A2 Physical Education Sport Psychology

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A2 Physical Education Sport Psychology
PERSONALITY

• Revision Guide
• Mr Leighton

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Personality TIPS!

• Make sure you learn the specific definition of
  personality!
• Have awareness of the links between personality
  and sports performance.
• It is important to understand the NATURE (trait)
  V NURTURE (social learning) and interactionist
  perspectives of behaviour.
• Learn the strengths and weaknesses of each
  perspective.
• Be aware of the problems associated with the use
  of personality profiling in sport.

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Personality

• The sum total of an individuals
  characteristics which make him unique
  (Hollander).

Personality is the more or less stable and
enduring organisation of a persons character,
temperament, intellect and physique which
determines the unique adjustment to the
environment (Eysenck).
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Personality Types
TRAITS
NARROW BAND APPROACH, GIRDANO, 1990
INTROVERT Shy, timid, reserved, aloof, self
sufficient
TYPE A Highly competitive, Strong desire to
succeed, Works fast, likes to control, Prone to
suffer stress
EXTROVERT Adventurous, confident, Sociable,
Group dependent, enthusiastic
TYPE B Non-competitive, Unambitious, Works
more slowly, Does not enjoy control Less prone to
stress
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Personality Theories
NATURE Vs NURTURE
Social Learning Theory (Bandura) All behaviour
is learned through interaction with the
environment BEHAVIOUR FUNCTION OF
ENVIRONMENT -ve Does not consider inherited
behaviour (traits)

• Trait Theory
• People are born with established personality
  characteristics
• Inherited at birth.
• Stable
• Enduring
• consistent in all situations.
• BEHAVIOUR FUNCTION OF PERSONALITY
• ve Can be easily measured through
  questionnaires
• -ve Does not take into account environmental
  influences. It is not a true indicator of
  behaviour.
• CATTELL (1965) identified 16 personality traits
• INTROVERT EXTROVERT

Interactionist Theory Behaviour occurs from the
interaction between inherited traits and learned
experiences BEHAVIOUR FUNCTION OF PERSONALITY
ENVIRNOMENT
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Personality Theories

• Concentric Ring Theory (Hollander 1967)

Role Related Behaviour Surface of personality
Typical Response Your usual response in
most situations
The Psychological Core The real you
The boundary line of each layer gets wider as you
get closer to the centre of the model which shows
that each layer is harder to enter. As you move
closer to the centre, your real personality
begins to surface
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Personality Theories

• Psychodynamic Theory (Freud, 1933)

ID Basic Instinct (no conscious control)
EGO Conscious link with reality
ID, EGO SUPER EGO interact to produce
individual patterns of behaviour in sport.
SUPER EGO Moral Arm (social conscience)
Personality is formed from the conflict of
SEEKING, RELEASING and INHIBITING behaviour.
THINK OF AGGRESSION AS AN EXAMPLE!
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Personality Theories

• Eysencks Personality Types

Personality traits run across 2
continuums INTROVERT unsociable, shy
nervous EXTROVERT sociable, outgoing
lively STABLE calm, even-tempered, controlled 7
logical UNSTABLE anxious, moody, unpredictable
illogical
NEUROTIC (UNSTABLE)
INTROVERT
EXTROVERT
STABLE
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Personality Testing

• Methods of Testing
• Observation
• Psychometric methods self report questionnaires
  (16 personality factor questionnaire designed by
  CATTELL)
• Problems
• Questionnaires, observations and self-reports are
  not reliable as people can fix answers.
• SCEPTICAL APPROACH Evidence is too general
  personality alone can not predict behaviour.
• CREDULOUS APPROACH Although there is a link
  between personality research and performance in
  sport, there is lack of evidence to support this.

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Attitudes TIPS!

• Make sure you understand how attitudes are formed
  and influenced.
• You need to be able to explain how attitudes can
  be changed.
• Try to understand the links between attitude and
  behaviour in sport.

