College Sport and perfomance psychology

College 1: 13-09-21

How does expertise come about?

The talent myth means that you are just born with a talent, it is not due to practice. 

Talent is a potential or capacity to excel in a particular domain that requires special skills and training. When there is talent development, the potential turns into manifest (expert) abilities.

Popular thoughts:

• Talent is in the genes, so you can predict if children are going to be talented as well. Most people say that genetics are too complicated to make that conclusion. Bodily characteristics can be important, but they can change over time and the mentality is also important. 

• An extreme nurturist perspective is that you need to practice 10.000 hours or ten year rule. It is a deliberate practice, so structured and not necessarily enjoyable. Extending the memory span. Opportunity to practice is very important here. 

Nurturing through play and practice is called deliberate play and involves experimenting, scaffolding (aanpassen op niveau) and maximising the enjoyment. The question here is early specialization (focus on one sport and quantity/quality) or early sampling (different types of sport and play/enjoyment)? A combination of sampling/specialization may depend on the type of sport.

Expertise is the specialist skills and knowledge, repeated demonstrations of superior performance and observed in exceptional achievements. Some are able to reach that expertise, but some aren’t. So why is that? 

In summary: expertise cannot be reduced to particular genes and expertise develops through practice (deliberate practice/play). New research proposes the dynamic network model, so there are ongoing changes and different challenges to play a role.

What are the expert athlete qualities?

Expert perceptual-cognitive skills: 

• Recall and recognition

• Visual search, experts focus on the area around whereas non-experts are focussing on the one thing like a ball. 

• Temporal(time frame) / Spatial(area) Occlusion, experts are focussed on information before something happens whereas non-experts are focussed on the exact information on that moment. 

• Thinking aloud, experts provide more evaluation and intentions than non-experts.

It is not in the hardware that experts are so good. It is more domain specific, it should be in the software (knowledge-based perception). This is the computer metaphor (input→ processing→ output). The difference between the computer metaphor and the athlete is that the speed goes down by computers and when athletes know more, the speed goes up. 

Theory of indirect perception has to do with encoding, interpretation/calculation and then execution. Theory of direct perception means that information is already there and it doesn’t need to be processed first. Attune to information from the environment that specifies relevant information. 

Applying direct perceptions to sport: relatively rare is that ideas and explanations are cognitive processing-oriented. From indirect perception to direct perception, how do we connect to the environment? From mental representation to embodied cognition. Embodied-cognition is that cognition typically involves acting with a physical body in an environment in which that body is immersed. 

Studying athletes in terms of: perception-action dynamics, attunement to the environment, the athlete-environment system. Athletes perceive and act on affordances (an opportunity for action provided by the environment). The best athletes are very good at seeing what they can and cannot do. Action-specific perception means perceiving the environment in terms of your ability to act in it. For example, baseball players who swing better are interpreting the ball as bigger.

In summary: Indirect perception includes encoding, processing, execution and is the dominant explanation. Direct perception is faster and holds that structure already in the environment. Embodied cognition considers the brain, body, environment as one cognitive system (new horizon). Elite athletes perceive the environment and possibilities it offers affordances differently. 

College 2: 20-09-21

Control

In sport psychology, you focus on what you can control. A lot isn’t controllable. 

How you play = how you can play - performance losses

Mental training is focused on performance losses in an important match. Ignore distractions. The higher the performance gains, the better you play. When you master a skill, you have to do it under pressure as well. Acknowledge, practice and act are the steps.

Mental practice should focus on: developing mental skills and enhancing sustainable motivation, improving one’s expertise, optimizing opportunities to develop and to train, enhancing the ability and motivation to effectively self-regulate during performance, developing the competencies to utilize when performing, and optimizing the opportunities to perform well. 

How important is the mental side of sport?

Mental toughness= a constellation of personality characteristics that enables people to mitigate the adverse effects of stressful situations. Hardiness is high in:

1. controll= the capacity to feel and act as if one could exert an influence in the situation in question.

2. challenge= the habit of perceiving potentially stressful situations as positive opportunities rather than as threats.

3. commitment= stickability or the extent to which an individual is likely to persist with a goal or work task. 

4C’s model of mental toughness are these 3 things as well, plus hardiness plus confidence= a strong belief in one’s ability to complete a task successfully. 

Four aspects of athletic performance are:

• physical

• technical

• psychological

• tactical

Some people disagree that sport is mental and others agree. The reasons for disagreement:

•  If people lack the competence, that is, do not have the fitness, strength, and technical and tactical skills required, the mental piece is completely irrelevant.

• People tend to overestimate the impact of mental factors. That is, amateur athletes tend to explain their inconsistency or lack of progress to mental factors (“It’s between my ears”).

