Sport and Exercise Psychology Modules

Course Outline Overview

• The course is split into 10 modules covering sport, exercise, and health psychology

Introductory Module

• Textbook: Introducing Sport and Exercise Psychology

Module One

• Textbook: Personality in Sport and Exercise

Module Two

• Textbook: Motivation and Behavioural Change

Module Three

• Textbook:
  • Stress, Emotion, and Coping in Sport and Exercise
  • Anxiety in Sport and Exercise

Module Four

• Textbook: Leadership in Sport and Exercise

Module Five

• Textbook: Group Cohesion in Sport and Exercise

Module Six

• Textbook: Youth Involvement and Positive Development in Sport

Module Seven

• Textbook: Body Image in Sport and Exercise

Module Eight

• Textbook: Physical Activity and Mental Health

Module Nine

• Textbook:
  • Sport Psychology Interventions
  • Physical Activity Interventions

Module Ten

• Course Summary, Review and Wrap Up

Introduction to Sport & Exercise Psychology - Learning Outcomes

• Describe key features, career paths/credentials/training in sport and exercise psychology
• Understand basic standards of conduct and service
• Identify key moments in history, focusing on approximate timelines
• Describe qualitative and quantitative research concepts

Critical Analysis Paper Assignment

• A 7-page critical analysis of a news story on an athlete or sport/exercise-related issue
• Students should apply sport and exercise psychology concepts
• Articles must be dated January 1, 2024, or later to be graded
• The research paper is required to pass the course

Definitions

• Physical Activity includes all bodily movements increasing physical exertion in daily living
• Exercise denotes leisure physical activity for specific objectives
• Sport constitutes competitive physical activity requiring specific skills

Sport & Exercise Psychology

• An interdisciplinary field concerned with psychological processes, e.g., personality, stress, emotions and motivation

Exercise Psychology

• Focuses on non-elite individuals
• Emphasizes non-competitive motives
• Promotes health and wellbeing

Sport Psychology

• Focuses on elite athletic performance
• Deals with competitive performance
• Addresses optimal levels and includes psychological demands

Statistics Canada Data (2018-2019)

• Recommendation is 150 minutes of physical activity per week
• Canadians averaged 27.4 minutes of physical activity daily
• Factors potentially include cold climate, desk jobs, transportation methods
• Other reasons are inconsistent fitness dedication and unsustainable New Year's resolutions

Multidimensional Perspective

• Traditional and emerging psychology disciplines, such as cognitive, clinical, behavioral neuroscience, social, developmental, and health, influence the field
• Other disciplines like computer science, sociology, medicine, education, and gender studies also influence psychology

Key Historical Events

1960s-1980s (Canada & United States)

• 1967: The first NASPSPA conference
• 1977: SCAPPS was founded
• 1980s: Exercise psychology grew
• 1986: AASP was founded

Since the 1990s

• Early 2000s: Formation of the Canadian Sport Psychology Association
• Expansion & Diversification of Exercise and health psychology in universities
• Granting agencies directed research funding to sport and exercise psychology researchers
• Research increased across more diverse populations

Around the World

• 1965: The first ISSP congress in Rome
• 1969: Founding of FEPSAC
• Britain: Sport and exercise psychology have become widespread in its universities
• Australia: Psychology departments cooperate sport science graduate programs
• Asia: Japan, China, & Korea lead the study of other sport sciences
• Africa & Central America: Slow development

Positive Psychology

• Recent increase in positive psychology
• Understanding processes enabling people and groups to thrive is key here
• Benefits performance enhancement
• Strengthens mental toughness, resiliency, and perseverance

Resiliency

• Adapting positively to risk/adversity (Masten & Reid, 2005)
• Positive psychology strengthens resiliency by avoiding thinking traps, staying calm, focused, and creating perspective (Lorig et al., 2000)

Three Intervention Approaches

• Emotional: Focuses on joy, happiness, enjoyment, satisfaction
• Cognitive: Focuses on optimism's influence on emotional experience, motivation, health, performance
• Behavioural: Enhances self-regulation strategies

Studying Sport & Exercise Psychology Concepts

• Scientific Constructs are created for a scientific purpose, for example: body image, stress, coping
• A Variable is a scientific construct assigned a value to be counted, for example: motivation, anxiety, emotion, stress
• Independent Variable (CAUSE) is a manipulated variable producing change, for example: amount of water given to a plant
• Dependent Variable (OUTCOME) is a non-manipulated variable expected to change, for example, the plant's size, # of leaves, state of life in plant (alive or dead)
• A Theory explains phenomena with logical reasoning about relationships.
• Research Hypothesis is an educated guess about relationships.

