Sport Psychology: Individual Differences

Individual Differences in Sport Psychology

• Personality is a characteristic or trait that makes someone unique and comparable.
• Personality traits are stable but can be influenced by the environment.
• Personality is a critical aspect of sport performance and team dynamics.
• The OCEAN model (Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism) traits are crucial in sport.

How Traits Influence Sport

• Openness: The extent to which someone explores new things, is vulnerable, and thinks originally. Adaptability to different positions and creativity in plays are associated with openness.
• Conscientiousness: Tendency to control impulses, act in socially acceptable ways, and show goal-directed behavior. Discipline, rule following, and preparing for upcoming events are examples.
• Extraversion: Comfort level interacting with others; either drawing energy or finding it draining. Improving team dynamics, motivating teammates, and enjoying communication are related to this trait.
• Agreeableness: How well individuals relate to others. Teamwork, conflict resolution, and sportsmanship are related to this trait. It's helpful for positive team dynamics.
• Neuroticism: Extent to which individuals perceive situations as distressing or maintain an emotional balance. Handling pressure, bouncing back from setbacks, and viewing situations as manageable/not threatening are indicators.

How Personality Traits Can be Measured

• Lifetime history
• Observations (from family, friends, in different situations)
• Testing (standard psychological tests)
• Self-reported questionnaires

Lewis Model of Interactionism

• Behaviour is a function of the individual and the environment (B = f(P,E)).
• Modern interpretations of this model are crucial to understanding behaviours.
• Competencies, processing strategies, expectancies, and plans are key in understanding and adjusting to the environment and actions of others.

Perfectionism and Personality

• Perfectionism: High standards, flawlessness, highly critical of oneself and others.
• Two types: Adaptive (high focus on standards, low focus on mistakes) and Maladaptive (high focus on standards, high focus on mistakes by others).
• Associated with several health implications (Type A personality linked to stress, risk of coronary heart disease).

Bandura's Social Learning Theory

• Observational learning: People learn from watching others.
• Role of Models: Models can be people in close proximity (e.g., family) or those observed indirectly (e.g., through media).
• Reinforcement & Punishment: Observing positive or negative outcomes associated with behaviors impacts imitation likelihood.

Self-Efficacy

• One's sense of competence and effectiveness in accomplishing tasks
• A belief in your capability
• Crucial for success in challenging situations
• Influenced by past accomplishments, vicarious experiences, persuasion, and emotional states.

Mental Toughness

• A malleable trait partly related to genetics which involves control, confidence, commitment, and challenge.
• Key attributes: self-belief, self-determination, resilience, and coping skills.
• Linked to better physical and emotional health, and more successful performance in pressure-filled situations

Benefits of Mental Toughness in Sport

• Control over outcomes (high motivation)
• Persistence (ability to rebound from setbacks)
• Self-belief
• Seeing threats as opportunities
• Positive persistence

Mental Toughness as a Potential Drawback

• Not knowing when to stop can impact positively and negatively.
• Coping mechanisms (such as breathing techniques, positive self-talk or rituals) can help

Measuring Mental Toughness

• Self-reported questionnaires are a primary method

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

• Positive self-confidence leads to more effort/persistence leading to greater success
• Negative self-confidence leads to less effort/persistence leading to more failure
• Strategies can help people overcome a negative self-fulfilling prophecy like surrounding yourself with motivated people

Learned Helplessness

• Individuals perceive their actions as ineffective causing a decrease in drive
• It reduces motivation and leads to a decreased capacity to cope.

Attribution Theory

• Reasons why people explain their successes and failures (internal or external, stable or unstable)
• Key in understanding how athletes view outcomes and their impact on future performance.
• This helps explain confidence levels & strategies to improve.

Ecological Dynamics Theory

• Athlete & the environment are interacting to achieve movement.
• Movement is a result of the mutual interaction between the athlete and the environment.
• Perception-action coupling allows athletes to directly perceive information and act upon it without needing to process it (e.g., stopping when hearing a whistle).
• Affordances(opportunities offered in an environment) depend on the interaction between the human and the environment

Information Processing Model

• Athlete's brain processes information to make action plans (Input, Processing, Output, Feedback)

Motor Skill Classification

• The classification of skills is based on different aspects (Gross-Fine, Open-Closed, Discrete-Serial-Continuous, Pacing Continua).
• This helps understand and categorize different types of movement skills.

Motor Learning Approaches

• Linear/Traditional: Step-by-step, focused on content.
• Non-Linear/Ecological: Focuses on exploration, and individualised solutions in dynamic contexts.

Generalized Motor Patterns (GMPs)

• Fundamental movement patterns/building blocks for development of more complex motor skills.
• Specific techniques associated with these patterns are sport-specific adaptations.

Schmidt's Schema Theory

• Information about movement skills is stored and modified through recall and recognition schemas, allowing for adaptation to different situations.
• Allows for effective execution in diverse situations without the need to store specific movements.
• Effective practice methods through schema learning to improve performance.

Adams' Theory of Motor Learning

• Skill learning starts with a perceptual trace - memory of successful attempts
• Comparison of this trace with ongoing movement provides corrective feedback.
• Role of practice, error correction, and feedback is critical to refine motor skills.

Reaction vs Response

• Reaction time is measured from stimulus to decision to act
• Response time is the total time of reaction and following action
• Factors like age and task complexity can significantly influence response time and decision making

Factors Contributing to Learning Rates

• Physical Maturation (biological development)
• Physical Fitness (strength, endurance, flexibility)
• Coaching Styles (communication & teaching methodologies)
• Task Difficulty
• Teaching Environment (Facilities, quality, group size)

Learning Curves

• Linear, positive accelerated, and negative accelerated learning curves describe how performance improves or deteriorates over time.

Attentional Control

• Selective Attention: filtering relevant info from distractions to make accurate decisions
• Concentration: deliberate effort and focus on essential elements/tasks.
• Divided Attention: efficiently coordinate multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Attentional Narrowing: Focusing on limited cues/information/elements under high arousal.
• Coping strategies, and how they impact performance