However, low-competent individuals typically perform inconsistently, also in low pressure situations. Thus, competence rather than mental factors determine (fluctuations in) performance. 

The reasons for agreement:

• When competing against an opponent of similar ability, mental factors make the difference. Why? Mental factors are more sensitive to pressure situations than physical, technical, and tactical factors.

• That is, mental factors determine athletes’ performance losses.

• And mental factors facilitate the development of expertise (i.e., performance gains).

In general the discussion about this is very academic. 

Development of talent is influenced by: 

• genetics

• practice and training

• anthropometric and physiological factors

• early specialization vs. sampling and play

• social support

• athlete support programs

• birthdate= the relative age effect

• birthplace 

• personality traits

• psychological skills and motivational orientations

There are three general factors that depend how you play:

• expertise= how you can play

• opportunity to perform (parents/associations/etc.)

• developing mental skills

Mental skills are a critical part of the high performance package. It’s impact differs across sports, individuals, situations and moments. Similar to any other skill, mental skills should be learned and practiced, there are typically no quick solutions. Apart from its inaccuracy, Yogi Berra’s statement makes no sense: ‘body and mind are inseparable’. 

Motivation and goal-setting in sport

Motivation are the psychological forces that determine the direction of a person's behaviour, a person's level of infernity or effort. Persistence is an important factor here. The psychological forces that determine:

• the direction of a person's behaviour

1. goal setting theory, including perfectionism and self-efficacy

2. achievement goal approach

• a person's level of intensity or effort

1. achievement goal approach

2. self-determination theory

• a person's level of persistence 

1. self-determination theory

2. attribution theory

Intrinsic motivation is experienced as inherently satisfying, because it satisfies the basic needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. 

Extrinsic motivation is perceived as a means to a separable outcome. It’s not from within you, but for an outcome. 

Amotivation is the absence of motivation.

The SDT-framework: mini-theory cognitive evaluation theory. 

Do rewards(money and trophies) undermine an individual's intrinsic motivation? 

Achievement goal orientations

Athletes with a task/mastery goal orientation define competence and success in self-referenced terms such as personal improvement and development. Athletes with an ego/performance goal orientation define competence and success in reference to others, such as outperforming others and winning. 

An ego/performance goal is less desirable, because you also focus on others and don’t control the controllable. 

Social comparisons are important but you don’t need to do it the whole time. Also in the beginning you are not that good and you lack competencies and it doesn't feel good. Cheating strategies might be implied. The only goal is to become better and it doesn’t matter how. 

People are ego/performance orientated in different things. Not just one thing. Achievement goals should be treated as a state, rather than a trate. If you look at the state, there is also a valance to mention: approach(“I want to win”) vs. avoidance(“I don't want to lose) motivation. Across contexts you quite consistently find that approach goals are better, they are positively associated with outcomes.

College 3: 27-09-21

Michael Jonson: “Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity”. You experience pressure when there is something in stake for you. Michael says you have to embrace the pressure. 

Performance

Drive theory (Hull)= the more arousal, the better the performance. Which is a very simple thought.

Yerkes-Dodson law= there is some kind of maximum. It’s an U-vorm. You have to find your optimal level of arousal, to perform well. But, the underlying mechanism remains very unclear. It is immune to falsification and how is the arousal measured here? When you are over aroused, then you have to calm down before a match. For example, listening to classical music. 

Catastrophe theory= arousal interacts with cognitive anxiety. When there is low cognitive anxiety, this curve works. When the cognitive anxiety is high, it drops dramatically. It’s also an U-vorm. 

Everybody performs best in another level: individual zones of optimal functioning. Find your optimal zone of functioning when you sport. It is not a single point but a bandwidth. 

Arousal is not only intensity, but also about direction. You interpret it as negative(distress) or as positive(eustress, so you need it to perform well). So a pressure situation does not always lead to a pressure situation.

Stephen Curry: “I’ve never been afraid of the big moments. I get butterflies, I get nervous and anxious, but I think those are good signs that I’m ready for the moment.”

Second appraisal= the perceived options to cope with the pressure situation.

Mental skills= perceived opportunities to manage and effectively cope with the situation. 

• transforming the arousal into action

• cognitive control strategies

• effective arousal management

Emotion= a response to an event or stimulus.

The functions:

• motivational state, drive or motive. (emotion→ approach/avoidance motivation → action) 

• incentive. (action→ emotion)

• emotion as feedback information (action→ emotion→ see)

Fear is a brief emotional reaction to a stimulus that is perceived as threatening. Anxiety is more moodlike, an unpleasant emotion which is characterized by vague but persistent feelings of apprehension and dread. It can be classified as somatic/physiological, cognitive, behavioural, state or trait. Intense anxiety is choking under pressure (self-focus, increased muscle tension, breathing rate and heart rate. Possible determinant of anxiety: relevance of the competition, critical plays, evaluation by others, trait/state anxiety and self-efficacy.

