CAUSES OF AGGRESSION
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HOW TO PREVENT AGGRESSION
TASK Can you complete the table suggesting 4
measures a coach could take and 3 measures a
player could take to prevent aggression?
- Punish of substitute a player
- Use relaxation techniques
- Reinforce non-aggressive acts
- Practice mental rehearsal
- Promote peer group pressure
- Channel the aggressive response
- Set non-aggressive goals
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UNIT 1 EXAM QUESTIONS

• Use an example from sport to illustrate what is
  meant by the intentionalist approach to
  personality? (4 marks)

2. Give an example of a prejudice that may occur
in sport and show how such a prejudice may have
been formed. (4 marks)
3. Define the term aggression as used in sport
psychology and explain how a coach of a sports
team could eliminate the aggressive tendencies of
his or her players. (4 marks)
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UNIT 1 EXAM ANSWERS

• 1. Interactionist approach 3 marks from 3 of
• B f(PxE)
• Combines trait and social learning
• Innate characteristics are adapted to the
  situation
• Accounts for behaviour change
• 1 mark for example

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UNIT 1 EXAM ANSWERS

• 2. Prejudice 1 mark for example
• Racism/ sexism/ ageism/ gender/ officials
• 3 marks from 3 of
• Social learning
• Media
• Peer group pressure
• Historical influences
• Bad past experience over valued

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UNIT 1 EXAM ANSWERS

• 3. Aggression
• 1 mark for definition
• Intent to harm/ outside rules/ reactive
• 3 marks for 3 ways to eliminate
• Punishment of aggression/ substitution
• Reinforce fair play
• Promote peer group pressure
• Set non aggressive goals

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THE PERFORMER IN A TEAM
Unit 2
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SPORTS GROUPS

• A group has the following features
• - Interaction between group members.
• - A collective identity.
• - Shared objectives or a common goal.

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STEINERS MODEL OF GROUP PERFORMANCE
Actual Productivity Potential Productivity
Losses due to
Faulty Processes

• Actual Productivity is the result

• Potential Productivity is the groups best
  performance

• Faulty Processes include the things that go
  wrong such as lack of cohesion, poor group
  co-ordination and motivational losses

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GROUP CO-ORDINATION

• Lack of co-ordination may be caused by

Poor Strategies
Poor Tactics
Bad Timing
Caused by
Lack of communication
Misunderstanding of roles or the coaches
instructions
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THE TYPE OF SPORT AFFECTS CO-ORDINATION
TASK Discuss how much co-ordination is needed in
the following sports

• Marathon Running

• Netball

• Double Sculls Rowing

Answer
The more people involved the more co-ordination
is needed. Individual sports need less
co-ordination than co-active sports (a pair) and
team interactive sports need most co-ordination
34
MOTIVATIONAL LOSSES-SOCIAL LOAFING

• Social loafing is a loss of individual motivation
  due to lack of performance identification

Others not trying
A belief your effort wont change the results
Lack of reinforcement
Caused by
Low ability
Low confidence
Others may cover for you
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TASK Now that you know what causes social
loafing, how could you prevent it?
SOCIAL LOAFING
Highlighting individual performance
Statistics
Prevention
Peer group pressure
Give roles
Set goals
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MOTIVATIONAL LOSSES IN THE GROUP

• The Ringlemann Effect states that

• Group performance decreases with group size

• A study of tug of war found that a team of
  eight did not pull eight times as hard as an
  individual !!

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GROUP COHESION

• The desire of the group members to achieve their
  goals

Communication
Past success
Sharing common goals
Likelihood of future success
Unequal pay or rewards
Affected by
Personality
Similarity of group members
Threats to the team
Size of group
Type of sport
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GROUP COHESION (cont)
TASK As a coach, discuss how you would ensure
your team works together in a cohesive manner
Promoted by

• Goal Setting

• Promoting group identity

• Interactive drills in training

• Giving roles

• Clear tactics

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MODEL OF COHESION

• Attraction
• What gets you to the group
• Integration
• How the group gel
• Task Cohesion Achievement
• Social cohesion How group members get on

Cohesion Attraction
Integration Task Social Task
Social
Athletes are attracted to the sport for social
purposes and to make progress (task) Only in the
team they must interact with others (social) and
try to achieve their goals.
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LEADERSHIP
THERE 2 TYPES OF LEADER
1) Prescribed

