SELF CONCEPT

Gobinder Gill

By the end of the session:

ALL students should describe the key components of perspective

MOST students should explain burnout and describe its symptoms

SOME students will develop the stages of career transition for athletes

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Activity 1

Research indicates that there are a number of characteristics that identify a successful person.

In groups (two or three) identify these characteristics.

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Twelve traits of successful people(McCoy, 1988) They enjoy their work They have high self-esteem and a positive attitude They use negative experiences to discover their strengths They are decisive, disciplined goal-setters They have integrity and help others to succeed They are persistent They take risks They have developed good communication and problem-

solving skills They surround themselves with competent, responsible and

supportive people They are healthy, have high energy and schedule time to

renew They believe in God, a higher power, and sometimes just

plain luck They have a sense of purpose and desire to contribute to

society

Perspective

Botterill and Patrick (2003) What is perspective?

“Capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance”

Allows athletes to put their sport within the proper context of their lives enabling them to survive and thrive in the demanding and often brutal environment of sport

Attending to and managing the aspects of personal life which then free us to properly attend to the demands of sport

Balanced living

Perspective

Identity

Support Sources

Values

Perspective: Identity

Seminar Complete your current and ideal identity pies

and discuss implications with a partner. Where would you like to see change What do you need to do to bring current and ideal

in line? Interview a partner about their support

sources and values What type of support do they offer? How can these help bridge gap between current

and ideal identity? How do you ensure this support is maintained

Perspective: Support Sources

Maslow (1968)

Team You

You

Coach

NGB

Sport

Lecturer

Univers

ity

Acade

mic

Pare

ntsFam

ily &

Frie

nds

Other

E.G., Work, partner

Perspective enhances our psychological skills Goal setting Imagery Self talk Relaxation/arousal

control Motivation Team cohesion Emotion

management

Burnout

Burn out

“I didn’t have an option to choose not to do that event after making the team...the timing was very poor and that contributed to overtraining and my performance was probably 80% at the Games due to fatigue and lack or recovery.” –Olympic athlete

“It’s a long, long grind. It’s either preseason practice, the season itself, postseason weight training, or recruiting. The demands to win can also very stressful. When we were successful, there was pressure and high expectation to stay successful. When we were losing, there was pressure to start winning real soon. This schedule and pressure can wear you down and make you just want to leave everything behind for a while.” –College football coach

Burnout definitions

Overtraining

Staleness

BurnoutBurnout “An exhaustive psychophysiological

response exhibited as a result of frequent, sometimes extreme, and generally ineffective efforts to meet excessive training and competitive demands” (Weinberg & Gould, 2003, p. 470).

Characteristics of burnout

Exhaustion: both physical and emotional.

Depersonalization: seen as the individual’s being impersonal and unfeeling.

Feelings of low personal accomplishment: low self-esteem, failure, and depression.

Models of Burnout

Cognitive-affective stress model (Smith, 1986)

Situational demands Cognitive appraisal Physiological responses Behavioural responses Motivation and personality factors

Negative-training response model (Silva, 1990)

Based on responses to physiological stress Unidimensional identity development and

external control model (Coakley, 1992)

Focus on self concept or lack thereof

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Activity 2

Using your knowledge of Burnout theory, write down (in groups) factors that identify burnout

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Factors related to burnout (Gould et al., 1996)

Triggers Cognitive appraisal

Physio & Psych

responses

Behavioural responses

Personality and

motivation

High conflicting demands

Perceived overload

Decreased motivation

Physical withdrawal

High trait anxiety

Lack of control

Few meaningful accomplishments

Fatigue Emotional withdrawal

Low self esteem

High expectations

Lack of meaning and devaluing activity

Decreased concentration

Psychological withdrawal

CompetitivenessFear of failure

Low social support

Lack of enjoyment

Weight gain or loss

Decreased performance

Narrow identity

Excessive time demands

Chronic stress

Susceptibility to illness/injury

Giving up during play

High need to please others

Injuries Stifled; trapped

Muscle soreness

Critical of teammates

low perceived control

Treating and preventing burnout Short term goals

in competition and practice

Communication Proper recovery Self-regulation

skills Maintain

perspective

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Activity 3

In your groups do the following:

1) Identify any ex sports stars that have made a transition from their previous sport to another area/career

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Career transition among athletes

Conceptual model of career transition (Taylor & Ogilvie, 1994)

Stage 1: Causes of career termination Age Deselection Injury Free choice

Stage 2: Factors related to adaptation Developmental contributors Self-identity Perceptions of control Social identity Tertiary contributions

Conceptual model of career transition (Taylor & Ogilvie, 1994)

Stage 3: Available resources for athletes Coping strategies Social support Preretirement

planning Stage 4: Quality of

career transition Stage 5:

Intervention for career transition

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Summary

Perspective of life and its situations must be considered both by performers and practitioners

Burnout is a cause that must be treated in its infancy to prevent total burnout

Career transitions is something that can be put into development programmes for performers

Further reading:

Balague, G. (1999). Understanding identity, value, and meaning when working with elite athletes. The Sport Psychologist, 13(1), 89-98.

Brown, M., Cairns, K., & Botterill, C. (2001). The process of perspective: The art of living well in the world of elite sport. Journal of Excellence, 5, 3-38.

Taylor, J., Ogilvie, B., & Lavallee, D. (2006). Career transition among athletes: Is there life after sports? In. J. Williams (ed.), Applied Sport Psychology: Personal growth to peak performance. McGraw-Hill, New York.

Weinberg, R.S., & Gould, D. (2003). Foundations of sport & exercise psychology (3rd ed). Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.