Arousal is a diffuse state of bodily alertness or readiness. 

Mood= an enduring state whereby the individual may be unaware of the causes of the feelings experienced.

Affect= a broad (umbrella) term capturing all valenced responses including emotion and mood. 

Perfectionism

Perfectionism is striving for flawlessness and the setting of excessively high standards for one’s performance. It is a common characteristic in elite athletes.

Two main dimensions of perfectionism:

• perfectionistic strivings= captures those aspects of perfectionism associated with the striving for flawlessness and the setting of excessively high standards for one's performance. Conditions under which perfectionistic striving may be particularly adaptive: approach, self-based, personally adapted, low discrepancy between standards and performance. 

• perfectionistic concerns= capture those aspects associated with excessive concerns over making mistakes, fear of negative evaluation by others and feelings of discrepancy between one’s expectations and performance.

Approach goals work better in sport then avoidance goals. Self-based works better than other-based. Personally adopted works better than imposed by others. Low discrepancy between standards and performance works better than high discrepancy. 

Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy beliefs can vary in terms of their level, strength (the extent to which individuals feel confident of the capabilities to perform) and generality (the extent to which a set of efficacy beliefs may be generalized across a range of activities or situations). It is a consistent antecedent of task performance across domains. It gives a better performance, which is mediated by goal setting.

A competition situation does not necessarily define the motivation of an athlete. 

Less strongly in sport settings are the ceiling effect, the spontaneous goal-setting in control groups and statistical power. 

Achievement goal approach

• performance goals= other-based

• mastery goals= self-based / task-based

Goal-setting theory

• outcome-result goals= other-based

• performance goals= self-based

• process goals= self-based / task-based

College 4: 04-10-21

Clip of Alden Moran

Concentration is the ability to focus on what's most important, while ignoring distractions. It’s a mental spotlight. You can’t actually lose concentration, because the spotlight is always shining somewhere. 

Experts are not looking at the ball, but they look at signals that predict what happens in the future. But they think they are looking at the ball. 

Direction and attention are the keys in goal setting. More anxiety results in less difficult goals. 

Eberpächers hierarchical rings of attention

The athlete should be in the red ring when performing. The closer the ring to the first ring, the easier to get back to the bullseye. Every ring is a form of distraction: 

1. task-based goals

2. external distractions

3. what ought to be

4. thoughts about winning/losing and its consequences

5. thoughts about winning/losing and its consequences

6. existential thoughts 

Nideffer’s theory of attentional and interpersonal style

The ironic process model= don’t think about a pink elephant. 

There is a gap between what you want to do and what you are thinking about. To aline these thoughts and actions:

• be aware that you have to concentrate= it won’t jsut happen by chance

• be single minded= focus on only one thought at a time

• do exactly what you are thinking

• keep your mind on track= refocus regularly

Effective concentration

• specify task-based goals (rather than the outcome goals)

Researchers define the quiet eye as the gaze behavior right before movement, particularly when an activity requires aim. The duration of time a person can spend in the quiet eye distinguishes elite performers from their counterparts. In addition, research on eye-tracking has found that focused attention on what matters, is a key factor in blurring out unnecessary detail. It’s effective and controllable. It provides an external focus of attention. 

• pre-performance routines=  a characteristic sequence of thoughts and actions which athletes adhere to prior to skill execution.

• trigger words and self-talk (positive vs. negative (content)/ motivational vs. instructional (impact)). The best self-talk is positive. Instructional more in fine motor tasks wherasa motivational self-talk seems to be more beneficial in tasks requiring strength or endurance or before competition to psych-up. 

Debilitative self-talk (harmful) → Facilitative self-talk (easier/free) shows the 3R model: register, release and refocus. 

The 'ABC framework' clarifies the relationship between: 

(A) Activating events. 

(B) Beliefs about them.

(C) Consequences of one’s beliefs: Cognitive, emotional, or behavioral.

1. reghter-release-refocus

2. counter

3. reframe

4. thought stopping (crisis management during a game)

• mental imagery (or motor imagery)= a multi-sensory construct that enables us to create virtual experiences of absent objects, events and/or experiences. The main function is the self-regulation of thoughts. It is a top-down, knowledge driven process. It is functionally equivalent to perception. When you visualize, you're training your brain for when the time comes. The better and the more senses you can include, the better the quality of the visualization. 

There is a fixed mindset (entity theorist) and growth mindset (incremental theorist). De mensen die achter de fixed mindset staan, of hiermee rondlopen, hebben de overtuiging dat capaciteiten, bijvoorbeeld het talent om goed te kunnen analyseren, vaststaan. Als je ergens succesvol in bent, dan heb je daar talent voor. Dingen die je minder goed kunt, kun je dan ook beter vermijden.Bij growth mindset is dat dus juist wel het geval. Er is mogelijkheid tot ontwikkeling. Je staat zelf open voor verbetering van de je eigenschappen, persoonlijkheid en uit te voeren werkzaamheden. You can have a different mindset, featuring different things. 