Variable Exemplar

• Question: “What is the effect of exercise on social physique anxiety, mental wellbeing, and physical wellbeing?"
• Independent Variable = Type of exercise
• Dependent Variable = Social physique anxiety, mental and physical wellbeing
• Yoga can promote mindfulness, increases mental and physical wellbeing, and decrease social physique anxiety
• Strength training can increase anxiety - although, it also can provide major benefits to physical health, which then can also decrease social physique anxiety, and increase mental and physical wellbeing

Approaches to Research

Quantitative Inquiry

• Quantifies particular variables
• Grounded in natural science
• Utilizes heart rate, accelerometer data, observations, and survey data

Quantitative Methods

• Based on assumptions about reality (ontology) and knowledge (epistemology)
  • Reality = Objective
  • Reality is governed by laws
  • Objective reports from objective researchers form knowledge over time

Qualitative Inquiry

• Focuses on meanings people assign to experiences through non-numerical data
• Provides detailed information and understanding
• Generates data by through such as: in-depth interviews, direct observation, and analysis of written/visual documents

Qualitative Methods

• Various qualitative methods exist, including:
  • Qualitative description
  • Case studies
  • Grounded theory
  • Ethnography
  • Phenomenology
  • Narrative analysis
  • Community-based participatory action research
  • Narrative inquiry

Mixed Methods

• Combines quantitative and qualitative approaches
• Growing in popularity

Indigenous Ways of Knowing

• Scholars use these to create meaningful partnerships w/ Indigenous Peoples

Research Grounded in Indigenous Ways of Knowing

• Involves:
  • Indigenous worldviews
  • Recognition of racism and colonialism
  • Honouring relationality
  • Cultural protocols
  • Oral storytelling traditions
  • Meaningful partnerships

Evidence-Based Practice

• Uses research to inform decision-making and service delivery
• Considers client characteristics, backgrounds, and treatment preferences
• Maximizes benefits and minimizes harm through interventions

Common Myths

Myth

• Only those with serious mental challenges need a sport or exercise psychologist
  • Fact: Anyone is able to inquire with a sport or exercise psychologist

Myth

• All specialists work with elite athletes
  • Fact: Specialists also work with recreational athletes

What is Personality?

• A systematic variation in how people think, feel and behave.
• It remains the same in situations, but different between every individual Emphasis is put on individual differences, and every person is unique

Disposition

• Broad, pervasive, encompassing ways of relating to particular types of people or situations (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)
• Influenced by behaviour

Personality Traits

• Trait = a relatively stable characteristic or quality that may represent a portion of one's personality
• It explains an individual's behaviour across time and situations (small percentage of one's personality, remains the same generally)
• These traits influence behaviour as well

Big Five Model

• O = Openness to Experience
  • High - Open to trying new things, creative, and focused on tackling new challenges
  • Low - Doesn’t enjoy new things, dislikes change, resists new ideas
• C = Conscientiousness
  • High - Attention to detail, enjoys a set schedule, finishes important tasks, and spends time preparing
  • Low - Fails to return to things or put things back, dislikes structure and schedules, messy and doesn’t takes care of things, and procrastinates important tasks
• E = Extraversion
  • High - Center of attention, conversation starter, wide social circle, and finds it easy to make friends
  • Low - Prefers solitude, finds it difficult to start conversations, feels feels exhausted when socializing a lot, dislikes making small talk
• A = Agreeableness
  • High - Interested in people, feels empathy and concern for others, assists those in need, and care about others
  • Low - Little interest in others, little interest in other people's problems, manipulate others to get what they want, and doesn't care about others
• N = Neuroticism
  • High - Worries about many diff. things, gets upset easily, experiences a lot of stress, and feels anxious
  • Low - Doesn’t worry much, deals well w/ stress, emotionally stable, and very relaxed
• The average Joe fits in the middle of each of the two extremes for each of the "Big Five."
• It is rare to be in the extremes of each of the "Big Five"

