Sport Psychology Part I Commitment Communication Concentration Bryan McCann Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science Robert Gordon University Trainee Sport

Sport Psychology Part ISport Psychology Part I

CommitmentCommitmentCommunication Communication

ConcentrationConcentration

Bryan McCann

Lecturer in Sport and Exercise ScienceRobert Gordon University

Trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist

Session OverviewSession Overview

Introduction

Part 1 – Commitment

Break

Part 2 – Communication

Break

Part 3 – Concentration

Summary, Q&A, homework!

Aims for SessionAims for Session

Application of theory

Sharing knowledge and experience

Increasing coach efficacy

Ground RulesGround Rules

Interactive session

Confidentiality

Questions?

Fun!

About me!About me!

BSc (Hons) Psychology – Glasgow Caledonian University

MSc Sport and Exercise Psychology – Bangor University

Trainee Sport and Exercise Psychologist – BPS Chartered Status

4 years experience working with athletes

Sport Psychology ExperienceSport Psychology Experience

Support for athletes◦Olympic and international skiers◦International and national table tennis players◦International and national swimmers◦International rugby player◦National hockey player◦Youth football players◦Youth football academy

Lecturing and research

About YouAbout You

What makes a great athlete?What makes a great athlete?

Performance ProfilingPerformance Profiling

Physical Psychological Attitudinal Technical

Flexibility Imagery Motivated Basic technique

Balance Self Talk Confident Arm movement

Fitness Focus Control Landing position


Quality Definition

Fitness Aerobic/anaerobic

Imagery Uses imagery to improve performance

Confidence Secure in own ability

Motivation Determined to succeed in spite of failure

Basic Technique Perfect core techniques for sport



Quality Ideal Level (1-10) Actual Level (1-10)

Fitness 10 7

Imagery 9 4

Confidence 10 8

Motivation 10 4

Basic Technique 9 9

Sport PsychologySport Psychology

Application of psychology to sport to assist athletes in:◦Overcoming issues (e.g., injury)◦General performance improvement

Topics include◦Confidence, motivation, anxiety,

communication, control, concentration, coach-athlete relationships, team cohesion, injury rehabilitation, etc

The Sport PsychologistThe Sport Psychologist

One-to-one support

Group delivery◦During sessions◦Dedicated workshops

Through coaches

Case StudiesCase StudiesEach person select athlete they know. Note the following

•Age

•Competition level

•Strengths

•Weaknesses

•Particular issue(s) experienced in the past

•Action taken regarding issue

Harwood (2008) – Coaching Harwood (2008) – Coaching Behaviour DirectivesBehaviour Directives

1. Intentionally promote psychological skill same as physical skill

2. Increase awareness of skill by illustrating good and bad examples

3. Emphasise value of possessing skill

4. Role model skill and employ role model examples

5. Structure sessions so as to train skill

6. Publicly reinforce demonstrations of skill

7. Employ peer reinforcement of skill

8. Review presence of skill

CommitmentWhat does this mean??

CommitmentCommitment

Motivated behaviours◦Physical effort regardless of scoreline◦Persistent involvement in the game◦Elevated levels of effort◦Non-avoidance of difficult skills◦Persistence after failure

Motivation (Commitment)Motivation (Commitment)

Definition:

“The intensity and direction of one’s effort” (Sage, 1977)

Direction – whether a person seeks out, approaches or is attracted to certain situations

Intensity – the amount of effort someone puts in to a certain situation

Motivation (commitment)Motivation (commitment)

Key topics:Achievement motivation

◦Attribution theory

◦Achievement goal theory

Self-determination theory

Punishments and rewards

Flow

Achievement MotivationAchievement Motivation

Achievement motivation is a person’s orientation to strive for task success, persist in the face of failure, and experience pride in accomplishments (Gill, 2000).

Competitiveness is a disposition to strive for satisfaction when making comparisons with some standard of excellence in the presence of evaluative others (Martens, 1986).

