© 2010 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. A Positive Approach to Coaching Effectiveness and Performance Enhancement Ronald E. Smith I never

© 2010 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.

A Positive Approach to Coaching A Positive Approach to Coaching Effectiveness and Performance Effectiveness and Performance

Enhancement Enhancement Ronald E. SmithRonald E. Smith

“I never try to plant a negative seed. I try to make every comment a positive comment. There’s a lot of evidence to support positive management.”

Jimmy JohnsonFormer college and professional football coach

Chapter 3Chapter 3


What Coaches SayWhat Coaches Say

“To really win, you have to get every player to go beyond his capabilities. He must feel great about himself…He must feel that his coaches or supervisors have total confidence in his ability, and he must feel that his weaknesses are small and his strengths are much bigger. You do that by positive reinforcement, making sure that no one thinks negatively at any time.”

Rick Pitino Basketball Coach

University of Louisville


Influence in a Sport SettingInfluence in a Sport Setting

Who influences?• Teammates • Opponents• Officials• Coaches

What is influenced?• Thoughts• Emotions • Motivational factors• Behaviors


Psychology of CoachingPsychology of Coaching

• Set of strategies designed to increase a coaches ability to influence the behavior of others more effectively


The The ABCsABCs of Behavior of Behavior ControlControl

• Operant Conditioning:– The manner in which our behaviors are

influenced by their consequences

• ABC functional assessment:– Antecedents immediately prior to behavior

(A)– Behavior occurred (B)– Consequences immediately following (C)


The The ABCABC’’ss of Behavior Control of Behavior Control (cont.)(cont.)

Results in two important relationships:1. Relationship between antecedents and

behaviors (A and B)

2. Contingency between behavior and its consequences (B and C)• Behavior is strongly influenced by the consequences it

produces


AntecedentsAntecedents

• Discriminative stimuli:– Signals that guide behavior, certain behaviors

occur only under certain stimuli

• Stimulus control:– Behavior always occurs under certain stimuli

and may be automatic


Response ConsequencesResponse Consequences

• Positive reinforcement

• Negative reinforcement

• Extinction

• Punishment (aversive)

• Punishment (response cost)


Response Consequences Response Consequences

• Positive reinforcement– Present a stimuli that future

likelihood of the behavior that preceded it

• Negative reinforcement– Remove an aversive stimuli --

future likelihood of the behavior that preceded it


Response Consequences (cont.)Response Consequences (cont.)

• Punishment (aversive) – Present aversive stimuli that future


• Punishment (response cost)– Remove a positive stimulus -- future


• Extinction– Removal of a positive stimulus that has in the

past followed the behavior


Positive vs. Aversive ControlPositive vs. Aversive Control

Behavior is strongly influenced by its consequences

Positive Reinforcement

Negative Reinforcement

Extinction Punishment

INCREASE BEHAVIOR

DECREASE BEHAVIOR

POSITIVE CONTROL

AVERSIVE CONTROL


Aversive ControlAversive Control • Negative side effects of aversive punishment:

– Fear of failure (associated with choking)– Unpleasant environment (e.g., resentment,

hostility)– Cohesion built on hatred of coach– Inappropriate modeling

• Response cost punishment has fewer detrimental effects and, therefore, better than aversive

• Criticism and punishment is more effective when limited


Aversive Control (cont.)Aversive Control (cont.)

• Reasons why some coaches succeed with aversive control:– They also communicate caring for their

players as people, so that aversive feedback is not “taken personally”

– They have very talented athletes– They are such skilled teachers and strategists

that these abilities overshadow their negative approach


The Positive AlternativeThe Positive Alternative

• Strengthens desired behaviors through– positive reinforcement– instructional feedback given within a supportive

atmosphere

“Catch people doing it right, encourage them,

and then build on that.”

