SPEX-204 Exam Study Guide 2025- 2026 Prep Test, Exams of Sports Psychology

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SPEX-204 Exam Study Guide 2025- 2026 Prep Test

What is ‘Psychology’? - CORRECT ANSWER-The scientific study of thinking where behaviour is broadly defined. What is Social Psychology? Ts the scientific study of social behaviour - the "How’s’ and ‘Whys’ - The way we think and can relate Lo other people. What behaviour in sporls & exorcise contox! ort & Exercise Psychology?- CORRECT ANSWER-The suuady of buman social A What is Sport? - CO. NS vigorous exertion or the use of relatively complex physical skills. ‘R-Institutionalised competitive activities involving What is Competition? - CORRECT ANSWER-Comparison of an individual's performance is made with a standard of in the presence of others who are aware of the criteria for comparison and can evaluate the process. Key Components of Competition? (P.C.S} - CORRECT ANSWER-1) Performance standard 2) Comparison process 3) Social evaluation What is the popularily of a sporl dependent an? (S.S.M.P)- CORRECT ANSWER-1) Spectators 2) Sports businesses (equipment, clothing, shoes etc) 3) Media (Television) 4) Participation is recommended to reduce the likelihood of various health 50 Minutes How much moderate wee diseases? - CORRECT ANSWER- motivation and stress Physical Acivtity is Evaluative.. This can lead to issues of selbesteem and slross For Psychology IN Sport & Exercise, Skill Learning... - CORRECT ANSWER-is an issuc of concentration, attention, scleconfidence ANSWER an issue of cooperation, leadership, group dynamics Physical Acivity that is Rule Bound... - CORRECT ANSWER-is an issue of fair play, cheating, morality and aggression What are some of the investigative strategies used as elements of the scientific method? (H.0.D.E) - CORRECT ANSWEF-Historical research: descriptive, analytical. Observational: participant observation Descriptive: case studies, surveys, questionnaires, interviews. Experimental: group studies, field studies. laboratory studies, single subject design etc. Relies on observed evidence rather than biased judgements or vague impressions What is a Theory? - CORRECT ANSWER Theory goes beyond observations and descriptions to explain and predict behaviow . Atheory is like a recipe - if we have an idea of what something will be like (can explain and predict). Constantly being tested, modified or replaced. Why are ‘theories’ important in psych & sport/exercise psych? - CORRECT ANSWER. “Thoorics are really practical. You understand a theory of why something is supposed Lo work the way it’s supposed Lo work, and thal gives you really good knowledge and smart choices in the real world. They may be really boring but, once you get your head around them they are really powerful. The theories that I have learned helps me be better at helping athletes understand what they need to get better.” KEN HODGE non-scientific professional practice insights, experiences, and intuition What are the theoretical (theories) perspectives in social psychology? PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES: “homo valen -- a striving human"- unconscious, inner urges expressed as drives and emotions: esp. the libido, as it acts as a motivational force B =f (P). (F) = function, (P) = person, (B) = behaviour behaviour is a function of the person BEHAVIOURAL THEORIES “homo mechanicus - a reactive human"- like a complex computer the individual is ‘programmed’ to react in a consistent manner to certain kinds of input from the social environment; minimal thought involved. COGNITIVE THEORIES “homo sapien -- a thinking human"Cognitive theory isn't nature vs nurture, it is nature + nurture -an individual ‘thinks’ about the social environment, but also brings their own motives, goals, beliefs, and values to every situation- a complex interaction of the person interpreting the social environment leads to behaviour -- emphasis is on perception B = f (PxE) sports psychology as an _. - CORRECT ANSWER art - tailoring scientific information to fit your professional practice. What is Porsonalily? - CORRECT ANSWER-An abstraclion used Lo describe a psychological variable. Psychological definitions: personality reflects psychological qualilics that contribute to an individual's enduring (consistent) and distinctive (unique) patterns of feeling, thinking, and behaving. (Pervin & Cervone, 2019) Tt is the more or less stable and enduring organisation of a person’s character, temperament, intellect, and physique which determines their unique adjustment to the envirenment. (Eysonck, 1960) What does Hollander’s Model of PeRSonaliTy consist of? (P.R.S.T.J- Ci Psychological core - internal and consistent personality charact: - Defines the real you, where characteristics are internal and consistent Trait approach - CORRECT ANSWER-- B= f(P) - An approach to studying personality -Is our behaviour due to a fundamental unit of personality (trait)? What are the two theoretical frameworks used to measure personallTy? (LT.)