Sport psychology

Evaluate two or more techniques for skill development used in sport.

Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks.

The command term “evaluate” requires candidates to make an appraisal of two or more techniques used for skill development in sport by weighing up the strengths and limitations of each technique. Although a discussion of both strengths and limitations is required, it does not have to be evenly balanced to gain high marks.

Techniques for skill development may include, but are not limited to:
• massed practice vs. distributed practice (e.g. repetition), for example Wickelgren (1981); Fitts and Posner (1967); Singer (1965)
• mental imagery research, for example Issac (1992); Baroga (1973); Rushall (1970)
• research on self-talk, for example Araki et al. (2006); Landin and Herbert (1999); Martin et al. (1995).

Evaluation of the selected techniques may include, but is not limited to:
• cultural or gender considerations
• empirical findings
• conditions under which the findings may be applied
• comparison to other techniques
• methodological considerations
• the effectiveness of the techniques.

Candidates may evaluate two techniques in order to demonstrate depth of knowledge, or may evaluate a larger number of techniques to demonstrate breadth of knowledge. Both approaches are equally acceptable.

If a candidate only evaluates one technique, the response should be awarded up to a maximum of [5] for criterion A, knowledge and comprehension, up to a maximum of [4] for criterion B, critical thinking, and up to a maximum of [2] for criterion C, organization.