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ATTITUDE OBJECTS
The people, subject or situation towards which an
attitude is directed.
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What is an ATTITUDE?
ATTITUDES A learned behavioural predisposition.
(linked with personality)
UNSTABLE
LEARNED
CAN BE CHANGED/ CONTROLLED
DIRECTED TOWARDS ATTITUDE OBJECTS
ENDURING EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE
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Formation of Attitudes
COACHES/ TEACHERS
PAST EXPERIENCES
ATTITUDES
PREDUJICE
PARENTS
MEDIA
FRIENDS/ PEERS
Attitudes are mainly formed through
experiences. Socialisation The process of mixing
and relating to other people.
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Triadic Model of Attitudes
This is known as the information component
This concerns how a person intends to behave
towards an attitude object
This is known as the emotional component
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger)
If a person hold two ideas that oppose and
conflict with each other an element of discomfort
arises. Emotional conflict is called DISSONANCE.
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Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger)
To reduce this feeling of dissonance, the impact
of one of the conflicting ideas could be lessened
and therefore an attitude would change.
Updating knowledge or providing a person with new
information can change the cognitive component.
Providing a person with new and positive
experiences can modify the affective component.
If a skill is simplified or if some form of
guidance is used to make execution easier, the
behavioural component of attitude can be changed.
Remember METHODS OF GUIDANCE from AS SKILL
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Persuasive Communication Theory
You need to be aware of most effective way of
persuading someone to change their attitude.
Would these people persuade you or would they
just cause you stress?
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Persuasive Communication Theory

• PERSUASIVE COMMUNICATION
• the person must
• pay attention
• - understand
• - accept
• - retain
• the message being given
• the coach must
• - be expert
• - be trustworthy
• the message must
• - be clear
• - be unambiguous
• - be balanced between pros and cons

• The Persuader
• Significant other
• with high status

2. The Message Positive to initiate the change
3. The recipients Easy to changed an attitude if
the recipient really wishes to be changed
4. The situation The presence of other persuaders
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TASK
You are a GCSE PE pupil. How could persuasive
communication change your negative attitude
towards cross country?
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ANSWER

1. A significant other, e.g. teacher/captain
   persuades you that cross country has excellent
   fitness benefits for a GCSE PE pupil. The teacher
   explains that they can chose cross country as one
   of their 4 sports.
2. The teacher tells you it will improve your
   practical grade if you opt for cross country.
3. You understand that this could improve your
   overall practical grade so you begin to realise
   the benefits of taking part.
4. Other pupils in your GCSE class share positive
   experiences of cross country with you and
   actively encourage you to take part.

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TASK
How could a physical education teacher change the
negative attitude that a pupil may have towards
swimming?
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ANSWER..

• Educate the pupil about the benefits of swimming
• Use cognitive dissonance theory
• Persuasive communication from a significant
  other, e.g. teacher
• Set achievable goals to ensure pupil achieves
  success and experiences enjoyment.
• Offer rewards, e.g. praise, trophies.
• Familiarise with role models from within the
  sport of swimming.
• Use floats to make execution of some strokes
  easier.
• Attribution retraining.

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To conclude.

• Attitudes are generally poor predictors of
  behaviour.
• Social and situational factors influence actual
  behaviour very strongly.
• Behavioural intention is the strongest
  predictor of behaviour (Fishbein, 1974).

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Achievement Motivation TIPS!

• You need to understand the meaning of the term
  achievement motivation.
• Make sure you know the characteristics of the
  different personality types TAS and TAF.
• You need to be aware of the links between
  personality and the motive to achieve.
• It is important to make links between TAS and TAF
  and attributions for success and failure.

