Y12 - Consolidation

Reflect back on a time from your personal sporting journey that you can recall vividly.  This could be over a few games, or even across a season.
Spend time reflecting on the journey you and the team were on - positive or otherwise, and reflections on why you felt you and your team were experiencing that.

It may be that the outcomes were really good, or bad!  It may be that the performances went through a period of really consistent and positive play, or didn't!

What is important is that you use the knowledge you have now to reflect deeply on why you feel that was, using Psychological work you have looked at in the last few weeks.

• What were the group and team dynamics?
• Was there any social loafing?
• Were you exhibiting any of Steiners faulty processes?
• What were people attributing performances to?
• On reflection, how did this impact you/the team?
• Was there any learned helplessness within the team?
• Were there some in the team that were striving for mastery orientation?
• How was your confidence through that time?
• Did it shift from how you were as a trait to state - or were you consistent?
• What was your competitive outcomes like?
• Were people around you supporting improving your self-efficacy?

This task should require you to step back and see the period of time from a completely different perception.
Challenge yourself to have as rounded and deep a response as you can.

Y12 - Confidence & Self Efficacy

Question (09/06):
Bandura suggested that self-efficacy is influenced by four factors. Identify and apply these factors to a sport of your choice. (8 marks)
Note...do not mention imaginal experiences in the question, only focus on the four other factors.

Explaining the model – The components of Vealey’s model can be explained using a player in a school rugby team playing in the county cup final.

·         Objective competitive situation – this refers to the competition or competitive situation. So in this example the player is playing in the final.

·         Trait Sport Confidence (SC-trait) – like all ‘trait’ theories, SC-trait refers to stable and enduring sport confidence. It is an innate characteristic which means that a person with high SC-trait is likely to feel capable of being successful in most situations, whereas a person with low SC-trait will have a low confidence in most situations.

·         Competitive orientation – this refers to the level of competitiveness of the player and how much effort they put into something to be successful. Highly competitive players are more likely to try to tackle players larger than themselves and take calculated risks throughout the game. Players with a low competitive drive will avoid the ‘risky’ situations and not exert themselves in the game.

·         State Sport Confidence (SC-state) – this is the actual level of confidence in the situation similar to self-efficacy (see later). The players will have low, moderate or high confidence; which is dependant on SC-trait and competitive orientation. One player may have high SC-trait and approach the game with high competitiveness, which after the first few minutes of the match, where he has made a few good runs, tackles and passes his SC-state is high. A player from the opposing team has low SC-trait and a low level of competitiveness and therefore has low SC-state.

·         Behavioural responses (performance) – these are the actual behaviours that the players exhibit, this often reflects the quality of their performance. Players experiencing high SC-state want to be involved in the action of the game, taking, putting a lot of effort in and performing skills without fear of failure. However, players with low SC-state may avoid the situation where they could be brought into the game and generally shy away from the action.

·         Subjective Outcomes – this is how a player perceives or rates their performance. If the performance is perceived to be successful then competitiveness and SC-state is increased. If the performance is perceived as unsuccessful then competitiveness and SC-state is decreased.

For example after playing the first 10 minutes if a player has scored an early try or made a few big tackles they are likely to feel satisfied with the positive impact they have made in the game. This increases competitive orientation and as a consequence SC-state. Both these factors impact on SC-state, meaning in that situation confidence will be high.

Question 16/6:

Drawing on your knowledge and understanding of sports psychology, examine the theories and methods that you might use to raise the levels of confidence of a sports performer.
Illustrate your answer with practical examples. 15 marks

Y12 Attribution Theory

Attribution Theory

• Maturational influences on confidence and importance of mastery orientation – The rate that an individual matures will impact upon their confidence and the role of mastery orientation. For example, because of their early success, early maturing boys receive a lot of recognition and attention from coaches, which fuels their confidence and motivation in sport but as others catch them up this confidence could be knocked.
• Learned helplessness – Learned helplessness happens when people become conditioned to believe that a situation is unchangeable or inescapable. Attributions affect confidence and motivation because they are the reasons young people identify as to why they succeed or fail. Learned helplessness can hamper confidence and motivation to get better because and individual does not believe they can improve.

Look at the following Padlet:

Attribution Padlet

This is from one of my previous A-level classes.  Look at the reasons they wrote down, they have for the most part put them down as controllable, uncontrollable, short term or long term aspects.
Task 1:
You need to watch the two tennis videos and explain which section of the attribution theory the different reasons they state falls into.
Then find another video of your own - put a link to the video in a document and explain what sections they attribute the performance/outcome to.

Question 1 (02/06):

The diagram below can be used to explain the attribution theory.  Using the diagram, aim to explain the attribution process, use examples that you have already looked at to illustrate your answer.

Question 2 (02/06):
The following is a typical statement made by a young person who has given up sport and leads an unhealthy lifestyle
'I think sport is boring.  I am no good at it, I don't enjoy it and I can think of better things to do on a Saturday afternoon.'

Using attribution theories evaluate the reasons why this young person does not take part in sport.
How might you persuade this young person to once again take up sport?

Y12 - Goal Setting

Question:
Explain the many important factors that have to be taken into account when setting goals. (10 marks)
Within your answer, refer to a suitable example, or examples to illustrate your points. 
In addition, describe the effect it can have on performance.

