Psychological Skills Training

Consistent practice of mental skills to enhance performance.

What is it?

Takes ideas from mainstream psychology and applies them to performance

Creates an edge for those that practice them.

How is it used?

Consider

How much time do you spend physically training for competition?

How much time do you spend mentally training for competition?

Psychological factors account primarily for day-to-day

fluctuations in performance.

Higher confidence Greater self-regulation of arousal Better communication More positive thoughts and images More determination or commitment

Elite Athletes have:

Mental resilience Ability to focus, cope with pressure, rebound

from failure, and persist in the face of adversity

Mental Toughness

Control- feel like you exert an influence on the situation

Commitment-take an active role Challenge- change as an opportunity to

grow, not a threat Confidence- sense of self-belief

4 C’s of Mental Toughness

Most useful PST topics

Confidence Building

Creating a strong sense of belief in self

Attention or Concentration

Focusing on the most important things

Goal-Setting (Commitment)

Working toward what you really want

Imagery and Positive Self-Talk

Think good thoughts, do good things

Arousal Regulation

Not being overly excited or unexcited

Confidence

Belief that you can successfully perform a desired behavior

Definition of Self-Confidence

Optimal Levels of Self-Confidence

Confidence is mainly the result of

Expectations Of self From others

Remember the self-fulfilling prophecy?

Efficacy- the perceived ability to perform a task Comes mostly

through achievements

Act confidently (Fake it until you make it) Think confidently (Positive self-talk) Use imagery Set realistic goals Train for physical conditions of sport Mentally prepare Ensure performance accomplishments using

simulation training

Tips for Building Self-Confidence

A way to practice coping with stressful situations in sport

Simulation Training

1. Determine a specific weakness for your sport Psychological, not physical Example: In dance, losing confidence and falling

out of turns. Example: In tennis, losing focus after “giving up”

the first point.2. Come up with a way to practice being in that

situation3. Practice

Steps to Simulation Training

Concentration

Definition

Where you place your attention

Differences

Experts Usually absorbed in the

present High degree of control Being aware of internal

environment (what you are doing) and external environment (what is happening)

Novices Make slower decisions Do not anticipate future

events Cannot choose what to

pay attention to Unable to search

systematically for cues

Focus Exercises

Power of Routines

Self-Talk

What you say to yourself

Can be positive, negative, or instructional

Event Positive Self-Talk Positive Response

Event Negative Self-Talk Negative Response

Keep phrases short and specific Use first person and present tense Construct positive phrases Say your phrases with meaning and

attention Speak kindly to self Repeat phrases often

Rules for using Self-Talk

Attentional Styles

A person directs attention outward to a specific object in the environment

Ex: golfers focusing on lining up a putt

External-narrow

A person is attending to several things in the environment simultaneously

Ex: football or hockey

External-Broad

Person is focused on thoughts or feelings at a specific moment

Ex: baseball player at bat thinking “I can’t miss” while not focusing on the environment

Internal-narrow

A person creates plans, strategies, or conceptualizes games

Multiple feelings at once

Ex: any sport, but takes practice

Internal-broad

Not recognizing something that is right in front of you

Attention Blindness

Flow

FlowA mental state of operation in which a person performing

an activity is fully immerse in a feeling of energized focused

Developed by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (positive psychologist)

Other terms include:In the momentIn the zoneOn a rollWired inIn the grooveOn fireIn tuneCenteredSingularly focused

Components of FlowIntense and focused concentration (on the present

moment)Merging of action and awarenessA loss of reflective self-consciousnessA sense of personal control or agency over the

situationA distortion of temporal experience

Subjective experience of time is alteredActivity is intrinsically rewarding

All together these comprise flow

MechanismPeople can focus on about 126 bits of

information per secondMost taken up by simple daily tasksConversation takes 40 bits (1/3 capacity)

People generally decide what to focus onIn flow, people lose awareness of everything

but the taskAll the bits of information are used up

ConditionsOne must be involved in an activity with a

clear set of goals and progress.Adds direction and structure to the task

The task at hand must have clear and immediate feedback.Allows person to adjust from moment to

moment to stay in the flow stateOne must have a good balance between the

perceived challenges of the task at hand and his or her perceived skills.

Goal Setting

SMART GOALS

S- Specific

• Need to have a definite end

• Non-example: Be a better at basketball

• Example: Have 75% accuracy when shooting free-throws

M- Measurable

• Need to have a way to tell if progress has been made

• Non-example: I want to be a better student

• Example: I want to improve my GPA by .2 points

A- Action-based

• Need to use action words to describe

• Non-example: I want to be happier.

• Example: I want to think about five more positive things a day.

R- Realistic

• Need to be able to be reached

• Non-example: I want to earn $1 million by Christmas

• Example: I want to earn $500 working a seasonal job by Christmas

T- Timely

• Goals should be achievable in a reasonable amount of time• Non-example: I want to be

a millionaire some day.• Example: I want to save up

enough money for my first year of college by the end of the school year.

TYPES OF GOALS

Outcome

• A goal based on the end result

• Example: I want to beat the other team

• Example: I want to run the race the fastest

Performance

• A goal based on personal achievement

• Example: I want to run a personal best time.

