SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY

COURSE CONTENT

- Mental skills strategies used pre, during and post-performance, to manage stress, motivation, concentration,
self-confidence and arousal levels.
o Self-talk

o Relaxation

o Performance routines

o Goal setting

o Imagery

- Carron’s model of group cohesion

o The relationship between social loafing and group cohesion.

o The influence of social loafing on individual and group performance.

o Strategies to improve group cohesion.

o Factors affecting group cohesion.

 Environmental
 Leadership
 Personal
 Team
 PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS
MENTAL SKILLS
1. Motivation
2. Self-confidence
3. Concentration
4. Arousal
5. Stress

WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT?

At elite level, most players have similar ability, the mental strength of the individual separates the great player
from the good player.

The ‘zone’ is a state of supreme focus where all psychological skills are optimised. This temporary state helps
athletes in all sports perform at their peak potential.

Strong mental skills are crucial in developing ‘mental toughness’ in the performer.

A MENTALLY TOUGH ATHLETE CAN:

- Focus and concentrate.

- Rebound from failure (resilience).
- Deal with pressure.
- Persist against adversity.

CONCENTRATION
The ability to focus on the required task by focusing on relevant cues and blocking out distractions.

Athletes should focus on controllable factors;

- Warm-up, preparation, game plan

Don’t focus on uncontrollable factors:

- Bad calls, weather, opponents, outcome

Players should be able to maintain focus, but also shift attention rapidly and effectively to respond to relevant cues
and changing game environment.

SIGNS OF POOR CONCENTRATION

- Poor decisions
- Becomes distracted by irrelevant cues (parents)
- Poor execution of skills due to lack of focus (e.g. miss pass in volleyball because not focused on the serve)
CONCENTRATION GUIDELINES
- Narrow & widen focus when needed.
- Block out external (parents) and internal (negative self-talk) distractions.
- Focus on routine.
- Key words to regain/maintain focus.
- Have a ‘here and now’ focus.
- Incorporate distractions into practise.
- Find focus points/objects to prevent eyes from wandering.
- Be decisive
- Focus on YOUR role… not opponent or what others are doing
- Briefly analyse, but not judge your performance.

HOW TO IMPROVE CONCENTRATION?

HOW DESCRIPTION
Focus on controllable vs Two lists;
uncontrollable - Controllable  factors I can do something about. (response to mistake)
- Uncontrollable  elements of performance athletes can’t do anything
about. (crowd’s response to athlete’s mistake)

Simulation training Place athlete in ‘real life’ scenarios during practice to stimulate possible
distractions.

Distraction drills Identify distractions and deliberate attempts to shifts one’s attention away from
the areas of required focus.
- Forcing them to practice shifting back to relevant cues.

Concentration cues Develop list of positive, focused cues (self-talk, visual reminders) to quickly shift
attention to appropriate points throughout a performance.

MOTIVATION
The intensity and direction of effort.

Within any playing group, each player will have different motives.

- Extrinsic / intrinsic

HIGH MOTIVATION LOW MOTIVATION

- Commitment - Lack of desire to train or play
- Persistence - Less than 100% effort at training
- Effort - Missing or shortening training
- Competitiveness - Effort inconsistent with goals
- Looks disinterested – shrugged shoulders,
negative behaviour

STRESS/ANXIETY
The result of an imbalance between the demands of the task and the capability of the individual to respond.

Often linked to anxiety – negative emotional state (nervousness, worry, apprehension)

- State or trait anxiety (situation / personality)

SYMPTOMS DESCRIPTION
Physical (somatic) HR, muscle tension, breathing

i.e. elite athlete with high skill level making uncharacteristic errors (‘choking’)

Cognitive (mind) Worry, fear, apprehension

Behavioural Avoidance

SELF-CONFIDENCE
A belief that you can successfully perform a desired task/behaviour.

Too much self-confidence can also decrease performance… WHY?

- If too confident, it is possible to get complacent and lose concentration therefore missing cues.