- C ~~ Interaction framework B=f(PXE} - Trait framework B=f(P) Interaction Framework - CORRECT A - This framework of personality mcasures was found to be more uscful ag il inchided stales and traits L. state & trait measures- e.g state/trait anxiety inventory 2. situation-specific measures- e.g exam-test anxiety 3. sport-specific measures- e.g SCAT & CSAL2 A, using psychological measures- guidelines for safe, systematic and ethical use of psych measures of personality Trait Framework - CORRECT ANSWER-- B=fP) - Consists of questionnaires - This framework of personality measures was found to produce inconsistent results and has limited value for sport personality researchers 1. Big five personality traits 2. California psychological inventory (CPD) 3. Cattell sixteen personality factor questionnaire (16PF) 4. Evsenck personality inventory (EPI) 3. Profile of mood states - iceberg profile (POMS) Valid tests can only be usefil in conjunction with: - CORR. Experience (Issues in Personality Research in Sport) What has the Research Revealed? - CORRECT ANSWER-- Trait measures of personality have produced inconsistent results. - Trait measures alone have limited value for sport psych researchers. - Studies using the interactionist framework are more useful. What is SCAT? - CORRECT ANSWER-Sport competition anxiety test What is CSAL-2? Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 Motivation is a necessary but not sufficient condition for performance/participation. (Just because youre fit does not mean that you are motivated) -It energizes, selects, and directs action. - Without sufficient. molivalion, a participant. will nol perform well, or wain/participate How is ACTION reflected? - ANSWER-Observation and Le. coaches will tell you to leave if you can't motivate yourself EXPLAIN Situation-centred Model > B = f (B)- ¢ -- Sees behaviour as a function of environment - Le. environment causes a behavioural response (Someone fires you up e.g., coach, family member ete. - A person has no drives, motivational forces, or traits which affect behaviour. Le. coach will assume that its their job to motivate you if you cant do it yourself. EXPLAIN Interaction Model > B =f (PxE)- €\ the environment [E], the person [P], and the interaction between them. WER-- Motivation is a function of - There is a reciprocal (mutual) interaction between the person and the situation. ie. "you show up with your motivation, things in the social environment might help or hinder your ability to use that motivation. Is Motivation primarily determined by the individual or by the environment (situation)? - CORRECT ANSWER. a person is motivated. You and other people rock up wilh your own combination of morc than 1 en it comes to motivation, there isn’t a single thing that explains why reason which have sort of contributed to your motivation. There are things in a situation that help and sometimes hinder motivation” Ken Hodge. What is Achievement Motivation? - CORRECT ANSWER-- Striving towards a standard of excellence or attempting to reach/achie € a specific goal. 1s in the Lace of failure and expericnee pride in goal rive for task suce - person will s accomplishment DEFINE Achievement Situation - CORRECT ANSWER-"A situation where your performance can be measured, of which is a subje ere you quantify how well you perform judgmes against some standard” Ken Hodge. What are the 3 Measures of Achievement Motivation? (D.LP.)- CORRECT ANSWER-1) Dircetion - We direct ourselves) motives, goals & goal orientations 2) Intensity - (How motivated are you on the day?) arousal, activation levels 3) Persistence - direction and intensity over time. Define Attribution Theory - CO. for our successes and failures. we give . L won because... 1 lost because... - itis the perceived cause of your performance. What are the THREE catagories of ‘attributions’? luck is UNSTABLE. Lack of technical ability is STABLE. Lack of effort is changeable. 