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Sport psychology research papers
Fundations of sport psychology
Essay on sports psychology
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Introduction
A sport does not only contribute to the physical attributes of an individual but also plays an important part in improving the mental well being of the individual. It is not only important for someone to be physically fit to master a sport but also be psychologically stable. While one focuses on that, the former influences the latter and vice-verse.
When an individual exercises or plays the brain releases serotonin also known as the happy hormone. Seventy five percent of the serotonin regulates the intestinal movements and the rest is synthesised to
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There are several people who have coined their own definition of the same. Here is one such definition coined by RS Weinberg and D Gould: “Sport psychology is an interdisciplinary science that draws on knowledge from many related fields including biomechanics, physiology, kinesiology and psychology. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors.”
Applied sport psychology could include work with athletes, coaches, and parents regarding injury, rehabilitation, communication, team building, and career transitions other than instruction and training of psychological skills for performance improvement.
Very rarely does one fine a subject more intriguing than that of sports psychology especially when talking of sports in particular. It is a subject that coaches, athletes, and fans feel comfortable discussing, and that perhaps gives it that designation. The spectator does not usually offer a biochemical explanation for why an athlete achieved a near-superhuman feat, but the same spectator is ready to give a psychological explanation (e.g. mental toughness, motivation, strength of
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Nonetheless, many instructors sought to explain the various phenomena associated and developed sport psychology laboratory. Contrary to popular belief Sports Psychology is not a recent subject but has been a performance booster for sportsmen since times immemorial. However the first such recorded study of sports psychology took place in America in the 1898 when Norman Scripture carried out the first legitimate recorded experiment related to sports psychology. The experiment found out that a bicyclist performed better when he was made to run with a pacemaker (i.e. a person who cycles along with you). However, the existence in its formal and professional form dates back to the early 1920’s. The birth of Sports Psychology in the form as we know of it today can be successfully accredited to Dr. Carl Diem who set up a laboratory in Berlin during the above mentioned period. Without getting much into the history of the subject it can be successfully concluded that the subject had caught the attention of many learned scholars of the field and has turned out to be a game changer in the life of the sportsmen of
Athletes in times of difficulty can be important role models.” This shows that sports are in fact helpful because they can grow children into being important role models for the rest of society. Studies have shown time and time again that playing sports can be beneficial to children and we also believe this to be true. Many people still think that sports cause “too many injuries”, or coaches “are not fair enough”, but adolescents will experience these things all throughout their lives because injury can happen anywhere and they will not always be the best at what they are doing. Sports are beneficial to the youth because they can teach children and teens important life skills, help them maintain a fit and healthy lifestyle, all while improving their mental health.
While this is not completely true, sports develop people in many ways still, some people say that “sports make me what I am today.” While it is impossible to prove exactly the way each individual takes in sports, it is seen that overall it has some positive effect. Sports are a tool of development and instead of it being a choice between sports and academics, the real answer is both and that they work together to constantly develop quality generations of people. Though problems exist, the true qualities of sports maintain the role they have in developing young ones.
It is advisable for such a person to engage him or herself in different sport and recreation activities within the industry. If possible, he or she should have one-on-one interviews with athletes and other sportspersons in order to gain early experience in dealing with the science of mental life in sports. Q8. Where do you see your field in the next 10 years? A. Over the course of time success is very different; although sport psychology has not been recognized customarily as a field in psychology.
Podlog, L., & Eklund, R. (2009). High-level athletes' perceptions of success in returning to sport following injury. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 10(5), 535-544. doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2009.02.003. Wiese, D., Weiss, M., & Yukelson, D. (1991). Sport Psychology in the Training Room:
The age of overwhelming strength and stamina governing sports is over, and the age of the mentally tough athlete has arrived. Athletes are no longer the superficial jocks and robots programmed to accomplish one goal, victory. Modern athletes ranging from the high school to professional levels are faced with many pressures and temptations, normally outside the realm of their sport. These pressures can inhibit an athlete’s performance substantially; therefore, the pressures need to be dealt with by psychologists. The effectiveness of sports psychology is demonstrated through the fields many theories, applications, and variety of techniques and procedures.
