HSC PDHPE

Factors Affecting
Performance
Teacher Summary

Table of Contents
How does training affect performance?
Energy Systems
Types of training and training methods
Principles of training
Physiological adaptations in response to training

How can psychology affect performance?

Motivation
Anxiety and arousal
Psychological strategies to enhance motivation and manage anxiety

How can nutrition and recovery strategies affect performance?

Nutritional considerations
Supplementation
Recovery strategies

How does the acquisition of skill affect performance?

Stages of skill acquisition
Characteristics of the learner
The learning environment
Assessment of skill and performance
How can psychology affect performance?
Motivation

Motivation Evaluate performance scenarios to

− positive and negative determine the appropriate forms of
− intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, eg golf versus boxing

Positive and negative

Positive Motivation:
• Reward for good performance, can be extrinsic or intrinsic.
• Examples include bonuses or personal bests.
• Encourages risk-taking, creativity, and performance under pressure.

Negative Motivation:
• Punishment for poor performance.
• Can be intrinsic or extrinsic.
• Examples include beating oneself up for poor performance.
• Negative extrinsic motivators include training sessions or dropping off the
starting team.

Intrinsic and extrinsic

Intrinsic Motivation
• Self-generated and beneficial for long-term results and goal achievement.
• Ideal for sports like swimming, cycling, and marathon running.
• Examples include achieving personal best or feeling good shot.

Extrinsic Motivation
• External, generated by someone or something distinct from the athlete.
• Examples include earning more money or hearing fans cheer.
• Often provided in sports with large crowds.
• Produces better performances over longer periods.
• Best results when both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation exist together.

Factors Affecting Performance 1

Anxiety and arousal

Anxiety and arousal Explain the difference between

− trait and state anxiety anxiety and arousal in terms of
− sources of stress the effects on performance
− optimum arousal

Trait and state anxiety

Trait Anxiety:
• A psychological response similar to nervousness or worry.
• Causes increased heart rate, blood pressure, and nervousness.
• Stimulates the "fight or flight" response, releasing adrenaline.
• Negatively affects performance.

State Anxiety:
• Arises in a specific situation.
• Everyone experiences state anxiety, but the stimulus can vary.
• In sports, state anxiety may rise during high-pressure situations.
• Examples include serving for matches, taking penalty shots, converting
tries, or shooting free throws.

Sources of stress
• Stress sources vary among athletes, influenced by their perception of the
situation.
• Past experiences and support levels can increase stress levels.
• Athlete's past performance can lead to increased expectations for future
performances, causing more stress.
• High expectations, especially in highly valued sports, can lead to decreased
performance.
• Stress develops more when athletes are under pressure, from themselves,
competition, fans, coaches, or their body.
• Stress triggers adrenaline production, increasing blood supply to muscles,
breathing, blood glucose levels, and sweat production.
• Confidence, positive outlook, and a can-do attitude can help athletes cope
with stress and anxiety.

Optimum arousal
• Arousal is a physiological response to prepare for action, causing increased
heart rate, blood pressure, and neural activity.
• It is often referred to as "in the zone" or "psyched up."
• Arousal can be positive or negative depending on the level and type of
performance.
• High intensity contact sports require a higher optimal arousal level than low
intensity non-contact sports.
• Specific sports have an optimal arousal level specific to each sport.
• Skills with more difficulty require lower arousal levels, while easier skills
require higher levels.
• Under arousal is characterized by lethargy and lack of motivation, while over
arousal is characterized by inability to focus.

Factors Affecting Performance 2

Psychological strategies to enhance motivation and manage anxiety

Psychological strategies to enhance Research case studies of athletes

motivation and manage anxiety from different sports and ascertain the
− concentration/attention skills (focusing) nature of their motivation and the
− mental psychological strategies they employ.
rehearsal/visualisation/imagery −
relaxation techniques − goal-setting.

Concentration/attention skills (focusing)

• Concentration skills refer to an athlete's focus on doing, not how to do it.
• Improvement can be achieved by blocking distractions and using positive
self-talk.
• Focusing on correct technique improves focus and skill execution.
• Different types of concentration are needed for different sports: high skill
level sports require intense focusing, lower skill level sports require less
intense focus, longer duration sports require sustained focus, and short sports
don't require sustained focus.
• Sports like golf or diving require intense focusing, while Iron Man requires
sustained attention.
• Attention skills need to vary throughout a competition, requiring intense
concentration during set plays and less intense concentration during tackles
and runs.

Mental rehearsal/visualisation/imagery
• Mental rehearsal involves visualizing a movement or skill from the athlete's
perspective.
• It helps improve concentration and prepares the body for the actual skill
execution.
• It's often done just before performance to improve arousal and
concentration.
• It's used in sports like basketball, weightlifting, and football to prepare for
competition.
• Visualisation is also used as a form of practice, especially when physical
practice isn't possible.
• Studies show mental rehearsal can maintain current skill execution levels,
but doesn't increase them.
• Rehearsal must be realistic, only have successful performances, and be
rehearsed from the athlete's perspective.

Relaxation techniques
• Centred breathing: A technique involving lengthening breathing to reduce
respiratory and heart rate, often used in Yoga. It releases anxiety and can
decrease arousal levels.
• Progressive muscular relaxation: A movement from one end of the body to
another, contracting and relaxing muscles. It relieves anxiety and can
decrease arousal levels.
• Music: Used to control arousal and anxiety levels, it can either increase or
decrease arousal levels depending on the type of music listened to.
• Mental relaxation: Focuses on reducing respiratory rate and emptying the
mind to focus on the task, helping to reduce anxiety before performance.

Factors Affecting Performance 3

Goal-setting.
• Goals can be performance or behaviour-oriented, both long and short-term.
• Long-term goals provide a major purpose for training and performance.
• Short-term goals monitor progress and provide benchmarks.
• Performance goals focus on specific aims to improve performance.
• Behaviour goals impact motivation, training output, and performance.
• Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-
specific.
• For instance, running 100m in less than 10 seconds within 6 months is
specific, attainable, relevant, and time-specific.

Factors Affecting Performance 4