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Sport Psychology: Past, Present and Future

Jean Williams & Bill Straub

Chapter 1

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Focus of Applied Sport Psychology

1. Understand psychological factors that influence participation and performance in sport and exercise

2. Understand psychological effects derived from participation and performance

3. Identify interventions to enhance performance, participation, and personal growth

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Sport Psychologists StudyMotivation

Personality

Violence

Leadership

Group Dynamics

Exercise and psychological well-being

Thoughts and feelings of athletes

Many other dimensions of participation in sport and exercise

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Teach Research Consulting

What Sport Psychologists Do

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Applied Sport Psychologists

Asks questions such as how to:Manage competitive stressControl concentration Improve confidence Increase communication skills and team harmonyMaintain optimal motivationDeal with burnout and injuryEnhance coaching effectiveness Increase exercise participation

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Broad Goals of Psychological Skills Training

To learn to consistently create the ideal mental climate that unleashes those physical skills that allow athletes to perform at their best

To use interventions to enhance physical and mental health by increasing exercise participation

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History of Sport Psychology in North America

Roots lie in Greek antiquity, but scientific foundation comes primarily from last 40 years

Coleman Griffith an exception –active 1920’s to 1930’s– Hired by University of Illinois to help coaches

performance, first SP laboratory and course– Wrote Psychology of Coaching (1926) and Psychology of

Athletics (1928) plus 40 articles

Dorothy Yates an exception –active during 1930s-1950s- Wrote 2 books describing her mental training interventions

with boxers and aviators- Taught psychology course at San Jose State for aviators

and athletes

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1965-1979

Birth of applied sport psychology (e.g., Bruce Ogilvie and Tom Tutko)Clinical Psychologists (San Jose State Univ.)Extensive personality testing and team consulting, wrote

Problem Athletes and How to Handle Them (1966)Bruce Ogilvie often referred to as the father of applied sport

psychology in North America

Formation of first sport psychology professional organizations

Father of Sport Psychology In Canada – Terry Orlick

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SP Professional Organizations

International Society of Sport Psychology (ISSP, 1965)

North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity (NASPSPA, 1967)

Canadian Society for Psychomotor Learning and Sport Psychology (SCAPPS, 1969)

European Federation of Sport Psychology (FEPSAC, 1969)

Mental Training Registry (1980)

Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP,1985) (“the Advancement of” in title prior to 2006)

American Psychological Association (APA) Division 47 (1987)

Canadian Sport Psychology Association (2008?)

Canadian Sport Psychology Association (Division ?)

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The 1970sPrimary goal: Advance knowledge base

through experimental researchTopics diverse and many target populations Increased cognitive focus: attention to athletes’ thoughts

and images

Interactionism paradigm (considers person, environmental variables, and their interaction) surfaced and gained credibility

Performance enhancement consulting discouraged due to lack of knowledge base

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1980sCognitive focus continued, plus emphasis on field versus

lab research

Growth in exercise and health psychology issues and research

Extensive documentation of the effectiveness of psychological interventions – led to advocating performance consulting

Recognition and use of sport psychology consultants by the USOC and its athletes

Mental Training Registry establish (Canada)

Growing practice concerns led to addressing professional issues

Formation of AAASP (1985, became AASP in 2006) and APA Division 47 (1987)

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Sport Psychology Journals International Journal of Sport Psychology (1970)

Journal of Sport Psychology (1979) changed to Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (1988)

The Sport Psychologist (1987)

Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (1989)

Psychology of Sport and Exercise (2000)

International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology (2003)

Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology (2007)

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• Extensive growth and diversification in research and practice

• Increase in journals and applied books

• Considerable progress regarding professional issues

• Growth in job opportunities

• AASP establishes standards for certifying consultants (1991) and for an ethical code of behavior (1994, 1996)

• Mental Training Registry becomes renamed as Canadian Sport Psychology Association