• Appointed by an outside source E.g. Sven Goran
  Eriksson

2) Emergent
- From within the group
Charisma
Skills
Motivator
Experience
Qualities of a Leader
Empathy
Communicator
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LEADERSHIP STYLES
Six styles a leader can adopt are
1) Autocratic
- Dictates to the group and makes all the
decisions
2) Democratic
- Listens to group ideas before deciding on action
3) Training
- Structured skills and drills
4) Rewarding
- Motivational strategies such as praise and
rewards e.g player of the match
5) Social Support
- One to one feedback
6) Laissez Faire
- No leader input, leaving the group to get on
with it
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THE CHOICE OF LEADERSHIP STYLE CAN DEPEND ON HOW
GOOD THE SITUATION IS

• Fielders Contingency Model
• Autocratic Leader is best in a positive (Most
  Favourable) or negative (least favourable
  situation)

Democratic Leader is best in moderately
favourable situation
43
ACCORDING TO CHELLADURAI 3 FACTORS AFFECT
LEADERSHIP
TASK Can you give examples from sport of
situation, group and leader variables?
Situation
Group
Leader
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LEADERSHIP (cont)

• Situation can be affected by
• Time available
• Type of task
• Danger

• Leader can be affected by
• Leader characteristics
• Preferences

• Group can be affected by
• Group size
• Group ability
• Group hostility

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FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE OF LEADERSHIP STYLES -
SUMMARY

• The more leaders actual behaviour matches the
  needs of the group and the demands of the
  situation the more satisfaction is gained from
  the performance.

• Chelladurai

• Leadership is affected by 3 factors

Situation
Demands

Leader
Actual
Satisfaction

Group
Prefer
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ARE LEADERS BORN OR MADE?
NATURE
NURTURE
Some argue that
Others say that

• Leaders learn from experience or role models

• Leaders are born with innate characteristics

But perhaps

• Leaders adapt to the situation

INTERACTION
47
Conduct a class discussion or debate on the
motionAll leaders are born great and male!
Perhaps the boys would like to argue against the
girls in this discussion!!
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GOAL SETTING

• Setting targets improves performance because

• Allows targets to be met

• Builds confidence

• Provides motivation

• Lowers arousal

49
TYPES OF GOALS
Steps to success
Step 3
Long term goals
Outcome or product goals. The ultimate aim!
Short term goals
Step 2
Performance goals about beating your last attempt
Step 1
Process goals about technique
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CONSIDERATIONS WHEN GOAL SETTING

• S pecific

• M easured

• A greed

• R ealistic, but challenging

• T imed

• E xciting

• R ecorded

• Goals should not just concern winning, not
  everyone can win.

• Personal performance goals provide intrinsic
  motivation and can be achieved by everyone!

51
UNIT 2 EXAM QUESTIONS
1. Name two features of a sports group. (2 marks)
2. What is meant by the term social loafing and
how can a sports coach help to prevent social
loafing occurring in their team? (4 marks)
3. Explain three factors that could influence the
choice of style chosen by the leader of a sports
group. (3 marks)
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UNIT 2 EXAM ANSWERS

• 1. Group features 2 for 2 of
• Shared common goals
• Interaction
• Common identity

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UNIT 2 EXAM ANSWERS

• 2. Social Loafing
• 1 mark for definition
• Loss of individual motivation in a group due to
  lack of performance identification
• Prevention of social loafing, 3 marks for 3 of
• Highlight individual performance
• Statistics
• Set goals
• Give roles
• promote peer group pressure

54
UNIT 2 EXAM ANSWERS

• 3. Leadership choice, 3 for 3 of
• Situation danger/time/facilities
• Leader characteristics/personality
• Group size/ability/hostility

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EMOTIONAL CONTROL IN SPORT
Unit 3
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CONFIDENCE IN SPORT

• Is a Belief in your ability to master a
  situation

According to Vealey confidence is based on

• Personality-

Your level of competitiveness and achievement
motivation

• Experience-

Your amount of past success on the task and your
belief in your ability to succeed in future

• Situation-

Playing at home or away for example
57
TRAIT V STATE CONFIDENCE

• Trait Confidence
• Is innate confidence shown in most situations

• State confidence

Is situation specific e.g. Taking a penalty
The interaction between these two is important.
A naturally confident hockey player who has taken
many penalty flicks before will be very confident
of scoring from the spot in future games.
58
CONFIDENCE-SELF EFFICACY THEORY
According to Bandura

• 4 factors affect confidence in any situation

• Performance Accomplishments-

What you have done before

• Vicarious Experience-

Seeing others do it

• Verbal Persuasion-

Encouragement

• Emotional Arousal

Your level of anxiety

• If all 4 factors are positive then a highly
  satisfactory performance will result

