PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT FROM A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Applying practice to teaching

VCE Unit 4

Identify and explain psychological factors which impact on performance (Unit 4) Motivation Arousal and Anxiety Confidence Mental Imagery Concentration

Ideas for Classes/Assessment Activities

Study Guide Assessment Outcome 2

Evaluate practices and/or strategies that are used in conjunction with each other to enhance performance

On completion of this unit the student should be able to analyse and evaluate strategies designed to enhance performance or promote recovery.

Mental Skills in Sport

Psychological Skills Training (PST) Skills

Like physical skillsCan be learned and ultimately

lead to peak performance

Awareness Performance

Profiling

Motivation

Intensity and direction of effort

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Task and Ego Orientation

Measures: Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation

(Sport Motivation Scale, SMS) Task and Ego Orientation Questionnaire

www.brianmac.co.uk/

Goal-setting

"Excuse me, Sir," Alice inquires. "Could you tell me which road to take?' Wisely, the caterpillar asks, Where are you going?' Somewhat dismayed, Alice responds, "Oh, I don't know where I am going, Sir." Well," replied the caterpillar, "if you don't know where you are going, it really doesn't matter which road you take." (Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll)

Long- and Short-term Goals

Smarter Goals Specific Measurable Accepted Realistic Time-framed Exciting Recorded

Resources Mental toolbox

http://www.usaswimming.org/ Tennis

http://www.britishtennisparents.com/MaximisingPotential/GoalSetting/

Class/Assessment Activity

Develop a goal-setting sheet for your own sport Purpose:

To develop long and short-term goals and a method of assessing goal achievement

Instruction: Develop a sheet to record your goals Identify a long term-goal Identify several short-term goals leading to the long-term goal Identify goal attainment measures Make sure it conforms to the SMARTER guidelines

Alternative: Develop a goal-setting sheet for your study in VCE PE

Arousal and Anxiety

Arousal General physiological and psychological activation

Anxiety A subjective feeling of apprehension and heightened

physiological arousal Somatic Cognitive

State and Trait Anxiety

Theories of Arousal and Anxiety

Inverted- U Theory

Per

form

ance

Arousal

Putting in Golf WeightliftingTackling in Football

Low Skilled High Skilled

Optim

al P

erformance Z

one

Optim

al P

erformance Z

one

Optim

al P

erformance Z

one

Measuring Arousal and Anxiety

HR

Questionnaires SCAT – Sport Competition Anxiety Test (Martens, 1977) CSAI2 – Competitive State Anxiety Inventory2

Cognitive, somatic, self-confidence

www.brianmac.co.uk/

Managing Arousal / Anxiety

Relaxation Progressive Muscle

Relaxation (PMR) Breathing Meditation

(many scripts available online)

Pumping Up Breathing Positive talk Music Pre-competitive workout

Class/Assessment Activity Monitoring Optimal Arousal Levels Purpose:

To improve awareness of arousal/anxiety levels and find out optimal performance state Instruction:

Monitor prior to several games (over several weeks) and relate to performance levels within the game: CSAI-2 or Own rating of arousal level (that students develop) Performance

In a group: Discuss the relationship between

arousal and performance and factors that were found to influence arousal levels

Discuss ways to manage arousal and anxiety (and maybe develop an appropriate strategy to enhance performance)

Could be good to link in with physiological load – because other component of Area of Study is training load (recovery and overtraining) – and there is also nutrition aspects as well?

Game

Ra

ting

/1

01 2 3 4

Arousal levels

Performance Levels

Time to Event/Temporal Anxiety Purpose:

To improve awareness of arousal/anxiety levels and monitor changes in these

Instruction: Monitor the some or all of the

following the night before a game, the morning before, during the warm-up and post match: Heart rate Butterflies Muscle tension Breathing rate CSAI-2

“Time-to-event” paradigm Measure at periodic intervals,

Normally 2 days, 24 h, 2 h and 1 h before competition (for a review, see Cerin et al., 2000)

An

xie

ty

Time to Event

2 days 1 day 2 hours 1 hour Competition

Cognitive anxiety

Somatic anxiety

Class Activities Analyse the levels of arousal

Different sports and activities within sports (e.g., kicking for goal versus tackling)

