BTEC FIRST SPORT PREPARATION FOR SPORT

Psychological Factors

What motivates you to play sport? What motivates top athletes to take part in their sport? There are two types of motivation… 1.Intrinsic 2.Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation Comes from sources outside of the activity e.g. money, trophies/prizes, praise Intrinsic Motivation Comes from within e.g. satisfaction, enjoyment, sense of achievement

Definition The driving force which makes the performer complete a task The desire to perform well Different people are motivated by different reasons, though there are some common features. The motivation of an Olympic athlete will be different to a 60 year old recreational swimmer

Motivation Motivation can be subdivided into two types 1.Intrinsic – the drive to do well comes from within the performer e.g. enjoyment of the activity, satisfaction and pride of winning or taking part (self motivation) 2.Extrinsic – the drive to do well comes from the outside environment e.g. praise from a coach, trophies, money /sport1/hi/athletics/ stm sport1/hi/athletics/ stm

Motivation Extrinsic motivation can be subdivided into two further categories: 1.Tangible rewards (physical) – trophies, money, medals, certificates 2.Non-tangible – positive comments from parents, media, coaches, media recognition, winning / glory and social status

Motivation Extrinsic motivation can have both a beneficial or detrimental to performance, rewards can be meaningless if overused as the performer may no longer see the worth of performance There is a link between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Motivation When planning to increase intrinsic motivation through the use of extrinsic rewards: Make sure that both rewards are dependent upon performance Give praise both verbally and non verbally Provide a variety of rewards during training and competition Provide opportunities for the performer to make decisions on performance Encourage the negotiation of goals, to match up to performers skill level

Task List all the reasons why you started to participate in a particular sport List the reasons why you have continued within the sport Have any of the reasons changed?

What is arousal?

Definition The degree of preparedness, alertness and excitement present in a performer who is about to participate in a skilful activity A combination of physiological factors and psychological factors When participating a performer may experience a mixture of feelings from excitement to anxiety, this places stress on the body changing arousal level

Physiological Effects Increased heart rate Increased body temperature Increased sweating

Psychological Effects Increased anxiety over the quality of the performance Increased anxiety about the perceptions others may have of the performance

Controlling Anxiety Thinking positively – telling ourselves that we are good enough Using mental rehearsal – picturing ourselves carrying out successful movements and practicing in the mind Relaxation – using controlled breathing and gentle movements Verbal reassurance from the coach

Arousal and Anxiety Research: Inverted U theory Drive Theory Catastrophe theory Include a diagram to explain

Theories Related to Arousal Drive Theory Defines the relationship between arousal and performance, as arousal increases so to does performance. Arousal always has a positive attempt on performance Inverted U Theory It states that the level of arousal will increase performance to a point, then any further increase in arousal will have a detrimental effect hindering performance.

Theories Related to Arousal Catastrophe Theory This theory goes further than the inverted U theory by looking at reducing arousal levels in order to maintain the quality of the performance

Task Consider the last time you participated in a game or activity with great meaning e.g. cup final How did you feel? Did you suffer any psychological or physiological effects described? How did it affect your performance?

What is personality?

Definition The character and temperament of a performer The traits that make up different personalities are relatively stable for each individual but could change in a change environment e.g. sport Describe your own personality

Personality Personality can be subdivided into two categories 1.Introverts (type A) – more inward in behaviour, require low levels of arousal to achieve optimal performance, tend to favour individual sports and those that require precision & have a low pain threshold 2.Extroverts (type B) – require high levels of arousal to achieve optimal performance, thrive in highly competitive situations, where there is a great amount of noise and audience input, favour team sports and have high pain thresholds

Task Look at the list below: Jonny Wilkinson Kelly Holmes Andrew Flintoff Consider the sports they are in and the media attention that they experience 1.What personality type do you think they have? 2.Explain your choice giving examples of behaviour to justify your reasons

Concentration

Concentration Any performer is constantly being bombarded with different information, a performers ability to cope with this depends on their experience, either in performance or through training under similar conditions When a performer processes information they have to: make sense of it and decide the best action to take To achieve the above the incoming information has to be filtered so that irrelevant information is discarded

Concentration If the filtering process is not effectively completed, decision making is hindered The brain can only deal with one piece of information at a time (limited channel capacity) any overload can hinder performance Beginners must focus upon all aspects of performing the skill whilst experienced performers perform the skill ‘automatically’ and therefore can focus on the position of opponents etc.

Self Efficacy Bandura looked at success and failure in performance in relation to the self confidence of the performer He found that a perception a sports performer has of their ability is not constant but changes in different situations