MODULE WEEK NO.

1
GINGOOG CITY COLLEGES,
INC
Paz Village Sub., Brgy. 24A, Gingoog City

College of Education: BPE

SPE 14: Sports Psychology
Semester of A.Y. 2021-2022
Introduction

This of course begs the questions, what is sport and what is psychology? Although
many athletes would insist that sport necessarily includes an element of competition, the
term ‘sport’ is used, both in the FEPSAC definition of sport psychology, and throughout
this book, in the broadest sense, including any physical activity for the purposes of
competition, recreation, education or health. Psychology is often defined as ‘the science
COURSE MODULE

of mind and behaviour’ (Gross, 2005). Later in this chapter, we can take a brief overview
of psychology and begin to learn transitions.

Rationale

The aim of sports psychology is to address the mental and emotional needs of

athletes. This enhances their overall well-being and boosts their sports performance to the
highest level possible. Sport psychology is a proficiency that
uses psychological knowledge and skills to address optimal performance and well-being
of athletes, developmental and social aspects of sports participation, and systemic issues
associated with sports settings and organizations.

Intended Learning Outcomes

A. Discuss the meaning, brief history of discipline and purpose of sport psychology.
B. Appreciate the significance of the scope and limitation in studying Sport Psychology.
C. Analyze the different research method in Sport Psychology.
D. Explain research into the relationship between personality traits and sporting
participation, performance and choice of sport.
Activity

1|Page
 MODULE WEEK NO.1

The learners will make a power point presentation about Sport psychology based one
topic presented .
Discussion

UNIT 1: Introduction

Personality Characteristics and Sporting Behaviour

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. In essence, sports psychology is
the science of the psychological factors which affect performance and how the
participation in sports affects the player cognitively and physically.
COURSE MODULE

In addition to instruction and training of psychological skills for performance

improvement, applied sport psychology may include work with athletes, coaches, and
parents regarding injury, rehabilitation, communication, team building, and career
Sport psychology is the study of the psychological basis, processes and effects of sport.’
Sport psychology (or sports psychology, as some prefer) is thus abroad church. Many
American sport psychologists draw a sharp distinction between academic sport
psychology, which focuses on all the factors affecting participation and performance in
sport, and applied sport psychology, which focuses purely on applying psychology to
enhance athletic performance (e.g. Cox, 2001). At the time of writing, European writers
generally do not subscribe to this rather rigid distinction (Kremer & Scully, 1994), and this
book crosses freely between academic and applied sport psychology. The topics covered
here, personality, attitudes, aggression, stress and anxiety, group dynamics, motivation
and skill acquisition, should be both of academic interest and applicable to working with
athletes and, in some cases, spectators.

A brief history of sport psychology

Sport psychology has existed in some form for almost as long as psychology itself. The
first recorded study in sport psychology took place at the close of the nineteenth
century. Norman Triplett (1898) performed what is often cited as the first experiment in
social psychology as well as the first in sport psychology. Triplett investigated the
phenomenon of social facilitation, in which performance is affected by the presence of
others (this is discussed in detail in Chapter 6). He demonstrated that cyclists tended to
cycle faster when racing against other cyclists than they did alone. Triplett did not
pursue further sport-related research, however, and it was not until the 1920s that the
discipline of sport psychology was formally established. In 1925, Coleman Griffith set
up the Athletic Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois. Griffith, who also put
sport psychology on the map by establishing a university course, publishing two major
textbooks and acting as a consultant to professional sports teams, is often called the
‘father of sport psychology’. The early path of sport psychology did not run smoothly,
however, and the Athletic Research Laboratory closed in 1932 due to lack of

2|Page
 MODULE WEEK NO.1
funds.Between the 1930s and the 1960s (at least in the Western world), there was little
activity in the field of sport psychology. In the Soviet Union, sport psychology emerged
as a discipline shortly after the Second World War. It is of course difficult to obtain
accurate information about the practice of Soviet psychology during the Cold War, but it
is commonly believed that, during the 1960 Melbourne Olympics, Eastern European
teams employed sport psychologists (Kremer & Scully, 1994). Certainly, we know that,
by the early 1970s, East German and Soviet teams were routinely employing sport
psychologists to enhance athletic performance in international events.