Achievement MotivationAchievement Motivation

Achievement motivation: Self-comparison of achievement.

Competitiveness: Social evaluation or comparison.

Achievement motivation influences:◦Choice of activities ◦Effort in pursuing goals ◦Intensity of effort◦Persistence in face of failure

Attribution Theory Attribution Theory (Weiner, 1985, 1986)(Weiner, 1985, 1986)

Group discussion:

◦What factors do your athletes cite as being the reasons for their success and/or failures?


Focuses on how people explain successes and failures

Suggests that all reasons can be classified into a few categories:◦Stability◦Locus of causality◦Locus of control



Achievement Goal TheoryAchievement Goal Theory(Nicholls, 1984)(Nicholls, 1984)

Goal Orientation

Task-orientated◦Focus on improving relative to her previous

performances. Perceived ability not based on comparison with others (e.g., PB)

Ego-Orientated (Outcome orientated)◦Success is dependent on performing better

than others, Perceptions of competence are based on reference to others (e.g., winning)

Achievement Goal Theory (Cont.)Achievement Goal Theory (Cont.)

Goal Involvement

Ego involvement◦Situations which induce a state of social

evaluation, accompanied by feelings of anxiety

Task involvement◦Situations which do not induce a state of social

evaluation, accompanied by low feelings of anxiety


Motivational Climate

Mastery climate – athletes receive positive reinforcement when they◦ Work hard◦ Demonstrate improvement◦ Help others through cooperation◦ Believe each players contribution is important

Competitive climate – athletes perceive that ◦ Poor performances and mistakes will be punished◦ High-ability athletes will receive most attention and recognition◦ Competition between team members is encouraged


Goal Orientation(Personality trait)

Goal Involvement(Psychological state)

Motivational Climate(Environment)

1. Task or mastery orientation

a) Effort importantb) Mastery important

1. Task or Mastery Involvement

a) Athlete works hardb) Athlete strives for

mastery

1. Mastery climatea) Effort rewardedb) Cooperation

emphasised

2. Ego or competitive orientationa)Social comparisons importantb)Winning important

2. Ego or competitive involvementa)Athlete defines ability as winningb)Athlete strives to win

2. Competitive climatea)Mistakes punishedb)Competition encouraged

Group DiscussionGroup Discussion

Do you have athletes who are task or ego orientated, and how does this manifest itself?

Do you have athletes who exhibit task or ego involvement in certain situations?

Would you describe your coaching sessions as having a task of ego climate?

Self-Determination TheorySelf-Determination Theory(Ryan & Deci, 2000)(Ryan & Deci, 2000)

Focuses on three basic psychological needs◦ Autonomy◦ Competence◦ Relatedness

“...people are inherently motivated to feel connected to others within a social milieu (relatedness), to function effectively in that milieu (competence), and to feel a sense of personal initiative in doing so (autonomy)”(Deci & Ryan, 1994, p7)

Self-Determination Theory (cont.)Self-Determination Theory (cont.)

Intrinsic Motivation Extrinsic Motivation

• Pleasure• Fun• Skill learning• Skill improvement• Challenge • Excitement• Etc.

• Social approval• Social status• Rewards• Winning• Beating others• Trophies• Etc.

Self-Determination Theory (cont)Self-Determination Theory (cont)

Intrinsic Motivation

Self-Determination Theory (cont)Self-Determination Theory (cont)

Extrinsic Motivation

Self-Determination Theory (cont.)Self-Determination Theory (cont.)

