Contemporary Issues

in Sport and Exercise

Psychology
Missouri Western State University
William Russell, PhD, Dept. of HPER

What is Sport Psychology?

2 main objectives:

1.

To understand how
psychological factors affect in
individuals performance

2.

To understand how participation

in sport and exercise affects
ones psychological
development, health, and wellbeing.

What Sport and Exercise

Psychologists Do:

Research role
Teaching role
Consulting role
Policy Making / advocating role

Global Sport Psychology

Specialties:
Clinical Sport Psychology

1.

Have training in PSYCHOLOGY to learn about diagnose and treat

emotional disorders
Licensed by state boards to treat clinical conditions

Have additional training in sports & exercise sciences

Educational Sport Psychology:

2.

Extensive training in sport sciences have large background in

psychology
Serves as mental coach / mental trainer works through
individual/group sessions and teaches the development of
psychological skills

Sport and Exercise Psychology

Orientations:
Psychophysiological
Orientation:

1.

Best way to study behavior

during sport / exercise is by
examining physiological
processes in the brain; brainbody connections
EX: using biofeedback to train
biathletes to shoot between
heartbeats; examining
changes in serotonin as
explanation for psychological
benefit of exercise

Sport and Exercise Psychology

Orientations:
2. Social Psychological
Orientation

Assumption is behavior is
determined by interchange
between person and their
environment
EX: How does leader behavior
influence team cohesion; Are
people with high SPA more
comfortable in same-gender
exercise settings?

Sport and Exercise Psychology

Orientations:
Cognitive-Behavioral
Orientation:

3.

Emphasis is on athletes /
exercisers thoughts and
behaviors
EX: Is there a self-fulfilling
prophecy linking self-talk and
batting slumps?

Main Organizations involved in

Sport and Exercise Psychology:

International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP)

North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical

Activity (NASPSPA)

www.naspspa.org

The Sport Psychology Academy (SPA)

www.issponline.org

www.aahperd.org

Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP)

www.aaasponline.org

American Psychological Association Div. 47 (APA, Div. 47)

www.psyc.unt.edu/apadiv47
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)

www.acsm.org

The United States Olympic Committee (USOC)

www.usoc.org

Membership Comparisons of
AAASP and NASPSPA:
Interest Areas
Ex. & Sp Psych
n = 258
38%

Psychologists
N=495
45%

Motor Learning / Control

n=266
39%

Sport Science
N=572
52%

Motor Development
n=155
23%

Others:
N=40
3%

Applied Sport Psychology: Sport

Psychology and Its Growing
Concerned with extending theory/research to educate coaches,
Pains:
athletes, and parents regarding goals for facilitating optimal sport
involvement and performance,
Usually involves individual/group consulting and counseling
Many specific concepts (goal setting, imagery, concentration, relaxation,
imagery) BUT

General goal is teaching athletes mental skills necessary to perform consistently

and realize their potential as people and athletes.

Focal Areas of Applied Sport Psychology:

1.
Performance enhancement / intervention
2.
Social Psychology
3.
Health and Exercise

1. Performance Enhancement /
Intervention:

Focus is on performance
improvements in any
achievement setting
Also concerned with effects
of interventions on wellbeing of sport / exercise
participants
Examples:
Stress Inoculation
Training (SIT) with athletes
Attentional Training
effectiveness
Flow experiences in sport

2. Social Psychology
Emphasis

Uses theory / research to focus on

group processes in sport & exercise
settings
Social factors are examined as they
relate to athletes, coach, team, and
spectators
Examples of special interests:

Achievement motivation
(Achievement Goal Theory)
Moral development through sport
Peer relationships in physical activity
and sport
Youth sports (The reversedependency trap)
Social Physique Anxiety in Sport and
Exercise Settings (A problem at both
ends of the spectrum)

3. Health and Exercise:

Focuses on role of psych. Factors in

exercise; as they pertain to resistance
to disease development & remediation,
coping with stress, and health
promotion
Primary interest is link between mental
and physical health.
Examples of special interest areas:

Problem-focused vs. emotion focused

coping and health
Hardiness and disease risk (Control,
Challenge, Commitment)
Exercise and Psychoneuroimmunology
Psychological benefits of exercise

Major Splits in Recent Years

within the Field:
Sport Psychology

Sport
Psychology

Health
Psychology

Exercise
Psychology

Why the Need for Exercise

Psychology?

Prevalence of risk factors for CHD in the general

US population for 1980 - 2005

Why the Need for Exercise

Psychology?

Behaviors are easier to maintain in

environments that are supportive of that
behavior- for better .. Or worse

Sample Interest Areas within

Exercise Psychology:

Designing exercise programs to maximize

psych. Benefits
Exercise addictions
Exercise adoption, maintenance, and
adherence
Exercise as a stress management technique
Gender / Sex-role influences on exercise
Overuse injuries in exercise settings
The runners/exercisers high
Psychotherapeutic influences of exercise for
depression
Psychological benefits for specific
populations

The Certification Issue:

AAASP

EITHER SPORT
SCIENCE OR PSYCHOLOGY
COURSES
Required
Coursework
for becoming
an AAASP certified
Courses
Description
consultant
1.
Professional ethics
1 course
2.
Sport psychology
3 courses in all subdisciplines
3.
Research Design, Stats or
1 course in any of these areas
psychological assessment
4.
Biological bases of behavior
1 course in comparative
psychology; physio psychology
5.
Cognitive Affective bases
Course in cognition, motor
development or motor learning
6.
Social Bases of behavior
1 course in social psychology

The Certification Issue:

AAASP

RequiredSPORT
Coursework
becoming an AAASP certified
PRIMARILY
SCIENCE for
COURSES:
Course
consultant
1.
Biomechanical / physiological bases
2.
3.

Historical, philosophy, sociology

Skills, techniques, analysis

PRIMARILY PSYCH COURSES:

1.
Psychopathology
2.
Counseling skills
3.

Individual Behavior

Description
1 course in kinesio., Ex. Physio,
Biomechanics
1 course in this area of sport sci
1 methods course in sport area

1 course in abnormal
course work to foster basic
counseling skills
1 course in developmental,
personality theory, individual
differences

Supervised Consulting Experience:

Verification of at least 400 hours of supervised experience in exercise and sport
psychology

Achievement Goal Theory:

3 major factors in determining the motivation

levels of children in youth sport settings:

1.

Goal Orientation
Task-orientation success is defined as self-referent
improvement
Ego-orientation success is defined by social comparison and
out-doing others
Motivational Climate

2.

Mastery climate focus is on learning, effort, cooperative strategies, and

skill development
Performance climate competitive, beating teammates, demonstrating
superiority over others

Perceived ability

3.

High greater competence

Low less competence

Ego-oriented children seek competence through comparison

Ego orientation may undermine the value attached to fairness and justice in
sport settings

Who would you most want to

have as a young athlete?

Hi task/hi ego?
Hi task/low ego?
Low task/High ego?
Low task/Low ego?