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Achievement Motivation
Achievement Motivation is a concept developed by
sports psychologists to link PERSONALITY and
COMPETITIVENESS.
The major issue centres on the extent to which an
INDIVIDUAL IS MOTIVATED TO ATTAIN SUCCESS.
Success in sport is measured against some type of
COMPETITIVE GOAL.
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Types of Goals

• According to BIDDLE, there are several types of
  goal against which success can be judged
• MASTERY or TASK GOALS Associated with
  self-improvement, e.g. trying to achieve a PB in
  athletics (the same as PROCESS GOALS).
• EGO or ABILITY GOALS Involve a comparison
  against ones rivals, e.g. beating everyone else
  to win the club tennis tournament (the same as
  OUTCOME GOALS)
• SOCIALLY APPROVED GOALS Involves seeking social
  reinforcement as a measure of success, e.g.
  winning to earn approval from parents or coaches.

THINK BACK TO GOALS FROM AS SKILL!
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Atkinson McClelland (1976) Interactionist View
In any challenging situation, everyone will have
both a need to achieve and a need to avoid
failure. Whichever feeling is stronger will
determine whether the task is accepted or
declined.
Competitive orientation is generated through
personality and situational factors
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Personality Factors
A TAS someone with a high need to achieve will
probably have a low need to avoid failure and
will choose difficult or demanding tasks which
are more risky, e.g. the hard route up a rock face
B TAF someone with a high need to avoid failure
will probably have a low need to achieve and will
choose tasks which are less risky and more easily
achieved, e.g. the easy route up the rock face
TAS Tendency to APPROACH success TAF Tendency
to AVOID failure
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Situational Factors
A If the probability of success low (competing
against the world champion) you will strive very
hard to win (incentive high). You will be highly
chuffed if you win. B If the probability of
success high (competing in local club match) you
dont need to try as hard to win (incentive low
and expect to win easily). It is not so pleasing
if you win.
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What can the coach do?

• IMPROVE NEED AND MOTIVE TO ACHIEVE (Nach)
• Increase positive reinforcement hence increasing
  pride and satisfaction
• Ensure that goals are achievable
• Ensure that at least some situations guarantee
  success
• and subsequently gradually increase task
  difficulty in line with progress
• Ensure that tasks are challenging
• Ensure that the probability of success is good
• Ensure that the incentive value of the success
  is high (is the race worth winning?)

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What can the coach do?

• REDUCE TENDENCY AND MOTIVE TO AVOID FAILURE (NaF)
• Reduce punishment hence lowering the chance of
  performer worrying about failure
• Focus negative feedback on effort rather than
  ability. This avoids the performer tending to
  believe that causes of failure are internal (due
  to lack of ability for example) and reduces the
  risk of learned helplessness.
• Avoid situations where defeat / failure is
  inevitable (such as performing against a much
  superior opponent)
• if this is not possible alter the criteria for
  success (you will have succeeded if you only lose
  by 2 goals).

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Group Dynamics TIPS!

• Be able to define the terms group and team.
• You need to understand Steiners model of group
  performance.
• Be able to explain the Ringlemann effect and
  social loafing and how they damage the
  cohesiveness of a team.
• Learn the factors affecting the cohesiveness of a
  group and how any breakdowns can be prevented.
• Learn the characteristics of an effective leader.
• Describe emergent and prescribed leaders.
• You need to be able to understand the different
  perspectives on and theories of leadership.

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Groups

• Groups are those social aggregates that involve
  mutual awareness and the potential for
  interaction (McGrath)

A collective identity
GROUPS (Carron)
A sense of shared purpose
A clear structure for communication
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Group Cohesion

• The extent to which a group sticks together in
  pursuit of a common goal.

TASK COHESION The way team members work together
to successfully complete a task, e.g. a football
team sets Out to win by adopting
attacking Tactics at home away matches Vital
in INTERACTIVE Sports, e.g. hockey
SOCIAL COHESION The personal relationships
within a group which relies on individuals
enjoying social interaction, e.g. strong Bond
developed whilst on tour. Vital in CO-ACTIVE
sports, e.g. track and field
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Group Dynamics

• The social processes operating within the group
  between individual members.

