NEW
Font size
WorksheetsPsychology Of Athletic Preparation & Performance
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 10mins
In sport psychology, intrinsic motivation is best exemplified by which behavior?
Participating primarily to earn scholarships and awards
Competing to gain social approval from teammates
Participating for personal enjoyment and satisfaction
Training to avoid punishment from coaches
Which construct reflects an athlete’s drive to seek challenging tasks and achieve goals?
Motive to avoid failure (MAF)
Trait anxiety
Motive to achieve success (MAS)
State anxiety
Trait anxiety is most accurately described as which of the following?
Momentary nervousness before a single event
A stable tendency to view situations as threatening
Physiological activation without worry
A learned coping skill for competition
Somatic anxiety primarily involves which component?
Cognitive worry and negative expectations
Physiological symptoms such as increased heart rate
Strategic planning and attentional tactics
Long-term personality disposition
According to the relationship between arousal and performance for most well-practiced skills, what level of arousal tends to be optimal?
Very high arousal
Very low arousal
Moderate levels of arousal
Arousal does not influence performance
Which theory posits that performance can drop sharply once physiological arousal surpasses a critical threshold, particularly under high cognitive anxiety?
Drive Theory
Catastrophe Theory
Inverted-U Hypothesis
Multidimensional Anxiety Theory
An athlete sets the goal, “Our team will win the conference championship.” What type of goal is this?
Process goal focusing on technique execution
Performance goal targeting a personal statistical benchmark
Outcome goal defined by competitive result
Mastery goal emphasizing skill acquisition
Selective attention in sport most closely refers to which ability?
Maintaining broad awareness of the entire environment
Shifting focus quickly between multiple stimuli without filtering
Attending to task-relevant cues while ignoring distractions
Sustaining attention for long durations regardless of context
Which attentional style involves scanning the environment widely while processing information shallowly?
Narrow-internal
Broad-internal
Narrow-external
Broad-external
Which mental skill involves creating vivid sensory experiences to rehearse performance scenarios?
Self-talk
Imagery
Progressive muscular relaxation
Goal setting
Which relaxation technique systematically tenses and releases muscle groups to reduce arousal?
Diaphragmatic breathing
Mindfulness meditation
Progressive muscular relaxation
Autogenic training
An athlete uses short phrases like “explode up” and “drive through” during heavy squats to boost effort. What type of self-talk is this?
Motivational self-talk focused on confidence
Instructional self-talk focused on cues for execution
Ruminative self-talk focused on past mistakes
Coping self-talk focused on stress management
Which technique is recommended to keep elbows under the bar during front squats by cueing position during the lift?
Use broad-external attention to scan the gym
Employ energizing cue words
Increase arousal with loud music
Practice outcome visualization only
State anxiety is best defined as which of the following?
A stable trait across situations
A temporary emotional response to a specific situation
A cognitive skill developed through practice
A physiological adaptation to training
Why is consistent regulation of attention and arousal important for athletes?
It ensures opponents become more distracted
It helps maintain performance across varying conditions
It increases trait anxiety for better readiness
It eliminates the need for practice
Among common relaxation methods for athletes, which is specifically identified for stepwise muscle tension-release sequences?
Guided imagery scripts
Progressive muscular relaxation (PMR)
Mindfulness body scan
Box breathing
In the context of stress and performance, what does eustress represent?
Chronic negative stress that impairs recovery
Neutral stress with no performance impact
Positive stress that can enhance performance
Stress only present during training, not competition
What phenomenon occurs when high arousal narrows perceptual focus, causing athletes to miss peripheral cues?
Attentional broadening
Attentional narrowing
Selective expansion
Sensory gating failure
Which self-talk approach prioritizes task-relevant cues like technique reminders and timing prompts?
Motivational self-talk
Instructional self-talk
Catastrophic self-talk
Outcome-focused self-talk
Which strategy combines relaxation with gradual exposure to feared scenarios to reduce performance anxiety?
Flooding with maximal arousal
Only cognitive restructuring without practice
Reduce fear or anxiety with relaxation plus gradual exposure
Outcome goal setting without skill rehearsal