College 5: 11-10-21

What is a team? 

It is a collection of two or more individuals, who have a common goal and focus, are unified (consider themselves to be a group possessing a common identity) , engaged and dedicated (outcome interdependence), synchronized (task interdependent) and prepared. Team building interventions may be directed at each of these components. 

Sequential task interdependence= A → B → C → group performance (bv. estafette)

Reciprocal task interdependence= A ↔ B ↔ C ↔ A, etc. (bv. volleybal)

Outcome interdependence= A + B + C (bv. tennis)

When you start a new team, there are different faces recognised: forming, storming, norming and performing. That is the theory of team planning from Tuckman.

Team building interventions by sport psychologists:

• direct interventions paradigm= you have direct interaction with your athletes. It is seperate from the coach and the other staff. 

• indirect interventions paradigm= you act as an consultant for the coaching staff, who has the direct responsibility to implement the team-building protocols with their athletes. This is more usual and sustainable. 

• a mixture of direct and indirect 

A promortem analysis is when you look back at how the match or race went. When you do a premortem analysis, is when you think about what could happen in the match or race and why. So for example imagine why you did lose the match or race that will happen in two weeks. 

Enhancing team effectiveness and performance, specifically includes:

• A positive team culture and group atmosphere where the players put the group’s interest ahead of their personal interests. 

• A social (or team) identity that includes the team’s distincts characteristics and the extent to which the members feel proud of their membership. 

• open and honest communication that allows members to freely and effectively express and exchange their feelings and thoughts

• individual and mutual accountability that reflect team members’ willingness to accept responsibility for their actions and group outcomes. 

• team cohesion (social and task)

• a shared vision that encompasses the group’s overarching goals, expectations and values.

With the attribution theory you can explain the cause of events. Are they blaming themselves or the team? 

Team cohesion is a model where there is a relation between social and task. Carron’s model of group cohesion:

1. individual attraction to the group (task oriented)= a team member's feelings about his/her personal involvement with the group task. 

2. group integration (task oriented)= an individual member's perceptions of the similarity, closeness and bonding within the group as a whole with regard to the task. 

3. group integration (social oriented)= an individual member’s feelings about the similarity and unification of the group as a social unit. 

4. individual attraction to the group (social oriented)= an individual team member’s feelings about his or her personal social interactions with the group. 

Determinants of team cohesion, how can we strengthen team cohesion? It is very strongly related to commitment to the team’s tasks and goals and to successful performance. Small teams and female teams have on average more cohesion. The type of sport (interactive / co-active) doesn't make a difference. 

Potential disadvantages of high social cohesion:

• communication problems among friends (afraid to be critical of those you are close with)

• challenges in fully focusing on the task at hand

• exclusion of task-effective individuals who do not adhere to the social norms of the group. 

Potential disadvantages of high task cohesion:

• high pressure to perform

• low social and personal enjoyment due to a strong, unbalanced (outcome) focus on the task.

Collective self-efficacy= that you feel confident as a team/a whole. How can you increase this? Mastery experience, vicarious experience (If someone else can, I can do it as well. It is not unhuman anymore), physiological and affective states, and verbal persuasion (yes, cou can!). Self-efficacy is likely to be negatively affected by adverse experiences.

Mental toughness is generally considered as an individual difference variable consisting of multiple components which tend to help people to bounce back from adversity. It is also a process variable. Influences on this factor: 

• genetics

• mental skills (self-talk, imagery)

• social support (parents, coaches and sibling, peer and team rivalry)

• critical incidents

College 6: 18-10-21

Psychological momentum

The example is with the europa league match between France and Italy, with scoring in the last minutes .It can be positive or negative. It can appear very suddenly (but also gradually). It is embedded in the match process and can occur across matches. So it is a positive or negative dynamics of cognitive, affective, motivational, physiological and behavioural responses. 

While moving toward or away from a goal, changes in psychological states occur (stronger during negative momentum) and changes in behaviours occur (stronger during positive momentum). These insights are only possible with a dynamical approach. 

How to deal with psychological momentum?

• psychological skills training (acceptance & commitment, not caring previous failures and successes with you) 

• support your player, especially when they get back from a negative state and go into a positive one.

• time-out, the person in the negative state has time to get out of it. But the one in the positive state may also get out of it. 

Resilience= bouncing back from adversity. A dynamic individual process. 

The last part of the lecture is about FC Groningen, it's approximately the same as the lecture in pathe i’ve been to.