• TO ACHIEVE COHESION
• Break down cliques
• and sub groups
• Separate pairs
• Integrate isolates

SUB GROUPS Small groups contained within the
whole group
GROUP DYNAMIC SOCIOGRAM The best way
of illustrating the group dynamics of a team.
Team sports rely on units within the team Working
closely together
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Steiners Model
ACTUAL POTENTIAL - LOSSES DUE
TO PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTIVITY FAULTY
PROCESSES (AP) (PP)
(FP)
The maximum capability of the group when
cohesiveness is strongest
Factors that go wrong in team performance which
impede/ prevent group cohesion e.g. co-ordination
losses motivational losses
The team performance at any given time (due to
successful interaction)
GROUP COHESION IS THE FORCE THAT BINDS A GROUP
TOGETHER, HELPING TO PREVENT FAULTY PROCESSES.
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Faulty Processes

• Co-ordination Losses
• These occur when the operational effectiveness
  of the group cannot be sustained for the whole
  match.
• Planned strategies/tactics may go wrong due to
  positional error or bad timing, e.g. Line out in
  rugby.

• Motivation Losses
• This may occur if the task is too difficult.
• Also an individual might suffer loss of
  motivation causing them to withdraw effort and
  coast through that part of the game.

A motivation loss that leads to a reduction in
effort is called SOCIAL LOAFING. This is called
when an individuals efforts go unnoticed or when
someone feels like the others on their team are
not trying hard enough. People with low SC tend
to be loafers.
A co-ordination loss that leads to a breakdown in
team work is called the RINGLEMANN EFFECT.
Problems with team co-ordination are more likely
to increase as the number of team members
increase.
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Group Locomotion
The process that explains the reasons why the
group has formed. It symbolises the activity of
the team.
Dont always assume that good players make
good leaders! Make sure you know the
characteristics of a good leader
For locomotion to be efficient there must be a
LEADER to ensure the co-ordination of the team.
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Leadership
Think of Woody from Toy Story!
Determination
Understand the needs of others
Good communication skills
Highly developed perception skills
What makes a good Leader?
Ambition
Experience
Vision
Good at making decisions
Empathy with team members
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Selection of a Leader
EMERGENT LEADERS Already belongs to the group
selection is made formally, e.g. by vote or
interview.
PRECRIBED LEADERS Selected from outside of the
group and is known as an external appointment.
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Leadership Theories
IS A LEADER BORN OR MADE?

• TRAIT APPROACH Leaders are born with the skills
  necessary to take chargehowever, although
  certain traits may be helpful in leadership, they
  are not essential, so this theory is NOT A GOOD
  PREDICTOR OF BEHAVIOUR.
• SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY The skills of leadership
  can be acquired by copying others and then
  developed through experiences. Copying successful
  role models is called vicarious reinforcement.
  This DOES NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE TRAIT
  PERSPECTIVE.
• INTERACTIONIST THEORY Leaders emerge because of
  inherited abilities (traits) and learned skills.
  Interactionist theory gives a MORE REALISTIC
  EXPLANATION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOURS IN SPORT.

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Styles of Leadership

• Autocratic Leaders (task orientated)
• Tend to make all decisions
• Motivated to complete a task as quickly and
  effectively as possible
• Authoritarian style they do not take into
  account the groups opinions
• Does not share responsibility
• Effective when quick decisions need to be made

• Democratic Leaders (social/personal orientated)
• Shares decisions and responsibilities with group
• Interested in developing inter-personal
  relationships within the team
• Effective in co-active sports

• Laisser-faire Leaders
• Leader stands aside and allows the group to make
  their own decisions
• Members of this type of group tend to be
  aggressive towards one another when mistakes
  occurred and they gave up easily.