1990-2009 Summary

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1990-2009 ResearchGrowth documenting effectiveness of interventions

to enhance performance and personal growth

More emphasis on health and exercise psychology issues, including interventions to increase physical activity

Emerging diversity in methods, paradigms, and epistemologye.g., feminist epistemology, influence of culture, single-

subject designs, qualitative methods

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1990-2014 Job Opportunities

Growth in consulting job marketAll ages and skill level, NCAA athletic departments,

fitness industry, sports medicine, performance enhancement in non-sport populations (e.g., Army Centers for Enhanced Performance)

Growth in academic job marketMost in sport science but some in psychology

Growth in exercise psychology positionsPartly driven by greater external research funding

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Some HomeworkSummarize how you become certified mental

training consultant in Canada? In the United States?

What are the key organizations to belong to as a consultant? In Canada? In the United States?

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Two Governing Bodies in Canada - CSPA

Canada Sport Psychology Association

Training – psychology emphasis with some kinesiology

Title: Sport Psychologist

Canadian Sport Psychology Association

Training – educational /kinesiology emphasis with some psychology

Title: Mental Performance Consultant

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AASP Certification CriteriaMasters or doctoral degree in related field (e.g., sport

science, psychology)

Coursework 12 categories (11 require equivalent of one 3-unit course,

SP category requires 3 courses) 4 can be undergraduate, unless stated otherwise

Supervised practicum 700 hrs masters400 hrs doctoral

Once certified, have recertification requirements

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AASP Certification Coursework Categories

C1: Professional ethics and standardsOne ethics course or several with ethics content

C2: Sport psychologyThree 3-unit courses (1 can be independent study, 2

grad)

C3: Biomechanical and/or physiological bases of sport e.g., biomechanics, kinesiology, exercise physiology

C4: Historical, philosophical, social, or motor behavior bases of sporte.g., motor learning/control, motor development, sport

sociology, history or philosophy of sport

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AASP Certification Coursework Categories (cont.)

C5: Psychopathology and its assessment e.g., abnormal psychology, psychopathology

C6: Counseling skills (graduate level) e.g., interventions or practice in counseling, clinical psychology

C7: Skills/techniques/analysis within sport/exercise e.g., sport skills/technique/coaching courses, clinics, coaching experience,

participation in organized sport

C8: Research design, statistics, and psychological assessment (graduate level)

C9: Biological bases of behavior e.g., comparative psych, neuropsychology, physiological psych, sensation,

psychopharmacology, exercise physiology, biomechanics/kinesiology

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AAASP Certification Coursework Categories (cont.)

C10: Cognitive-affective bases of behavior e.g., cognition, emotion, learning, memory, motivation, motor

learning, motor development, perception, thinking

C11: Social bases of behavior e.g., cultural, ethnic, group processes, gender roles, social

psychology, organizational/systems theory, sport sociology

C12: Individual behavior e.g., developmental psychology, health psychology, individual

differences, personality, exercise behavior

Note: Categories 9-12, only 2 of 4 can be sport based

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AAASP versus CSPAWhat is the difference in training between

AAASP and CSPA

What Courses need to be taken?

Masters? Phd? Required?

How many supervised hours?

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History of Sport Psychology in Eastern Europe

Considerable attention given to the applied aspects of sport psychology Specifically, to enhance elite athletes’ performance

through applied research and direct intervention

Sport psychology was a highly esteemed field of academic and professional concern within national sport

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History of Sport Psychology in Eastern Europe (cont.)

Self-regulation training Voluntarily control such bodily functions as

Heart rate TemperatureMuscle tensionEmotional reactions to stressful situations

Autogenic training, visualization, and autoconditioning (self-hypnosis) were key methods used by Eastern European sport psychologists

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Future Directions in North American Applied Sport

Psychology

Vealey suggests more inclusive and diverse research questions and methods

Need greater specialization in training of future students due to growth in knowledge base

Promote more career opportunities for future sport psychologists

More emphasis on positive psychology Seeks to understand positive emotion and build one’s strength