CSCS sport psychology, mental health included

A weightlifter feels confident but has trembling hands, a racing heart and tense shoulders in the 60 seconds before his attempt. Which technique is MOST practical to use at that moment?

1. Autogenic training
   Autogenic training relies on repeated self-statements of warmth and heaviness over a long session, so it cannot be used in the moment.
2. Diaphragmatic breathing
   Slow diaphragmatic breathing lowers heart rate and muscle tension within a few breaths, so it fits the last minute before an attempt.
3. Progressive muscle relaxation
   Progressive muscle relaxation works through muscle groups one by one and takes several minutes, too long for the 60 seconds before a lift.

A strength and conditioning professional is teaching the power clean to a group of novice high school athletes. Which practice structure should be used FIRST?

1. Variable practice
   Variable practice helps once the pattern is stable but is too demanding before the basic pattern is in place.
2. Random practice
   Random practice mixes several skills unpredictably and adds contextual interference that overwhelms beginners on a complex lift.
3. Blocked practice
   Blocked practice repeats one skill many times in a row, which gives a novice the consistency needed to learn the basic pattern of the power clean.

An athlete now performs the power clean consistently and can attend to other cues without thinking about technique. Which stage of motor learning does this describe?

1. Associative stage
   In the associative stage the athlete is refining the movement and still needs to think about technique, which this athlete no longer does.
2. Autonomous stage
   In the autonomous stage the movement runs with little conscious attention, so the athlete can attend to other cues while lifting consistently.
3. Cognitive stage
   The cognitive stage is the beginner's phase of figuring out what to do, with frequent large errors.

A collegiate tennis player becomes highly anxious before matches because she thinks only about winning the tournament. Which goal should the coach help her set to reduce this anxiety?

1. Take the racquet back early on backhands
   Taking the racquet back early is a process goal: an action she fully controls on every point, which shifts her attention away from the result she fears.
2. Reach the semifinals of this tournament
   Reaching the semifinals is another outcome goal tied to winning, which is exactly the focus fueling her anxiety.
3. Win her next match in straight sets
   Winning in straight sets is still an outcome goal that depends on the opponent, so it keeps her focus on the result causing the anxiety.

An experienced soccer player's shooting accuracy drops after the coach tells her to "focus on the angle of your knee as you kick." Which explanation BEST accounts for the decline?

1. Her arousal fell below the optimal level
   Nothing in the scenario lowers her arousal; the drop follows a change in what she attends to.
2. Her attention became too broad
   A cue about one knee angle narrows her attention onto her own body rather than broadening it.
3. Internal focus disrupted automatic control
   Telling a skilled player to watch her knee angle turns attention inward to body parts, which disrupts a movement that normally runs automatically.

A point guard leading a fast break must rapidly read the positions of all defenders and teammates. According to Nideffer's model, which attentional style does this require?

1. Narrow-external
   Narrow-external fits locking onto one target, such as the rim on a free throw, not scanning the whole floor.
2. Broad-internal
   Broad-internal is used for analysis and planning away from the action, not for reading a fast break as it unfolds.
3. Broad-external
   Reading the positions of many players on the court in real time takes a broad focus aimed at the environment, which is broad-external.

After throwing an interception, a quarterback is visibly agitated on the sideline and has one series before he returns. What should the coach do FIRST to help him refocus?

1. Prompt his breath-and-reset routine
   A short breath-and-reset routine lowers arousal and returns attention to the next series, the first step after an emotional error.
2. Correct his throwing mechanics now
   A mechanics lesson during one series adds conscious technical thinking while he is still upset, so it delays rather than restores focus.
3. Review the interception
   Watching the interception again keeps an agitated player focused on the mistake right before he goes back in.

A weightlifter keeps mistiming the transition under the bar in the snatch. Which imagery practice BEST addresses this problem?

