A2 Psychology of Sport Concentration Booklet 4 Skills Working as a team Complete green group tasks Working as an individual Complete yellow individual.

A2 Psychology of Sport Concentration

Booklet 4 Skills

Working as a team

Complete green group tasks

Working as an individual

Complete yellow individual tasks

Lesson objectives

By the end of the lesson you should be able to

• To understand the definition of concentration

• To understand selective attention and perception

• To understand the attentional styles• To understand how to apply practical

examples to theory

Buzz words • Concentration

• Broad• Narrow• Internal• External

• Two dimensions• Nideffer

• Cue utilisation

CONCENTRATION

• Martens – mistakes occur in top level sport due to attentional errors.

• Focusing attention onto the relevant environmental cues and maintaining focus until the skill has been completed.

CONCENTRATION

CONCENTRATION

EXTERNALFACTORS

e.g. StimulusIntensity

INTERNALFACTORS

e.g. Cognitionand emotionalCondition of

arousal

AROUSAL

“This can be considered as the level of excitement or activation generated in the

central nervous system.”

LOW AROUSALLETHARGIC, SLEEP

LIKE STATE.

ALERT STATESAND FRENETIC

BEHAVIOURHIGH AROUSAL

POOR PERFORMANCE

Poor performance is due to either under arousal or over arousal.

PERCEPTUAL FIELD

Your perceptual field is your attentional focus.

LOW AROUSAL INCREASE IN PERCEPTUAL

FIELD

SELECTIVE

ATTENTION IS NOT IN OPERATION.

INFORMATION OVERLOAD, WHICH IMPEDES

DECISION MAKING.

INCREASE IN AROUSAL

PERCEPTUAL FIELD ADJUSTS TO THE IDEAL WIDTH.

SELECTIVE ATTENTION IS FULLY OPERATIONAL.

ABILITY TO CONCENTRATE IS MAXIMISED.

NOTE! The theory, which predicts the selection of the most relevant environmental data at the optimal arousal

level, is termed “cue utilisation hypothesis”.

BEYOND THE OPTIMAL THRESHOLD PERCEPTUAL FOCUS

NARROWS

RELEVANT CUE MAY

BE MISSED.

E.G. ATHLETE COULD

BE HIGHLY AGITATED

& PANIC.

KNOWN AS HYPERVIGILANCE

OR PANIC

The Inverted ‘U’ Hypothesis

OPTIMAL OR THRESHOLD OF

AROUSAL

ATTENTIONAL STYLES

• It is important to look at the width of attention.

• This needs to change in response to varying situations in sport.

• Width of attention relates to the number of environmental cues that require the performer’s attention.

ATTENTIONAL STYLES

• Four attentional styles can be identified from this:

1. Broad/external.

2. External/narrow.

3. Narrow/internal.

4. Internal/broad.

CONCENTRATION AND ATTENTIONAL STYLES

NIDEFFER’S ATTENTIONAL STYLES

BROAD• a player concentrates on the whole

game – all players’ positions and

movements– open skills

NARROW• the player concentrates on one aspect

of the game– the goalkeeper– closed skills

INTERNAL• the player decides to concentrate on his

own technique

EXTERNAL• the player focuses on the position of his

opposite number

Therefore, in an activity where the environment changes (e.g. in an interactive game that has open and closed skills) it may be necessary to use all 4 styles when appropriate.

All performers have a preferred or strongest attentional style.

An expert performer needs to be competent in all 4 styles.

CONCENTRATION

CONCENTRATION• a state of mind in which attention is

directed towards a specific aim or activity

• attentional focus• control of attention towards a task

CUE UTILISATION• cues can be used by the sportsperson

– to direct attention – to trigger appropriate arousal

responses– to enable attentional focus at a

relevant moment• sometimes, narrowing of attentional

focus by an aroused player– will cause lack of awareness of

broader play issues

USE OF COGNITIVE TECHNIQUES TO ASSIST CONCENTRATION

• imagery• mental rehearsal• relaxation• can be used to direct the

sportsperson’s mind towards a specific task

• these techniques can be thought to manage the stress of the situation

• to manage anxiety in a productive way