Why do we do what we do? This is one question that summarizes the motive for psychology. The answer to this question is the reason why I declared psychology as my major. Current psychologists and those dating back to the year 1879, strove to achieve the answer to this reoccurring question. “The Father of Psychology”, Wilhelm Wundt, and those psychologists of-age, have been strenuously consulting and researching to truly understand the mind and its effect on human behavior. Over the last 127 years, an accumulation of various answers to that specific question have been made. In this paper, the main focus will be the working memory in athletics; how the conscious movements become unconscious and almost instinct-like, and how coaches can teach their athletes better, using explicit and implicit technique.
I am a young ambitious student who strives to excel in everything I do. I want to study Sport Psychology as I know I possess the right skills to further and develop myself in the career of sports. I have the ability to understand others in sports as I also play sports myself. I have been in high pressured sporting situations which I have used my psychological skills to help increase my performance. What interests me in Sport Psychology is that I can make a big difference to not just my life but the lives of people in sport such as rehabilitating athletes or boosting athlete performance. I am fascinated by how different athletes perform in the same environment and getting practical with the mind, body and brain. Improving performance, consistency and stability in an athlete’s
Wiese-Bjornstal, D. M. (2010). Psychology and socioculture affect injury risk, response, and recovery in high intensity athletes: a consensus statement. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Sciences in Sports, 103-111.
Playing a sport whether its basketball, soccer, football or any other of your interest can be thrilling, and accelerating. Not only can it be fun yet physical exercise is good for the mind, body, and spirit. Therefore, as an athlete one must keep in mind that playing any sport, injury is part of life and inevitable. Research has proven from time to time that severe injuries in sports can trigger psychological mental health issues, affecting them in their athletic performance.
A lot of times, sports seem like a contest of physical skill― a test to see who is the fastest or strongest, who has the best eye or the most endurance, who can jump the highest or can handle the ball the best. What a lot of people don’t know is that there is so much more to a sport than just the muscle and coordination. In order to excel in a sport, an athlete requires a lot of self-discipline, concentration, and self-confidence. It’s the mental factor that makes a difference. Former Olympic gold medal-winning decathlon runner Bruce Jenner once said, “You have to train your mind like you train your body” (Gregoire 1). Success or failure depends on the mental factors just as much as the physical ones. The training of the mind of an athlete is called sports psychology. The use of sports psychology has a huge impact upon an athlete’s performance. The mental skills of a sport are just as important as the physical skills. All professional athletes use sports psychology. “If they aren’t currently using it, it’s almost guaranteed they’ve used it in the past, even if they are unaware they have” (Davis, Stephens, The Exploratorium 129). It’s hard to find an experienced athlete who hasn’t used sports psychology, because without it, they probably wouldn’t be where they are. The use of sports psychology is a crucial step to becoming a successful athlete.
Sports psychology draws on knowledge from the fields of Kinesiology and Psychology. It involves the study of how psychological factors affect performance and how participation in sport and exercise affect psychological and physical factors. In addition to instruction and training of psychological skills for performance improvement, sport psychology may include work with athletes and coaches regarding injury, rehabilitation, communication, and team building (Weinberg, R.S. & Gould, D.,2010)....
Children who participate in sports are developing rapidly in sports skills, sportsmanship, and psychologically, but does this come from organized sports are just nature’s process. Children develop emotional and social benefits from participating in sports. Children experience character and leadership development through peer relations leading to an increase in self-esteem and a decrease in anxiety levels. Children will get opportunities to experience positive and negative emotions throughout their practice and games trials. It is important for the coach to understand the “psychology of youth sports and physical activity participation” (Weinberg & Gould, 2011 p.516).
Of the three discussed in this essay, however, the interactional approach is most used by sport psychologists because it considers both the situation and the athlete’s personality traits.
Weinberg, R.S. & Gould, D. {1995} Foundations of sport and exercise psychology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Ch.15
... can have an impact on how the general population views exercising, possibly getting more people to become physically active. People participate in sport for many different reasons. For example, they may participate for recreational purposes or competitive purposes. In youth sports, there is a certain level of competitiveness that can be rather beneficial for the child. This is due to the child being able to get out and meet more people. Even as people get older there are still many opportunities to participate in a sport, but there is commonly more of a social aspect involved. Psychologists can look at how the competitive nature of youth sport affects the lives of those who participate in them, which can then effect how the general population looks at youth sport. Sport psychologists are having an ever increasing role in learning why athletes perform the way they do.