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Fiedlers Contingency Model
According to Fiedler, the correct style of
leadership to adopt depends on the
favourableness of the situation.
Highly favourable situation Highly unfavourable situation
Leaders position is strong Leaders position is weak
Task is simple with clear structure Task is complex with vague structure
Warm group and leader relations Hostile group and leader relations
AUTOCRATIC LEADERS are more effective in both the
MOST FAVOURABLE and the LEAST FVOURABLE
situations. DEMOCRATIC LEADERS are more effective
in MODERATELY FAVOURABLE situations.
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Multidimensional Model of Sports Leadership
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Multidimensional Model of Sports Leadership

• CHELLANDURAI believed that the effectiveness of
  the group could be judged on
• The degree of success accomplished during a task
• The extent to which the group experienced
  satisfaction while being led to the goal.

SITUATIONAL, LEADER AND GROUP MEMBER
CHARACTERISCS interact to determine the behaviour
adopted by the leader (these are
ANTECEDENTS) REQUIRED, ACTUAL AND PREFERRED
BEHAVIOUR are 3 types of leader behaviour that
would be guided by these antecedents. If all
three of the leader behaviours are CONGRUENT
(coincide exactly) then members will be highly
satisfied and produce high group performance.
Effective leadership has taken place if the
ACTUAL BEHAVIOUR HAS SURPASSED THE SITUATIONAL
DEMANDS AND THE STYLE HAS MET WITH THE APPROVAL
OF THE GROUP.
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Mental Preparation TIPS!

• You need to understand the meaning and links
  between commitment, self-confidence,
  concentration and control of emotion.
• Be able to explain each term in the context of
  mental preparation for sport performance.
• You must be able to identify and explain the
  relevant theories associated with each term.

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Mental Preparation
4 C s
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Concentration
LINKED WITH AROUSAL!
A state of mind in which attention is directed
towards a specific aim or activity.
Mistakes in top level sport happen not because
technique is suspect, but because of attentional
errors (MARTENS)
When AROUSAL IS LOW the PERCEPTUAL FIELD WIDENS
and an excessive number of environmental cues
enter into the information processing
system. SELECTIVE ATTENTION IS NOT in operation
and CONCENTRATION ON RELEVANT INFORMATION IS
DIFFICULT. INFORMATION OVERLOAD OCCURS

LOW AROUSAL PERCEPTUAL FIELD WIDENS
LIMITED SELECTIVE ATTENTION LACK OF
CONCENTRATION
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Cue Utilisation Theory
This theory predicts THE SELECTION OF THE MOST
RELEVANT ENVIRONMENTAL DATA AT THE OPTIMAL
AROUSAL LEVEL.
As arousal increases the perceptual field will
adjust to the ideal width enabling the performer
to focus on the most relevant cues/information.
Selective attention is fully operational and the
potential to concentrate is maximised.
OPTIMAL AROUSAL PERCEPTUAL FIELD AT IDEAL
WIDTH SELECTIVE ATTENTIONS IN
OPERATION CONCENTRATION IS MAXIMISED!
Beyond this optimal threshold (over aroused), the
perceptual focus narrows excessively and the
relevant cues may be missed. The athlete appears
highly agitated and panics. This condition is
known as HYPER-VIGILANCE or PANIC.
HIGH AROUSAL PERCEPTUAL FIELD NARROWS
RELEVANT CUES MISSED HYPER-VIGILANCE PANIC
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NIDEFFERS ATTENTIONAL STYLES
Think of the difference between a C GA in
Netball
All players have a preferred attentional style.
To improve performance it is necessary to operate
successfully in all styles.
NIDEFFERS ATTENTIONAL STYLES BROAD - a player
concentrates on the whole game - all players
positions and movements - open skills NARROW -
the player concentrates on one aspect of the
game - the goalkeeper - closed skills INTERNAL -
the player decides to concentrate on his own
technique EXTERNAL -the player focuses on the
position of his opposite number
EXTERNAL
BROAD
NARROW
INTERNAL
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Emotional Control
AROUSAL, ANXIETY, STRESS and ACTIVATION all
relate to MOTIVATION. Arousal will improve
performance up to an optimal point, however this
optimal threshold changes or shifts for every
individual and different situation.

