The Psychology Of Sports And Psychodynamic Approach

The present review will analyze and critique five empirical sport psychology-related research articles. Moreover, the discussion of each article will include which statistical method was used, why it was used, and whether or not it was appropriate for the data. In addition, the article discussion will include a description and possible critique of the author’s interpretations of the results.

Starting from my freshman year in high school I have always been more intrigued by the human mind and how it operates. Thanks to the study of psychology my curiosity only flourished even more as I got older. I find the observations psychology gives about human behavior very interesting, and I have been fascinated by it for as long as I can remember. I’ve been caught in between approaching the journey of being a sports psychologist and an industrial organizational psychologist. I am passionate about sports and studying Psychology. I plan on extending my knowledge in the mixture of the two and contributing it towards my future. I want to examine the various areas of sports psychology and also learn more about the idea of improving quality performance

The philosophy that a sport psychology consultant adopts breathes life into their work. It puts flesh on bone and gives the knowledge base that the consultant has already acquired a thumping heart and a living soul, providing significance and application to the knowledge acquired in their training. Most importantly, the philosophy that a consultant adopts makes their work important to them and to their clients while giving them the opportunity to develop self-confidence. As I consider what I want my consulting philosophy to be, I want to keep in mind that I am the type of person that always wants to be learning. Sport psychology is an ever-developing occupation where there is always something new in the field to implement with your client,

A potential career that I have in mind is becoming a Sport Psychologist. The first scholarly article I found is titled “NCAA Athletic Administrators’ Preferred Characteristics for Sport Psychology Positions: A Consumer Market Analysis”. The study conducted in this article looks into the market for Sport Psychologist in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It compares different Athletic administrator’s preferences for sport psychology positions based on time, commitment, affiliation, payment, services, and clients. The next scholarly article I found is titled “Professional Philosophy in the Sport Psychology Service Delivery: Building on Theory and Practice”. The purpose of this article is to explain the role of professional philosophy in sport psychology practice. Examples of how professional philosophy is the foundation of sport psychology practice are shown. And a conceptualization of the philosophy of service through s discussion of the the necessary components that were grouped using a hierarchy chart are explained. Both of these articles use a unique research process, and have relevance to my potential career path.

With more than forty million children participating in sports annually, ethics issues among student athletes are growing in severity and proportion. Rule bending, acts of dishonesty, athletic aggression, cheating and disrespect is becoming more accepted as students age. (Schinke, 2012) Noted authors, Mango and Lamont, address a rise in issues from as simple as cheating to the use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs (Mango & Lamont, 2012). And we are seeing that “unsportsmanlike behavior in all levels of competitive sports are common” (Schinke, 2012, p. 74). Consequently, many scholars link this digression to an abundance of poor role models, such as professional athletes and overzealous coaches who lack moral reasoning.

Every athlete that needs to compete has to be not only be physically ready, but they also need to be psychologically ready. Thousands of things go through the head of an athlete before the event even happens. They also have to think about what they are going to do while they are in the game. It is hard to react and perform at your best when a person’s mind is not clear. They can do all of the physical preparation that they need to do but being mentally ready is another thing. Some athletes are naturally stronger mentally than others. Having the motivation, grit, and will to accomplish

The aim of this research is to examine the correlation between mental rehearsal and physical practice and no practice at all, in a marble throwing exercise in different methods of improving performance. Studies have shown mental rehearsal and physical training will significantly improve motor skills in sport. However, mental rehearsal needs to be incorporated along with physical practice to gain specific benefits. The study saw thirty psychology students from Monash University and Federation University, both male and female, aged between eighteen and sixty three years of age, randomly allocated to one of three groups, these being physical rehearsal, mental rehearsal, and no rehearsal. The participants consisted of students from

The use of mental skills in sports psychology can both benefit an athlete to motivate themselves and provide them with the self confidence to achieve although the use of these skills can also have a negative impact on the athlete. This review of literature includes two different types of mental skills that can be used to help an athlete in the rehabilitation process, one study to support the concept that athletes benefit from a range of mental skills use is Arvinen-Barrow et al. This study took place in 2015, found out that 71.6% of 1283 athletes indicated that they believed mental skills helped them to rehabilitate faster when using 3 types of mental skills (imagery,goal setting and positive self talk). On the other hand there are studies which argue against the positives of mental skills more specifically relaxation and imagery and one example is a study conducted by Francis, Andersen and Maley (2000). The results from this study backed up the idea that positive self talk and positive reinforcement from an external individual can help the rehabilitation process. However the athletes used in this study did not believe that other mental skills such as relaxation or imagery were particularly useful in the rehabilitation phase. Furthermore when athletes return to physical activity there are theories that they are often feared of the injury occurring again and may not give themselves the best chance to perform at their previous standards. The following examples of

(Gould & Pick, 1995). For being the first person who systematically conducted research in sport

Starts with peak performance. Coleman Griffith father of sports psychology, Dorothy Yates single individuals not teams. Later on the focus is still on peak performance. Start of first sports psychology organization. Now it is expanding into multiple areas of interest. All from an interactionist view point.

Imagery is a mental skill used in all sports and at all levels of competition however, it is a key factor in achieving success in high performance sports. It is a form of simulation meaning that the entire experience occurs in the mind, imagery can effect the success of the athlete’s game or competition. Watt, Spittle and Morris (2002) defined sport imagery use as the manner in which athletes imagine themselves, in ways that can improve learning and development of skills and can improve performance skills.

Being psychologically prepared for sports is a large part of success. The way an athlete thinks affects the way he or she feels and how he or she performs. Professional baseball player, Carl Hubbell understood the mental aspect. “I had no chance of controlling a ball game until I first controlled myself” (Hall). Serious athletes and teams, such as Tiger Woods and the Chicago Cubs, have hired professional sports psychologist who are considered equally as valuable as physical trainers.

It has been identified that through sports psychology one can improve their physical ability and performance. Sports psychology is the study of how the mind, mental states and behaviour effect sporting performance. There are several sport psychology techniques, which have helped me become a better volleyball player. These techniques include planning for performance, controlling arousal levels, mental rehearsal and concentration.

In earlier days sports psychology was mostly concerned with developing assessment methods that would identify those people with the potential to become serious superior athletes. Today the focus is on psychological training, exercises that strengthen the mental skills that will help athletic performances on the path to excellence. These skills include mental imagery and focus training. If an athlete is serious about becoming the best he or she can possibly be, the most essential ingredient is commitment to practice the right things. It takes incredible commitment to reach the top: a commitment to rest and train the body so it can perform under the most demanding conditions and a commitment to train the mind to

When the topic of functionalist theory was being taught in class, it reminded me of an article I read a couple of years ago about Denver Nuggest’s center Kosta Koufos. For most of the 2012-2013 season Koufos was a benchwarmer and towards the end of the season was when he started to shine as a player. When he was asked about his success on the court, Koufos replied, “the biggest thing is just to play within the system, most important, the team is winning games. We’re playing well as a team right now.” Functionalist theory is about building a system whose parts work together to promote harmony and stability.