Sports Midterm Chapter 6: Feedback, Reinforcement, And Intrinsic Motivation

Front 1

• Reinforcement

Back 1

o The use or rewards and punishments that increase or decrease the likelihood of a similar response occurring in the future
o Principles of reinforcement are among the most widely researched and accepted in psychology
o Firmly rooted in the theories of behavior modification and operant conditioning
o Complex because people react differently to the same reinforcement, may not be able to repeat a desired behavior, and receive different reinforcers in diff situations

Front 2

Two ways reinforcement is used in sport psychology

Back 2

o A reward is given as a result of an acceptable behavior
o A negative response is removed in response to an acceptable behavior

Front 3

• Social reinforcers

Back 3

o Cheering, smiling, high five, being supportive, praise
o Trophies, prizes, money

Front 4

• Negative reinforcement

Back 4

o Not the same thing as punishment
o Frowning at tardiness, not frowning at promptness

Front 5

• How to influence motivation/competition

Back 5

o Most people respond to positive feedback better than negative feedback
o Encourage coaches to rewards improvements as an athlete continues to master a particular skill
o Use positive reinforcement technique: “SHAPING”
 Permits athletes to continue to improve as they get closer to the desired response
 So, reward small improvements
 Focus on performance rather than outcome of performance

Front 6

• Punishments

Back 6

o Used more at high school and NCAA level
o At professional level, use monetary fines
o Possible backfiring of punishment
 Can create fear in athlete
• Focus more on losing than performance
 Become unmotivated
• Too much negativity
 Athlete begins to choke under pressure
 Suddenly, athlete gets attention from coach
• Negative attention better than none at all?
 Create a hostile environment between sports psychologist and team

Front 7

• Motivational feedback

Back 7

o Allows athletes to learn specifically what they have been doing incorrectly and to have a benchmark for improving future performance

Front 8

• Instructional feedback

Back 8

o Provides info about specific procedures that should be performed, the level of proficiency that should be achieved, and the athletes’ current level of performance in the desired skills and activities

Front 9

• Contingency management, Behavioral coaching, Behavior modification

Back 9

o All refer to attempts to structure the environment throught he systematic use of reinforcement, especially during practice

Front 10

• Backward chaining

Back 10

o The last step is paired with the next-to-last-step…the first step
o Golf example
 Last step: putting the ball onto the green
 Next-to-last step: chipping onto the green
 …
 Driving the ball off the tee box

Front 11

• Extrinsic rewards

Back 11

o Integrated regulation
 The most developmentally advanced form
 Activity is personally important because of a valued outcome rather than interest in the activity solely for itself
 Example: training for the purpose of completing a marathon
o Identified regulation
 The behavior is highly valued, accepted, and judged by the individual and thus is performed willingly, even if the activity is not pleasant itself
 Example: participate in a sport to contribute to growth and development
o Introjected regulation
 The individual is motivated by internal prods and pressures; however the behavior is still not considered self-determined because it is regulate by external contingencies
 Example: an exerciser who stays in shape to impress the opposite sex
o External regulation
 The behavior is completely controlled by external sources such as rewards and constraints
 Example: an athletic trainer who sends lots of time in the training room simply to get a raise in salary

Front 12

o Amotivation

Back 12

 Individuals are neither intrinsically not extrinsically motivated and thus experience pervasive feelings of incompetence and lack of control

Front 13

• Intrinsic motivation

Back 13

o Knowledge
o Accomplishment
o Stimulation

Front 14

• Factors that affect intrinsic/extrinsic motivation

Back 14

o Social factors
 Success and failure (help define one’s sense of competency)
 Focus of competition (competing against yourself and some standard of excellence, where improvement is the focus, vs. competing against your opponent, where the focus is on winning)
 Coaches’ behaviors (positive vs. negative )
o Psychological factors
 Need for competence
 Need for autonomy
 Need for relatedness

Front 15

• Cognitive evaluation theory

Back 15

o Really a subtheory of the more general self-determination theory
 Need for effectance, relatedness, and autonomy
o Explains the variability in intrinsic motivation
o Hypothesizes that any events that affect individuals’ perceptions of competence and feelings of self-determination ultimately will also affect their levesl of intrinsic motivation
o These events have a controlling aspect and an informational aspect
 If informational aspect emphasized (you’re a good player), intrinsic motivation increased

Front 16

• Flow

Back 16

o Csikszentmihalyi
o Flow concept is a balance between an athlete’s perceived abilities and the challenge of the task
 Epitome of intrinsic motivation
 A holistic sensation causing an athlete to feel that he or she is totally involved in the athletic activity as if they’re on autopilot
o Basic elements of flow
 Balance of athletic skills and competitive challenge
 Athlete believes that he/she possesses the necessary skills to meet the challenges of the competitive event
 Then, athlete’s performance become effortless (autopilot)
 Totally concentrated, focused, absorbed on immediate task at hand
• Nothing else seems to matter
 Athlete experience a loss of self-consciousness because athlete’s ego is totally focused on the task at hand
 Need to have an optimal level of arousal
 Ability to maintain competitive focus
 Positive mental attitude
 Optimal level of confidence, must feel good
o What interferes with flow?
 Excessive stress in personal life
 Interruptions
 Self doubt
 Prior performance memory