SIGNS OF LOW SELF-CONFIDENCE CAUSES

- Negative self-talk - Previous bad experiences
- Blame others for poor performance - Doubt own ability
- Excuse making - Lack of skill / fitness
- Poor body language – slumped shoulders
- Withdrawn

AROUSAL
The amount of mental energy or preparedness a person has prior to performance.

Optimal arousal is dependent upon the skill level of the athlete, personality characteristics, the nature of the
sport/event.

WHY DOES AROUSAL SHIFT DURING TEAM GAMES?

For example, in basketball, one would have a higher level of arousal while in defence as there is a lot going on and
they are constantly moving.

However, during a free-throw, the shooter would calm itself and lower their arousal for the best chance to
accurately shoot the ball.

A person's state of psychological and physiological activation runs along a continuum.

Deep sleep Intense excitement

LOW (under-aroused) HIGH (over-aroused)

- Lack of focus – easily distracted - Tunnel vision
 - Day dreaming - Miss relevant cues
- Lethargic, feeling slow and heavy - Focus only on main object or goal
- Tired - Aggressive behaviour
- Poor anticipation - Muscles become tight and rigid
- ‘Don’t care’ attitude - Shallow and irregular breathing
- Lack of emotional regulation

MENTAL SKILLS TRANING

Relates to the development of psychological skills that maximise performance, enhance the sport experience and
foster personal development.

KEY STRATEGIES TO REGULATE PSYCHOLOGICAL SKILLS

1. Performance routines
2. Self-talk
3. Goal setting
4. Imagery
5. Relaxation

The ideal performance state or ‘the zone’ is a state of supreme focus where all psychological skills are optimised.

This temporary state helps athletes in all sports perform at their peak potential.

PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGIES
PERFORMANCE ROUTINES
A performance routine is a ritual a performer follows in the preparation for or during the execution of a task or skill.

Helps athlete relate back to successful past performances due to familiarity of the action.

- More in control and increasing confidence.

Focus on the process of execution  not worrying about possible outcomes.

- Reducing stress and anxiety.

Help narrow athlete’s concentration.

- E.g. focus on relevant cues in environment

- Ignore irrelevant cues which would detract from performance.

PRIOR
Follow a set routine in the morning of competition. A set routine increases an athlete’s confidence and can
 decrease stress.

The same routine that was used in past successes can help athlete feel more control and confident.

e.g. rub down, find quiet spot in change rooms, listening to music whilst using visualisation, then head out to
stadium.

DURING
Prior to performance, athlete should undertake a set routine such as;

- Look up at the goal

- Pull socks up
- Look back and forth twice
- Roll ball on hand
- Take two deep breaths
- Start the skill

Increases an athlete’s confidence – when an athlete can see and feel past and future successes as part of your
mental preparation, you feel more in control and confident.

A performance routine can be a ‘security blanket’, something an athlete can turn to in the stressful moments of
competition (it brings consistency to an athlete’s preparation and performance)

Athletes can use the performance routine to focus on the task at hand instead of worrying about the possible
outcomes of his actions.

SELF-TALK
Involves talking or thinking to yourself, prior to or during performance.

- Best used prior or during performance

- Needs to be realistic and adjusted depending on mental skill it is attempting to regulate.
o E.g. targeting concentration  self-talk could use key words which direct performers attention such
as “focus” or “eyes on the ball”.
- This is different to if an athlete uses self-talk to manage stress, where they might say “relax” or “calm down”,
“I’ve done this before, I can do it again”.
- Motivational phrases or terms can be used to increase motivation and arousal levels prior to each game or
point.
o E.g. phrases such as “you’re in control of the point”, you’ve done this before”, “you’ve beaten the
best” may help athletes maintain optimal mental energy and arousal.

GOAL SETTING
The process of deciding on something you want to achieve, planning the steps to follow that will help reach the goal,
and then working towards achieving.

** most commonly used before or after performance (but can be during!)

Process, performance, outcome (always focus on process rather than outcome – this will help you improve
performance rather than doubt it)
Process-based goals during performance can help focus attention on execution/role requirements – reduce outcome
stress.

