The mind of a performer: goals, arousal and feedback
Two athletes with identical fitness rarely perform identically. The difference is usually how they set targets, manage pressure and use what they are told.
Part of your national curriculum
- Technique and performance: Use and develop a variety of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in invasion, net and striking and fielding games
- Competitive sport and tactics: Analyse their performances compared to previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best
Lesson overview
What you'll learn in this lesson
Analyse their performances compared to previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best
Key learning points
- • Goals that actually change behaviour
- • Arousal, anxiety and getting into the zone
- • Feedback and motivation
- • Comparing performances honestly
This lesson at a glance
- 22 minutes
- 20 parts to scroll through
- 4 quick checks
- Marked quiz at the end
- Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses
Words to know
Scroll down — the lesson carries on below
Watch & discover
Part 1 of 20
Visual introductionPicture this
The mind of a performer: goals, arousal and feedback
Two athletes with identical fitness rarely perform identically. The difference is usually how they set targets, manage pressure and use what they are told.
In a nutshell
Analyse their performances compared to previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best
Learning cycle
Part 2 of 20
Learning cycle 1 of 2
Part 1 · Goals that actually change behaviour
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 3 of 20
Learn
Goals that actually change behaviour
SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound. "Get better at basketball" changes nothing; "raise free-throw success from 4/10 to 7/10 by half term, practising 20 shots three times a week" does. Outcome goals concern results you do not fully control (winning the league); performance goals concern your own measurable standard (a faster personal best); process goals concern technique (keeping the elbow under the ball). Process and performance goals are the ones you can act on this week.
Reset break
Part 4 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 1 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Explore the idea
Part 5 of 20
Learn
Arousal, anxiety and getting into the zone
Arousal is the level of physical and mental activation. The inverted-U theory says performance rises with arousal up to an optimal point and then falls away. That optimum differs by task: a powerlifter performs best at high arousal, an archer or snooker player at low arousal. Over-arousal shows as rushed decisions, tight muscles and a racing heart; strategies include controlled breathing, mental rehearsal, positive self-talk and a fixed pre-performance routine.
Quick check
Part 6 of 20
Quick check
Part 7 of 20
Reset break
Part 8 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 2 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Learning cycle
Part 9 of 20
Learning cycle 2 of 2
Part 2 · Feedback and motivation
A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.
Explore the idea
Part 10 of 20
Learn
Feedback and motivation
Intrinsic feedback comes from your own body — how a shot felt. Extrinsic feedback comes from a coach, teammate or video. Knowledge of results tells you the outcome (the shot missed left); knowledge of performance tells you why (the shoulder opened early). Beginners need frequent, specific extrinsic feedback; experienced performers rely more on intrinsic feedback. Intrinsic motivation — enjoyment, pride, mastery — sustains activity far longer than trophies and praise alone.
Explore the idea
Part 11 of 20
Learn
Comparing performances honestly
Improvement is measured against your own previous performance, not against the best person in the group. Keep a simple log: date, session, one measurement, one thing that went well, one target for next time. Over a term this turns vague effort into visible evidence of a personal best — and shows which parts of the training programme are actually working.
Reset break
Part 12 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 3 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Quick check
Part 13 of 20
Quick check
Part 14 of 20
Challenge round
Part 15 of 20
Game · Sort it
Which of these are true?
Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.
True
Not true
Reset break
Part 16 of 20
Pause
That's sitting 4 of 5 done
Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.
Challenge round
Part 17 of 20
Game · Fill the gaps
Finish the sentences
Choose the word that belongs in each gap.
Improvement is measured against your own ____ performance, not against the best person in the group.
Challenge round
Part 18 of 20
Game · Recall cards
Which is a process goal?
Card 1 of 4
Mastery quiz
Part 19 of 20
Marked quiz
End of lesson quiz: The mind of a performer: goals, arousal and feedback
4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.
1. Which is a process goal?
2. According to the inverted-U theory, performance is best at:
3. A coach says 'your shoulder opened too early'. This is:
4. The fairest way to judge improvement is to compare a performance with:
Lesson round-up
Part 20 of 20
Lesson round-up
Ready when you are
Quiz score
Not sat
Games
Not played
Points this lesson
0
Best run
0 in a row
Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?
Ask LunaPart 1 of 20 · Watch & discover
How this is going
- Not looked at yet
Use and develop a variety of tactics and strategies to overcome opponents in invasion, net and striking and fielding games
- Not looked at yet
Analyse their performances compared to previous ones and demonstrate improvement to achieve their personal best