Body & Mind Training Center

Behaviour and Attitudes

The aim of this part is to understand the difference between assertion and aggression, how attitudes are formed and change

Assertion or Aggression ?

Assertion is behaviour which is not outside the rules of the game and does not have the intention of causing harm. For example, a fair but hard challenge in a game of football

Aggression incorporates the desire to harm another person and is not within the laws of the game. For example, pushing another player over in a game of football.

There are several theories concerning why we are aggressive. Some are more popular than others:

Natural instinct - Humans are predisposed to aggressive behaviour as a survival tool
Frustration - When a person is stopped from achieving they become frustrated and aggressive
Social learning - Aggression is learnt from those around us and those in the public eye


Combating Aggression :

The following are recommendations for ways in which aggression can be controlled in the sporting world:

Showing non-aggressive role-models
Rewarding 'turning the other cheek'
Punishing aggression
Control of arousal levels
Avoidance of situations which cause aggression
Handing responsibility to an aggressive player
Stopping repeatedly aggressive players from participating further

Attitudes :

An attitude is 'a learned emotional and behavioural response to a stimulus or situation'.

Attitudes are formed through

Experiences - either pleasant or unpleasant
Attitudes of the people around us.
Triadic model of attitude formation

There are three components which make up our attitude formation:

Cognitive - What you believe to be true (may not actually be true!)
Affective - Your feelings or emotional response
Behavioural - Your intended behaviour dependant on your attitude

Changing Attitudes:

To get an individual to change their attitude about something, they must be persuaded. The ability to persuade someone to change their attitude is dependant on three factors:

Status of the persuader - Someone of high status who is knowledgeable and genuine is likely to be successful
Clarity of the message - A clear, concise and accurate argument should be put forward
Ability to understand the message - The individual being persuaded must be capable of understanding the message

Cognitive Dissonance:

A mismatch in the triadic model (above) will cause a dissonance (imbalance) in the mind of the person being persuaded due to the introduction of new information affecting the cognitive (belief) or affective (emotional) component. The only way to reduce this imbalance is to change their behaviour

Very interesting, thank you

Personality & Individual Differences

The aim of this part is to understand personality and individual differences between people.

What is Personality ?

Personality can be be defined in a number of ways, for example:

The sum of an individuals characteristics which make them unique
The pattern of psychological characteristics that make each person unique

Measuring Personality

Measuring and assessing individual personality traits may be useful in identifying and predicting future sporting talents from a young age
There are however, questions over validity and reliability as well as the time consuming and expensive nature of such testing
The following are methods by which personality can be measured:

Interviews
Questionnaires
Observation
Interviews and Questionnaires allow an element of 'cheating' by answering questions in such a way as to influence the outcome. During observations the individual must be aware of the process as observations in secret are unethical. This however, leaves the testing open to changes in the individuals behavior as a result of being watched.



Trait Theories

A trait is:

' A relatively stable, highly consistent attribute that exerts a widely generalised causal effect on behaviour'

The following are examples of personality traits:

Shy
Outgoing
Arrogant
Relaxed
Temperamental
Sensitive
........the list goes on!

These features of an individuals personality are unconnected to situation and are arranged in a hierarchy where some traits are more dominant than others



Eysenck's Theory

Hans Eysenck was a German born psychologist who's work on personality is still used today. He identified two dimensions of personality which act as continuums, with an individuals personality falling anywhere along the two lines, as shown in the pictur

These two dimensions are stable/unstable and introverted/extroverted. For example, if an individual is introverted (shy of social contact) but stable, they are likely to be reliable, calm and controlled. An extroverted (enjoys social affiliation) unstable individual is likely to be tough, aggressive and excitable.




Narrow Band Approach

The narrow band approach is a more straightforward approach to personality which states that every person has either a Type A or Type B personality.

Type A: Impatient; highly strung; intolerant; high stress levels

Type B: Relaxed, tolerant; low stress levels



Sheldon's Somatotyping Personality Formation

This theory is based on body shape relating to personality:

Ectomorph (tall, slim figure): Self-conscious; tense; private; introverted

Endomorph (short, rounded figure): tolerant; sociable; relaxed

Mesomorph (muscular, athletic figure): extroverted, risk taker, assertive



Bandura's Social Learning Theory

Bandura believed that personality is learnt through our experiences, observing those around us and imitating their behaviour.



Lewin's Interactionist Approach

Lewin's theory states that behaviour is a combination of both inherent (built-in) personality traits and environmental factors. The following equation describes the theory:

B = F (P.E) , so

Behaviour is the Function of Personality and Environment

The theory also states that Personality traits can be used to predict behaviour in some situations, but this is not exclusive.

Stress and Anxiety

The aim of this part is to understand what stress and anxiety are and how they are measured

Stress :

'A stimulus resulting in arousal or a response to a specific situation

Arousal - A state of readiness to perform that helps motivate individuals

Eustress - A positive reaction of a performer to stress, leading to optimal arousal

Stressors - This is the situation that causes the stressful response. For example, competition; frustration; injury; conflict

Stress response - This is the way in which we cope with stress. Seyle developed a model called the General Adaptation Syndrome to explain this:



Alarm Reaction :

Fight or flight causing an adrenaline rush, rise in heart rate and increase in blood sugar level, ready for activity

Resistance :

The body adapts to manage the stressful situation until it is overcome or passes

Exhaustion :

The body can only cope with this state for a certain period (may be very short-term, or may be months or years, dependant on situation). If the stressful situation is not rectified the body begins to fail to cope



Stress Experience :

As well as the physiological symptoms the athlete will also experience psychological symptoms. These include:

Indecisiveness
Decreased concentration
Worry
Decreased attention span
This can then cause a vicious circle resulting in increased levels of stress, which is called the stress spiral.