• Mistakes are not seen as totally negative occurrences

• Fosters more positive learning environment and relationships among coaches and athletes


Positive ReinforcementPositive Reinforcement

• Effective use of reinforcement:– Find a reinforcer that works for a particular

athlete – Make the occurrence of reinforcement dependent

on performance of the desired behavior – Make sure the athlete understand why the

reinforcement is being given

• Reinforcement contingencies:– Relations between behaviors and their

consequences


Positive Positive ReinforcementReinforcement (cont.) (cont.)

• Choosing effective reinforcers– Not all reinforcers are created equal

• Selecting target behaviors & reinforcing– It must be specific– Good to strengthen skills the athlete is just

beginning to master, “reward power”

• Shaping– Reinforce what can do and then reinforce

closer and closer approximations to the final behavior


Positive Reinforcement (cont.)Positive Reinforcement (cont.)• Schedules and timing of reinforcement:

– The pattern and frequency with which reinforcement is administered

– Give immediately after appropriate behavior– Continuous is best for new skills– Partial (intermittent) after mastered

• Reinforce effort and other desirable behaviors– Reinforce effort as much as results– Reinforce teamwork, cohesion, compliance


Reinforcement and Intrinsic Reinforcement and Intrinsic MotivationMotivation

• Intrinsic Motivation:– Motivated to perform an activity for

its own sake, “for the love of the game”

• Extrinsic Motivation:– Perform activity only to obtain

some external reward


Reinforcement and Intrinsic Reinforcement and Intrinsic Motivation (cont.)Motivation (cont.)

• Can extrinsic motivation undermine intrinsic motivation?– Sometimes, yes. A person may attribute

his/her performance to extrinsic reward (athletes on scholarship)

– However, extrinsic reinforcement unlikely to undermine intrinsic motivation if it provides feedback on meeting a standard of excellence


Positive Reinforcement and Motivational Positive Reinforcement and Motivational ClimateClimate

• Motivational climate strongly effects achievement goals

• Children more likely to develop intrinsic motivation and healthy achievement strategies in task-involving environments

• Foster a task-oriented climate and goals when:– Reinforce effort, persistence, and improvement

• Foster ego-oriented climate and goals when:– Reinforce outperforming others, punish unsuccessful

performance, fail to attend to effort


Performance FeedbackPerformance Feedback

• Providing the athlete with “knowledge of results”– Performance has met or exceeded the

coach’s standards


How Does Feedback Motivate?How Does Feedback Motivate?• Corrects misconceptions• Creates internal consequences such as positive

or negative feelings about self depending on performance

• Increases effort, effect if public (posting statistics)

• Informs how doing compared to goals, other norms, past performance

• Results in self-efficacy


Instructional Benefits of FeedbackInstructional Benefits of Feedback

• Directs behavior -- particularly good when skills broken down into components or stages

• Effectively monitors progress• Tells what correct, wrong, and how to

correct• When giving feedback after a mistake,

better received if viewed as credible, specific and high quality, and delivered supportively


Implementing a Performance Measurement Implementing a Performance Measurement and Feedback Systemand Feedback System

• Coach must identify specific and measurable behaviors or consequences (something that can be counted)

• May want to measure successful execution versus just outcome

• Measure correct behaviors rather than mistakes

• Develop “total performance indexes”• Provide performance feedback for subgroups

when appropriate


Summary: Providing Positive Summary: Providing Positive ReinforcementReinforcement

• Do liberally, particularly in early stages• Have realistic expectations and consistently

reinforce compliance• Reinforce desired behaviors immediately• Reinforce effort/perseverance vs. just results• Pair with statement of what did correctly• Reinforce compliance with team rules• Help athletes set positive, individualized,

behavioral performance goals


Summary: Reacting to MistakesSummary: Reacting to Mistakes

• Regard mistakes as learning opportunities• Ask athletes what they should have done

instead• Give encouragement if athlete knows how to

correct, if not demonstrate• Deliver using “positive sandwich” • Restrict to behaviors within athlete’s control,

such as lack of effort• Avoid aversive punishment as much as

possible– Response cost is more desirable alternative

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© 2010 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. A Positive Approach to Coaching Effectiveness and Performance Enhancement Ronald E. Smith I never