SDT – Basic Psychological NeedsSDT – Basic Psychological Needs

Competence◦The need to feel confident in one’s ability to carry

out skills

Autonomy◦The need to be in control of oneself and one’s

destiny

Relatedness◦The need to relate to other people, to care for

others and have others care for you

Basic Psychological NeedsBasic Psychological Needs

How do you currently promote:◦Competence◦Autonomy ◦Relatedness


Competence:◦Goal setting◦Mastery climate

Relatedness◦Peer support ◦Coach-athlete relationship


Autonomy (Cox, 2012)

◦ Provide athletes with boundaries and choices

◦ Provide a rationale for training tasks

◦ Acknowledge and respect athletes’ perspectives and feelings

◦ Provide opportunities for independent work and taking initiative

◦ Provide feedback about competence that does not control or constrain behaviour

◦ Avoid conscious bullying

◦ Encourage a mastery approach to learning and discourage social comparison

Punishments and RewardsDiscuss existing use of punishments and rewards

Guidelines for reinforcementsGuidelines for reinforcements

Choose effective reinforcers◦ Social◦ Material◦ Activity◦ Special outings

Schedule reinforcements effectively

Reward appropriate behaviours◦ Successful approximations◦ Performance, not just outcomes◦ Effort◦ Emotional and social skills

Guidelines for punishmentsGuidelines for punishments(if they need to be used!)(if they need to be used!)

Consistency Punish behaviour, not person Allow athlete input into punishments Do not use physical activity as a punishment Make punishment not a reward Don’t shout or yell, just inform Do not punish whilst playing Don’t embarrass Use sparingly, but enforce Don’t punish others for a teammates mistake Make sure athletes understand reason for punishment

Extrinsic rewards and intrinsic motivation

Controlling aspect of rewardsControlling aspect of rewards

Controlling aspect of rewardsControlling aspect of rewards

Informational aspect of rewardInformational aspect of reward

Informational aspect of rewardInformational aspect of reward

Creating a Positive Motivational Creating a Positive Motivational ClimateClimate

TARGET acronym (Epstein, 1989; Treasure & Roberts, 1995)

◦Tasks – focus on learning and task involvement◦Authority – allow athletes to participate in decision

making◦Reward – Reward improvement, not social

comparison◦Grouping – Create cooperative learning climates

within groups◦Evaluation – focus these on personal improvement◦Timing – use proper timing for all these conditions

What will you do?What will you do?

How will you...?How will you...?









Communication“Actions speak louder than words...”

The Communication ProcessThe Communication Process

Can you identify the 5 steps of communication?1. Decision to send information about something2. Encoding of information by sender3. Channel through which information is

transmitted4. Decoding of message by receiver5. Internal response by receiver to message

Communication TaskCommunication Task

Coach-team CommunicationsCoach-team Communications

Impart

Inspire

Monitor progress team is making

Clarify

Reinforce

Athlete-Athlete communicationAthlete-Athlete communication

Make sure everyone is pulling in same direction

Strategies for improving team harmonyEncourage listening to othersDevelop receiving and giving of feedbackIncrease tolerance of othersAvoid backstabbing and gossipingKeep confrontations privateConflict manage if it cannot be resolved

Coach-Athlete RelationshipCoach-Athlete Relationship

Understand one another Use comfortable communication style Be open, honest, sincere, genuine and consistent Convey rationales for expectations Focus on being positive – role model Work on non-verbal communication Develop empathy skills Reduce uncertainty Recognise importance of managing own emotions Demonstrate open door policy Set aside time to meet with athletes

Coach-Athlete Relationship Coach-Athlete Relationship (Jowett, 2006)(Jowett, 2006)

Three interpersonal constructs of coach-athlete dyad:◦Closeness

Mutual respect, common beliefs, trust, love◦Commitment

Dedication, sacrifice, satisfaction◦Complimentarity

How the coach and athlete complement each other’s strengths in terms of roles, tasks and ability to adapt


Co-orientation◦The degree to which the coach and athlete

agree on the 3 manifestations of the coach-athlete dyad

Mastery-motivational climate and intrinsic motivation linked with co-orientation


What can you do to increase perceptions of the following with an athlete:◦Closeness◦Commitment◦Complimentarity

How will you...?How will you...?









Documents

Sport Psychology Part I Commitment Communication Concentration Bryan McCann Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science Robert Gordon University Trainee Sport