Setting and achieving short term goals, self-confidence and motivation is increased as you make inroads into
achieving a long-term, often performance/outcome-based goal.

IMAGERY
Imagery is the recreation of the performance, of a skill or group of skills, a previous positive experience or the picture
of new events prepare an individual mentally for performance.

**most commonly used before or during performance

- Should use as many senses as possible – visual, tactile, kinaesthetic.

- Imagery is most commonly used before or during performance.
- Imagery should reflect OPTIMAL performance.

** might be used post performance to regulate motivation/arousal etc.

RELAXATION
A psychological strategy used by sports performers to help manage or reduce stress-related emotions by putting the
athlete in a low-tension state.

** used before, during and after performance

An athlete uses personal relaxation techniques to minimalize the stress and tension which results in improved
performance.

- Progressive muscle relaxation – series of exercises involving tensing and relaxing muscle groups to decrease
tension.
- Meditation - can be used night before, in the days leading into performance to manage accumulated stress.
- Listening to calming music
- Slow deep breaths to increase heart rate and focus attention to breathing.

GROUP COHESION
TEAM COHESION

A term to describe the extent to which a group stay together and united in the pursuit of the common goals and
objectives.

Group cohesion has two components – task and social.

TASK COHESION

How committed the team members are to achieve their predetermined goal.

How much group members are prepared to put in and sacrifice to achieve their aim.

SOCIAL COHESION

The degree to which team members enjoy being together.

A socially cohesive group remain together regardless of the outcome of task outcomes.

BENEFITS OF COHESION
- Happier team members – don’t quit of leave team
- Better resist disruptions – no ‘in-fighting’
- Arrive on-time and attend all sessions
- High motivation and communication within group
- Work together to put team goals and successes before individual goals and successes
- Team members enjoy each other’s success

** a group that has high level of group cohesiveness is much more successful in achieving their goal.

MEASURING COHESION
1. Questionnaires
2. Observation
3. Sociograms

QUESTIONNNAIRES / SELF-REPORTS
Players complete specific questionnaires relating to task and social cohesion, so the coach can specifically interpret
the results to target and address problem areas.

An example is the “Group Environment Questionnaire”

Carron, Bry and Eys examined the relationship between task cohesion and team success in elite basketball and
football teams utilising the GEQ.

- Scores in both categories were highly correlated with team success for both sports, success being defined as
match results over the season.
- The teams with the highest ‘team cohesion’ scores had the best season won: loss percentage records.

OBSERVATION
A coach can use a checklist to observe how players in the group relate to each other, who they mix with, who they
avoid, who they interact with.

May not be the most valid method as it is dependent on players displaying their natural behaviours rather than what
they consider the coach wants to see.

SOCIOGRAMS
A sociogram provides a picture or diagram of how team members relate to each other based on social links and
interpersonal relationships within the group.

Coach may ask who players do/don’t like, which player you find it hard to get along with etc. coach can then use this
information to try and improve cohesiveness within the team.

A SOCIOGRAM CAN SHOW YOU:

- Mutual choice.
- One-way choice.
- Sub-groups/cliques.
- Who may be isolated.
- Who may be a good choice as leader.

STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE
TASK COHESION
HOW WHY
Communicating clearly So, all members understand their roles and responsibilities to achieve team goals.
and regularly
Developing pride within Defence, mid-field, attack to enhance motivation in sub-groups that contribute to
subunits overall team performance.

Prioritize team goals over To encourage a united group striving for the same outcomes.
individual goals

Promote high levels of To ensure effort from all members is directed at achieving the task and team goals.
motivation
Have regular team To provide an opportunity for players to voice their opinion and feel valued for their
meetings input.

Fair and consistent To ensure all players are valued equally.

dealing with team

SOCIAL COHESION
HOW WHY
 Social interaction away This develops interpersonal relationships.
from the sport E.g. paintballing, BBQ’s

Open and honest To promote positive social relationships amongst players and coaches.
communication

Resolve conflicts quickly To ensure focus remains on building positive relationships amongst team mates.

