Sport and Exercise Psychology

Introduction to Sport and Exercise Psychology

• Sport and exercise psychology is an interdisciplinary field integrating sport science and psychological knowledge.

ABC's of Psychology

• Affect/Emotions: How people feel
• Behavior: What people do
• Cognition: What people think

Positive Psychology

• Focuses on processes enabling people and groups to thrive

Positive Psychology Outcomes

• Improved performance/exercise enhancement
• Enhanced well-being
• Facilitating positive psychological growth
• Developing a mindset that promotes satisfaction, pleasure, and happiness, leading to resilience, perseverance, and adaptability

Clinical Shift

• Focuses on social and health aspects.

Myth in Sport Psychology

• The myth that only athletes with serious mental issues need a sport psychologist is false.

Three Approaches in Sport and Exercise Psychology

• Emotional approach: Focuses on joy, happiness, satisfaction, and enjoyment.
• Cognitive approach: Positive thoughts can influence mood, motivation, and performance.
• Behavioral approach: Enhancing self-regulation strategies.

Factors Influencing Performance

• Situational/environmental factors include coaches, teammates, opponents, referees, fans, equipment, weather, playing conditions, and cultural norms.
• Person factors encompass physical skills, personality, cognitive disposition, emotion regulation, appraisals, coping skills, confidence, and physical self-concept.

Sport Psychologist Ethics

• Concerned with matters of right and wrong
• Defines the relationship parameters between consultant, athlete, and/or team
• Ethical responsibility dictates helping athletes and avoiding harm

CPA Principles

• Principle 1: Respect for the dignity of persons, reinforcing moral rights and respecting privacy
• Principle 2: Responsible caring, minimizing harm and maximizing benefits within competence
• Principle 3: Integrity in Relationships, maintaining objectivity and avoiding conflicts
• Principle 4: Responsibility to society, developing knowledge through inquiry and prioritizing the person

Evidence-Based Practice (EBP)

• Involves using the best available research for clinical decisions and service delivery
• Maximize benefits and minimize harm

Considerations for EBP

• Client characteristics
• Cultural backgrounds
• Treatment preferences

Scientific Constructs

• Terms created for scientific purposes to distinguish from related ideas
• Cannot be directly measured

Indigenous Ways of Knowing

• Eurocentric worldviews are predominant in sport and exercise psychology
• Importance of centering indigenous knowledge with decolonizing lens
• Acknowledge the harms of racism and colonialism

Focus Areas in Indigenous Research

• Indigenous oral storytelling traditions
• Meaningful partnerships with indigenous communities

History of Sport and Exercise Psychology

• Albert Carron is recognized as a founder of sport and exercise psychology in Canada
• Carron established a top research program
• Carron collaborated to produce the Group Environment Questionnaire

Historical Societies

• NASPSPA (1967) reflected the ties between motor learning and sport psychology
• SCAPPS (1977) was set to improve research and teaching quality
• AASP (1986) promoted applied sport psychology

Recent Growth

• Propelled by health concerns, with limited research on diverse populations like Indigenous Peoples and LGBTQ+ individuals

Major Events in Europe

• The World Congress of Sport Psychology in Rome (1965) led to the ISSP formation.
• The ISSP sponsored a scholarly journal.
• FEPSAC was founded in 1969 with representation from 20+ European organizations.

Global Disparities

• Academic and professional development has been slow in disadvantaged areas.

Key Terms

Variable

• A construct with a specific value that can be counted.

Independent Variable (IV)

• Supposed to change the dependent variable.

Dependent Variable (DV)

• Changed by the independent variable.

Theory

• Specifies relationships across contexts and people
• Attempts to explain phenomena
• Allows for predicting behavior
• Should be testable to generate evaluated research hypotheses

Research Hypothesis

• An educated guess about relationships among scientific constructs under certain conditions.

Empirical Evidence

• Knowledge gathered through research to confirm, modify, or reject theories.

Quantitative Inquiry

• Focuses on counting variables and is referred to as empirical-analytic, based on philosophical assumptions.

Qualitative Research

• Assumes reality is subjective, where people make sense of experiences based on backgrounds
• Exercise psychology uses interviews analyzed for patterns related to research questions

Mixed Methods Research

• Addresses complex questions with multidisciplinary teams.

Prioritized Characteristics

• Decolonizing lens centering Indigenous worldviews
• Destabilizing settler colonialism
• Recognizing harms of racism/colonialism
• Honoring relationality
• Respecting cultural protocols
• Attention to oral traditions
• Ensuring partnerships

Two-Eyed Seeing

• Introduced by Mi’Kmaw Elders
• Combines western worldviews and indigenous knowledge systems

Personality in Sport and Exercise Psychology

• Trait: A stable characteristic or quality.
• State: Momentary feelings that change.
• Psychological state: Momentary feelings and thoughts that change over time.
• Personality: The overall organization of characteristics that differentiates individuals across situations
• Disposition: Broad ways of relating to people in situations

Big 5 Personality Traits

• Openness to Experience: Level of curiosity and originality
• Conscientiousness: Achievement striving and self-discipline
• Extraversion: Assertiveness, energy, and activity
• Agreeableness: Compliance and positivity
• Neuroticism: Tension, nervousness, and depressive feelings

Research Approaches

• Researches behavior/thoughts/emotions that correlate to traits

Cognitive-Behavioral Approach

• Learning behavior in specific situations.