Anxiety :

'A negative reaction of a performer to stress, often leading to over arousal'

'An emotional state, similar to fear, associated with arousal and accompanied by feelings of nervousness and apprehension'



State anxiety:

The athletes emotional state at any given time - variable from situation to situation


Trait anxiety:

An athletes disposition to interpreting a situation as threatening and responding with an increase in state anxiety

Athletes who have a high trait anxiety view more situations as more threatening than those with lower trait anxiety and so respond with a higher state anxiety. This is known as competitive trait anxiety. A questionnaire called the Sports Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) is a reliable predictor of an athletes levels of anxiety.



Measuring Stress :

Measuring an athletes levels of stress can be achieved in three ways:

Self-report questionnaires: Easy to complete although can be open to inaccurate responses. Examples are Martens Sports Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT) and Speilbergers State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)

Physiological Measurements: Measuring physiological responses to a situation can indicate a stress response. Measurements such as heart rate, sweating, muscle tension and oxygen uptake can be used although this can involve expensive, bulky equipment

Observation: Viewing an athletes behaviour before, during and after an event can provide much information about their stress response. Clues to watch out for include shaking, talking fast, regular toilet visits, biting the nails and an inability to stay still.

Many athletes who perform well during training or practice can suffer from performance anxiety on competition day. If feelings of nervousness, anxiety or fear interfere with your sports performance, learning to use a few tips from sports psychology may help you get your anxiety under control and reduce game day nerves.

Sports Psychology Tips to Help Reduce Performance Anxiety

Here are a few tips that may help change or redirect the negative self-talk.

Reduce Performance Anxiety Before the Event

Recognize that pre-competition nervousness is normal.
Accept, rather than fight, the nervous energy you feel. Don't misinterpret it by thinking that it is fear. That adrenaline rush you feel is normal and it is part of your body's natural preparation for the competition. Notice it, but don't focus on it. Once the competition starts, that feeling will subside, as it always does.

Prepare both mentally and physically.
Arrive at the event with plenty of time so you aren't rushed, which only increases your stress. Get a thorough warm-up. Do some easy stretching.

Visualize.
Allow a few minutes to practice visualization. During this time you mentally rehearse, showing yourself doing everything right. Breathe easy, close your eyes and use mental imagery to visualize yourself performing well. This positive self-talk can change your attitude.

Reduce Performance Anxiety During the Event

Focus on the task at hand rather than the outcome.
Stay present in the moment and avoid thinking too far into the event or thinking about the finish.
If you find yourself thinking negative thoughts or negative self-talk, stop and focus only on your breathing. Focusing on your breathing rhythm will automatically pull you back into the present.

Perform like you don't care about the outcome.
If you find yourself caught up in negative thoughts and find that you suddenly expect the worst it will be impossible to perform at your peak. If you begin to perform like you don't care about the outcome, you may relax and enjoy the event for what it is - another day in your life. Not the most important thing in your life.

Reduce Performance Anxiety After the Event:

Review the competition and recall the things you did well.
Focus on actions, thoughts and behaviors that helped you perform.

Acknowledge, but quickly dismiss things that interfered with your performance.
Look where you want to go, not where you don't. Focusing on the negative aspects of the event will not help you improve in the future. Rather, you want to focus on the times when you 'got it right.' This is a form of mental rehearsal where you practice skills that will be used in the next event.

If you find yourself in a negative spiral, acknowledge those thoughts and let them go. Focus on your breathing and competition or training and simply enjoy it.

Stress Management :

Learning to cope with stress and anxiety are vital to an athlete who has to perform in high pressure situations. The ability to control these feelings of nervousness and apprehension are vital to perform at the top level. The following are methods of managing stress:


Physical Relaxation :

Progressive Muscle Relaxation: This involves the deliberate contraction of muscles followed by a greater relaxation

Self-Directed Relaxation: Relies on the athletes ability to isolate and relax individual muscle groups. This can be improved through practice

Deep Breathing: This has calming effects on the mind as well as physiological effects such as reducing heart rate

Biofeedback: Observing physiological measurements such as heart rate and breathing rate allow the athlete to focus their attention on reducing these measures


Imagery :

Imagery is the use of mental images and scenarios to help relax the mind. This can be either internal (seeing your performance from within your body) or external (viewing your performance as if you are someone or somewhere else). Imagery can be used to relax by picturing a favorite place or calming scene or to rehearse the up-coming performance. Mental rehearsal is thought to be effective on three levels:

Neuromuscular: Thinking through a movement produces the correct order and force of muscular contraction, much like a dry-run

Cognitive: Thinking through and planning an event in the mind can help the athlete to deal with scenarios as they arise

Confidence building: The certainty in the athletes mind of what they are going to do during the event, game plans etc can help reduce anxiety and increase motivation



Goal Setting :

Goal setting is a highly useful and worthwhile technique. Having set goals helps the athlete to :

Direct their attention to the task in hand
Structure training to meet goals
Increase their confidence once goals are achieved
Evaluate their performance and progress
However, the goals must meet the following guidelines in order to be effective :

They must be challenging enough, without being out of reach. The general rule is to set the goal just beyond the previous performance level
There must be a long-term, end goal. These can be reached with short and intermediate goals
Goals and achievements must be measurable. The skill/task must be measured when the goal is set and then continually re-measured so the athlete knows when the goal has been achieved
Goals must suit both the athlete and the coach in order to get the best out of both individuals