Do team building To promote interaction and positive socialisation amongst team members, and to
activities develop trust and respect within the group.
e.g. pre-season camps

Team standards of To ensure a sense of belonging for all team members.

presentation i.e. uniform

Develop informal roles Fines master to promote positive environment and relationships amongst team
within the group members.

BARRIERS TO GROUP COHESION

- Personality clashes between members
- Unclear/conflicting roles among group members
- Frequent changes to the group
- Disagreement on group
- Lack of communication
- Power struggle between players

SOCIAL LOAFING
Social loafing is the tendency of individuals to lessen their effort when they are part of a group.

Social loafing is likely to be reduced when there are higher levels of group cohesion.

IMPACT OF SOCIAL LOAFING ON INDIVIDUAL AND TEAM PERFORMANCE

- Decreased individual performance – players put in less effort.

- Overall team performance is a sum of athlete’s contribution and the coordination of this effort between
players. Therefore;

**Less effort = decrease individual performance = decreased team performance

RINGLEMANN EFFECT
The Ringelmann effect is the tenancy for individual members of a group to become increasingly less productive as the
size of their group increases.

WHY??

Individuals find it difficult to coordinate their efforts.

Reduced motivation when individuals are placed in larger group.

It is easier for group members to engage in social loafing in larger groups because personal accountability is reduced.
WHY DOES SOCIAL LOAFING OCCUR?
An individual athlete perceives other athletes to be working at a lower intensity which in turn gives them an excuse
to put in less effort themselves.

A belief that their efforts won’t make a difference to the team and little if any effect on the outcome and the desired
outcome will still be reached.

Avoiding hard work and assuming no one will notice in a large group – easier to hide in the pack.

Individuals feeling like their input is not essential achieving the goal

- Perception that they don’t have the ability/knowledge to contribute to the task.

Some people feel that others in the group will leave them to do all the work while they take the credit.

HOW CAN IT BE REDUCED?

Write a team contract which states;

- Group expectations
- Individual responsibilities
- Forms of communication
- Methods of discipline to ensure people work at the required intensity/promote effort.

The coach can create clearly defined roles and expectations for the team (rules of conduct)

- Establish rules of expected behaviour which will help the team achieve goals and objectives.

Create appropriate group sizes;

- At training the coach breaks the team into smaller groups for practice drills assigning too many members to
an easy task encourages loafing.

Evaluate all members of a group individually

- Make individuals accountable for effort by publishing results/stats/KPI’s for the team.
- Individual effort towards the team performance increases where each player’s input is identifiable and
consequently individual and team performance improves.
- Members will be more productive if they know that their individual contribution will be evaluated.

The coach can provide regular feedback to individuals

- i.e. schedule meetings to monitor individual performance and progress (increase motivation and
accountability)

The coach can set goals for;

- Team skill/fitness targets for training session or over the off-season.

- Each individual/player

SIGNS OF SOCIAL LOAFING

Players lack intensity
 - Not encouraging or engaging with other team mates.
- Relies on others to cover errors (i.e. doesn’t chase the ball, opposition players)

Player doesn’t fulfil predetermined roles/responsibilities

- Might not help set up/pack up or engage in the task at all.

Lack of training attendance

- Arrives late/leaves early

Players are clearly distracted and not invested in the task.

CARRON’S MODEL OF GROUP COHESION

Albert Carron (1982) developed a model which describes the 4 key factors that affect team cohesion. They are:

1. Personal
2. Leadership
3. Environmental
4. Team

** depending on the context/situation, these factors can result in an increase or decrease in team cohesion.

PERSONAL FACTORS
Refers to the individual characteristics of the group members.

WHAT HOW
Participation / Motivation (Task, affiliation, self) – pending the scenario, motivations in one and not another
can negatively (or positively!) impact cohesion.