1. Rehearsing the pull-under timing in real time
   Imagery that rehearses the pull-under at real speed targets the exact timing error, so the image matches the problem.
2. Picturing the crowd's reaction to a made lift
   Imagining the crowd's reaction is motivational imagery and does not rehearse the movement that is going wrong.
3. Rehearsing her competition plan for all attempts
   Rehearsing a whole competition plan works on strategy and routine, not on the timing of one phase of the snatch.

A coach switches the team's agility training to a random practice schedule and wants to know whether it has improved learning. When should the coach assess the athletes?

1. In a retention test after days of rest
   A retention test after a gap of days shows what has been learned, separate from the temporary effects of practice.
2. At the end of the final practice session
   Scores at the end of the last session still reflect practice-day fatigue and short-term effects, and random practice tends to look worse in that moment.
3. By the error rate during each practice
   Error rate during practice measures performance during acquisition, which random schedules depress even while learning improves.

A basketball team shoots free throws well in practice but poorly in close games. Which practice change BEST prepares the players to perform under game pressure?

1. Extra blocked free throws after practice
   More blocked free throws after practice add repetitions without pressure, and the players already shoot well without pressure.
2. Video review of each player's shooting form
   Reviewing form treats a technique problem, but their technique holds up in practice and breaks down only under pressure.
3. Free throws with consequences for misses
   Attaching real consequences to misses adds pressure in practice, so players get used to shooting while stressed, as in close games.

In the final kilometers of a time trial, a cyclist's pedaling technique is still smooth, but her effort is fading with fatigue. Which type of self-talk is MOST appropriate?

1. Instructional self-talk
   Instructional self-talk directs attention to technique, which is not what is breaking down.
2. Motivational self-talk
   Her technique is intact and only her effort is fading, so motivational self-talk that drives effort fits the problem.
3. Thought-stopping
   Thought-stopping interrupts unwanted negative thoughts, but the problem here is fading effort.

A group of novice athletes learning the power clean keeps pulling with the arms before reaching full hip and knee extension. According to the challenge point framework, which change BEST supports learning?

1. Interleave cleans with squats
   Interleaving several lifts raises contextual interference and makes the task harder for athletes already failing the basic pull.
2. Practice full cleans with varied loads
   Varying the load on the full clean adds difficulty to a movement the athletes cannot yet perform correctly.
3. Practice the pull from the hang position
   Starting from the hang removes the first pull and cuts the task's difficulty to a level the novices can manage, as the challenge point framework suggests for beginners.

A college pitcher judges his success only by his ERA and win-loss record compared with other pitchers in the conference. This pattern BEST reflects which motivational orientation?

1. Task orientation
   Task orientation judges success by personal improvement and mastery, not by beating others.
2. Ego orientation
   Judging success only by results compared with other pitchers defines competence through social comparison, which is ego orientation.
3. Motive to achieve success
   The motive to achieve success describes seeking out challenges, not measuring oneself against other players' statistics.

An intermediate athlete now performs the hang clean consistently in practice. To promote long-term retention, how should the coach change augmented feedback?

1. Gradually reduce how often it is given
   Once the lift is consistent, fading feedback makes the athlete detect and correct errors on his own, which strengthens retention.
2. Give feedback after every single repetition
   Feedback after every rep keeps the athlete dependent on the coach, which helps practice performance but weakens retention.
3. Make each feedback statement more detailed
   More detailed statements add to the athlete's attention load without teaching him to judge his own reps.

When a lifter skips a required warm-up set, the coach assigns 10 extra push-ups at the end of the session. In operant conditioning terms, what is the coach using?

1. Negative reinforcement
   Negative reinforcement removes something unpleasant to make a behavior more likely; here something unpleasant is added to stop a behavior.
2. Negative punishment
   Negative punishment takes away something the athlete values, such as playing time; the coach adds a task instead of removing anything.
3. Positive punishment
   Adding an unpleasant consequence (extra push-ups) after the behavior, so that skipping the warm-up becomes less likely, is positive punishment.