HSC PDHPE Core 2: Factors Affecting Performance

How can psychology affect performance? Motivation - Positive & Negative “Motivation can be defined as the direction and intensity of effort. It is a powerful force that leads you towards a desired outcome (direction), combined with the effort or energy you use (intensity) to work towards that goal. Being described as motivated is considered to be extremely positive”. “Motivation can be categorised as either: Positive Negative Intrinsic Extrinsic”

Positive Motivation: “Positive motivation is the desire to succeed in a task that will make you feel happy, content or satisfied. An example of positive motivation is knowing that if you receive an A on your essay you will receive praise from your teacher or parents. An athletes dreams and goals are examples of positive motivation” Positive Reinforcement: Positive reinforcement helps to maintain positive motivation. Examples include: Praise, congratulations, recognition, adoration and approval – from your coach, family, friends, fans or media. The great athletes tend to be positively motivated and positive motivation is more likely to maintained over time”.

Negative Motivation: “Negative motivation is the desire to succeed in a task to avoid unpleasant or undesirable consequences – such as feeling sad, unworthy, or failure. Negative motivation causes you to think about what you don’t want to happen. Examples include: An athlete who trains hard to avoid her coach yelling at her in front of everyone. A player who concentrates more during skill work because dropped balls means extra sprints as punishment A player giving a greater defensive effort because he is likely to get benched if an oppositiion player scores over him on consecutive occassions Motivation in these scenarios is the fear of something ‘bad’ happening. This can be effective on occasions but, if it is consistent, it will lead to a drop in self confidence. Coaches using destructive emotions such as shame, guilt or ridicule are all sources of negative motivation”.

What happens when it all goes wrong?

Intrinsic Motivation: - Intrinsic & Extrinsic Intrinsic Motivation: “Intrinsic motivation is the desire that comes from within. When you are intrinsically motivated, you feel satisfied and content to continue an activity because you enjoy it. An example is a person who continues playing football even though they have never scored a try. Other athletes are intrinsically motivated by the satisfaction of becoming competent at a given task, such as being able to jog for 30 mins without stopping”

“Some say intrinsic motivation encompasses an individuals inward desire to know, accomplish and experience. This is the most powerful and rewarding motivation, and it can be sustained for considerable lengths of time” “Intrinsic motivation may come naturally, but coaches and athletes can help to create it by adapting their thinking. When the acquisition of skill becomes important and meaningful to an athlete, and they can see it brings them closer to their goal, intrinsic motivation is generated. It is the power of the desire to learn or improve that is key” An example of intrinsic motivation is the athlete who continues to finish a race despite knowing that there is no chance of winning. The desire to finish satisfies a personal need. This self-satisfaction with the performance is often referred to as internal reinforcement and ensures that this type of behaviour will occur again.

Extrinsic Motivation: “Extrinsic motivation is the desire to succeed in a task to gain an external reward such as: A Trophy Money Praise Or avoidance of punishment In this case, the reward provides more satisfaction than the task itself. An example would be a jockey wanting to win a Melbourne Cup to be showered in praise, fame, money and glory; and to avoid being dumped for the next up and coming jockey. With the increase in salaries of professional athletes, there is a general concern that money is now the driving motivational factor, rather than enjoyment of the sport itself”.

Anxiety and Arousal “Anxiety is a negative emotional state that results from perceiving a situation as threatening, uncontrollable or unavoidable. Anxiety brings feelings of nervousness, uneasiness, worry, fear or panic. It is however, a normal reaction to stress. There are two components to anxiety – mental (cognitive) and physical (somatic). The mental aspect is your thoughts (worry, self doubt) and the physical aspect is your perceived symptoms of increased heart rate, nervousness and ‘butterflies’ in the stomach”

State Anxiety: Anxiety and Arousal - Trait and State Anxiety “State anxiety is the temporary feeling of apprehension, tension or inadequacy related to a specific point in time. For example, in a softball game a player may experience high levels of state anxiety just before the game starts and just before batting, but these feelings subside somewhat while the on the bench or fielding until the player eventually feels ‘normal’ again. In some situations the person experiences a form of paralysis and has difficulty executing a skill they have performed thousands of times at training, such as a tennis serve”

