Deck 4: Stress, Emotion, and Coping in Sport and Exercise

Question 1

Which of the following would be considered a micro-level coping strategy?

A) problem-focused
B) emotion-focused
C) avoidance
D) humour
E) all of the above

Answer 1

humour

Question 2

Which of the following conclusions best reflects researchers' current understanding of how personality influences coping?

A) Athletes with high optimism are more likely to use task-oriented coping.
B) Athletes with high optimism are also more likely to use disengagement-oriented coping.
C) Athletes with high socially prescribed perfectionism are more likely to use task-oriented coping.
D) Athletes with high pessimism are more likely to use task-oriented coping.

Answer 2

Athletes with high optimism are more likely to use task-oriented coping.

Question 3

Which one of the following is a conclusion that is not generally accepted by most sport psychology researchers?

A) cognitive appraisal is a key component of the stress experience
B) coping is a dynamic process
C) coping efforts reflect both coping styles and situational characteristics
D) coping intervention programs are generally effective in helping athletes manage stress
E) men and women cope in similar ways

Answer 3

men and women cope in similar ways

Question 4

Which of the following is not a neurophysiological effect of stress and emotions?

A) decreased heart rate
B) increased cardiovascular activity
C) cortisol release
D) facial expressions
E) none of the above

Question 5

An athlete who cognitively interprets a failed attempt at a high jump as a positive is using which macro-level type of coping strategy?

A) problem-focused
B) avoidance
C) distraction
D) logical analysis
E) emotion-focused

Question 6

Which of the following predicts that males and females learn to use different coping strategies to manage the same types of situations through processes like sex-role stereotyping and role expectations?

A) goodness of fit model
B) gender socialization hypothesis
C) gender dispositional hypothesis
D) role constraint theory
E) none of the above

Question 7

Which one of the following reactions is often referred to as a stress response?

A) psychological
B) cognitive
C) affective
D) behavioural
E) all of the above

Question 8

Which of the following is not one of the three components of self-compassion?

A) common humanity
B) mindfulness
C) self-kindness
D) self-esteem

Question 9

Which of the following athletes is least likely to benefit from expressive writing as a way to help them manage stress in sport?

A) Ben who has a strong social network of friends to talk to.
B) Sarah who typically does not express emotion.
C) Jim who is already comfortable expressing emotion.
D) Kim who wants improvements in both physical and mental health.

Question 10

A basketball player chooses not to think about the upcoming game against her opponent in order to minimize her anxiety about the game. This is an example of what type of emotion regulation strategy according to Gross (1998)?

A) situation selection
B) situation modification
C) attentional deployment
D) cognitive change
E) response modulation

Question 11

A football player who does not know how she will perform in the championship game will likely experience which type of emotion according to Lazarus' core relational themes?

A) anger
B) fright
C) guilt
D) shame
E) anxiety

Question 12

Which of the following would be considered a non-competitive, expected stressor?

A) spraining an ankle and having to leave a game
B) having to find transportation to a competition venue in a busy city
C) dealing with bad calls from an official
D) finding out your dog is really sick the day before a big competition

Question 13

A university athlete who experiences anxiety over the thought of losing to a rival is experiencing which type of psychological experience as a result of the cognitive appraisal process?

A) harm/loss
B) threat
C) challenge
D) none of the above

Question 14

What is an external event or situation that has the potential to be interpreted as stressful known as?

A) a threat
B) eustress
C) distress
D) a challenge
E) a stressor

Question 15

Which theory states that differences in stress are primarily the result of the different roles men and women play in society as opposed to any inherent gender differences?

A) goodness of fit model
B) gender socialization hypothesis
C) gender dispositional hypothesis
D) role constraint theory
E) none of the above

Question 16

A university athlete who experiences stress over not being able to play Canadian Interuniversity Sport because she already used up her eligibility is experiencing which type of psychological experience as a result of the cognitive appraisal process?

A) harm/loss
B) threat
C) challenge
D) none of the above

Question 17

Which of the following would be considered a primary appraisal in the stress process?

A) knowing that you're a long ways away from your goal
B) thinking that there's no hope that the situation will change for the better in the future
C) considering all your potential options for ways to cope
D) feeling like you have no control over the source of stress

Question 18

Which of the following is often a predictor of athlete's coping skills?

A) gender
B) culture
C) level of expertise
D) none of the above
E) A, B, and C

Question 19

Which of the following stressors was found from Holt and Hogg's (2002) research with the women's national soccer team during preparation for the 1999 World Cup finals?

A) coaches' communications
B) demands of international soccer
C) competitive stressors
D) distractions like fatigue and opponent aggression
E) all of the above

Question 20

According to Lazarus (1999), cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific external or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the person's resources is known as ________.

A) coping
B) conflict management
C) logical analysis
D) distancing
E) emotion regulation

Question 21

According to the literature on coping in sport, who is at risk of burnout in sport?

A) athletes
B) coaches
C) athletic directors
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 22

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

A) There is limited research examining cultural influences on stress and coping in sport.
B) Cross-cultural comparisons of stress and coping have shown differences between athletes' stressor appraisals and coping during competition.
C) Prayer is an important cultural coping strategy for some athletes.
D) Culture should not impact the stress and coping process because stressor appraisals depend on individual cognitive appraisals of a situation.

Question 23

Coping attempts that are organized, flexible, and constructive are sometimes referred to as ________.

A) bad news coping
B) good news coping
C) coping style
D) induced affect
E) management skills

Question 24

Athletes have expressed concerns that being too self-compassionate might be problematic in helping them stay motivated to improve.

