Chapter 3 A Positive Approach to Coaching Effectiveness and Performance Enhancement Ronald 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 Johnson Former college and professional football coach

What 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 Setting Who influences? Teammates Opponents Officials Coaches What is influenced? Thoughts Emotions Motivational factors Behaviors

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

The ABCs of Behavior Control 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 ABC’s of Behavior Control (cont.) Results in two important relationships: Relationship between antecedents and behaviors (A and B) Contingency between behavior and its consequences (B and C) Behavior is strongly influenced by the consequences it produces A B C IF + THEN

Antecedents Discriminative stimuli: Stimulus control: Signals that guide behavior, certain behaviors occur only under certain stimuli Stimulus control: Behavior always occurs under certain stimuli and may be automatic

Response Consequences Positive reinforcement Negative reinforcement Extinction Punishment (aversive) Punishment (response cost)

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.) Punishment (aversive) Present aversive stimuli that  future likelihood of the behavior that preceded it Punishment (response cost) Remove a positive stimulus --  future likelihood of the behavior that preceded it Extinction Removal of a positive stimulus that has in the past followed the behavior

Positive vs. Aversive Control Behavior is strongly influenced by its consequences INCREASE BEHAVIOR Positive Reinforcement Negative Reinforcement Extinction Punishment AVERSIVE CONTROL POSITIVE CONTROL DECREASE BEHAVIOR

Aversive 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.) 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 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 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 Reinforcement (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.) 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 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 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 Climate 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 Feedback Providing the athlete with “knowledge of results” Performance has met or exceeded the coach’s standards

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 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 and 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 Reinforcement 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 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