59
PROMOTING CONFIDENCE
TASK Taking into account the 4 influences on
self efficacy, how could a coach develop
confidence in his or hers players?
Set attainable yet challenging goals
Show similar aged role models successfully doing
the task
Attribute success internally
Promoting Confidence
Control arousal with relaxation techniques
Use positive reinforcement and encouragement
Give accurate demonstrations
Allow early success
60
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION

• Is the desire with which competitive situations
  are approached or avoided

• The degree of competitiveness can be a
  personality trait, and/or it can be developed
  through sporting experiences and change with the
  situation

61
ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION (cont)
Atkinson suggested 2 personality types

• NACH

• NAF

- The need to achieve
- The need to avoid failure
- Avoid competition
- Welcome competition
- Take the easy option
- They take risks
- Give up easily
- Welcome feedback
- Do not take responsibility for their actions
- Like a challenge
- Try harder after failure
62
THE DEGREE OF ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION IS
INFLUENCED BY THE TASK AND SITUATION
How easy
Have I done it before?
How will I feel if I succeed?
Whats the incentive?
Task
How hard
COMPETITIVENESS
How motivated am i?
Am I in a familiar environment?
TASK

Place the influences on achievement motivation
listed above in rank order according to how
important they are in promoting competitiveness
and confidence.
63
AROUSAL IN SPORT

• Arousal is an energised state of readiness to
  perform

• Increases in arousal can be cause by

- Simply being watched
- By a challenging situation such as a major game

• The relationship between arousal and performance
  is explained by a number of theories

TASK Give some examples of situations in sport
that may cause high levels of arousal

64
DRIVE THEORY

• Is explained by the formula P f (D x H)

• Initial motivation causes increased drive, more
  effort, more success and a repetition of the same
  response

• At high arousal we pick up less information and
  focus on the dominant response.
• - If the task is simple or the performer is an
  expert then this response will be correct.
  -
  If the task is complex or the performer is a
  novice then performance may be impaired

65
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AROUSAL AND PERFORMANCE

• Drive Theory

High
Low
High
66
INVERTED U THEORY

• Inverted U

Under
Over
Moderate

• Increased arousal improves performance but only
  to a moderate level after which more arousal
  causes performance to suffer

• Under and over arousal can be equally bad for
  performance

67
A moderate level of arousal is not always the best
At low arousal
At high arousal
- Introverts perform best because they already
have high adrenaline levels
- Extroverts can tolerate extra adrenaline
- Experts are used to the pressure and can
operate on limited info
- A novice performs best because they need to
concentrate on lots of info
- Gross and simple skills are performed best
because they need less control and decision making
- Fine and complex skills are performed best
because they require control and decision making
68
CATASTROPHE THEORY

• Is an adaptation of the Inverted U

• Increased arousal improves performance to a
  point but an intense combination of somatic and
  cognitive anxieties causes a dramatic
  deterioration in performance

• To return to adequate performance the athlete
  must relax to the point before the catastrophe
  occurred

69
THE ZONE OF OPTIMUM FUNCTIONING

• According to Hanin athletes perform best not at a
  point (inverted u) but in an area or zone that
  is reached by advanced cognitive techniques such
  as imagery and visualisation

• The zone is an adapted version of the Inverted U

70
THE ZONE
TASK Athlete A performs best at a low arousal
zone Athlete B at moderate arousal Athlete C at
high arousal

• Give examples from sport of tasks that would be
  appropriate for athlete A, B and C

71
ANSWERS
Athlete A Low arousal
Golf Putt
Athlete B Moderate arousal
Volleyball block
Athlete C High arousal
Rugby Tackle
72
FEATURES OF THE ZONE
Extreme confidence
Outcome assured
Energised yet calm
Automatic control
Relaxed
Total focus
Effortless smooth performance
Anxiety is low
73
STRESS IN SPORT

• Is a response to a demanding situation or threat

• If we think we can match the threat a positive
  and confident performance results.
• If we think we cant meet the demands of the
  situation, distress results.
• Our perception of the situation is important.
  Can we hack it?

Positive
Negative
We think we can beat the threat
We think we cant meet the demands of the
situation anxiety
74
A SUMMARY OF STRESS
75
TASK Explain, using examples from sport, what
you think is meant by conflict, competition
and frustration as stressors.
Answer
Conflict-
Playing against an established
international player
Competition-
Reaching a major final with lots of
athletes close to your p.b
Frustration-
Being fouled just when you are about
to score the equalising goal
76
ANXIETY

• Is a negative aspect of stress. Characterised by
  irrational thinking, loss of concentration and
  fear of failure

Anxiety is
Trait
State
- Situation dependant
- Personality trait
- Temporary rush of anxiety
- Consistent
- Stable
- Caused by threatening circumstances
- A player worrying before all games
- Anxious behaviour all the time
- E.g. taking a penalty
77
CAUSES OF ANXIETY