E.g. in a team environment if an athlete is only motivated for personal

achievement and success (self-motivation) then they may put their individual
needs before the needs of the team.

Personality characteristics Personality types and desire/satisfaction of being a part of a teak can impact
cohesion. The ability of players to be accepting and patient with others.

Individual differences Ability to play certain positions to fulfil roles and responsibility. Should individuals
not be able to fulfil their role/responsibilities this can be detrimental to cohesion.

Coaches need to ensure that individual and team related goals are achievable and
relevant for each individual on this basis.

LEADERSHIP FACTORS
The style of leadership adopted, and the relationships developed.
 WHAT HOW
Compatibility between Players need to respect coaches and captain, member sat all levels of the
players and leaders organisation require mutual respect or else this can be detrimental to cohesion.

Leadership style adopted The leadership style needs to suit the situation and motivations of the individuals.
Applications of an ineffective or unsuitable leadership style can cause angst, poor
behaviour, resentment or distrust.

Relationships developed Positive interpersonal relationship between athletes and staff develop higher
levels of social and task cohesion due to relationships being valued and good
communication skills.

Strong personal bonds mean that people do not want to let each other down,
therefore, are more likely to strive towards task related goals.

Formal leadership group A formal leadership group is essential in developing cohesion. Leaders set
standards for behaviours, and aid in ensuring accountability and standards for
presentation of the playing group.

Leadership groups are often ‘voice of the players’ and therefore athletes feel they
have buy-in and a representative to share their thoughts.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
The factors binding members to a team.

WHAT HOW
Contracts Strict selection process, outlines commitment for the team.

Good for ensuring player abide by and know expectations and the roles and
responsibilities they have to the team.

Eligibility/location An athlete will often have pride and honour attached to their culture and sense of
belonging based on their geographical location.

e.g. national/state competitor, pride associated with playing for

country/state/association/school/club.

Socialisation opportunities Provided opportunities for socialising (team camps and social events).

If these opportunities are provided within the team environment, an opportunity

to develop relationships is provided.

Culture / Governance of Previous reputation may mean players have a strong sense of pride associated
sporting body with playing with that particular team.

Group size Sports with smaller number of players in a team mean greater opportunity for
players to interact and form relationships with (or easier to learn to be more
cohesive quickly).

TEAM FACTORS
Relates to the characteristics of the sport/task/event and factors relating to the group as a whole.
 WHAT HOW
Prior success and failures A successful team is likely to result in increased task and social cohesion.

Increased task and social cohesion does not always result in a successful team
(limitation in skill and ability cannot be overridden by cohesiveness!) an
unsuccessful team can have a negative impact on cohesion.

Length of time the team has A time which has minimal changes in personnel can have greater levels of
been together cohesion, assuming personality factors do not hinder social relationships.

Shared vision and goals Placing team goals before personal goals enhances team cohesion (and vice versa).

Shared understanding of A desire for group success by following game plans ensures a team mentality.
strategies and tactics being
used No ‘blaming’ or an ‘us and them’ mentality (forwards vs backs)

Team goals Placing team goals before personal goals and working together to complement
each other’s strength.

CO-ACTIVE / INTERACTIVE / MIXED SPORT

The demands of the task also impact on interaction and cohesiveness. There are 3 levels of communication /
interaction;

CO-ACTING ACTIVITIES

- There is no little or no communication between players and the result is determined by tallying individual
scores – e.g. team surfing, golf, darts.
- Good results can be achieved even with the little communication between players.

INTERACTIVE ACTIVITIES

- Require a high level of interaction between team members if the team is to achieve its goal.
- Ball games such as hockey, netball, rugby and football are interactive as they all require all players
communicate continuously if optimum performance is to be achieved.
- High levels of communication are required.

MIXED ACTIVITIES

- Have a combination of co-acting and interacting activities.

- Cricket e.g.
o The only requisite communication on the batting team is that the two players currently batting
communicate – the other 9 players in the team do not interact with them (other than to call out
encouragement). The bowler is also able to bowl with limited communication with his team mates.