CHAPTER 2:  HUMAN CHARACTERISTICS INFLUENCING SP&EX BEHAVIOR

 

 

ATTENTION

 

• Taking possession by the mind, in clear and vivid form, of one out of what seems several simultaneously possible objects or trains of thought (William James, 1890)
• Most cognitive psychologists take the information-processing approach in studying attention (information is stored and processed in the brain for future use)
• Attention is the key process in taking in information

 

I.   Attentional Selectivity

 

• Ability to selectively attend to certain cues, events, or thoughts while disregarding others.

 

1.      Control Processing

·        Mental processing that is done deliberately

·        Slow and difficult or effortful

2.      Automatic Processing

·        Mental processing that is fast and effortless and not under conscious control

·        Does not require attention

·        Utilized with well-learned skills  (e.g., Griffith’s interview with Red Grange who did not remember a single move he made in the game)

 

II.   Attentional Capacity

 

• Limits in the amount of information one can process at one time.
• Control processing is very vulnerable to structural and central limits to attentional capacity while automatic processing is not limited by attentional capacity
• Control processing can be converted to automatic processing though continuous correct practice

 

a.      Structural Interference

·        Occurs when 2 tasks require the same receptor or effector systems  (having to do 2 related things at the same time)

 

b.      Central Capacity Limits

·        Limits of a human being as a person

a.      Fixed Capacity Theory

·        Attention is fixed and same in all kinds of tasks

b.      Undifferentiated Capacity Theory

·        Attention as a resource to be channeled to varying processes

c.       Multiple-Resource Theory

·        Attention consists of pools of resources and that parallel processing of more than 1 stimulus is possible

·        Simultaneous processing of multiple information sources depends on the  importance and difficulty of the task and structural factors

 

III.   Attentional Alertness

 

·        Arousal and attention on performance  (Moderate levels of arousal & attention will lead to optimum performance;  extremely low and high levels of arousal & attention will lead to mediocre performance)

 

1.  Cue Utilization Model  (Easterbrook)

·        Increases in emotional arousal result in narrowing of attentional field

·        Moderate attention narrowing results to increased performance but further narrowing will decrease it

 

2.  Psychophysiological Perspective  (Landers, et al.)

·        Role of brain activity and electroencephalogram measures

·        Elite athletes tend to have reduced unnecessary conscious mental activity of left brain and deceleration of heart rate

 

3.  Interaction Model  (Boutcher)

·        Incorporate questionnaire, observational, performance and psychophysiological measures in multilevel, multifaceted model in which enduring dispositions, demeands of activity and environmental factors interactively determine the initial arousal

 

4.  Nideffer’s  Attentional Model

·        Attention has 2 dimensions:  Width and Direction

a.       Width (range of cues)  – narrow to broad attention focus on limited and wide range of cues

b.      Direction  (focus of attention)  – internal to external focus on own thoughts and feelings and objects or events outside

·        Balance in the 2 dimensions differ in each sport and within a sport  (e.g., broad external in basketball; narrow internal in chess)

 

IV.   Attention and Sport Expertise

 

·        Athletes are better at recalling specific game situations than non-athletes

 

V.   Dissociation, Association and Performance   (Morgan & Pollock)

 

1.      Dissociation – Distraction;  focusing attention on external objects;  may decrease perceptions of pain and fatigue

2.      Association – focusing on body process related to sport (i.e., breathing, heart rate, et al.);  desirable for endurance events

 

VI.   Imagery

 

·        Imagery or mental imagery or visualization involves the athletes imagining themselves in a specific environment or performing a specific activity.

·        It is an experience and can be regarded in many important aspects as equivalent to an actual experience with a concomitant elevation of stress arousal, the converse being the relaxation response (Girdano, et al., 1990).

·        Athletes differ in their ability to utilize imagery  (Principle of Individual Differences)

·        Use of sport-specific measures to determine an athlete’s ability for imagery as well as its effects is encouraged.  However, there are very limited measures to match imagery use in applied work and consultation.

·        Advocated to complement current physical interventions but cannot replace them.

 

1.  Psychoneuromuscular Theory

·        “Muscle Memory”

·        Imagining movements produced muscle innervation similar to those produced in actual movement

2.  Symbolic Learning Theory

·        Imagery is like a mental blueprint  (used to develop mental codes for movement)

3.  Bioinformational Theory

·        Image is a functionally organized set of proportions

·        Imaging is activating stimulus proportions that describe our responses in that situation

·        Imagery must involve not just the situation but also behavioral, psychological, and physiological responses

4.  Psychological States

·        Refer to optimal arousal or attentional states

·        Imagery affects arousal and attention by controlling emotions to maintain an optimal psychological state, but not performance directly

 

 

 

 

References:

Cox. R.H.  (2002).  Sport psychology: Concepts and applications.  (5^th ed.).  Boston, MA:  McGraw Hill.

Gill, D.L.  (2000).  Psychological dynamics of sport and exercise.  (2^nd ed.).  Champaign, IL:  Human Kinetics.

Weinberg, R. & Gould, D.  (1999).  Foundations of sport and exercise psychology.  (2^nd ed.).  Champaign, IL:  Human Kinetics.

Williams, J.M. (Ed.).  (2001).  Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance.  Mountain View, CA:  Mayfield Publishing Company.