• Worries about

Pleasing the crowd
Letting the team down
Running out of time when losing
Causes
Playing badly
Meeting training demands
Injury
78
THE SCAT TEST
Tick appropriate box e.g.
79
THE SCAT TEST (cont)
View the next slide for how to calculate your
SCAT score
80
HOW TO SCORE THE SCAT TEST
For each statement, 3 responses are possible
The test items are 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9
Items 1, 4 and 7 are not scored

• Items 2, 3, 5, 8 and 9 are scored according to
  the following key

Hardly ever 1
Often 3
Sometimes 2

• Item 6 is scored as follows

• The higher the score, the higher is your
  competitive anxiety

Often 1
Hardly ever 3
Sometimes 2
81
SPORTS COMPETITION ANXIETY TEST (SCAT)

• (Martens)

• A questionnaire that measures anxiety cause by
  sporting competition

• The main findings of the test are-

• Anxiety is interactive.
  State and Trait effects combine. A
  natural worrier would be even more nervous taking
  a penalty. If you have the trait youre more
  likely to get the state.

• Athletes are not equally anxious all the time

• Being watched is a main cause of anxiety

• Anxiety is therefore multi- dimensional

82
ANXIETY CAN BE PRESENT IN TWO WAYS
Somatic
Cognitive
- Physical - of the body
- In the mind
- Muscular tension
- Irrational thinking
- Shaking
- Worrying
- Pacing
- Confusion
- Loss of concentration
- Poor co-ordination
- Sweating
- Increased heart rate
83
MULTI DIMENSIONAL ANXIETY
The Relationship Between Anxiety And Performance

• Somatic anxiety mirrors the inverted U. Increases
  in somatic anxiety improve performance to a point
  after which performance deteriorates

• Cognitive anxiety has a linear effect.
  Increases in cognitive anxiety makes performance
  worse.

84
MULTI DIMENSIONAL ANXIETY

• Cognitive anxieties and present well before a
  major sporting event but somatic anxiety emerges
  just before the game. Lack of physical signs
  during the days leading up to the game does not
  mean lack of anxiety

85
TO CONTROL ANXIETY AND STRESS
Visualisation- Creating a mental picture of doing
a task in a real game situation, and succeeding

• Controlling cognitive anxiety

Positive Self Talk- Convincing yourself you can
do it or reminding yourself of tactics
Imagery- Using the senses to recreate a past
success. Attempts to build confidence
Cognitive
Mental Rehearsal- Going over the performance in
the mind, maybe rehearse a sequence
Goal Setting- Motivating yourself by setting
targets
86
CONTROLLING SOMATIC ANXIETY
Biofeedback- Used to test which of the anxiety
control methods works best for you
Progressive relaxation techniques- Used to
relieve muscular tension
Somatic
Breathing exercises- Learn to control breathing
to reduce anxiety
87
ATTENTION IN SPORTFOCUSING ON RELEVANT CUES

• Niddefer argued that the performer must choose
  the right attentional style for the right
  situation

• The styles are

• Broad-

• Internal-

Attending to several stimuli with wide vision
Inner thoughts

• Narrow-

• External-

Focusing on one or two cues
Looking at the environment
88
SUMMARY OF ATTENTION IN SPORT
Position of players in a game e.g. Midfield in
soccer
Analyse and plan. Coaches tactics after watching
the game
Focus on the ball e.g. Golf
ball to hole
Mental Rehearsal Focus at the start
89
CUE UTILISATION- EASTERBROOK

• The amount of information we can process is
  related to our level of activation or arousal

• At low arousal we have a broad attentional
  field, take in many cues but can become confused

• At high arousal the attentional field narrows
  and we only focus on a few cues, maybe missing
  relevant information

• At moderate arousal we focus on the relevant
  stimuli

90
EFFECTS OF ATTENTION OVERLOAD
TASK What do you think might happen to a sports
performer who has too much information to deal
with?
Answer
Loss of concentration
Too much attention on irrelevant cues
Effects
Increased anxiety
A tendency to fall back on the dominant response
Confusion
91
SOCIAL FACILITATION

• The Effects Of Others On Performance

• According to Zajonc there are 4 types of others
  present in sport

• An audience -

• Supporters -

Just watches
Encourage or criticise performance

• Competitors -

• Co-Actors -

Are in conflict with the performer
Are doing the sport alongside you
92
HERE ARE SOME FEATURES OF SOCIAL FACILITATION

