Feedback, Reinforcement, & Intrinsic Motivation

1. Feedback, Reinforcement, & Intrinsic Motivation PED 374 – Psychology of Sport

2. Introduction • I try never to plant a negative seed. I try to make every comment a positive comment. There’s a lot of evidence to support positive management. • Jimmy Johnson, College and Professional Football Coach • To really win, you have to get every player to go beyond his capabilities. He must feel great about himself … He must feel that his coaches or supervisors have total confidence in his ability, and he must feel that his weaknesses are small and his strengths are much bigger. You do that by positive reinforcement, making sure that no one thinks negatively at any time. • Rick Pitino, Basketball Coach

3. Much of human interaction consists of attempts to influence other people’s behaviors • Influence attempts occur frequently in sport contexts: • Athletes interact with teammates, opponents, officials, and coaches • Coaches influence athletes in many ways: • Creating a good learning environment where athletes acquire technical skills to succeed • “Psychology of coaching” can be regarded as a set of strategies to increase ability to influence behaviors effectively.

4. The ABCs of Behavioral Control • Influential approach in psychology – Operant conditioning (A) Antecedents or environmental stimuli; (B) behaviors in which the person engages; and (C) Consequences that follow the behaviors. Antecedents – are the stimuli that control behavior. Antecedents that signal the likely consequences of particular behaviors are called discriminative stimuli • Skill learning in sport often involves learning to “read” environment and respond. • EX: basketball player learns how to set up the offense when the opponent switches from one defense to another

5. Response Consequences: • The key is on what happens after the response is made: Present Remove Positive Stimuli Aversive Stimuli

6. Negative Aspects of Punishment • Punishment works on the basis of raising fear; raises preoccupation with negatives • Under threat of punishment, athletes view competition as more of a threat. • Ironically, coaches with this style, increase likelihood of mistakes they are trying to avoid. • Negative approach coaches usually succeed because: • They are also able to communicate caring • They have very talented athletes • They recruit thick-skinned athletes • They are such skillful teachers, this overrides their negative approach What About Response Cost?: • Fines, loss of privileges, benchings are examples – removal of noncontigent reinforcers. • Punishment through deprivation has 2 advantages over aversive punishment: • It does not create as much fear of failure • The “punisher” is not modeling aggression or other negative behavior

7. The Positive Approach: Getting Good Things to Happen • Reinforcement takes many forms: • Verbal compliments, smiles or other nonverbals; behaviors that convey approval; increased privileges; awards • Effective requires: • Finding effective reinforcers that work with a given athlete • Making reinforcement depend on performance of a desired behavior • Making sure the athlete understands WHY reinforcement is given

8. Schedules and Timing of Reinforcement -- • How frequently should reinforcement be given? • The Coach or Leader has 2 related challenges: • Athletes have to be instructed in skills until they master them • Coach needs to figure out how the athletes are to maintain a high proficiency level • Initially, in skill development, reinforcement should be continuous • Once the skill is well learned, reinforcement should be on a partial schedule. • Timing of reinforcement is critical – should be immediate • It is natural to praise an athlete who has just made a great play; it is less natural to reinforce an athlete who tried but failed.

9. Positive Reinforcement and Motivational Climate • Positive approach is designed to foster a task-oriented motivational climate. • Athletes in ego-oriented motivational climates: • Experience reinforcement upon outperforming others; punishment of unsuccessful performance; emphasis on social comparison Performance Feedback and Motivation: • Objective FB effectively increases motivation: • It can correct misperceptions (misattributions) • It creates a stimulus for athletes to experience positive emotions • It links well with personal and collective goal setting • FB leads to increases in self-efficacy

10. Positive Reinforcement and Motivational Climate (Cont) Instructional Benefits of FB: Objective FB provides info. About: • The specific behaviors that should be performed • The levels of proficiency that should be achieved • The athlete’s current sense of proficiency in that skill FB should be based on successful execution of skills and NOT outcome

11. Guidelines to getting positive things to happen: Administering Positive Reinforcement: • Be liberal with reinforcement, especially early in learning • Have realistic standards; expect compliance with them • Reinforce desired behaviors AS SOON AS THEY OCCUR • Reinforce process and execution, not just outcome • Help athletes set positive, individual, performance-based goals What about Reacting to/giving FB based on mistakes?: • Mistakes should be viewed as learning opportunities • Ask the athlete what they should have done – increases reinforcement of the CORRECT performance principle • With motor skills, we are visual learners; DEMONSTRATE! • Use the “sandwich approach” • Limit criticism to behaviors that are within the athlete’s control • Avoid punishment; it works by building “fear of failure”

12. The “Sandwich” Approach to giving FB 1. Find something the athlete did right and reinforce it Tell the athlete how to correct a mistake – emphasize the good things that will happen as a result End with a general performance-related positive statement

13. Believing one can: The Construct of Self-Efficacy • Self-efficacy – is defined as a person’s judgment about their capability to successfully perform a specific task • Two major principles: • Our efficacy beliefs affect our thought patterns and responses • Self-efficacy is positively related to positive motivational patterns High Self-Efficacy does not guarantee outcome, BUT increases probability that athlete will do well in terms of performance factors they can control Implications for Practice: 6 key determinants of self-efficacy: • Most influential determinant – previous successful performance • Vicarious experience – when we see another (similar) person succeed • Verbal persuasion – either ours, or someone else • Our physiological state – is it appraised as positive or negative? • Our emotional state – same thing as above • Imagined experiences – If you can see it, you can be it

14. Doing it for the Joy: Determinants of Intrinsic Motivation • When intrinsically motivated, we do activity for it’s own sake • Different types of motivation vary according to their level of self-determination: • Athletes who are amotivated – • They have no sense of personal control; they have no real reasons for doing the activity • External regulation – • Behavior is performed to satisfy external demand or stems from external reward • Introjected regulation – • Athletes participate b/c inside they feel they HAVE to participate. • Identified regulation – • Behavior is done out of free choice – but as a means to an end • Intrinsic Motivation – • The athlete feels competent, autonomous, and connected with others