Deck 14: Cognitive Techniques for Building Confidence and Enhancing Performance

Question 1

One of the common misconceptions about confidence is that success always builds confidence.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Mental toughness is an unshakable belief in your ability to achieve your goals.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The probable reason that 37 runners broke the four-minute mile barrier within one year after Roger Bannister originally did was their:

A) faster tracks
B) all of these
C) positive expectation, i.e., belief that it could be done
D) better equipment
E) enhanced training methods

Answer 3

positive expectation, i.e., belief that it could be done

Question 4

Ellis identified four irrational beliefs that are likely to negatively affect an athlete's performance. Identify the belief statement below that fails to represent one of the four.

A) If I do my very best, I should get the end result I want.
B) Significant others (e.g., teammates and coach) have to approve and love me.
C) The conditions of my life, particularly those related to sports, absolutely must be arranged so that I get what I want when I want.
D) I must at all times perform outstandingly well.
E) Everyone has got to treat me kindly and fairly.

Question 5

Cognitive self-talk becomes shorter, less frequent, and shifts from a focus on mechanics to strategies and optimal feelings as skills become more automatic and mastered.

Question 6

All are true of someone with an optimistic explanatory style EXCEPT for:

A) view errors as temporary and atypical
B) believe this success will likely generalize to other events
C) view successes as indicative of one's true ability
D) view teammates as largely responsible for one's success

Question 7

Which of the below, if any, are NOT an example of an irrational belief?

A) personalization
B) catastrophizing
C) blaming
D) emotional reasoning
E) pessimism

Question 8

"Mastery" videos are purposely designed to have the athlete practice making a mistake and then practice the strategies for regaining control and confidence.

Question 9

Cultivating an honest self-awareness is one of the prerequisites for gaining confidence.

Question 10

Particularly in high anxiety conditions, using self-talk to say what "not to do" (e.g., "don't fumble") may result in that very action being completed (e.g., more dropped footballs).

Question 11

Cognitive restructuring is one of the best techniques for modifying irrational and/or distorted thinking.

Question 12

Which of the following is LEAST likely to enhance performance by improving an individual's self talk?

A) watching film clips of past performance
B) reframing dysfunctional self-talk into a desirable interpretation
C) practicing thought stoppage
D) changing negative to positive self-talk

Question 13

By changing our internal self-statements we can change our emotional responses.

Question 14

All are examples of irrational/distorted thinking EXCEPT for:

A) polarized thinking
B) reframing
C) catastrophizing
D) personalization

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT a cognitive technique for improving performance?

A) thought stopping
B) countering
C) affirmation statements
D) autogenic statements

Question 16

According to Steinmetz et al. (1980), self-talk is unproductive and/or based on irrational beliefs when it:

A) interferes with reaching your short- and long-term goals
B) increases emotional conflict
C) does any of these
D) is not helpful to you
E) conflicts with objective reality

Question 17

Which of the following is believed to be a mechanism that produces negative self-talk?

A) sub-conscious processing
B) overactivity in the left hemisphere
C) irrational beliefs
D) number of repetitions

Question 18

Performers can use self-talk to:

A) improve mood
B) control attention
C) change bad habits
D) all of these

Question 19

Guidelines for writing/achieving affirmation statements include all of the following EXCEPT for:

A) state in present tense
B) post them and/or reinforce by putting them on audio or videotapes
C) write statements about what you want
D) phrase "as if" you already have it
E) include useful generalizations such as always, every time

Question 20

Only positive feedback can build confidence.

Question 21

Using a trigger word or image to stop negative self-statements is called:

A) thought stoppage
B) peripheral narrowing
C) tunnel vision
D) attentional narrowing
E) switching to positive

Question 22

All of the below are techniques for identifying self-talk EXCEPT for:

A) keeping a self-talk log
B) identifying your pre-performance routine
C) relive past performance through imagery
D) retrospection of past performance

Question 23

Confidence is static. Most high-performing athletes do not enter a perpetual cycle of feeling confident then needing to rebuild or regain their confidence.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT a way to assess self-talk?

A) retrospection
B) log books or journals
C) reframing
D) imagery

Question 25

Based on research that examined the influence of self-talk on performance, all of the following are true, EXCEPT:

A) Self-talk interventions were most effective for fine, novel/new tasks
B) Motivational self-talk can positively impact performance
C) Negative self-talk undermines performance
D) Instructional self-talk helped facilitate performance