Question 25

Which of the following is not just a myth about stress and coping in sport and exercise?

A) Elite sport is inherently stressful.
B) Exercise always reduces stress.
C) Dropping out of sport or stopping exercise is an ineffective coping strategy.
D) Some athletes cope in a more consistent manner across time than others.

Question 26

Sam is a basketball player who was recently drafted to a professional team. He is obviously happy but he did not anticipate feeling stress over financial aspects of his contract, dealing with abrasive teammates, an increased training load, and to top it off he doesn't know who to talk to about his concerns. What type of stressors is Sam dealing with?

A) expected stressors
B) unexpected stressors
C) competitive stressors
D) non-competitive stressors
E) organizational stressors

Question 27

It seems clear that all stress is negative and to be avoided.

Question 28

An athlete who is subject to ongoing harassment and relationship issues with teammates is an example of acute stress.

Question 29

Lazarus argues that a focus on emotions will be more useful than the general concept of stress. A weakness in this argument is that he only describes the core relational themes for negative emotions.

Question 30

The main distinction between self-compassion and self-esteem is that self-compassion is dependent upon positive self-evaluations or evaluations by others whereas self-esteem is not.

Question 31

When people are not coping effectively with stress in sport or exercise it might simply be a reflection that they do not have the appropriate resources to cope.

Question 32

Which of the following should best be considered an outcome of coping, but not coping itself?

A) winning a soccer game
B) putting on shin-pads to prevent injury
C) listening to directions from the coach as to how to play better
D) using positive self-talk after being scored upon

Question 33

Which of the following conclusions best represents the current research findings on the effects of task-oriented and problem-focused coping?

A) This form of coping is not associated with higher likelihood of making it into professional sport.
B) This form of coping is associated with higher likelihood of feeling bad about one's sport.
C) This form of coping is associated with higher likelihood of experiencing athletic burnout.
D) This form of coping is associated with higher likelihood of attaining personal goals.

Question 34

Research on gender differences in coping in sport has indicated that men and women appear to cope differently.

Question 35

Which of the statements about stress, coping, and injury is incorrect?

A) having a good social support network may protect against injury
B) athletes with high stress and low coping may be at risk of injury
C) injured athletes report more negative life events than non-injured athletes
D) injured athletes report more negative life events than non-athletes

Question 36

What are the key features of burnout?

A) reduced sense of accomplishment, reduced actual accomplishment, and physical exhaustion
B) reduced sense of accomplishment, sport devaluation, and reduced performance
C) reduced actual accomplishment, physical exhaustion, and sport devaluation
D) reduced sense of accomplishment, physical exhaustion, and sport devaluation

Question 37

Little attention has been devoted to direct comparisons of coping across groups of athletes from different countries and cultures.

Question 38

If acute stressors are not managed effectively they can lead to long-term chronic stress and burnout.

Question 39

Andrew is a competitive junior hockey player who loves to play hockey, but he is frequently stressed about long travel distances to play in tournaments, dealing with the media, and not spending enough time with his family or friends. What type of stressors is Andrew dealing with?

A) acute stressors
B) chronic stressors
C) non-competitive stressors
D) organizational stressors

Question 40

Depending on the person and the situation, even such strategies as a dropping out from sport or stopping exercise can be effective as a way to prevent excessive long-term stress and burnout.

Question 41

Distinguish between micro- and macro-levels of coping.

Question 42

Define task-oriented coping and explain why it can be considered as a hybrid between problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping.

Question 43

You have been called as a sport psychology consultant to meet with a team of baseball players. The coach tells you that a few of the athletes on the team are extremely emotional and get angry and upset when they don't do well, or when the team doesn't do well. The coach has noticed that when these athletes start to get angry, the mood of the team takes a turn for the worse very quickly, and it is affecting the team's performance and the athletes' relationships with their teammates. The coach tells you that so far he's tried to let the athletes have their space and try to figure it out for themselves, but his approach is not working and the problems seem to be getting worse. What are two key concepts you would tell the coach and the team to educate them about social environmental factors influencing emotions within the team?

Question 44

Distinguish between the concepts of primary and secondary appraisal in the experience of stress.

Question 45

Case: Peter is high level soccer player who is experiencing "stress" over his diminished athletic skill. As a result he comes to see you to help him more effectively manage his stress so that he can continue to enjoy playing. When you meet with Peter for the first time, what are the three most important things that you need to find out from him in order to decide on an effective coping intervention? Provide examples of the types of questions you could ask Peter.

Question 46

Define coping and emotion regulation. What is one key difference between coping and emotion regulation?

Question 47

Provide an example of an "if-then" coping plan and describe why it might be useful to an athlete experiencing stress.

Question 48

When approaching a major swim competition, Kristina and Mike both become irritable and anxious about the event. Kristina seems open to talking about her stress and seeking support from coach and her teammates, but Mike doesn't talk to others and instead he seems to withdraw from others and keep to himself. Based on the gender socialization hypothesis, what is a possible reason why Mike and Kristina cope differently in the days leading up to a competition? Be sure to define the gender socialization hypothesis in your answer.

Question 49

Describe the distinction between cognitive appraisals that represent the various forms of stress, including (a) harm/loss, (b) threat, and (c) challenge; and provide one example of each type for each of (i) sport and (ii) exercise.

Question 50

What role does coping play in the stress process? Provide an example of how coping can change someone's experience of stress through both: (a) changing cognitive appraisal, and (b) changing the actual situation.