• Example: I want to score a goal.

Process

• A goal that helps reach another goal

• Example: I want to exercise every day this week to condition for soccer.

TIME FRAMES

Short-term

• Goals that can be accomplished in a few hours or days• Example:

Earning an “A” on a test.

Intermediate-term

• Goals that can be accomplished in one to six months• Example:

Achieving a 4.0 for the semester

Long-term

• Goals that are accomplished in six or more months• Example:

Graduating from high school

WHAT KIND OF GOAL?

Intermediate-term

• Being able to do triple turns by your next dance performance

Short-term

• Be on time to your next class.

Long-term

• Learn how to fly an airplane

Intermediate-term

• Passing all your classes at mid-terms

Intermediate-term

• Repainting a house

Long-term

• Save the money to take a family vacation to DisneyWorld

Intermediate-term

• Prepare a rough draft of a 10-page research paper.

Long-term

• Become a professional athlete

Short-term

• Beat a stage or level on a video game.

Short-term

• Read a book over the weekend

Long-term

• Read 15 books this year

Long-term

• Graduating from college with a degree in nuclear engineering

Short-term

• Do your homework for tomorrow

Short-term

• Make 10 free throws in a row before leaving practice

Intermediate-term

• Save $20 a week until Hanukkah

Imagery

Form of simulation Uses all the senses to create a picture of

what you want to happen

What is it?

Improves concentration Enhance motivation Build confidence Control emotions Acquire, practice, and correct sport skills Acquire and practice strategy Prepare for competition Cope with pain and adversity Solve problems

Uses of Imagery

Before and after practice Before and after competition During the off-season During breaks in action During personal time When recovering from injury

Basically, all the time

When to use it?

Keys to Imagery

Vividness Uses all the senses

Controllability The image does what you

want it to

Theories of Stress/Arousal

Drive Theory• The more anxious people become, the better they

perform• Social facilitation is a type of drive theory• People do tasks to their ability level when they

have an audience

• Not supported by research

Inverted-U Hypothesis• Medium arousal/anxiety is best• If there is little arousal, the person is too relaxed

and does not perform the best that he/she can• If there is too much arousal, performance is

compromised

Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning• Everyone has their own best level of

arousal/anxiety• For some it is low, some it is medium, some it is

high• Includes other emotions as well: determination,

pleasantness, laziness

• Good support in research literature

Multidimensional Anxiety Theory• There is a difference between cognitive anxiety

(worry) and somatic anxiety (physical reactions)• Cognitive anxiety is negatively related to

performance• Somatic anxiety is related to performance in an

inverted-u pattern

• Best is little cognitive anxiety and moderate somatic anxiety

Catastrophe Model• Physiological arousal is related to performance in

an inverted-u pattern only when the athlete has low cognitive state anxiety

• Cognitive anxiety above the optimal level compromises performance at a steep declining rate (hence “catastrophe”)

Reversal Theory• Performance depends on a person’s interpretation

of his or her arousal level• Ex. If a person has low anxiety, he might think he is bored

and perform poorly. Another person in the same situation might think he is relaxed and perform well.

• Athletes quickly change their interpretations about their levels of arousal

• People perform best when they have positive feelings

Anxiety Direction and Intensity View• Performance is affected by how people interpret

their anxiety symptoms.• Trait anxiety and self-esteem influence stress• Perception of control also determines whether

anxiety is facilitative or debilitative

Arousal Regulation

Types of Arousal• Somatic (Physical)• Cognitive (Mental)• Multimodal (Both)

Somatic Anxiety Reduction• Progressive Muscle

Relaxation- feel tension in muscles in order to release it

• Breath control- when you are calm your breathing is smooth. When you are under pressure, your breathing is irregular

• Biofeedback- learning how to control your nervous system by receiving physiological feedback not normally available

Cognitive Anxiety Reduction• Relaxation

Response- quiet the mind, concentrate, reduce muscle tension using meditation

• Autogenic training- exercises designed to produce warmth and heaviness to produce a relaxed state

Multimodal Anxiety Reduction• Cognitive-affective

stress management (SMT)• Teaches specific integrated coping responses using relaxation and cognitive components to control emotional arousal

• Stress Inoculation Training (SIT)-• Exposed to stress in order to learn how to cope with is (via productive thoughts, mental images, and self-statements) • Increase immunity to stress

Hypnosis• Altered state of

consciousness that results in an unusually relaxed state and increased response to suggestions designed to alter perceptions, feelings, thoughts, and actions

Coping StrategiesProblem-Focused

• Information gathering• Routines• Goal setting• Time management

skills• Problem-soling • Increasing effort• Self-talk

Emotion-Focused• Meditation• Relaxation• Wishful thinking• Reappraisal• Behavioral withdrawal

General Coping Strategies for Sport• Focus on task• Self-talk• Be positive• Social support• Mentally prepare• Time management• Train hard and

smart

What about underarousal?• It’s just as bad to have underarousal• Goal is optimal level

• Tips:• Increase breathing rate• Act energized• Use positive statements• Listen to music• Use energizing imagery• Complete a pre-competition workout