Trait Anxiety: “Trait anxiety is a behavioural disposition to exhibit anxiety and perceive a wide range of situations as threatening. This type of anxiety varies from person to person. Athletes with a high level of trait anxiety will tend to be more anxious when confronted with a threatening situation. They are likely to become more anxious prior to competition, which is a major cause of anxiety in athletes called ‘competition anxiety’. An example of this is where a team which loses five games in a row will continue to see things in a negative way and continue to lose or accept it will happen. A person with a high level of trait anxiety is likely to respond to competitive situations with high state anxiety”

Sources of stress: Anxiety and Arousal - Sources of Stress “Stress can be described as the imbalance between what is demanded of you (physically, psychologically or emotionally), and your perceived ability to meet those demands (your competence or coping skills). When you perceive a large imbalance between what is asked of you and your capabilities, you become stressed. For example if your were called up to play first grade netball, football etc.

Stress can be broken down into four stages:

“The body will go through three stages in response to stress: The Alarm Phase: Is where the body recognises a threat and prepares to fight the stress or fly from it. This is commonly known as the flight or fight response and results in the secretion of adrenaline in the body. This adrenaline can cause alertness, and arousal ready for activity. But it can also cause poor judgement and execution. The Resistance Phase: The resistance phase is where the body starts to try and cope with the stressor and ultimately it cannot due to fatigue. The Exhaustion Phase: Is where the body will cease normal functioning as a result of the stressor and permanent damage may occur. Too much stress and anxiety can seriously affect your ability to focus on your skills and flow in a performance”.

In sport sources of stress include: Level of trait anxiety Personal Experience Support Structures Injury or illness Spectators Media Skill level Fitness Pressure from coaches and family Managing Stress: Short term stress management strategies include: Breathing and relaxation techniques to reduce anger or frustration. Concentration skills, which allow for focus on the task, not on a perceived reaction to it.

Focusing on positive emotions Positive self talk Learning to ‘change channels’ by developing a routine to re-route negative thoughts. For example imaging a situation and then picturing yourself changing the channel with a remote control.

Optimum Arousal: Anxiety and Arousal - Optimum Arousal Arousal is the physical and mental activation or intensity exhibited at a specific point in time. A highly aroused person is mentally alert, has an elevated heart rate and may be sweating, while someone with low arousal is ‘half asleep’ The signs and symptoms of arousal include: - Profuse sweating - Dazed look - Negative self talk - Inability to concentrate - Butterflies in the stomach - Increased heart rate - Stomach ache - Negative images - Dry mouth - Feeling sick - Headache - Constant need to go to the toilet

– Drive theory & the Inverted U hypothesis “Arousal is important for successful performance, but different individuals and sports require different levels of arousal for optimal performance. Compare a pistol shooter or golfer, to a rugby union forward or boxer - some athletes need to be pumped up before they compete, while others prefer to be quiet and calm. Optimum Arousal – Drive theory & the Inverted U hypothesis “There are two major theories for arousal: these are drive theory and the inverted U-theory. The drive theory relates performance to arousal, where an athlete has the necessary skills and their drive to compete is aroused by being psyched up for performance.

Inverted U hypothesis: “The inverted U theory relates performance and arousal to an upside down U shape. According to this theory, the athlete will be performing best if working in the zone of optimal arousal and in particular at the point of optimal arousal. Both performance and arousal will increase as the athlete has things under control and exhibits little anxiety. They then work in the zone of optimal arousal. Here the athlete is more centred on the task at hand and the task is seen as a challenge where a positive outcome can be gained”.

Inverted U hypothesis: Within the inverted U hypothesis: If arousal is to LOW, performance is decreased If arousal is to HIGH, performance is decreased Arousal Level too Low Arousal Level too High Task is too easy Event is not important Performer is bored, tired, over confident Performer is not directly involved in the task Task is to difficult Event is very important Significant people are watching Performer/athlete can be overconfident

“If the athlete is above this point or zone in the U shape, they are considered to be over-aroused and performance will decrease as the graph moves in a downward direction. Performance will continue to drop off as the athlete moves further from the optimal arousal point. This is because the athlete sees an inability to complete the task the way that they want and thus becomes anxious. At this stage performance deteriorates rapidly and can only be improved if the anxiety is dealt with then so that the athlete can return to point of optimal arousal”.