Using examples, describe three ways that athletes can practice substitute behaviours to displace anger behaviours.
Briefly describe two strategies for minimizing the causes of excessive nervousness and tension. Give an example not in this chapter.
In a sentence each, describe four strategies for changing the body’s reactions to stressful events.
Define “choking” as it is used in sports. Add an example not in this chapter.
Choking is defined as a steep decline in performance quality as a result of higher stakes or elevated anxiety under pressure, “leading to substandard performance”. This can be seen when a hockey game is going particularly poorly and one team is already down by a few goals, the goalie of the losing team may suddenly let in an influx of goals as the situation grows worse.
In a sentence each, summarize three important characteristics of our emotions, and name the type of conditioning involved in each.
Describe several strategies that might be used to minimize the likelihood of the occurrence of “choking” in sports.
These can be the 5 guidelines for eliminating negative thoughts, strategies for relaxing, or specific pre-performance routines.
Describe several physiological reactions experienced in a moment of fear.
Describe deep centre breathing.
relax the neck and shoulders, breathe low in the stomach, say relax when exhaling
Using the model for respondent conditioning, diagram an example not in this chapter of respondent conditioning of an emotion in a sport context.
A hockey player hearing their goal celebration song in a normal context feels happy and celebratory.
List the four steps that have characterized successful anger management programs used with athletes.
Describe unconditioned reflexes (the USs and the URs) that Watson observed that appear to characterize the emotions of fear, anger, and joy.
Fear: US of sudden loss of support, loud sounds, push – UR of sudden breath, grasping, and crying
Anger: US of hampering movements – UR of crying, screaming, and stiffening
Joy: US of tickling, gentle rocking, and patting – UR of smiling, gurgling, and cooing
Describe four effects of excessive nervousness and tension, and briefly explain why each effect might interfere with athletic performance at competitions.
In the experiment with little Albert, what was the US, UR, CS, and CR?
Describe progressive muscle relaxation.
paying attention to each small group of muscles when tensing and then relaxing them
For each of the following emotions, identify a general cause and illustrate each cause with an example from your own experience.
What is meant by cognitive restructuring? Illustrate with a sport example.
Counteracting irrational self-statements with more positive and realistic statements. Instead of thinking “I have to score to win the game or we fail”, think “I will put in effort and use my skills to help my team”.
Describe an example that illustrates how “pride” might represent a combination of happiness and anger.
We experience happiness from the presentation of reinforcers and anger from the potential withdrawal of them. A team that wins the Stanley Cup is happy after winning, but angry that they could lose the title in the next season.
List four different types of self-talk that might be taught to athletes to displace their anger. State an example not in this chapter.
Describe which of the four steps of successful anger management programs were used with Seth at the start of the chapter.
Seth used step 4 (coping skills with monitoring and supporting contingencies) by him and his parents monitoring angry outbursts and his parents added the clicker as a supportive contingency.
Describe an example to illustrate how you might use visualization to help you to relax.
Sit alone in quiet if possible and imagine a relaxing situation you have experienced before and repetitive calm moments, like waves crashing.
List five guidelines that athletes should be encouraged to practice in order to estimate negative thoughts that cause them to be tense just before performing.