Discussion (Whiteboard) Strategies that students use to manage their arousal levels (relax and pump

up) or students interview one another about how they cope with anxiety in sport

Measure your anxiety levels Complete an anxiety measure (e.g., SCAT and discuss anxiety levels)

Complete a relaxation session and measure HR before and after Incorporate relaxation into practical class activities

Create competitive and non-competitive physical activities Measure and monitor anxiety/arousal Incorporate some relaxation techniques

Confidence

Belief about achieving success (can be a trait or a state)

Underconfident OverconfidentJust right

Per

form

ance

Improving Confidence

Goal-setting Game Plans and

Routines Imagery Self-talk

Thought-Stopping Rationalisation

Affirmations

Class/Assessment Activity

Develop a list of negative Self-Talk statements and develop counterarguments

Develop some positive affirmations

Interview other members of class to find out what negative thoughts they have about performance

Resources

http://www.usaswimming.org/ - Mental toolbox

Mental Imagery Imagery

Using all the senses to create or re-create an experience in the mind (Mental Practice/Visualisation)

Imagery Ability Vividness Controllability

Measures Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ) Sport Imagery Ability Measure (SIAM)

Widely used at elite level Large number of uses

Class/Assessment Activity

Effect of mental practice on performance Purpose:

To investigate the effect of mental practice on performance Instructions:

Complete 10 throws at a target (or kicks at goal or free-throws) Record your scores Mentally practice the skill for 5-10 minutes Complete another 10 throws (mentally practice just before each

throw) Record your scores Compare scores for each condition

Measure your imagery ability

Concentration

Paying attention to the right thing at the right time

Model of Choking in Sport

Asafa Powell 2007 World Championship Won by Tyson Gay

Leaped out of the blocks and was ahead at the 60 mark

“But then I heard Tyson’s footsteps and I froze”

"I felt him coming on my shoulder and that's when I panicked"

“I just couldn’t relax. I tied up and he shot past me for the win.”

Conditions Leading to Choking

Important competition

Critical plays in a competition

Evaluation by coaches, peers, and parents

Physical Changes

Increased muscle tension

Increased breathing rate

Increased heart rate

Attentional Changes

Internal focus

Narrow focus

Reduced flexibility

Performance Impairment

Timing and coordination breakdown

Muscle tightness and fatigue

Rushing

Inability to attend to task-relevant cues

Strategies to Enhance Concentration

Grid exercise Breathing/relaxation Imagery Cue words

“follow-through” Pre-shot routines Pre-competition

routines (superstitions)

Pre-Performance Routines

Jonny Wilkinson

Kicking routine crucial to Wilkinson's game "My stance has come from a physical and mental

development where I've tried to learn relaxation techniques"

Focus of Attention and Imagery "Forget the posts - let's aim

for something else. Imagine there's a woman

sitting in that seat, 20 rows behind the goal, holding a can of Coke.."

As Wilkinson prepares to kick, he visualises the flight of the ball ending up in Doris's lap, knocking the drink out of her hands.

“Catch this Doris”

Instead of aiming at the posts - aiming at something specific 30 yards back – “it made me really kick through the ball."

Class/Assessment Activity Develop a pre-match routine

including individual preferences to develop an optimal arousal state and concentration levels

(coaches should allow players to follow their own routine outside of scheduled group sessions)

Players generally prefer to stick to a consistent routine during the 24 hours prior to a game

Create a pre-shot routine for your sport

Set up a goal-kicking/penalty-kick/free-throw scenario in class (competition) Get students to develop a pre-

shot routine for their shot Test it out in class write up the

results?

Case Study

Resources

Brianmac www.brianmac.co.uk/

Mindtools www.psychwww.com/mtsite/

Mental toolbox http://www.usaswimming.org/

Australian Institute of Sport http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/

Sports Psychology Arena http://www.sport-psychology-arena.com/

Sport Psychology Books Weinberg, R., & Gould, D (2007). Foundations of sport and exercise

psychology (4th ed). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Williams, J.M. (Ed.) (2006). Applied sport psychology: personal growth to peak performance (5th ed.). Mountain View, CA: Mayfield.

Morris, T., & Summers, J. (Eds.). (2004). Sport psychology. Theory, applications and issues (2nd ed.). Brisbane, Qld; John Wiley & Sons.

Morris, T., Spittle, M., & Watt, A.P. (2005). Imagery in sport. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.