3. Psychology and sports performance
OLD FOCUS.

4. Psychology and sports performance

5. STUDIOUSINTf T PJrtSlSJf NT =
INQUISIIVf r .; r .
, 1r7 . r i
Rfl n Lf f THU lnSTI
OTIVnTfD
co SClfNTIOusr. PfRStvfRING
PnRTICULnRCHnLLf GING ho STRUCTIVf =·
II I I

6. •May not want to train at full intensity
Motivation is an internal state that activates, directs and sustains behaviour towards achieving a particular goal.
This ideal can energise an individual and direct goal orientated behaviour.
A high level of motivation within an individual directly impacts their sense of responsibility in terms of improving performance.
Without motivation, athletes:
•May not want to train at full intensity
•May not attend all training sessions
•Not perform at highest capability.
For example: swimmers – train before/after. School 5-6 days a week. Doing lap after lap… looking at the line.

7. Positive Motivation
Positive motivation occurs when an individual’s performance is driven by previous reinforcing behaviours.
It occurs when the athlete performs because they have received rewards for similar actions in the past and realise that continuing to perform as required results in additional rewards. Athlete pursues success.
For example, crowd appreciation vs trophies.

8. Negative Motivation
Negative motivation is characterised by an improvement in performance out of fear of the consequences of not performing to expectations
Inspiring an athlete to perform well because they expect to be punished if they fail may work on occasions, but has serious shortfalls. Indecision, lack of creativity, fear of risk taking and susceptibility to ‘choking; are some performance inhibiting behaviours that might surface. General long term effect can be the destruction of confidence, initiative and self-belief – the reverse of what motivation is supposed to achieve.
For example, Des Hasler

9. Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic or internal motivation is motivation that comes from within the individual.
It is a self-propelling force as the the individual may have an interest in the task, enjoy learning and performing movements. It is self-sustaining and self- reinforcing because effort and personal accomplishment becomes its own reward.
Intrinsically motivated people like to become masters/experts at tasks and not just participants.
For example, just finishing a triathlon is motivating... Even if no chance of a win!

10. Example: Folau vs SBW Extrinsic motivation
Extrinsic or external motivation occurs when the individual’s internal state is modified by sources originating from outside the person. •
Often associated with material reinforcement – money, trophy People – coaches pep talk, parental praise
Recognition – school sportsman/women award
Extrinsic motivation focuses on product or what can be gained, compared to intrinsic motivation that focuses on process and development of competence.
Effort and the desire for achievement are related to the expectation of an outside reward or fear of punishment from an outside source. Furthermore, external motivation can be manipulated by those responsible for its making. For example, bribes.
Example: Folau vs SBW

11. The responsibility for motivation needs to be shared between the athlete and their coaches/parents/peers, sustained motivation relies much more on internal factors than on external forces.
Athletes who seek motivation from satisfaction with quality performances are likely to stay motivated longer than those who rely on external rewards.
A noticeable characteristic of high achievers is that they seek to match their physical and technical skill against others of similar ability, whereas lower achievers often select competitions in which they know they will be successful.
For example, Anthony Mundine selecting opponents 44 wins, 5 losses

12. YES WE ARE GOING TO THE WORLD CUP!!
Mark Schwarzer: The Hero
Made two memorable saves in the
penalty shootout
What was the key to his memorable performance?

13. It is important to keep the crowd out of your mindset, particularly being goalkeeper having the crowd right behind you, abusing you, trying to distract you, so it is important to zone them out and use selective hearing. The keeper has to have the skill to not care about what they say and stay focused on the game. Not the crowd.
The mental process - I analyse the players approach to taking the penalty. Watching carefully how they position themselves, their run-up and eye contact to maximise my opportunities to save the ball. After I pick a side, the decide either top or bottom

14. •Relaxation •Concentration •Visualisation •Self-Talk
1) Take deep breaths and focus solely on the penalties, keeping all other
distraction away. During the shoot out I remember all the positives I’ve had in my career, like top games in terms of saves, how much hard work I've put in waking up early and training, always thinking no matter what happens all friends & family will be proud of my achievements and at the end of the day opportunities like this don’t come very often. Most importantly you might think I’m weird but I talk to myself both out loud and in my mind, I keep positive thoughts in my head like “I can do it” or “I’m going to save this” to keep me confident and boost my self-esteem
Managing Anxiety Techniques:
•Relaxation
•Concentration
•Visualisation
•Self-Talk

15. MANAGING ANXIETY ANXIETY Fear TRAIT STATE
Varies in individuals Response to everyday situations
STATE
Increased distress in response to certain situations
STRESS
PHYSICAL RESPONSE
ANXIETY
Psychological state
AROUSAL
Physiological response to anxiety

16. Anxiety is predominantly a psychological process characterised by fear or apprehension in anticipation of confronting a situation perceived to be potentially threatening.
In other words – when we experience situations where we are at risk, uncertain, threatened or attacked, we become anxious and take steps to address the concern.
From here our natural instincts take over forcing us to confront it (fight) or
escape (flight) it.
At extreme, anxiety disrupts and unsettles behaviour by lowering the individual’s concentration and affecting muscle control

17. Trait Anxiety is a person’s general level of anxiety linked to daily living. Certain personalities respond to everyday stresses and how they respond determines their level of trait anxiety.
Increased levels can be managed through relaxation techniques.

18. – Uncertainty of the outcome (even competition or easy)
• Two variables in state anxiety:
– importance of the situation (backyard cricket or ashes)
– Uncertainty of the outcome (even competition or easy)
State Anxiety is situational, it relates to how a person responds to a certain situation.
Who is the male 100m Athletics World Champion?
Two variables in state anxiety: –
importance of the situation (backyard cricket or Ashes series)
– Uncertainty of the outcome (even competition or easy)
A certain level can be beneficial, like in rugby where aggression is a natural outlet for pent up anxiety.