• Task Type
• Simple/ Gross skills are performed better in
  high arousal, e.g. shot put
• Complex/ fine skills are performed better in low
  arousal, e.g. spin bowling in cricket

• Stage of Learning
• Autonomous stage perform better in high arousal
• Cognitive/ associative phase perform better in
  low arousal

• Experience
• Experienced performer is best in high arousal
• Novice performer is best in low arousal

• Personality
• Extroverts perform best when arousal is high
  (seek stimulation of RAS)
• Introverts perform best at low arousal
  (sensitive RAS system)

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Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (Hanin)
Athlete A (low ZOF)
In zone (best performance)
Out of zone
Athlete B (moderate ZOF)
Out of zone
In zone (best performance)
Out of zone
Athlete C (high ZOF)
Out of zone
In zone (best performance)
Increasing Arousal
An athlete will enter the zone when arousal is at
an optimum level and the situation matches the
athletes strongest attentional style.
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Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (Hanin)
Different people perform better under different
(arousal) conditions
Personality Task Type Stage of Learning Experience
Low Zone of Functioning (low arousal) INTROVERT SIMPLE/ GROSS SKILLS, E.G. SHOT PUT COGNITIVE/ ASSOCIATIVE PHASE NOVICE PERFORMERS
High Zone of Functioning (high arousal) EXTROVERT COMPLEX/ FINE SKILLS, E.G. SPIN BOWLING AUTONOMOUS EXPERIENCED PERFORMER
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Individual Zone of Optimal Functioning (Hanin)
Teachers and coaches should guide the performer
towards their personal optimal threshold or
individual zone of optimal functioning.
EFFORTLESS PERFORMANCE
THE ATHLETE FEELS IN FULL CONTROL
IN THE ZONE!
ATTENTION AND CONCENTRATION OF THE PERFORMER IS
FOCUSED
EXECUTION OF THE SKILL BRINGS ENJOYMENT AND
SATISFACTION
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Anxiety
TRAIT ANXIETY Genetically inherited. These
people appear to be anxious at all times. This
tends to be permanent and relatively
stable. STATE ANXIETY This fluctuates in
response to a given situation and is associated
with arousal. It is a learned behavioural
response, but can be controlled and manipulated
to facilitate optimal performance. (SPIELBERGER)
SOMATIC (physical) RESPONSE Follows the inverted
U hypothesis and refers to physiological changes.
Somatic responses include excesses muscular
tension, heart and respiration rates, resulting
in impaired movement. This condition will not
allow the performer to enter a peak flow
state. COGNITIVE (psychological) RESPONSE
Reflects increasing worry about performance. They
could become increasingly apprehensive and
develop doubts and negative thoughts. Attentional
changes occur which negatively impact on the
information processing system. If the athlete
experiences worry, he or she will not attain a
peak flow state.
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Anxiety
Anxiety occurs when there is a substantial
imbalance between the individuals perception of
their ability and their perception of the demands
and importance of the situation. (MARTENS)
Perception of the situational Demands. e.g. I
must win my leg of the relay if my team is to
have the chance of winning.
Perception of ability to cope. e.g. I am not as
good as my opponent
ANXIETY
Perception of the importance of the
situation. e.g. The result of this competition
hinges on this relay race.
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Anxiety Management
COGNITIVE METHODS
SOMATIC METHODS
IMAGERY
PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR RELAXTATION
THOUGHT STOPPING
POSITIVE TALK
BIOFEEDBACK
RATIONAL THINKING
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PEAK FLOW
PEAK FLOW Optimal experience that facilitates
best performance and is intrinsically valuable.
(Csikzentmimalyi)

• Peak flow occurs when somatic anxiety has
  reached an appropriate threshold and cognitive
  anxiety is low.
• flow state is attained when the performer has a
  balanced perception of the demands of the
  situation and his/her ability to cope.
• a high incentive value is to be gained from a
  challenge that is both realistic and attainable.
• The focus of attention and concentration is
  maximised.
• there is a self-confident belief that nothing
  could go wrong.
• the situation suits the athletes strongest
  attentional style.