Reinforcement

• Rewards increase behavior probability
• Removal of punishment increases behavior probability

Punishment

• Aversive events decrease behavior probability
• Personality is developed over time through reinforcement and punishment

Self-Efficacy (Albert Bandura)

• Influenced by belief in one's abilities
• Emphasizes social learning theory
• People are active in shaping behaviors
• Observational learning occurs

Influence of Outcomes

• Behaviors are likely adopted if they yield beneficial outcomes

Heritability

• Approximately 50% of personality variance is attributed to genetics, based on twin studies

Genetic Influences

• Openness to experience (57%)
• Extraversion (54%)
• Conscientiousness (49%)
• Agreeableness (42%)

Biological/Evolutionary Psychology (Hans Eysenck)

• Individual differences in extraversion reflect cortical arousal
• Neuroticism reflects limbic activity

Personality in Neuroticism

• Neuroticism has lower thresholds
• A more reactive state than people lower in neuroticism.

Interactionist Approach

• It is a interplay between person and environment
• Individuals bring experiences and dispositions to physical activity

Interactionist Approach (Endler & Magnusson)

• Situational interplay determines individual behaviors
• Rather than finding stability, researchers find how traits affect behavior based on context

Ethical principles

• Devised to shape professional judgement and behaviour.
• Psychology research typically involves WEIRD participants.

Definition of Risk-Taking

• Narrowing the margin of safety, includes physical/psychological risks

Definition of Sensation-Seeking

• Seeking of complex/intense sensations, has a willingness to take risks

Definition of Alexithymia

• Inability to identify/describe emotions
• Can be maladaptive due to impaired social functioning
• High-risk adventure may help with this

Harmonious Passion (HP)

• Engaging in activity with control, flexibility, and balance.
• Results in positive emotions, decision making

Obsessive Passion (OP)

• Overwhelming urge to engage
• Results in stress, hostile aggression, inability to disengage when injured

Definition of Perfectionism

• Reflects a high standard of excellence

Characteristics of Perfectionism

• Relentless
• Central to one's identity

Personal Standards Perfectionism (PSP)

• Aims for perfection
• Self-driven pursuit of flawlessness
• Drive for continuous improvement
• Linked to both adequate and maladaptive outcomes

Evaluative Concerns Perfectionism (ECP)

• Concerns over mistakes
• Doubts about achievement quality
• Linked to dysfunctional results

Perfectionism Link

• Linked to psychopathologies: Eating disorders, depression, and anxiety
• Actively discouraging perfectionism

Mental Toughness

• Characteristics help cope to attain goals

4C Model

• Challenge
• Control
• Confidence
• Commitment

Key Dimensions

• Generalized Self-Efficacy: Belief in abilities
• Buoyancy: Ability to respond to challenges
• Success Mindset: Desire to achieve success
• Optimistic Styles: Tendency to expect positive events
• Context Knowledge: Awareness to achieve goals
• Emotion Regulation: Awareness for optimal performance

Supporting Theories

• Attention Regulation: Ability to focus on relevant information

Motivation

• Internal Processes: Inner processes give energy and direction
• Forces: A drive to produce initiation

Arising Sources

• The interaction of participant/situational factors.

Transtheoretical Model Stages

• Precontemplation: Not exercising
• Contemplation: Thinking about exercising
• Preparation: Exercising, not regular
• Action: Exercising regularly
• Maintenance: Exercising regularly for over 6 months
• Relapse: Stable lifestyle when exercisers have exercised for 5 years

Preventing Relapses

• Plan for lapses
• Develop coping strategies

Overcoming Failure

• Temporary relapse
• Just start again next week to regain strength

Theory of Planned Behavior

• Intentions = attitudes + subjective norms + perceived behavioral control

Intentions

• The primary behavioral predictor

Behavioral Attitude

• Perceptions if activity has a belief to enhance health, look, and social interactions.

Subjective Norms

• It is a perceived social pressure to exercise

Perceived Behavioral Control

• It is a voluntary perception.

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

• influenced by personal and environmental factors

Effective Behaviors (SCT)

• Behaviors are influenced by self-efficacy beliefs
• Behaviors have situational and self-confidence

Influenced Factors

• Cognitive and physical abilities
• Situational demands

Enhance Others by Acting on others determinants

• Improve Skills
• Set goals
• Build commitment
• Expect outcomes

Coaching Tactics

• Improve self-enhancing cognition
• Emphasize the intensity of actions
• Make the performance accomplishments
• Coach to elicit feelings of success

Self Determination

• Watching accomplished skill
• Increase Impact, confidence and effectiveness

Persuasion

• This will encourage verbal communication and trust

How States Influence Efficacy

• Physiological and affective state

Social Cognitive Theory Research

• Accounts for physical activity behavior
• Links self-efficacy to exercise and sport performance

Targeting Strategies

• Make motivational signs to promote self-efficacy from SCT

Self-Determination Theory

• Is best understood as a concept along the behavioral continuum

Motivation Spectrum

• Intrinsic
• Amotivation

Definition of Amotivation

• Is a lack on intent to attempt and passive engagement
• No behavior between efforts

Definiton of Extrinsic - External Regulation

• Behaviors are controlled underconstraints
• Perform activity and pursue reward

Definiton of Extrinsic - Introjected Regulation

• Internalization which 'takes in' external behavior

Trying to Avoid

• Try and attempt feelings to maintain self worth

Definiton of Incentivised Regulation

• Activity behavior is directed to valued outcome _ Become part of one sense of self.

Intrinsic motivation

• Engage to feel competent
• Build tasks to demonstrate competency

Psychological Needs

• People need 3 tasks

Competence

• Achieve outcomes and feel effective

Autonomy

Take ownership

Relatedness

• Build connections that feel evolved in social context

Definitive Goal

• Build achievement

Value Goal

• Beating is often out of personal control

Individual controls

• Task oriented

Performance

• is within control

Growth

• Has a growth mindset

The Danger that the people may face if high ego

• Low perceived

Action Behaviors the people may face if high ego

• Maladaptive

How may behaviors react under pressure

• Protect and become self-protecting.