Physical fitness The capacity to respond successfully to the physical challenges of life.
Plasticity A property of the brain that allows it to be moulded by experience and enables
it to adapt to and/or compensate for loss of function due to damage.
Positron emission tomography (PET) A neuroscientific imaging technique that
measures the metabolic activity of the brain by tracking radioactive substances
injected into the bloodstream.
Pre-performance routines Preferred sequences of preparatory thoughts and actions that
athletes use in an effort to concentrate effectively before the execution of key skills.
Primary appraisal One’s initial perception of a situation as benign, neutral or
threatening.
Procedural knowledge Implicit knowledge of how to perform actions and cognitive
and/or motor skills.
Protocol analysis A research method which involved recording what people say as they
“think aloud” while solving a problem.
Psychometric data Information that is yielded by psychological tests and measures.
Psychometric testing The use of standardised psychological tests to measure people’s
abilities, beliefs, attitudes, preferences or activities.
Psychophysiology A field of psychology that explores the physiological processes
underlying behaviour and experience.
Qualitative research A broad range of data collection techniques used by researchers in
an attempt to understand and represent the quality, meaning or richness of people’s
lived experiences.
Quantitative research A range of research methods which are concerned with
measuring and drawing statistical inferences from the data rather than with attempting
to understand the subjective meaning or experience of this information.
Reliability coefficient A statistic that is used in psychological measurement to indicate
the consistency of a test or the degree to which it can be expected to yield the same
results on different occasions.
Response set A tendency to respond to a survey, questionnaire or test in a particular way
regardless of the person’s actual attitudes or beliefs.
Result goals Behavioural outcomes or targets that can be defined objectively (such as
winning a race or defeating an opponent) but which are not directly under one’s own
control.
Reversal theory (see also “telic dominance” and “paratelic dominance”) A theory of
personality which suggests that people alternate or “reverse” between paired
metamotivational states such as “telic” and “paratelic” dominance.
Saccadic eye movements A series of high-speed, involuntary jumps of the eye which
shift people’s gaze from one fixation location to another.
Secondary appraisal One’s perception of the adequacy of one’s personal resources in
dealing with a source of stress.
Selective attention The ability to focus on task-relevant information while ignoring
distractions.
Self-efficacy People’s expectations about their ability to perform a given task.
Self-serving attributional bias A tendency for people to attribute their successes to
internal causes and their failures to external causes.
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