2. The study of how people think, feel and behave in sport situations, and what
mental processes MOTIVATE the way athletes behave in training and competition. •
Sport psychologists are interested in athletes Thoughts, Behaviours, & Emotions.
What is Sport Psychology
3. Complete absence of doubt/ dear of failure • Lack of self analysis of performance
during competition. • Narrow focus of attention • Sense of effortlessness • Feeling in
control • No feelings of being rushed. Ideal Performance States:
4. Coaches have an important part of sports psychology and many have some sort
COURSE MODULE

of training in this field to build skills as a coach. • An example would be John

Wooden. • Had 4 perfect seasons, 38 NCAA tournament wins. • Believed that
success is a peace of mind, a direct result of personal satisfaction in doing your best.
• Treated players like they were part of his family, never criticizing and always
encouraging. Many coaches influence players in a positive manner. What are some
examples? Coaching- Positive Aspect
5. e.g. Bobbie Knight (negative side) • Nicknamed "The General“ • One of the most
successful NCAA coaches ever • 3 time NCAA Championship (w/ Indiana) • Best
Record in one season, went 32-0 • However one of the most controversial coaches at
the same time • Created fear in his athletes Why would this type of coach be a good
thing or a bad thing? Coaching- Negative Aspect

6. The Triad! - emphasizes that sport psychology attempts to enhance quality of

athletes participation in sport by helping athletes achieve: • Optimal PERFORMANCE
• Optimal EXPERIENCES • Optimal DEVELOPMENT Objectives of Sport Psychology
7. Enhancing athletes performance in sports by: - imagery, relaxation, self-talk,
interventions, and mental training • Coaches believe that athletes who are mentally
skilled in terms of confidence, coping ability, and concentration perform better than
those athletes who are less mentally skilled. • Mental skills can be taught to athletes,
which in turn enhances their performance. • Because performance and winning is so
important to the society, optimal development and experiences for athletes are
usually overlooked. Achieving Optimal Performance.
8. Outstanding physical abilities occur due to the unique environment in which
athletes develop their competitive skills • Eg, parents guiding and coaching their
children at a young age in a positive atmosphere. Earl Woods affect on Tiger Woods
as a young athlete. • Sport psychology attempts to help all athletes experience
optimal development of their: • Physical skills • Important self perceptions (feelings of
self-worth and competence Achieving Optimal Development • Children join sports

3|Page
 MODULE WEEK NO.1
teams to develop skills, have fun and be with their friends • Children must develop a
sense of ability to master physical skills to feel personally competent before they can
engage in serious competition.
9. Focusing only on the outcome misses the essence of what a sport means to an
athlete. • You don’t have to be a world class tennis players or Olympians or NHL
superstar to enjoy optimal experiences in sport. • FLOW: and optima mental state
involving total absorption in a task. • Most athletes refer to it as being in “THE ZONE”
• This feeling typically leads individuals to fall in love with sports. • Flow is
AUTOTELIC: the experience of playing a sport is rewarding in itself without concern
for the outcome. Achieving Optimal Experience
10. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oazw-Cdsmd4&feature=related The Role of
the Mind in Sports
11. Knowledge of reality: • Athletes must understand what is possible and what is not •
A goal to purue: • the reason for the journey, the end point • Athletes know it is not an
easy task but they have to be mentally tough. • The will to action: • The athletes will
make decisions in their mind that will determine if they should pursue their goal. •
COURSE MODULE

Must have the drive and determination to push their body on the road to success.
•Sport is a celebration of the human mind. • An athlete has to keep their minds as fit
and sculpted as their body. Key Points:
Box 1.1 Areas of focus for the BPS Division of Sport and Exercise
Psychology
• psychology of elite performance
• individual and group processes in sport
• motor skill acquisition and performance
• motivational issues in sport and exercise
• psychological factors in adoption and maintenance of exercise behaviour
• sport, exercise and mental health
• professional practice in sport and exercise psychology.