High somatic arousal
Excitement, happiness
Anxiety, anger
High cognitive Arousal anxiety
Low cognitive Arousal anxiety
Relaxation, Drowsiness
Boredom fatigue
Low somatic arousal
During these rare moments in sport, the athlete
assumes control over all internal and
environmental variables and a time of greatest
happiness and self-fulfilment is experienced.
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Competitive Effects on Sport Performance TIPS!

• You need to be able to recognise the difference
  between aggression, assertion and channelled
  aggression.
• You need to understand the main theories of
  aggression.
• Be able to describe how aggressive tendencies can
  be limited.
• Understand the difference between social
  facilitation and social inhibition.
• Describe the major theories of social
  facilitation and be able to link them to arousal.
• Try to understand the homefield advantage
  phenomenon.
• Be able to suggest strategies to combat social
  inhibition.

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Aggression
Any behaviour that is intended to harm another
individual by physical or verbal means. (BULL)
Any form of behaviour directed toward the goal
of harming or injuring another human being who is
motivated to avoid such treatment. (BARON)
HOSTILE (OR REACTIVE) AGGRESSION Main aim is to
harm and inflict injury. Aggressive actions are
outside the rules of the game Hostile
destructiveness (PARENS) Hostile aggression
involves anger. This type of aggression needs to
be eliminated from sport!
INSTRUMENTAL (OR CHANNELLED) AGGRESSION Actions
within the rules of the game. Although
PRIME motive is the successful execution of the
skill, there is still the intention to
harm. Anger is not evident. Present in many
sporting situations.
ASSERTIVE BEHAVIOUR No intention to
harm. Strictly within the rules and spirit of the
game. Robust, but functional play. Primarily
focused on completing the skill
successfully. Non-hostile self-protective
mastery behaviour (PARENS, 1987)
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Antecedents of Aggression
HOSTILE CROWDS
FRUSTRATION CAUSED BY POOR PERFORMANCE,
OPPOSITION OR REFS DECISIONS.
NATURE OF THE GAME
AGGRESSION
WIDE DIVISION BETWEEN SCORES
VENUEAWAY TEAM
PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED GRUDGES OR SCORES TO SETTLE
EXTRINSIC REWARDS
HIGH AROUSAL LEVELS
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Theories of Aggression
INSTINCT THEORY (TRAIT PERSPECTIVE) - Proposed by
FRUED but developed but LORENZ in 1966. -
Aggression is genetically inherited and that
trait of violence lies within everyone due to a
basic instinct to dominate. - Death instinct
(FREUD) - Aggressive energy is constantly
building up and needs to be released (LORENZ)

• SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
• Proposed by BANDURA, 1966 but
• developed by LEAKEY.
• Aggression is not biologically based
• but is nurtured through environmental forces.
• Learned by watching and copying
• role models and it becomes an
• excepted mode of behaviour if reinforced.

• FRUSTRATION AGGRESSION HYPOTHESIS
• INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE
• - Proposed by DOLLARD.
• - Frustration develops when goal-directed
• behaviour or NACH is blocked.
• It is instinctive to fulfil the need
• to release frustration.
• - Instinct theory aggression is the goal.
• - Aggression successful catharsis
• - Aggression unsuccessful more frustration

• AGGRESSION CUE HYPOTHESIS
• (BERKOWITZ, 1969)
• INTERACTIONIST PERSPECTIVE
• - Builds upon DOLLARDS work.
• Frustration leads to an increase in arousal
  which,
• in some situations will result in aggression.
• Cues baseball bats, violent acts being
  witnessed,
• nature of the game will trigger aggression if
• arousal is high.
• Best players have the ability/temperament
• to control frustration and arousal.