19. • Two variables in state anxiety:
– importance of the situation (backyard cricket or ashes)
– Uncertainty of the outcome (even competition or easy)
Trait Anxiety can be controlled by simple relaxation techniques, such as massages.
State Anxiety is harder to control and generally involves training in mental rehearsal and relaxation.

20. Our perception of stress is
Stress is a non-specific response of the body to a demand placed on it
Physiological Reaction
influenced by:
Past experience Routines Expectations
The amount of support
The frequency of similar occurrences •
Increased blood supply to skeletal muscles
More oxygen to the lungs
Increased glucose production to provide extra fuel
Increased sweat production to cool body
Tightened muscles to prepare the body for action • • • •

21. Stressors: factors that produce stress.
In practice and competitive sporting environments, they can develop from:
•Personal pressure – individual presssure imposed by the desire to win, achieve or fulfil goals
•Competition pressure – pressure exertes by opponents on the field of play
•Social pressure – pressure from coaches, parents, peers and others who are held in high esteem by the athlete
•Physical pressure – the pressure of having to perform learned skills under the demands of competition

22. •Practising relaxation techniques
Athletes, can further learn to cope with stress by using strategies , such as
•Practising relaxation techniques
•Developing concentration skills that require focusing on immediate task
•Developing confidence
•Planning strategies to cope with the situation

23. Arousal is a specific level of anxiety and can be experienced prior to and during performance.
Arousal is different from anxiety. While anxiety is predominantly
psychological state, arousal is essentially a physiological state.
Psychological: relating to the mind or mental activity
Physiological: consistent with or characteristic of the normal functioning of a living organism.
Arousal is a necessary ingredient in sports performance, although its level can either facilitate or hinder the execution of specific skills or task components.

24. Low level of arousal may lead to distraction, disinterest and a
The individual performs a skill most successfully when the level of arousal is optimal for that particular task and that individual.
Note: optimal does not mean maximal. Here ‘optimal’ means at the required level needed to ensure success.
Low level of arousal may lead to distraction, disinterest and a
depressed level of motivation for the individual
Over arousal leads to movements without precision, being
excessively tense and unable to concentrate
Moderate arousal tends to lead to optimal performance.
Both over-arousal and under-arousal contribute to adverse performance.
The role of the coach and athlete is to ensure level of arousal is optimal for each performance.

25. B

26. A Under-aroused B Optimal arousal C Over-arousal
Performance may suffer from factors such as lack of motivation, disinterest, poor concentration and inability to cope with distractions.
B Optimal arousal
Balance between level of motivation and ability to control muscular tension, which could be increasing as a result of the desire to perform well.
C Over-arousal
Feelings characterised by anxiousness and apprehension, resulting in excessive concern about performance. Increased muscle tension, possible mental confusion as individual tries to process messages during skill execution, resulting in poor performance.

27. The optimal level of arousal varies from one skill to the next.
Generally, when it’s a difficult task involving few or finer muscle groups, focusing more on accuracy, levels of arousal need to be lower to be optimal. For example, archery or golf putt.
This is because fine movement and/or complex skills, require a large amount of our attention to complete tasks and so a lower arousal level is required (high arousal levels interfere with fine muscle movement, coordination and concentration)

28. In other activities – that seem simpler but require more speed and strength, as well as utilising large muscle groups, require a higher level of arousal for performance to be optimal. For example, running or weight lifting.
‘Easier’ activities or activities using more muscle groups require a higher arousal level that needs to be sustained for length of activity.

29. •Self-expectation: how the individual expects to perform
Factors that impact arousal:
•Self-expectation: how the individual expects to perform
•Expectation by others: how a person perceives others, such as their coach or parents, expects them to perform
•Experience: which determines how the individual handles the increased pressure at higher levels of competition
•Financial pressures: such as whether the individual's livelihood depends on their performance
•Level of competition: whether the individual is playing a round or a final
•Degree of difficulty: with higher levels of arousal generally being associated with more difficult tasks
•Skills finesse: fine motor skills (for example, shooting and balancing) generating higher levels of arousal than produced by gross motor skills (for example, running).

30. A beginner needs only very low levels of arousal to perform well- because control of skill is not yet automatic. In contrast, an elite performer, needs higher levels to produce optimum performance.

31. •Self-expectation: how the individual expects to perform
Factors that impact arousal:
•Self-expectation: how the individual expects to perform
•Expectation by others: how a person perceives others, such as their coach or parents, expects them to perform
•Experience: which determines how the individual handles the increased pressure at higher levels of competition
•Financial pressures: such as whether the individual's livelihood depends on their performance
•Level of competition: whether the individual is playing a round or a final
•Degree of difficulty: with higher levels of arousal generally being associated with more difficult tasks
•Skills finesse: fine motor skills (for example, shooting and balancing) generating higher levels of arousal than produced by gross motor skills (for example, running).

32. Textbook Page 201 •Rowing •Weight-lifting •Pistol shooting •Golf swing
Examine figure 6.15, Which shows arousal curves X, Y and Z. Using the ranking chart, rank the following activities performed during competition in terms of lowest to highest optimum arousal levels.
Then establish which curve (X, Y or Z) best suits each athlete in terms of arousal. Justify your choices.
•Rowing
•Weight-lifting
•Pistol shooting
•Golf swing
•Discus throwing
•Tennis serve
Textbook Page 201

33. X
CL, Lo