Sport psychology
Emotion and motivation
© Hodder & Stoughton 2013
Activity
Marco , a mountain runner, is about to start
training for the Three Pigs race, his most
important competition of the year.
The race is four months away. Last year he ran
well, but would like to run even faster this year.
Marco isn’t very fit at the moment and is
overweight by a few pounds.
His main training session each week, which he
times, is ‘the Hell of the North’ a 23 mile run over
rugged mountains.
Ultimately he needs to better last year’s fastest
training run of 2 hours 10 minutes, but in his first
training run he is only aiming for 3 hours, which
he then intends to reduce by several minutes a
week.
© Hodder & Stoughton 2013
What is the thinking behind
Marco’s preparation to try and
run a fast time in this year’s
Three Pigs race?
Goal-setting
•
Ultimate (final) goals are known as productorientated or long-term goals, which are
reached by achieving a series of processorientated or short-term goals.
•
Goals need to be measureable and realistic in
order to create motivation.
•
Goals also need to be specific so it’s known
whether they have been achieved, as well as
being pre-determined so they can be
specifically prepared for.
•
Athletes need to be involved in goal-setting to
create ownership of a goal and inspire strong
efforts to reach them.
•
Early short-term goals should be easy so
they’re realized and thus increase confidence,
commitment and motivation to reach the next
goal.
1. In what ways does Marco’s
preparation for the Three Pigs
race fit the requirements of
goal-setting described on the
left hand side of this slide?
2. Make sure you identify what
Marco’s product-orientated
(long-term) and processorientated (short-term) goals
are.
© Hodder & Stoughton 2013
Command words:
The language of the learning outcomes
Learning outcome: Using one or more research studies, explain the role of goalsetting in the motivation of individuals
•
Exam questions will require candidates to give a detailed account of how goalsetting is related to motivation, with a requirement that this be done by reference
to research studies that illustrate this relationship.
•
This could be achieved by highlighting the influence that goal-setting has upon
factors that relate to motivational levels, such as confidence, commitment, effort
and perseverance, as well as detailing the elements of goal-setting that influence
motivational levels, such as long- and short-term goals and the need for goals to be
realistic, specific and pre-determined as well as measureable.
•
Evaluation could centre on what research has informed us about the influence of
goal-setting on motivation, such as open-ended goals not limiting excellent
performances, as well as the practical applications of goal-setting to increase
motivational levels and methodological issues associated with studying the area.
© Hodder & Stoughton 2013
Theories of motivation in sport
Drive theory
•
•
Reversal theory
Argues that as arousal increases, so does
the level of performance, with arousal
increasing to meet the perceived demands
of a task.
•
Argues that individuals switch between
different motivational styles, rather than
having a fixed motivational style.
•
Changes in metamotivational state
(alternative motivational states) during
performance cause fluctuations in
performance.
•
The theory perceives four domains (pairs of
metamotivational states):
The more learned a skill, the more high
arousal will produce good performances.
Inverted-U hypothesis
•
•
Argues that as arousal increases, the level of
performance increases up to an optimal
point, after which increased arousal leads to
a decline in performance.
Simple tasks involving gross motor skills and
little information processing tolerate more
arousal before performance declines, while
complex tasks involving fine motor skills
and greater information processing tolerate
less arousal before performance declines.
•
1.
Means–ends states (telic/paratelic)
2.
Rule states (conformist/negativist)
3.
Transaction states (mastery/sympathy)
4.
Relationship states (autic/alloic)
If the needs of a state an individual is in are
met, positive emotions result
© Hodder & Stoughton 2013
Command words:
The language of the learning outcomes
Learning outcome: Discuss theories relating arousal and anxiety to
performance
• Exam questions will require candidates to describe and evaluate
explanations of how arousal and anxiety affect sporting performance.
• Evaluations could be based upon the degree of research support for
individual explanations, as well as their strengths and weaknesses,
practical applications and related theoretical considerations, such as the
psychological approaches upon which they are based.
• A useful and high-level form of evaluation would be to compare and
contrast individual explanations in order to draw out their relative
strengths and weaknesses.
© Hodder & Stoughton 2013
Emotion and motivation
• Intrinsic motivation is the incentive that
comes from the joy of participation in sport.
• Extrinsic motivation is the incentive that
comes from external factors like performing
for money.
• Deci (1971) took the pleasurable activity of
doing puzzles and paid participants to
complete them. When payment stopped,
the activity became less pleasurable and
effort decreased.
1. How might the findings of
Deci’s study be explainable by
reference to intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation?
2. What do the findings tell us
about the relationship
between emotion and
motivation?
• When participants were rewarded instead
with praise, effort and enjoyment increased
when the reward ceased.
© Hodder & Stoughton 2013