1. A2 Physical Education Sport Psychology
PERSONALITY
Revision Guide
Mr Leighton

2. 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.

3. 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).

4. Personality Types TRAITS INTROVERT Shy, timid, reserved, aloof,
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

5. Personality Theories Social Learning Theory (Bandura) Trait Theory
NATURE
V’s
NURTURE
Personality Theories
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

6. 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

7. ****THINK OF AGGRESSION AS AN EXAMPLE!****
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!****

8. Personality Theories Eysenck’s Personality Types NEUROTIC (UNSTABLE)
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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. ATTITUDE OBJECTS
The people, subject or situation towards which an attitude is directed.

12. & BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSE
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

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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.

16. 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

17. 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?

18. Persuasive Communication Theory
The Persuader
Significant other
with high status
2. The Message
Positive to initiate
the change
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
3. The recipients
Easy to changed
an attitude if the
recipient really
wishes to be
changed
4. The situation
The presence of
other persuaders

19. TASK…………
You are a GCSE PE pupil. How could persuasive communication change your negative attitude towards cross country?

20. ANSWER…………
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.
The teacher tells you it will improve your practical grade if you opt for cross country.
You understand that this could improve your overall practical grade so you begin to realise the benefits of taking part.
Other pupils in your GCSE class share positive experiences of cross country with you and actively encourage you to take part.

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

22. 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.

23. 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).”

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. THINK BACK TO GOALS FROM AS SKILL!
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!

27. 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

28. Personality Factors TAS = Tendency to APPROACH success
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

29. 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 don’t need to try as hard to win (incentive low and expect to win easily). It is not so pleasing if you win.

30. IMPROVE NEED AND MOTIVE TO ACHIEVE (Nach)
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?)

31. REDUCE TENDENCY AND MOTIVE TO AVOID FAILURE (NaF)
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).

32. Group Dynamics TIPS! Be able to define the terms ‘group’ and ‘team’.
You need to understand Steiner’s 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.

33. Groups A collective identity GROUPS (Carron) A sense of shared purpose
“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

34. 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

35. 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

36. Steiner’s 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.

37. Faulty Processes Co-ordination Losses Motivation 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.

38. Group Locomotion
“ The process that explains the reasons why the group has formed. It symbolises the activity of the team.”
****Don’t 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.

39. Leadership Think of Woody from Toy Story! What makes a good Leader?
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

40. 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.

41. Leadership Theories IS A LEADER BORN OR MADE?
TRAIT APPROACH: Leaders are born with the skills necessary to take charge……however, 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.

42. 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.

43. Fiedler’s 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.

44. Multidimensional Model of Sports Leadership

45. 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.

46. 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.

47. Mental Preparation 4
C’ s

48. **********INFORMATION OVERLOAD OCCURS **********
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

49. 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

50. NIDEFFER’S ATTENTIONAL STYLES
Think of the difference between a C & GA in Netball
NIDEFFER’S ATTENTIONAL STYLES
All players have a preferred attentional style. To improve performance it is necessary to operate successfully in all styles.
NIDEFFER’S 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

51. 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)

52. 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 athlete’s strongest attentional style.

53. 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

54. 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

55. 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.

56. Anxiety
‘Anxiety occurs when there is a substantial imbalance between the individual’s 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.

57. PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR RELAXTATION
Anxiety Management
COGNITIVE METHODS
SOMATIC METHODS
IMAGERY
PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR RELAXTATION
THOUGHT STOPPING
POSITIVE TALK
BIOFEEDBACK
RATIONAL THINKING

58. PEAK FLOW Excitement, happiness Anxiety, anger Relaxation, Drowsiness
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 athlete’s 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.

59. 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.

60. 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)

61. Antecedents of Aggression
HOSTILE CROWDS
FRUSTRATION CAUSED BY POOR PERFORMANCE, OPPOSITION OR REFS DECISIONS.
NATURE OF THE GAME
AGGRESSION
WIDE DIVISION BETWEEN SCORES
VENUE…AWAY TEAM
PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED GRUDGES OR SCORES TO SETTLE
EXTRINSIC REWARDS
HIGH AROUSAL LEVELS

62. 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 DOLLARD’S 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.

63. 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

64. 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.
COTTRELL’S 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.

65. 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

66. Attribution Theory TIPS!
You should be able to identify the reasons for success and failure in sport.
You need to understand ‘Weiner’s Attribution Model’ and be able to relate it to specific sporting situations.
Learn the definitions of ‘mastery orientation’ and ‘learned helplessness’.

67. Weiner’s Attribution Model ability / task difficulty
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
Weiner’s Attribution Model
STABILITY
is the performance outcome caused by
- STABLE factors
fixed factors which don’t change with time
ability / task difficulty
- UNSTABLE factors
factors which can vary with time
effort / luck

68. HIGH ACHIEVER LOW ACHIEVER
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

69. 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.’