Sports Psychology

sports and exercise psychology definition

 the scientific study of people and their behaviors in sport and exercise activities and the practical application of that knowledge

objective of S&E psych

understanding how psychological factors influence performance and how sports impact mental health and general well being

Three main roles of S&E psychologists

research, teaching, consulting

Sport psychology specialties

clinical sport psychologists and educational sport

clinical sport psych specialty

 licensed psychologists that are trained to work with people with severe emotional disorders ie helping athletes with eating disorders and substance abuse

educational sports psych speciality

mental coach approach - understand psych of human movement and training in physical education, kinesiology, or exercise and sports science. Educate and increase athletes and coaches awareness of issues such as anxiety management and confidence development

sports science knowledge domain

• Biomechanics

• Exercise physiology

• Motor development

• Motor learning and control

• Sports medicine

• Sports pedagogy

• Sport sociology

Psychology knowledge domain

• Abnormal psych

• Clinical psych

• Counseling psych

• Developmental psych

• Experimental psych

• Personality psych

• Physiological psych

  • How hormones and internal states impact mental state

Scientific approach

a process, or method, of learning of about the world through the systematic controlled, empirical, and critical filtering of knowledge acquired through experience 

• Systematic - standardized the conditions

• Controlled - no confounding variables

• Empirical - based on observation

• Critical - analysis of observation

methods of knowing

• Scientific method

• Systematic observation

• Single case study

• Shared (public) experience

• Introspection

• Intuition

Three approaches to s&e psych

• Psycho-physiological orientation

• Social-psychological orientation

• Cognitive-behavioral orientation

approach to s&e psych: Psycho-physiological orientation

•  Examines underlying psychophysiological processes of the brain in terns of primary causes of behavior (heart rate, brain wave activity)

  •  ie trained marksmen - they have to shoot in between their heart beats 

  • how the brain reacts to the body and vice versa

  • “I’m so tired. I want to quit”

approach to s&e psych: social psychological orientation

• behavior is determined by a complex interaction of the social environment and the personal makeup of the athlete or exerciser

  • how the general population or team affects your psyche and how people as a whole impact you. Again, also, vice versa

approach to s&e psych: cognitive-behavioral orientation

 behavior is determined by both the environment and thoughts (cognitions)

link of sports psych and business

• Lessons learned in high performance sport can be applied to business

• Corporate athlete notion focuses on helping people in business reach their goals through principles of sports psych and training

• Sustain high business performance through leadership development seminar, team building exercises, and one-on-one coaching