Deck 5: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Theory: When Coaches Expectations Become Reality

Question 1

Recent research shows that coaches are now using their expectations of an athlete as part of tryouts. These expectations are usually not based on:

A) style of dress
B) what other coaches/teachers perceive
C) performance on technical skills
D) racial or ethnic background

Answer 1

what other coaches/teachers perceive

Question 2

Psychological characteristics are one of the categories that influence the expectancies made by coaches.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The coach's expectations formed on initial judgment are mostly accurate.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A recommended behavior for coaches is to design instructional activities or drills that provide all athletes with an opportunity to improve their skill.

Question 5

A characteristic(s) of coaches that may not be linked to tendencies to exhibit expectancy-based behavior:

A) autocratic coaching style
B) prejudiced
C) homophobic
D) autonomy supportive

Question 6

A Pygmalion-prone coach will maximize athletic progress of high expectancy athletes, while limiting achievements of low expectancy teammates.

Question 7

Which statement, if any, is FALSE regarding the Pygmalion-prone coach's behavior?

A) provide positive communication to low-expectancy athletes
B) attribute success for the low-expectancy athletes to external factors
C) provide high-expectancy athletes informational and corrective feedback
D) all of the statements are true
E) attribute failure for low-expectancy athletes to lack of ability

Question 8

A Pygmalion-prone coach will do all of the following EXCEPT:

A) believe that people's traits and abilities are fixed
B) hold stereotypic beliefs
C) have flexible pre-season expectations
D) believe that success comes from having good athletes, not improvements

Question 9

Michael made the shot of the day for his soccer team. His coach attributed his surprising success to poor defense from the opposing team. This is an example of:

A) negative attribution for high-expectancy athlete
B) redirected attribution
C) positive attribution
D) negative attribution for low-expectancy athlete

Question 10

Entity theorists believe that:

A) personalities are the result of experiences
B) people's traits and abilities are fixed
C) those who concentrate on changing their behavior will be successful
D) skills and behavior are learned

Question 11

________ describes when the coach's expectations regarding the ability of an athlete serve as a predictor that dictates or determines the level of achievement for the athlete.

A) Self-fulfilling prophecy
B) Coach-perceived strengths
C) Efficacy coaching
D) Intuitive coaching

Question 12

All of the following groups are at increased risk for experiencing expectation-bias behavior EXCEPT:

A) early maturing males
B) early maturing females
C) females
D) African Americans

Question 13

What kind of individual is least likely to be affected by a coach's expectations?

A) athletes who are high achieving
B) athletes who play for coaches who are astute judges of skill
C) athletes who set low standards for themselves
D) adolescent athletes

Question 14

A Pygmalion-prone coach tends to give low-expectancy athletes less frequent reinforcement and less appropriate and beneficial feedback after successful performance.

Question 15

It is beneficial to have young, low-expectancy athletes participate in non-sport tasks during practice because they should have a sense of belonging and success in other areas to compensate for their lack of success in sport drills.

Question 16

These are the ways that a coach's expectations can affect an athlete's behavior with the exception of:

A) coaches discussing with each other who they think will excel in season and in which positions
B) frequency and type of performance feedback given to the athlete
C) frequency and quality of interactions between coach and athlete
D) quantity and quality of instruction

Question 17

Expectancy-biased behavior may have significant adverse effects on the low-expectancy athlete's self-esteem and competitive trait anxiety.

Question 18

For the Pygmalion-prone coach, when an African-American athlete performs equivalent to his Euro-American peers, his performance will be perceived as more effective.

Question 19

According to the expectation-performance process, when a coach does not believe a given athlete has the athletic competencies to be successful, the coach will:

A) require more practice drill time
B) attribute failures to factors they can control and that are changeable
C) establish a higher standard of performance
D) be less persistent in helping the player learn a skill