Box 1.2 Some of the research methods used in sport psychology

• Experiment: involves comparing people’s responses or performance
under two or more artificially created conditions. For example, we might
set up two conditions in which basketball players are either punished or
rewarded as they train, and thus measure the effect punishment and
reward has upon their motivation and performance.
• Quasi-experiment: involves comparing two or more naturally occurring
groups. For example, we might be interested in comparing the
personality characteristics of athletes in individual and team sports, or
comparing men’s and women’s attitudes to boxing.
• Survey: involves asking questions or asking for responses to
suggestions. This can be done verbally (interview) or on paper
(questionnaire). Surveys are useful in investigating attitudes and

4|Page
 MODULE WEEK NO.1
motives.
• Observation: involves systematically watching people’s behaviour in
particular circumstances. We might use observation, for example, to
see how frequency of aggression changes in response to losing in a
contact sport.
• Correlation: involves measuring two or more variables and seeing how
they are related. In a positive correlation, as one variable increases, so
does the other. An example of such a correlation is that between
physical size and hostility. In a negative correlation, as one variable
increases, the other decreases. An example of this is the relationship
between experience as a martial artist and hostility – as experience
increases, hostility declines.
COURSE MODULE

Exercises

INSTRUCTION: Make a power point presentation based on the topic presented. Present some
video clips and links.

TOTAL TIME: 5-15 minutes (adjusting content as needed)

DATE & TIME OF SUBMISSION: April 20, 2021

Assessment
REVIEW QUESTIONS: IDENTIFICATION. Identify the following. (15 items)

1. What is Sport psychology?(2pts)

2. Give the background and origin of sport psychology and its discipline.(5pts)
3. Explain the research methods according to your own interpretation and point of view. (8pts)

Reflection
• Write a reflection: Give a reflection based on the scenario given.

Reflective exercise
Consider the following scenario. John, a middle-aged man who has not taken part in
sport since school (when he was a talented athlete), decides to start regular exercise.
He gets into the habit of running, in which he takes considerable pleasure and which
helps him lose weight and feel more energetic. After several months, John achieves a
standard high enough to enter in a local race, where he records a creditable time.
 From a behavioural perspective, John is receiving reinforcement in the form of
weight loss, increased energy and improved times. He is thus learning that
running is a good thing so he continues

5|Page
 MODULE WEEK NO.1
 From a cognitive perspective, John is processing information about running. He
believes his running makes him healthier and more attractive, and will help him
live longer.

 From a psychodynamic perspective, there are likely to be unconscious

influences on John’s behaviour, perhaps related to his age. He might be
unconsciously trying to recapture his youth or responding to a fear of ageing
and death.
•  From a humanistic perspective, John never fulfilled his early potential as an
athlete and is seeking to achieve as much as he can in this area.
•  From a physiological perspective, John is producing large quantities of
endorphins, natural opiates, which induce ‘runner’s high’. Running and other
vigorous exercise enhance mood because of the chemical changes they
bring about.
•  From a social perspective, we need to take a step back and consider the
COURSE MODULE

social situation in which John’s behaviour takes place. For example, in the
light of social norms of body type, we might see his behaviour as a response
to social pressure to lose weight.

1 1. Which of these perspectives portrays John’s behaviour in a positive light?

.
2 2. Which appeal to you as likely explanations of John’s behaviour?
.

Learning to think like a psychologist: critical and creative

thinking
• Psychology is not just a collection of theory and research. To study psychology
effectively, we also need to learn to think like a psychologist

FORMAT:
 JUSTIFY  PROPER MARGIN 
FONT SIZE: 12
 SPACING: 1.5 
FONT STYLE: CENTURY GOTHIC
DATE AND TIME OF SUBMISSION:

Resources and Additional Resources

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oazw-Cdsmd4&feature=related

6|Page