Y12 - Group and Team Dynamics

Tasks:
1) Consider the groups / teams listed below.  Then list in order the groups that require the highest level of cohesiveness.  Justify your order.
4 x 100m relay
Rowing quad
Tennis doubles
Hockey team
Volleyball team

2) Reflect on a sports group/team you joined and describe in a paragraph for each section how the stages detailed below developed. Were any strategies put in place to support a particular stage, e.g. captains assigned.
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing


Questions:
1) What is meant by cohesion in the context of teams (4 marks)
2) What advice would you give to a coach of a team to ensure maximum productivity? (5 marks)
3) How can social loafing be reduced? (3 marks)
4) What factors stop a team ever performing to its true potential? (6 marks)

Task:
Hypothesise what the Lions will need to consider to ensure is in place to ensure they reach their potential productivity on any given tour.

Y12 - Social Facilitation

Tasks:
1. Draw the Drive Theory graph.  Plot on it with an 'x' where the effect of an audience, and therefore increased arousal to produce a dominant response would be for the following different scenarios:

• Introvert v Extrovert
• Beginner (cognitive/associative) v Expert (autonomous)
• Simple skill v Complex skill
• Gross skill v Fine skill

2. Consider a moment where a sports person has succeeded or failed in their sport.  It may be them winning an event or competition, or choking and not executing the skill effectively causing their side to lose or for them to be punished e.g. sent off.

Find a video of the event and link it to your answer on the Padlet.

Explain how the performer has been socially facilitated or inhibited based on the performance they have executed.
Social Facilitation/Inhibition Padlet


Questions:

1. Zajonc states that when an audience is present, arousal is raised.  Explain how different levels of arousal affect those performing sport in front of an audience.  Refer to in your answer: Type of task involved, ability level of the performer, personality of the performer (5 marks)
2. Explain the causes and effects of evaluation apprehension on sports performance and lifestyle behaviours (6 marks)

Y12 - Aggression

 Use each of the theories to explain the aggression / assertion in the video below.

Questions:

1. Some team players display unwanted aggression. What are the possible causes of such aggression? (4 marks)
2. Explain in more detail what is meant by social learning when applied to aggression.  How can aggressive tendencies be eliminated in a sports situation? (12 marks)
3. Using examples from sport, explain the frustration aggressive hypothesis. (4 marks)
4. Using examples from sporting situations, explain what is meant by instrumental, hostile and assertive behaviour. (9 marks)

Using the videos below, explain which theory of aggression may explain the aggressive / assertive behaviour that is demonstrated.

Methods to Reduce Aggression:

Coaches and players have a moral responsibility to reduce aggressive behaviours in sport, because they are role models for youngsters who play the sport. National Governing Bodies like the FAW and WRU have a major role in reducing aggression and poor behaviour in professional players in an attempt to stop children learning aggressive behaviours from their heroes. Aggression is often a result of over-arousal, this can be manifested cognitive or somatic effects. Players and coaches can use cognitive techniques, which are methods that focus on psychological arousal; they are focused on the ‘mind’ of the performer.

Somatic methods focus on reducing physiological arousal. In controlling this arousal an aggressive performer may contain their aggressive tendencies and not act aggressively.

Examiner Tip

There are many different methods that can be used to reduce or eliminate aggression. If writing about this topic in the exam try to ensure you describe enough points to score full marks. Don’t spend too much time outlining how one or two methods are effective if the question is a 4 to 6 marks question. However, remember to use relevant practical examples. For example don’t just write ‘a coach should punish a player who was sent off for being sent off’. Outline how they could be punished, e.g. fined by the club (if professional), has to pay their own fine (if semi-professional) or internal suspension from training or matches.

Coaches and managers can help to reduce the incidences of aggression by:

  Having performers agree to behaviour contracts.

§       Punishing performers who are aggressive, even if they are not punished by the official at the time for example fines or suspensions. If a manager tells a player who is overly aggressive to leave the club this helps to show the other players that aggressive actions will not be tolerated.

§       Substituting the player or changing their position/role.

§       Giving aggressive players a position of responsibility, thus making them a role model, e.g. making them captain,

§       Positively reinforce non-aggressive players. For example praise a player who makes a strong but fair challenge on an opponent.

§       Show the players positive role models who are successful without being aggressive. For example Jonny Wilkinson always plays hard and rarely makes tackles that are outside the laws of the game.

§       Educating the players about aggression; telling players why opponents try to wind them up and why it is important to play hard but fair may stop them getting aggressive.

Good referees can also help to reduce the amount of aggression shown by players. They can do this by talking to players and warning them that they will be sent off if they act aggressively and this could help to calm them down. Punishing players, for example sending them to the sin bin or in hockey giving them a green card, shows to other players that aggressive acts will not be tolerated. Giving sanctions early in the game also helps to control the players. Being consistent with implementing the rules and making good decisions decreases players’ frustrations, possibly decreasing arousal and aggression.


Watch the video and answer the questions:

1. What factors resulted in the incident occurring? 

2. How would you advise the player in future to control his aggression, as a coach? 

Hockey Fight