2) Causalily - Where is this cause atlributed to? INTERNAL (my ability or cffort) or EXTERNAL (strength of opponent. weather, ref etc.) 3) Control - How much is the strength of your opponent/your ability in your CONTROL? DEFINE Achiovement Goal Theory (100% in EXAM) - approach learning situations and how they perceive the overall outcome ‘ER-How peaple >A theory of achievement motivation that develops on Atkinson's Need Achievement Theory by focusing on multidimensional achievement motives. What are the 3 components of achievement goal orientations? (T.E.S.) @x P’s)- CORRECT ANSWER-3x P's 1) Task Orientation (PROCESS) 1) Stability - e.g. luck, What is Goal-Orientations in Sport/Exercise? - CORRECT ANSWER-- Each individual has Multiple Goal Orientations - They are a personality characteristic - This combination of Goal Orientations (trait & states) is our definition of Success as a human. (Success gives us a purpose) What are the POSITIVES & NEGATIVES of Task Orientation? - C POSITIVES>>>>>>>>>>>>>2>>>>>> - its under your control which helps improve your confidence. -helps you prevent stress & anxiety NEGATIVES>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> - your 100% responsible for your success and failure when you take 100% TASK-FOCUSS - "just because you focussing on mastcring tasks, doesn’L mean that you are going to mastcr them” KEN HODGE -it sucks the joy & thrill of winning for some people - "you dont pay enough attention to your opponent, you may perform real well to your level but dont come close to winning because you havent taken into account how you would counter the strengths of your opponent Whal are tho NEGATIVES & POSITIVES of Ego Orientation? - CO. NEGATIVES - increase in stress, anxiety etc - can be increased through your increase in stress - May decrease confidence POSITIVES - May increase motivation for training - (in terms of training) "sometimes having that winning outcome focuss can help you fight your way through a situation”. KEN HODGE EXPLAIN what AROUSAL is? - CORR: psychological activation.” PHYSIOLOGICAL - increases or decreases in the body's level of activation (e.g. HR, breathing, muscle tension) - body is getting ready to play the sport PSYCHOLOGICAL - how excited are u? Are you nervous? (thoughts that can be positive or negative) NSWER-- Anxiety is a percieved threat - ANXIETY is caused by high levels of AROUSAL but ALL high levels of AROUSAL do not automatically connect to ANXIETY What is Stress?- CORRECT ANSWER capabilities - leading to the mindset of A perceived imbalance between demand and can’L do this”. It leads to state anxicty What is Competitive Stale Anxioty? -- a predisposition Lo perceive competitive sport as threatening and to respond to this with varying levels of state anxiety - predisposition’ docsn't mean thal. your doomed to always have state anxicty, wo can learn how to cope. But in the absense of mental skills or having learnt through ‘trial & error’ we may y." KEN HODGE end up having a lot of state anx. State Anxiety - CO. feelings of apprehension/muscle tension and associated with negative effect ‘- A current emotional state or mood characterised by - How do you feel right now? Federer vs Nadal - Each sportsperson has their own level of arousal EXPLAIN the Catastrophe Theory (100% in EXAM) Curve) Increase in physiological arousal leads to increase in performance up to a certain critical (OPTIMAL) point. (Catastrophe - When increases in physiological arousal occur in the presence of cognitive anxiety, a sudden rop (rather than a gradual decline) in performance occurs. drop (rather thi dual decline} f - There is an optimal point. Its multidimensional (Cognitive & Physiologeal (SOMATIC) Dimension) E.g. similar to surfing, “its not an easy place to be on top of a wave but once your there and you control it then happy days. Bul. if you gel it wrong then you can crash and burn." KEN HODGE How does Over-Arousal Influence Performance? - CORRECT ANSWER-SOMATIC EFFECTS - decreased coordination: tight, jerky movements - ‘paralysis by analysis’ =necd Lo relax mind and body COGNITIVE EFFECTS -negative thoughts of worry - loss of self-confidence - attention and concentration shift = ‘tunnel vision’ + impaired decision making. {(PRE-TOPIC Q) Is Over-Arousal always detrimental to sport performance? - CORRECT HODGE What is competition? (in Depth) - CORRE’ excellence" Reward Definition: “competition is a situation where rewards are distributed unequally among participants on the basis of performance. ” Social Evaluation Definition: “Competition is a situation in which a comparison of an individual's performance is made with some standard, in the presence of others who are aware of the criteria for comparison and can evaluate the comparison process.” Why study