PYC4812 – SPORTS PSYCH. EXAM PREP
PART 1: LEARNING, MOTIVATION AND SOCIAL INTERACTION
Chapter 2
Motor skill learning for effective coaching and performance
• read
o the essentials of motor skill learning in the textbook.
• study
o the importance of feedback and diagnosing and correcting errors.
1. Discuss the two major types of feedback and give examples of each type.
2. Discuss at least three important functions of feedback in skill learning and performance.
3. Indicate the importance of timely and effective feedback to athletes.
Brief overview of motor learning (read)
• Set of internal processes associated with practice or experience, leading to permanent changes in the capability
for skilled movement behavior.
• Cannot measure it (internal) but we can draw inferences from performance
(eg.: improvements made)
Phases
❖ Cognitive phase:
➢ learning, developing.
➢ Coach helps to teach.
➢ Duration differs depending on what the athlete is learning
❖ Associative phase:
➢ Refinement, movements become more automated (dribbling ball without looking – proprioceptive).
➢ Coach will help by designing appropriate practices to help refine the skill.
➢ Duration is much longer than the first phase. (Not all athletes will move past this phase)
❖ Autonomous phase:
➢ when the athlete can perform the skill at maximum proficiency.
➢ Skill is very well developed; athletes can therefore focus on other things apart from their movement.
➢ Coach can help by giving instruction to help maintain and motivate athlete to continue improving
❖ Correcting errors
➢ Will depend on the severity of the change needed
▪ Slight changes, easier to learn and require less practice
▪ More severe changes require the athlete to return to the cognitive phase of learning and progress through various stages
• Process of re-learning is intensive and will impact performance initially
• Major changes should take place during off-season
Error identification and diagnosis (Skill analysis)
❖ Observation
➢ Compare athlete’s technique with correct technique.
➢ Determine if the basic movement is sound, don’t focus on smaller details
❖ Determine the cause of errors (not always related to technique)
➢ Technique
➢ Physiological differences
➢ Inaccurate or delayed decision making
➢ Drill design (make sure it is developmentally appropriate)
➢ Psychological factors
❖ Once the error is identified: feedback
➢ First correct the most fundamental error, which will often be associated with skills fundamental movement
➢ Often, once this is corrected, other errors will correct themselves as they have happened as a result of the basic movement being
incorrect
➢ Coach may also choose to correct the error that occurs earliest in the movement (eg: diving board for diver), eliminating
, errors that occurred later on in the sequence as a result of this initial problem
➢ Where there are unrelated errors, start with the easiest correction – this will most likely lead to success hence helping motivate the
athlete to continue making improvements
• Discuss the two major types of feedback and give examples of each type.
a. Intrinsic feedback – info athlete receives as a natural consequence of moving . provided by sensory systems eg. Basketball
players can feel proprioceptive sensations from muscles joints tendons. Hear sound of ball hitting the rim
b. Augmented – info athlete receives from an external source .supplied beyond intrinsic feedback and supplements info
naturally available. Coach, judge etc.
Intervention strategies: feedback
❖ Provision of feedback: essential for motor skill acquisition
❖ Provides all the info: how to correct, explain errors (why they occur), motivates
❖ Feedback will hinder or enhance performance depending on timing, frequency, amount and precision
❖ At first, when learning the skill, the athlete will require more feedback.
❖ Feedback should lessen as skills become more refined
➢ Avoid athletes becoming accustomed to receiving feedback
▪ Rather than evaluating response-produced sensory information, they will wait for the coach to tell them what
they did/how to fix it
▪ Creates a passive learner, hinders performance when they do not receive feedback such as during competition
Methods for reducing feedback
❖ Faded feedback:
➢ feedback reduces as athlete refines their skill
❖ Bandwidth:
➢ Coach has an acceptable error tolerance and will only provide feedback when performance falls outside of this range.
➢ Advantage: depends on the athlete’s actual performance, not some arbitrary fixed schedule feedback session
❖ Learner-regulated:
➢ Feedback only given when the athlete requests it.
➢ Thought to benefit from being actively involved in process
❖ Promote active learning:
➢ encourage athlete to assess their performance before telling them what was observed
➢ Ask: if they achieved their movement goal, follow up questions if ‘no’
❖ Questioning approach:
➢ Promotes reflective thinking, facilitates athlete’s problem-solving skills.
❖ Good feedback:
➢ Encourages learners to explore a variety of movement solutions allowing for the discovery of the optimal pattern
suited for that particular learner
➢ Focus on one correction at a time
➢ positive, short, simple
➢ Matches the developmental level of the learner (it is not too hard, or too easy)
➢ Should have an external focus as opposed to internal focus (prompt to focus on the effects of their actions on the
environment)
▪ eg: instead of telling sprinter to increase the turnover of their leg action to increase speed, they could be told to
minimize the ground contact
,▪ less likely to impact their natural flow of movement
, CHAPTER 3
A positive approach to coaching effectiveness and performance enhancement
• Study the whole chapter regarding
o aspects of positive reinforcement
o performance feedback
o performance enhancement.
1. Indicate how the ABC’s of behaviour control can be applied successfully in enhancing an athlete’s performance in sport.
2. Discuss the importance of positive reinforcement and punishment in influencing sport behaviour.
3. Differentiate between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Indicate under which conditions intrinsic motivation can be undermined by
positive reinforcement and what should be done to prevent this from happening.
4. Discuss the value of performance feedback. Refer to aspects such as motivation, instructional effects and the implementation of a
feedback system.
Operant conditioning: the ABC’s of behaviour control
❖ To understand what motivates people and controls their behavior we must take into account the relations between people
and their environment
❖ Operant analysis of behaviour involves the relations between 3 events
➢ Antecedents / environ.stim.
➢ Behaviours indi engages in
➢ Consequences that follow behaviours that either strengthen or weaken them
❖ The relations among these “if, then” elements are called contingencies
▪ IF antecedent stimuli are present AND behaviour is enacted THEN a particular consequence will occur.
❖ Antecedents: stimulus control of behavior
➢ Discriminative stimuli:
▪ Antecedents that signal likely consequences of behaviours in given situations.
▪ these signals help guide our behavior so that it is appropriate → lead to positive consequences.
▪ Much skill learning in sport involves the ability to read the environment and respond appropriately
▪ i.e. - Basketball players learning to set up offense when opponent switches from one defense to another.
➢ When antecedents are influential in governing behavior, that behavior is said to be under stimulus control.
➢ Many behaviours come under stimulus control and we react automatically and mindlessly to changing stimulus conditions.
▪ Also, social behaviour
❖ Response consequences
➢ The key feature in operant conditioning→ what happens after a response is made?
➢ Consequences involve
▪ Presentation
▪ Non-occurrence
▪ Removal
➢ …Of a positive or aversive stimulus.
▪ E.g. Coach-athlete interaction
• positive stimulus → word of praise/ smile.
• Aversive stimulus → critical comments
➢ 5 basic response consequences that result from presentation/ removal of a positive or an aversive stimulus:
