UNDERSTANDING

SPORTS AND EXERCISE

PSYCHOLOGY

The contents are taken from the books of Apruebo (2005) and
Weinberg & Gould (2015)
What is Sports Psychology?

According to Bucher as cited in Apruebo 1997,

Sports Psychology is a new field in Psychology that
utilizes psychological principles, concepts, facts, and
methods and applies these to such aspects as sports
such as learning, skills, performance, coaching and
development. It is an applied branch of psychology
emerging specialties on exercise or athletic behavior.
What is Sport and Exercise
Psychology?

Weinberg and Gould (1997) defined the field as a

scientific study of people and their behavior in sport
and exercise contexts. The field covers the
principles and guidelines that professionals extend
assistance to adults and children participate in sport
and exercise behaviors.
Nonetheless, sport, exercise, and
behavior are closely interwoven aimed
at learning how psychological factors
affect an individual’s physical
performance and understanding on how
participation in sport, exercise, and
behavior affects a person’s psychological
development, health and well-being.
History of Sport Psychology
(Weinberg and Gould, 1997)

Sports Psychology traces its roots in the 20th

century. The development in categorized into six
periods. These various periods present a chronology
of the major events that some specific personages
have distinct attribute and interdependent of the
way they contributed their expertise to the
development of the field.
First Era. The Early Years (1895-1920)
 1897. Norman Triplett pioneered an experiment on social
psychology studying the effects of others on cycling
performances.
 1897. Scripture of Yale showed the importance of personality
traits that could be enhanced through sport participation.
 1903. G.T.W. Patrick gave a lecture on the psychology of play.
 1914. R. Cummins assessed motor reaction, attention, and
abilities as they discussed sport.
 1918. As a student, Cole Griffith conducted informal studies of
football and basketball players at the University of Illinois.
Second Era. The Griffith (1921-1938)
 1919-1931. Griffith published 25 sport psychology research
articles. He is the Father of American Sport Psychology.
 1925. University of Illinois research in athletics laboratory
was established and Griffith was appointed director.
 1926. Griffith wrote Psychology of Coaching.
 1928. Griffith wrote Psychology of Athletics.
 1932. Research in athletics laboratory had closed due to the
Depression.
 1938. Phillip Wrigley hired Griffith to be the Chicago Cubs
sports psychologist.
 1938. Griffith accepted a new position outside of sport
psychology, signaling the end of an era.
Third Era. Preparation for the Future (1939-1965)

 1938. Franklin Henry assumed position at the Department

of Physical Education at University of California Berkeley,
and established psychology of physical activity graduated
program.
 1949. Warren Johnson assessed precompetitive emotions
of athletes.
 1951. John Lawther wrote Psychology of Coaching.
 1965. First World Congress of Sports Psychology held in
Rome.
Fourth Era. The Establishment of Academic Sports
Psychology (1966-1977)

 1966. Clinical Psychologists Bruce Ogilvie and Thomas Tutko

wrote Problem Athletes and How to Handle Them and
started to consult with athletes and teams
 1967. Bryant J. Cratty of UCLA wrote Psychology of Physical
Activity.
 1967-1968. First annual convention for North America
Society for the Psychology of Sports and Physical Activity
(NASPSPA).
 1974. Proceeding of NASPSPA conference published for the
first time.
Fifth Era. Multidisciplinary Science and Practice in
Sport and Exercise Psychology (1978-1999)
 1979. Journal of Sport Psychology or Sports and Exercise
Psychology was established.
 1980. U.S. Olympic Committee developed Sport Psychology
advisory Board
 1984. American television coverage of Olympic Games
emphasized sport psychology.
 1985. U.S. Olympic Committee hired full-time sport
psychologists.
 1986. The first applied scholarly, The Sport Psychologist,
was established.
 1986. The Association for the advancement of Applied Sport
Psychology (AAASP) was established.
Continuation:

 1987. American Psychological Association Division 47(Sport

Psychology) was created.
 1988. U.S. Olympic team was accompanied for the first
time by an officially recognized sport psychologist.
 1989. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology started.
 1991. Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport
Psychology (AAASP) established certified consultant
designation.
 1992. Contemporary Thought on Performance
Enhancement begun.
Period 6. Contemporary Sport and Exercise
Psychology (2000-present)

 2000: The Journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise is

developed and published in Europe.
 2003: APA (American Psychology Association) Division 47
focuses on sport psychology as a specialized proficiency
area.
 2013: International Society of Sport Psychology
Conference in China has more than 700 participants from
70 countries.
 Concerns emerge about the best ways to prepare and
educate students.
Continuation:

 Exercise Psychology flourishes, especially in university

environments, driven by external funding possibilities and
its utility in facilitating wellness and holding down health
care costs.
 Strong, diverse, and sustained research programs are
evident around the world.
 Interest in applied sport psychology continues to increase
KEY POINTS
Sport and Exercise Psychology is the scientific study of people and
their behaviors in sport and exercise activities and the practical
application of that knowledge.
Most people study sport and exercise psychology with two objectives in mind:
 To understand the effects of psychological factors on physical or motor
performance.
1. How does anxiety affect player?
2. Does lacking self-confidence influence an individual’s ability to learn?
3. How does coach’s reinforcement and punishment influence a team’s
cohesion?
4. Does imagery training facilitate recovery in injured athletes and exercisers?
5. How does a health care provider’s communication style influence patients?
 To understand how participation in sport and exercise affects a
person’s psychological development, health , and well-being.
1. Does running reduce anxiety and depression?
2. Do young athletes learn to be over aggressive?
3. Does participation in daily physical education classes
improve self-esteem?
4. Does participation in college athletic performance enhance
personality development?
5. Does physical therapy influence one’s physical health as well
as help him create a more optimistic view of the future?
Specializing in Sport Psychology

 Contemporary sport psychologists pursue varied careers. They serve three

primary roles in their professional activities

Teaching

Research Consulting
Distinguishing between two Specialties

Clinical Sport Psychologists

They have extensive training in psychology, so they can detect
and treat individuals with emotional disorders (e.g. severe
depression, suicidal tendencies). Clinical Sport Psychologists are
licensed by state boards to treat individuals with emotional
disorders and have received additional training in sport and
exercise psychology and the sport science.
Educational Sport Psychology Specialists

They have extensive training in sport and exercise science,

physical education, and kinesiology, and they understand the
psychology of human movement, particularly as it relates to spot
and exercise contexts. These specialists often have taken
advance graduate training in psychology and counseling. They
are not trained to treat individuals with emotional disorders,
however, nor are they licensed psychologists. They are “mental
coaches” who educate athletes and exercisers about
psychological skills and their development.
Both Specialists must have a thorough
knowledge on the following domains:

Sports Science Knowledge Psychology Knowledge

 Biomechanics  Abnormal Psychology
 Exercise Physiology  Clinical Psychology
 Motor Development  Counseling Psychology
 Motor Learning and Control  Developmental Psychology
 Sports Medicine  Experimental Psychology
 Sport Pedagogy  Personal Psychology
 Sport Sociology  Physiological Psychology
In 1991, the Association for the Advancement of
Applied Sport Psychology (AAASP) had an authority
to issue a certified consultant program necessary
for the advancement education and training in both
psychology and sport science in order to protect the
public from unqualified persons pretending to be
sports and exercise psychologists.
Sport Psychology Orientation
Behavioral Orientation
The view is focused on both coach and athlete’s behavior as the
result from the environment. The influence of the environmental
factors such as reinforcement and punishment explains behavior.

Psychophysiological Orientation
This view is based on the physiological processed of the brain and
the influences on the physical activity, more particularly, the heart
rate, brainwave activity, and muscle action potentials. The important
relationship between psychophysiological processes and the sport and
exercise activities have significant bearing on safety and health
measures and enhancing sport performance.
Cognitive-Behavioral Orientation

This view presents cognition and environment as

determining factors of behavior. An athlete’s cognition may
operate behavior in self-examination measures to assess
self-confidence, anxiety, goal orientation, imagery, and
intrinsic motivation. Sachs (1993) described the function of
the clinical sport psychologist and educational sport
psychologist wherein they perform within a cognitive,
behavioral, or cognitive-behavioral framework. Conducting
Psychological Skills Training (PST) is a typical example of
cognitive-behavioral orientation.
ETHICS IN SPORT PSYCHOLOGY
The North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical
Activity (NASPSPA) issued a set of “Ethical Standards for Provision of
Services by its Members. These standards are summarized by the nine
principles (Cox, 1990):
1. Responsibility 6. Welfare of the Client
2. Competence 7. Professional Relationship
3. Moral and Legal Standard 8. Assessment Techniques
4. Public Statements 9. Research and Human Participants
5. Confidentiality
The Association for Applied Sports
Psychology (AASP) Ethical Guidelines
1. Competence
2. Integrity
3. Professional and Scientific Responsibility
4. Respect for people’s rights and dignity
5. Concern for Welfare of Others
6. Social Responsibility
PSYCHOLOGICAL
THEORIES IN SPORTS
Psychoanalytic Theory (Dr. Sigmund Freud)
 It is an innovative approach adopted in sport behavior and athlete
motivation. Freudian concept such as “psychic apparatus” has
three major considerations. These are:
1. Libido
2. Consciousness
a. Conscious
b. Subconscious
c. Unconscious
3. Structures of Personality
a. Id
b. Ego
c. Superego
Various defense mechanisms originating from ego may
serve to distort reality so that conflicting forces within the
individual can somehow reconcile. Defense mechanism with
which the ego reconciles with id in the state of calm cultural
values composing the individual are described below. The
commonly displayed defense (ego) mechanisms are:

1. Projection
2. Reaction Formation
3. Denial
4. Sublimation
Another important factor integrated to personality
development as well as disintegration is Freud’s
Psychosexual Stages:

1. Oral Stage (Birth to 1 year)

2. Anal Stage (1 to 3 years)
3. Phallic Stage (3 to 6 years)
a. Oedipus complex (in boys)
b. Electra complex (in girls)
4. Latency Stage (6 years to puberty)
4. Genital Stage (puberty to adult)
Attribution Theory
 Frits Heider and Bernard Weiner, acknowledge
how individuals can explain the causes of their
behaviors that a particular event leads them to
action in a way that it can cause the event to
occur and/or they assign causes to the events. In
other words, attribution means explaining the
causes of behavior.
Apruebo (1997) maintains the foremost
nature of Attribution Theory:

 Locus (loci) of Control.

 Self-fulfilling Prophesies

 Learned Helplessness
FIELD THEORY

 Kurt Lewin (1951) formulated and defined it as the

psychological environment as it exists for the person at
a given moment in time. His behavior at any time will
be a function of the interaction between his person,
and his environment.
 Understanding a person like an athlete, one must
observe how he manifests his beliefs, values, and
attitudes in dynamic interaction with his environment.
It includes: tension system, valence, life space, and
group dynamics.
ROLE THEORY
 Blatner (2002) suggested the concept role theory as an “applied
role theory”. It could mean the basic idea of talking about problems
and situations in terms of the roles people play, and then going on
to define those roles as regards expectations, sets of behaviors, and
other features.
 Role Theory, therefore, is the level of application in specific
situations in order to clarify the existing functions as expected by
the social convention. It can be used to work out conflicts, help
others discover the real issues are in their lives and to clarify
conflicting situations in any fields of work or as part of the system.
 The following has strong impact in sports psychology in relation to
this theory: Gender Orientations and Role Conflict.
COGNITIVE THEORY
 Butler (1996) is one of the great number of cognitive theorists who
adopted cognitive theory in sports psychology as regards
effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral interventions to various
athletes. He concluded that imagery in cognitive restructuring is an
important component of cognitive-behavioral intervention because
it permits athletes to develop an ability to form an image of a
“cognitive map” in the athletic situation having a different
interpretation of the activation states that they are experiencing
and thus reduce cognitive anxiety.
 He suggested a mnemonic device called PRESSURE because athletes
had a difficult time coping on competitions. This word is broken
down as follows: Prepare, Relax, Externalize, Stay Positive, Single
Minded, Unite, Re-evaluate and Extend yourself.
ABCs OF BEHAVIOR CONTROL
 In sports psychology, one influential theory to understand the
relations among athletes and their environment is OPERANT
CONDITIONING. This includes an analysis if the relations among three
kinds of events. Smith (2001) presented ABCs of Behavior Control, an
emerging concept of operant conditioning. These are:
Antecedents (A), or environmental stimuli;
Behaviors (B) means the person engages; and
Consequences (C) that follow the behaviors which either strengthen
or weaken them