competition? - CORRECT ANSWER- It’s important to study the eff campelilion because it is ahuge significant component of the sporting environment. -It also has a direct and indirect on psych skills and produces intense psychological reactions from participants and spectators. -It creates really intense emotional and psychological responses. Because we are being compared to others. {its public, people can judge you) Explain why competing againsl yoursclfis nol. ‘competition’. Whal. foalures necds to be present. for this to be a “competition”? Need to have a comparison to an individual or something else for it be a comp -Its comparison with a standard - one has to win and one has to fail, leads people to define themselves by the outcome - self-esteem and self-worth will probably be dependent on the ability to beat others What is Marten’s Model of Competition and what are the Components? (O0.S.C.R) - CORRECT sald characteristics influence an individual's perception of competition and how this impacts their ~The model consi $ looking at how the environment & internal response to it. STAGE 1: Objective Competitive Situation (What you can’t change?} STAGE 2: Subjective Competitive Situation (perception) (opinion) Punishment: application of a negative stimulus or removal of something positive in order to decrease the frequency of a particular behaviour. (weakens a particular behaviour e.g yellow card = less likely to tackle without wrapping) E.g. a d. match ban, or a red card on the fie What is Intrinsic & Extrinsic Motivation?- CORRECT ANSWER-INTRINSIC MOTIVATION: involves doing something because it is personally rewarding to you/because you enjoy it. e.g. personally cnjoyment, or desire lo learn a new skill) EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION: involves doing something because you have to/or because you want Lo cam a reward or avoid a punishment. (malivated by an oxtcmal [actor pushing you Lo do something o.g. exercise Lo lose weight) RE: how situational factors (e.g. external rewards) influence intrinsic motivation. What is the purpose of the Cognitive Evaluation Theory? - ‘F-Tt explains - explains effect of rewards on intrinsic motivation What are the 2 Aspects/Pe. ANSWER-CONTROLLIN doing the activity because you want the ptions ofa Reward that affect Intrinsic Motivation? - CORRECT (do you see that reward as controlling because ward) Puts the reward or the person giv: charge. INFORMATIONAL Aspect - 7 have carned this reward by being good at what I do. Being COMPETENT, and I am in CONTROI whether I am competent or not} e.g. Michael Jordan What is Flow? - CORRECT ANSWER Intrinsically motivated activitie the challenge m such a way as Lo provide “the” experience (in “lhe zone") vhere vour skill meets If task too easy = Boredom If task loo hard = Anxicty (hurts performance) How is Intrinsic Motivation related to Flow’(athletes talk about being in the ‘zone')?- CORRECT ANSWEF- Intrinsic motivation is one gateway into flow. If your motivation is intrinsically focussed then although you don’t guarantee that your gonna get into ‘the zone’ but you cerlainly increase your chances. DEFINE Health - CORRECT ANSWER-“a slate of complete physical, mental, and s being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity" rial well Explain what Depression is- CORRECT ANSWER-~ it’s a significant health problem that makes you constantly focl down or hopel: and causes you Lo have little interest or pleasure in doing things you used Lo enjoy. What does correlational research tell us with respect to the P_A. and depression relationship? - there is a moderate inverse relationship between depression and PA - Inactivity causes depression - least active people have a > chance of mood disorders and PA is useful for prevention ion - CORRECT . compares to other treatments in being able to reduce depre € as other treatments BUT medication works ‘faster’ BUT Explain how P. ANSWER-- Exercise is just as effec reise group is less like: o relapse (when exercise is continued) What are some of the challenges you can forsee in using P.A. as a treatment for depression? - CORRECT ANSWER- It is shown that depressed individuals are more inactive therefore they may require lots of help and support to maintain and stick to their exercise programme. -paruicipants with depression may find the exercise programme very overwhelming duc Lo fatigue. and also the fact they may need to interact with others. What is Anxiety? - CORRECT ANSWER-- The state of worry, apprehension or tension that often occurs in the absence of r al or obvious danger.