| The Psychology of Athletic Preparation and Performance: The Mental Management of Physical Resources |
| Definition of Key Concepts in Sport Psychology · Athlete – someone who engages in a social comparison involving psychomotor skill physical prowess (or both) in an institutionalized setting, typically under public scrutiny or evaluation. · Sport psychology – subdiscipline of kinesiology that seeks to understand the influence of behavioral processes on skilled movement o Measuring psychological phenomena o Investigating the relationships between psychological variables and performance o Applying theoretical knowledge to improve athletic performance Anxiety: State and Trait · State anxiety – subjective experience of apprehension and uncertainty accompanied by elevated autonomic and voluntary neural outflow and increased endocrinological activity. · Trait anxiety – a personality variable or disposition relating to the probability that one will perceive an environment as threatening · Arousal – simple the intensity dimension of behavior and physiology · Psychic energy – positive thoughts and a strong sense of control · Cognitive anxiety – psychological processes and worrisome thoughts · Somatic anxiety – physical symptoms as tense muscles, tachycardia, and the butterflies · Cognitive anxiety --> somatic anxiety --> psychic arousal or energy --> physiological arousal Attention and Skill Cue Utilization · Cue utilization – both relevant and irrelevant cues can come to the athlete’s awareness Attentional Style |
| How the Mind Affects the Athlete’s Physical Performance |
| The Ideal Performance State · Mental/psychological efficiency – allocation or shift in allocation of attention to process only the cues and cognitive activity |
| Motivational Phenomena Intrinsic Motivation Achievement Motivation Positive and Negative reinforcement in Coaching · Positive/negative reinforcement o Positive reinforcement – the act of increasing the probability of occurrence of a given behavior by following it with or presenting a given act, object, or event like praise, decals on the helmet, or prizes and awards. o Negative reinforcement – increases the probability of occurrence of a given operant by removing an act, object, or event that is typically aversive · Positive/negative punishment o Positive punishment – presentation of an act, object, or event following a behavior that could decrease its occurrence. o Negative punishment – could take the form of revoking privileges sentence it relates to act of benching. |
| Influence of Arousal on Performance Inverted-U Theory · Inverted-U theory – arousal facilitates performance up to optimal level, beyond which further increases in arousal are associated with reduced performance. Optimal Functioning Carastrophe Theory Self-Efficacy |
| Mental Management of Physical Resources: Controlling Psychological Processes Goal Setting · Goal setting – process whereby progressively challenging standards of performance are pursued with a defined criterion of task performance that increases the likelihood of perceived success Process Goals Outcome Goals Short-Term Goals Long-Term Goals · Operant –standards of performance and derive from the term operationalize, which means to concretely specify a behavior such that it can be measured. Energizing Techniques · Psyching strategy - Physical relaxation Techniques Diaphragmatic Breathing Progressive Muscular Relaxation Autogenic Training Mental Imagery · Mental imagery – cognitive psychological skill in which the athlete uses all the senses to create a mental experience of an athletic performance Hypnosis Systematic Desensitization Cognitive-Affective Stress Management |