Using the theory surrounding either goal setting (SMART) or imagery (functions of imagery -
Paivio; 1985), explain the following scenario. In addition, considering the psychological
intervention techniques discussed in the chapter, what recommendations would you make?
What are the key issues to be targeted?
You are working as a sport psychologist and have been contacted by a varsity soccer player.
Jenny is 18 years old and recently moved to attend university on a scholarship for soccer. Jenny
explains that “I would like to be the top goal scorer in the province… I may as well aim high”,
yet feels that she is no longer improving since starting university, especially following an injury.
In addition, she feels extremely anxious during competition, even though she never used to
have these feelings when playing in high school, and states that she plays well in practice. She
also reports doubting her soccer abilities altogether, especially after a recent soccer match
where she got substituted and explained the following: “Even the substitute came on the field
and scored, I should have been happy because the team was doing well, but I was really
jealous”. In relation to the Varsity team, Jenny feels that “the team doesn’t have any goals, they
just seem happy to play well… where’s that gonna get us?”
When asked to describe the experiences in competition that make her feel like she is not
improving, Jenny states that before every game she cannot stop focusing on scoring goals and
admits that she does not want to be “the striker who scores the least amount of goals”. When
she steps onto the field the game plan is forgotten and all Jenny can imagine is scoring a goal
and the buzz inside she gets when that happens. She says that even though she knows the best
strategies for her team, she imagines that all the game plans will fail.
Following a recent injury, Jenny says her goals have not changed and she states that “I had an
injury last season and feel like I’m not improving… my passing is messy since I’ve returned”.
After the injury, even though she feels her passing needs improving, she cannot seem to
imagine this happening; as a matter of fact she cannot imagine any of her skills improving.
Jenny is asked if she has any goals relating to practice or relating to her imagery but responds
with “I just want to stay focused in the match and keep control of the ball while approaching
the goal.”
Although the night before each game Jenny imagines herself feeling confident in front of her
opponents, she cannot seem to imagine getting psyched up in order to play well. Often she
imagines playing well without putting in much effort and Jenny states that she “wants to
improve in soccer to be as good as some of the National Players on the team”.
When asked about when she would like to achieve her goals, Jenny states that “I aim to
improve right away, as I’ve been training hard after my injury… so I’d like to see a change in a
couple of weeks”. The events have left Jenny feeling disheartened and disappointed, thus
making her anxiety worse during competition.
Aggression and Moral Behaviour Case Study
In the following case study, explain the factors that led to the aggressive behaviour and also the
type of aggression displayed. In addition, discuss ways to reduce the aggressive behaviours that
were described in the case study.
The Mighty Ants Junior Hockey team is made up of boys aged 12-15. The team have recruited a
new young coach who played varsity hockey and was known as the ‘enforcer’ of his team and
had a reputation for numerous bar brawls and fights on and off the ice. At the first practice, the
players perceived the new coach to have a ‘win at all costs’ attitude and said “being assertive”
was “all part of the game”. The young Mighty Ants thought this was funny at the time,
especially during practice when they could check and push each other around.
The new coach even showed the Mighty Ants some video clips of ‘great fights in hockey’ that he
had collected over the years. During games, the coach appeared to praise his players who were
retaliating on the ice, and Billy, the ‘big guy’ who was the most reactive on the ice, appeared to
be the coaches ‘star player’. The coach developed a strong team spirit in his players and
reinforced a “winning is everything” attitude, encouraging the boys to behave “as boys should”.
The team appeared to bond well. They felt they had a purpose on the ice to look after each
other when the going gets tough, and all the boys were encouraged to maintain the image of
toughness.
The Mighty Ants had a big game coming up at the end of the season and before the game, the
coach told the players to “play hard on the ice”. After the second period the game was close
and the score was 2-1 to the opposing team.
The game was close and the atmosphere was tense. Billy missed a goal and was extremely
frustrated. He went to the side of the ice and threw his stick at the wall. It accidentally hit a
player from the opposing team. Although Billy felt bad he wanted to look tough in front of the
coach so he skated by without uttering an apology.
In the last minute of the game, a player from the opposing team made a vigorous tackle by
putting his stick in front of Billy when he was making his way towards the goal. This was the
final chance for the team to tie the game and shortly after this event the game was over and
the Mighty Ants had lost.
Billy was very frustrated and angry when the players left the ice. He felt like the other player
made him look stupid on the ice. Billy came off the ice and entered the opposing team’s
changing room and threatened the player from the other team who tripped him.
The incident was reported and the Mighty Ants Junior Hockey team called a meeting to discuss
the team’s recent behaviour.
Body Image Case Study
Drawing from the information in the chapter pertaining to the dimensions of body image as well
as from Social Comparison Theory and Self-discrepancy Theory, explain Ryan’s body-related
perceptions and experiences surrounding his trip to the gym with his roommate.
Ryan is 18 years old and just started his first year at University. During high school, Ryan was
not very physically active, and never really thought about exercising or playing sports. At times,
he thought that he was a little bit skinny compared to his friends, but was not too worried
about it and did not think about it very often.
One day, Ryan’s University roommate asked him if he would like to join him for a workout at
the campus gym. Ryan hesitated as he had never been to a gym before, but agreed as he
thought it might be a good opportunity to get to know his roommate, and to do something that
could help his health. When Ryan got to the gym, he scanned the room and he could not help
but notice how much bigger all of the men around him were. He was also fairly surprised to see
the revealing nature of some of the clothing his peers wore. This made Ryan feel
uncomfortable, but he convinced himself that this would not influence his workout and tried to
block these thoughts out of his mind.
Ryan’s roommate showed him some exercises and Ryan instantly felt incompetent as he was
not able to lift as much weight as he thought he might be able to. Ryan’s roommate also told
him that he might want to look in the mirror while performing the exercises as this could help
him ensure that he had the correct form and that he was performing the exercises
appropriately. Ryan decided to give it a go and started doing squats in the front of the mirror.
He instantly became embarrassed of the ways in which he was performing the exercise and also
could not stop focusing on the size of his legs which he thought were much too small.
Ryan came back to his room discouraged. He posted a sad “selfie” on Facebook with the
caption “so out of shape” online
Sample Solution