INTRODUCTION TO SPORTSPSYCHOLOGY

INTRODUCTION TO SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY

Definition of Sports Psychology:
The science, which studies behavior of an individual in sports environment or in physical activity setting.
Most people study sport and exercise psychology with following two objectives.
1. To understand how psychological factors affect an individual physical performance.
E.g. how does anxiety affect a basket ball player’s accuracy in free throw shooting?
2. To understand how participation in sport and exercise affects a person’s psychological development, health and wellbeing.
E.g. does running reduce anxiety and depression?
Sports psychologists are particularly interested in the variation that occurs in the behavior of individuals in sports contexts.
This includes variation among different individuals who are placed in the same situation as well as variation in the behavior of the same individual across different situations.
Sport and exercise psychologists seek to understand and help elite athletes, children, persons who are physically and mentally disabled, average participants.
Sports psychology is viewed as a sub discipline of sport and exercise science.
Goals of Sports Psychology:
1. Describing the behavior
2. Explaining the behavior in sports context
3. Predicting the behavior
4. Controlling the behavior
Branches of psychology
1. school psychology
2. child psychology
3. criminal psychology
4. political psychology
5. industrial psychology
6. clinical psychology
7. military psychology




Branches of sports psychology
1).Experimental Sports Psychology:
We apply research methods to conduct research on sports.
2.) Applied Sports Psychology
A) Clinical sports psychology
Clinical sports psychologists are trained specifically in psychology to treat athletes with severe emotional problems.
E.g. Depression, Suicidal tendencies.
b). Educational sports psychology:
Educational sports psychologists receive training in sport science and related fields and serve as mental coaches.



Role of sports psychology specialists:
1. Consulting role :
Consulting with individual athletes or athletic teams to develop psychological skills for enhancing performance.
E.g. improving self confidence, concentration and managing anxiety.
Providing crisis intervention services.
2. Teaching role:
Sports psychology specialists teach such courses like exercise psychology, applied sports psychology, social psychology of sports, personality psychology and developmental psychology.
3. Research role:
Spots psychologists conduct research to advance the knowledge within sports field.
E.g. what motivates children to be involved in youth sports?
Sports psychologists share their findings with colleagues and participants in the field.
Short History of Sport Psychology
Triplett's did experiment on motor performance of cyclists.
He found cyclists perform better when they competing against others than alone.
He reasoned that the presence of others aroused a competitive drive in the cyclists.
Coleman Griffith in 1925 established an athletic research laboratory at university of Illinois.
He wrote the following two text books
1. psychology of coaching (1926) and
2. psychology of athletes (1928)
The international society of sports psychology formed (issp) in 1965.
1965:first world congress of sport psychology is held Rome
1967:first annual north American society for the psychology of sport and physical activity conference is held (naspspa)
1986:the applied scholarly journal
Short history of sports psychology in India
In 1950 Govt of India included physical education as co curricular subject at primary school level.
At the same time they recognized the importance of psychological studies of sports and coaching for physical education teachers.
Following national bodies have been formed by Indian sports science professionals.
• Sports psychology association of India (1985)
• National association of physical education and sports sciences (1992)
• Sports sciences research foundation (1993).









Methods of sports psychology
Study of behavior can be carried out through the following methods.
1. Introspection.
It is a self -observation in which one perceives, analyses, and report ones own feelings
Oldest method
Advantages
1. Simple
2. Low expensive
3. No need of laboratory equipment
4. Direct knowledge of the mental experiences of the individual
Limitations
1. Children can not introspect
2. Not scientific
2. Natural observation method/ systematic observation
Studying the behavior of one individual by another individual under the most natural conditions.
a) Participant observation
b) Non-participant observation
Advantages
1. More reliable
2. More scientific
Limitations
1. Time consuming
2. Possibility of observer bias
3. The experimental method
Studying behavior under laboratory conditions is called experimental method.
e.g., how intelligence effect your academic performance
Advantages:
1. the most scientific method
2. Easily replicable
Limitations
1. can not be used always
2. subjects in an experiment may not behave as they normally would behave in natural settings
4. Differential method. a research technique in which information is gathered from athletes through the using of surveys or questionnaires and Calculation of individual differences
5, Clinical method
It is applicable to any individual who suffers from psychological problems.
This method is aimed at seeking maximum adjustment and welfare of the disturbed people.
Adequate physical check up, Case history
Clinical interview, using psychological tests, diagnosing the problem and solving the problems are done through this method.
6. Physiological method: Using physical devices for measuring of psychological experiences e.g. ., Brightness and loudness