• Inhibition -

• Audience -

- When performance is made worse
- Watching performance

• Facilitation -

• Dominant Response -

- When performance is improved
- Focusing on one or two cues as our ability to
take in information reduces

• Evaluation Apprehension -

• Increased Arousal

- The fear of being judged
93
SUMMARY OF FACILITATION/ INHIBITION
TASK Can you put these features (from the
previous slide) in the order you think they would
occur?
1) Dominant Response
2) Evaluation Apprehension
3) Audience
4) Increased Arousal
5) Inhibition
6) Facilitation
94
SUMMARY OF FACILITATION/ INHIBITION
Answer
1

• Audience
• Increased Arousal
• Evaluation Apprehension
• Dominant Response

2
3
4
5
FACILITATION
INHIBITION
Impaired performance Complex Task/ beginner
Improved performance Simple Task
95
COPING WITH AN AUDIENCE

• To combat the pressure of being watched coaches
  and players should

Lower arousal with relaxation techniques
Train in front of a crowd
Decrease the importance of the event
Focus on the task
96
EVALUATION APPREHENSION

• Is the perceived fear of being judged

• This fear is made worse if

Audience is know to us
We are lacking confidence
Evaluation Apprehension
Audience are experts e.g. chief scouts
Audience are critical
97
DISTRACTION/ CONFLICT THEORY

• Explains that it is hard to be multi-tasked and
  concentrate on two things at once.

• When playing sport and trying to concentrate on
  task demands we may be distracted by both
  internally (our anxieties) and externally (the
  crowd)

• Conflict between task and distraction causes
  increased arousal, anxiety and lack of
  concentration

98
ATTRIBUTION

• The perceived causes of events

• The reasons we give for winning/ losing can
  effect future effort

• The reasons for winning/ losing can be within
  our control or not our fault The Causality
  dimension

- An internal reason is within our control
- An external reasons is out of our control

• They can be permanent or changeable Stability

- A stable reason is unlikely to change in the
short term
- An unstable reason can change from minute to
minute
99
A FRAMEWORK FOR ATTRIBUTION
Reasons you might give for winning or losing a
game could be
The officials
Your ability
Luck
Coaching you have been given
The amount of practice you did
Playing a good team
The effort you put in
100
A FRAMEWORK FOR ATTRIBUTION
TASK Can you put the reasons from the previous
slide into the model below
Causality
Internal
External
Stable
Stability
Unstable
101
SELF SERVING BIAS

• We like to attribute success to internal and
  stable factors and losing to external factors
  beyond our control

• Therefore if your team lost, the blame can fall
  on the ref, luck, or quality of opposition and If
  you played well, its put down to effort and
  ability

• Praise effort and reward ability to ensure your
  players keep trying

102
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

• It occurs when you blame yourself for losing

• It is a belief that failure is inevitable,
  caused by blaming internal/ stable reasons for
  losing

• Global learned helplessness means you think you
  cant succeed at all, specific learned
  helplessness relates to one sport

• To counter learned helplessness you should

- Introduce attributional re-training
- Get away from internal reasons such as ability
and blame, the coach, your tactics, your
equipment or other external reasons
- Be positive
103
ATTRIBUTION CONTINUE EFFORT
TASK As a coach, given your knowledge of
attribution, how could you ensure that your
players continue to try in the future?
Allow early success
Attribute success internally
Attribution
Stress personal improvement
Make it fun
Blame external reasons for failures
Explain early failure
104

UNIT 3 EXAM QUESTIONS
1. Identify one main method of measuring stress
in sport and give three ways in which a coach can
help an athlete to reduce stress. (4 marks)
2. Explain the factors that could affect
performance when playing in front of a large
crowd at an important local match. (4 marks)
3. Use examples from sport to illustrate the
factors a coach must consider when setting goals
for an athlete. (4 marks)
105
UNIT 3 EXAM ANSWERS

• Stress measure 1 mark for
• questionnaire e.g SCAT/ observation/
  physiological responses
• 3 marks for three of
• Reduce importance of event
• Goal setting
• Teach relaxation techniques
• Point out past successes
• Counter athletes negative perception

106
UNIT 3 EXAM ANSWERS

• 2. Playing in front of a crowd, 4 from 4 of
• Increased arousal
• Playing away/home field advantage
• Experts could play better
• Novices could play worse
• Proximity of crowd
• Evaluation apprehension/knowledge of crowd
• Crowd known to you
• Simple tasks performed well
• Complex tasks performed worse

107
UNIT 3 EXAM ANSWERS

• 3. Goal Setting, 4 marks from 4 of (must have
  examples)
• SMARTER
• Specific
• Measured
• Agreed
• Realistic
• Timed
• Exciting
• Recorded