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Methods to eliminate aggression

• Punish aggressive play.
• Withdraw violent players from the situation.
• Stress performance rather than the outcome.
• Emphasise non-aggressive role models.
• Make use of cognitive strategies to prevent
  aggressive play.
• Positively reinforce non-aggressive behaviour and
  negatively reinforce aggressive behaviour.
• Change athletes perceptions of the situation.
• Implement stress management techniques.
• Lower arousal levels

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Social Facilitation/Inhibition
SOCIAL FACILITATION The presence of an audience
positively increases arousal levels and
performance is enhanced. SOCIAL INHIBITION A
negative effect on performance is experienced due
to the attendance of an audience.

• TRIPLETT (1898)
• 1st Sport Psych Experiment
• The presence of others
• Arouses competitive drive
• Releases energy
• Increases the speed of performance

• ZAJONC
• - The mere presence of others is sufficient to
  increase the arousal level of the performer.
• This uses drive theory to predict the effect of
  others on performance.
• As arousal increases (as would happen when
  spectators are present), there is a greater
  likelihood of the dominant response occurring.

COTTRELLS EVALUATION APPREHENSION - In some
circumstances the audience can have a calming
effect. - Increases in arousal were only present
when the performer perceived that the audience
was assessing performance.
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Social Facilitation/Inhibition

• Homefield Advantage
• Large supportive home crowds have a positive
  effect on performance.
• Most evident in indoor sports such as
  basketball.
• Crowd gets close to the action, increasing
  audience influence. This is called the proximity
  effect.

• Distraction/ Conflict Theory (Barron, 1986)
• Individuals can only attend to a limited amount
  of environmental cues.
• Spectators demand the same attention as other
  players, resulting in more competition for
  attentional space.
• Complex actions would therefore be impaired in
  front of large crowds.

• Strategies to Combat Social Inhibition
• Practice selective attention.
• Use imagery, mental rehearsal to block out
  audience effects.
• Ensure essential skills are over-learned and
  grooved.
• introduce evaluative others into practice.
• Raise athletes awareness of the zone of optimal
  functioning.
• Incorporate stress management into training.
• Appropriate use of attribution

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Attribution Theory TIPS!

• You should be able to identify the reasons for
  success and failure in sport.
• You need to understand Weiners Attribution
  Model and be able to relate it to specific
  sporting situations.
• Learn the definitions of mastery orientation
  and learned helplessness.

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Attribution Theory
Attribution theory looks at the common reasons
coaches and players give for their success or
failure in sport.
LOCUS OF CAUSALITY is the performance outcome
caused by - INTERNAL factors under the control of
the performer ability / effort - EXTERNAL
factors beyond the control of the performer task
difficulty / luck
Weiners Attribution Model
STABILITY is the performance outcome caused by -
STABLE factors fixed factors which dont change
with time ability / task difficulty - UNSTABLE
factors factors which can vary with time effort /
luck
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Attribution Theory
HIGH ACHIEVERS attribute success to internal
factors and attribute failure to external factors
LOW ACHIEVERS attribute success to external
factors and attribute failure to internal factors
HIGH ACHIEVER LOW
ACHIEVER motivation? high motive to achieve
success low motive to achieve success
low motive to avoid failure high motive to
avoid failure focuses on pride on success
focuses on shame and worry about
failure attributions ascribes success to stable
ascribes success to unstable internal and
controllable factors external
uncontrollable factors ascribes failure to
unstable ascribes failure to stable external
uncontrollable factors internal
controllable factors goals adopted adopts task
oriented goals adopts outcome oriented
goals task choice seeks challenging tasks and
avoids challenge, seeks very
difficult competitive situations or very
easy tasks / competition performance performs
well in front of performs badly in front
of evaluative audiences
evaluative audiences
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Attribution Retraining
The athlete has little control over ability, luck
or task difficulty but has complete control over
EFFORT. Effort is internal and unstable and can
be changed by the performer.
The coach changes the usual external attributions
for failure into internal, unstable controllable
factors.
Attributing a lack of success to internal and
unstable factors will help to prevent learned
helplessness.
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS A belief acquired over time
that one has no control over events and that
failure is inevitable. A feeling of
hopelessness.