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Sport
Psychology(psy407)
VU
Lesson
30
PSYCHOLOGICAL
SKILLS TRAINING
In this
lecture we talk about ways of
implementing relaxation procedures,
energizing strategies, imaging,
and
hypnosis
for the purpose of developing
psychological skill. Our primary
focus in this regard has
been
facilitation
of athletic performance. Learning how to
focus attention, increase
self-confidence, and
control
the
debilitating effects of anxiety and
worry is important for both
athletes and
nonathletes.
In
this lecture we will be discussing the
following topics:
1.
Effectiveness
of psychological intervention
programs
2.
Differentiating
between psychological skills
and methods
3.
Measurement
of psychological skills
4.
A
psychological skills training
program
Effectiveness
of Psychological Intervention Programs
A
number of literature reviews have been
published that verify that planned
psychological interventions
and
programs
are effective in enhancing athletic
performance (Greenspan & Feltz,
1989; Vealey, 1994;
Weinberg
& Comar, 1994).These reviews
confirm that of approximately forty-five
studies reviewed,
thirty-
eight,
or 85 percent, have found
positive performance effects
(Weinberg & Williams, 2001). In
addition, a
number
of more recent investigations have
also supported the effectiveness of
psychological interventions.
Psychological
intervention programs are effective in
increasing self-confidence, focusing
attention,
energizing
effort, and enhancing athletic
performance.
Differentiating
Between Psychological Skills and
Methods
Coaches
and athletes often use the
terms psychological skills
and psychological method as
synonyms, when
they
actually have different
meanings. Psychological methods,
techniques, or strategies refer to
practices that
lead
to psychological skill. Examples of
psychological methods include goal
setting, imagery,
progressive
relaxation,
meditation, self-talk, and hypnosis.
Each of these psychological
methods, when properly
learned
and
applied, lead to enhanced psychological
skill. Conversely, psychological
skill refer to learned or innate
characteristics
of an athlete that make it
possible or even likely that
she will succeed in sport.
Examples of
psychological
skill include intrinsic motivation,
self-confidence, attentional control,
arousal control, anxiety
control,
and general
self-awareness.
Measurement
of Psychological Skills
Several
inventories have been developed that
are designed to measure
psychological skills used by
athletes.
Before
adopting a specific inventory, the
practitioner should become familiar
with the reliability,
validity,
and
psychometric properties of the selected
inventory.
1.
Psychological skills inventory
for sports
The
Psychological Skills Inventory
for Sports (PSIS-5) was
developed by Mahoney, Gabriel, and
Perkins
(1987).
The PSIS-5 (5th version) is a 45-item inventory that
measures the psychological skills of
anxiety
control,
concentration, confidence, mental preparation ,
motivation, and team
orientation.
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Sport
Psychology(psy407)
VU
2.
Athletic coping skills
inventory
The
Athletic Coping Skills
Inventory (ACSI-28) was developed by
Smith, Schutz, Smoll, and
Ptacek (1995).
It
measures the psychological skills of
coping with adversity, peaking under
pressure, goal
setting/mental
preparation,
concentration, freedom from worry, confidence
and achievement motivation,
and coachability.
3.
Test of performance
strategies
The
Test of Performance Strategies
(TOPS) was developed by Thomas,
Murphy, and Hardy (1999).
It
measures
a combination of methods and
skills of athletes in strategic
situations. Factors measured by
the
TOPS
in the competitive situation include self-talk,
emotional control, automaticity, goal
setting, imagery,
activation,
negative thinking, and relaxation.
Factors measured by the TOPS in the
practice situation include
the
same factors used in the competitive
situation, with the exception that
negative thinking is replaced
by
attentional
control.
Psychological
Skills Training
Program
A
number of psychological skills training
programs have been proposed.
A sample psychological
skill
training
program is give below. It has seven
phases.
Psychological
Skills Training Program
(PSTP)
Phase
1: Who is the
Client?
They
determine who the client
is.
Phase
2: Initial Meeting with
Athletes.
Initial
meeting is critical
Phase
3: Education of the Sport
Psychologist Relative to
Activity
Period
of self-education will be required to
help the sport psychologist bridge the
gap from being a novice
to
being fully knowledgeable and
conversant about the sport.
Phase
4: Development of a Needs Assessment
Plan
The
sport psychologist must have a
working knowledge of athletes' current
psychological skills. This
can be
accomplished
only through formal and
informal assessment.
1)
Interview
2)
Performance
profiling
3)
Observation
of athletes during practice
and competition
4)
Use
of objective pencil and paper
inventories
Phase
5: Psychological Methods and
Strategies to be Taught
In
this phase, a master plan is developed in
terms of what, when, and in
what sequence psychological
methods
are to be taught to address psychological
skill weaknesses.
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Sport
Psychology(psy407)
VU
Phase
6: Actual Teaching and
Learning of Selected Psychological
Methods
1.
Psychological Methods to be taught,
practiced , and applied in competition to
enhance psychological
skills
a.
Goal setting
b.
Relaxation
c.
Self-talk
d.
Imagery
e.
Attention skills
f.
Self-hypnosis
2.
Performance Routines to be taught,
practiced, and applied in competition to
enhance psychological
skills
Phase
7: Ongoing and End-of-Session
Evaluation of PSTP
For
best results, the PSTP must
be continually reviewed and
evaluated.
References
Cox,
H. Richard. (2002). Sport Psychology:
Concepts and Applications.
(Fifth Edition). New York:
McGraw-
Hill
Companies
Lavallec.
D., Kremer, J., Moran,
A., & Williams. M. (2004)
Sports Psychology: Contemporary Themes.
New
York:
Palgrave Macmillan
Publishers
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Pakistan
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