Psychology for Sports Performance

Know the role of psychology in sport.

Learning Outcome 1: Indicative Content 

The use of psychology in sport: improved motivation, improved self-confidence, improved self-efficacy, improved attitudes toward sport, optimal arousal levels, which sports are suited to which personality type, to reduce anxiety levels, to reduce aggression, to attribute success internally and failure to external factors such as luck, improved cohesion of a team, improved leadership of a team.

Psychological demands of sport (e.g. self-efficacy, self-confidence, motivation, self- control, optimal arousal, positive attitude, controlled and channelled aggression, low anxiety).

Help personally: how psychological concepts can help improve performance in own sport, e.g. positive attitude towards sport means attend all training sessions and get better as a result, channelled and controlled aggression means more likely to stay on pitch and as a result, score goals to help team win matches.

Help other individual/team: Case study (choose individual or team and explain the psychological demands of that sport and how psychology can/has improved the motivation and performance of the individual/team).

Assessment Criteria

• 1.1
  Describe ways in which psychology can be used to improve the sporting performance of an individual or a team.
  
• 1.2
  Describe the main psychological demands of a selected sport.
• 1.3
  Explain how the use of psychology could support own improvement in a selected sport.

Know how motivation affects sporting performance.

Learning Outcome 2: Indicative Content 

Motivation (i.e. what it is, types of motivation such as intrinsic and extrinsic and examples of each, achievement motivation to include a definition, need to achieve(NACH) and Need to avoid failure (NAF), characteristics of NACH and NAF and implications of these to sports involvement such as wanting to challenge and compete against the best or taking easy option and wanting to only play in a team with friends and against easy opponents in a low league.

Impact of good and bad motivation on performance in sport.

Strategies to improve motivation (e.g. goal setting, self-talk, rewards, visualisation, improved self-efficacy/confidence, make training fun).

Case study: Comparison of motivation strategies used either by two individuals or two teams. Strategies used and how they have helped to improve performance in chosen sport. Could also include differences in strategies used by individuals/teams.

Assessment Criteria

• 2.1
  Describe the impact of motivation on sports performance.
  
• 2.2
  Describe strategies that can be used to improve motivation in sport.

Know how personality affects sporting performance.

Learning Outcome 3: Indicative Content 

Personality: i.e. what personality is, different approaches to personality such as trait theory, situational and interactionist theory, types of personality (e.g. introverts and extroverts, type A and type B), how personality can affect performance in sport.

Examples: how personality can have a positive and negative affect on performance in sport.

Assessment Criteria

• 3.1
  Describe the ways in which an individual’s personality can influence sporting performance.
  

Know about controlling aggression in sport.

Learning Outcome 4: Indicative Content 

Aggression: what it is, types of aggression, e.g. hostile, instrumental with examples, theories of aggression, e.g. instinct, social learning, frustration-aggression, aggressive cue, difference between aggressive and assertive behaviour.

Examples: how aggression has had a positive and negative effect on sports performance of an individual(s).

Strategies to control aggression (praise assertive behaviour, use positive role models, punishment, controlled breathing to reduce arousal, positive reinforcement for controlled aggression, model calm behaviour, performance rather than outcome goals, self-talk, reduce importance of winning an event, imagery).

Example/case study: strategies used to control/reduce behaviour in a specific sport and evidence of success.

e.g. use of sin bins in rugby has reduced the number of serious fouls or indiscipline meaning less serious injuries and is more of a deterrent to players as the ten minutes off the pitch could result in more tries conceded and ultimately close games lost due to other team having numerical advantage.

Assessment Criteria

• 4.1
  Describe ways in which aggression can affect sporting performance.
  
• 4.2
  Outline strategies for controlling aggression in sport.