Psychological states

• Momentary feelings and thoughts that change depending on the situation, time, and people you are interacting with

Personality Development

Cognitive-Behavioural Approach (CBA)

• Behaviour is learned through experience
• Behaviour is influenced by rewards and self punishment

Self-Efficacy

• Belief in one’s capabilities to achieve a goal or outcome
• Influences an individual’s behaviour

CBA - Social Learning Theory

• People are active agents in shaping their behaviours and are influenced by their inner drives and environments
• Observational Learning (Modelling) = involves Observing, retaining, and replicating others' behaviours
• Focuses on how situations and individuals reciprocally influence each other

Biological/Evolutionary Psychology Approach

• Personality is moderately heritable
• Approach believes:
  • Individual differences in extraversion reflect differences in cortical arousal
  • Cortical Arousal (increases functions of body, determines extraversion)
  • Neuroticism is a manifestation of individual differences in limbic activity

Interactionist Approach Personal/situational factors impact behaviour predictively Situational interplay b/w person and environment determines athlete's behaviours Individuals bring specific experiences to physical activity situation

Ethical Considerations

• Shape professional judgement and protect test info
• Inform athletes of psychological testing & results of what has access
• Ensure confidentiality
• Have qualified individuals administer/interpret tests

Should it Be Applied?

• Question: Should personality theories, measures, and research findings be applied to everyone involved in sport and exercise?
• Research participants typically come from western, educated, industrial, rich, and democratic cultural backgrounds
• Women are underrepresented in sport research
• Indigenous Peoples are underrepresented in theory development

Personality Research

• Risk taking involves narrowing physical and psychological safety margins

High-Risk Sports and Exercise

• Question: Do athletes who partake in high-risk sports and exercise (e.g - skydiving), have different personalities than those who participate in safer sports and exercise?
  • Yes, check that Big Five "OCEAN"
    • Openness - Most likely those who are partaking in high-risk sports would fit on the higher level of openness because they are trying new things, and focusing on new challenges
  • Yes, check Biological/Evolutionary Psychology Approach
    • Levels of cortical arousal would most likely increase because they are partaking in high-risk sport
  • Seeking varied, novel, complex, intense sensations/experiences, and taking multiple risks to get experiences
    • Declines w/ age, and males are more drawn to high-risk sports than females
  • Alexithymia = This is the inability to identify one's emotions and to describe these feelings Individuals w/ alexithymia are more likely to participate in high-risk sports as compensatory strategy Competitiveness: Desire to engage in and strive for success in sport achievement situations
    • Desitre to engage and strive for success
  • Three Dimensions of an Athlete's that makes them want to win
    • Competitiveness is a dimension to win
    • A Win Orientation is the desire for an athlete to win
    • Goal Orientation

Perferctionism

• Characterized by tendency to strive for exceedingly high standards of performance that is: Relentless Overly self-critical & important

Perfectionism Paradox

• Success in high-performance sport appears to require athletes to require perfection - makes them more vulnerable

Personal Standards Perfectionism (PSP)

• Aiming and pursuing perfection
• Involves:
  • Being self-driven to perfect
  • High Personal Standards
  • Continuous Improvement
  • Reliance on routines and plans
• PSP is linked w desirable and undesirable outcomes (Dunn et al, 2011; stoeber et al, 2009)*

Evaluative Concerns Perfectionism (ECP)

• This is concerns over imperfection
• Involves
  • Concerns over exxagerated mistakes
  • Thinking what others demand what perfection others want
  • Concerns over lack of effort
  • Consistently thinking about performing not at standard
• Linked to negative unhealthy out comes - (Hill et al, 2020)*

Perfectionistic Reactivity

• Involves responding negatively towards adversity that occurrs
• Involves stress & inhibits Well being and preformace
• Can occur with losing, or being outperformed,injured etc*

Passion

Harmonious Passion (HP)

• Engaging in activity w/ sense of control, flexibility & Balance
• Involves likely more to provide adaptive and more optimal outcomes*

Obsessive Passion (OP)

• Involves with all consuming surge of passion with an activity
• Involves less likeliness to adapt to outcome and to often have maladaptive outcomes*

Mental Toughness

• Involves positives characteristics that can be allowed to people to deal with certain challanges
• Involves characteristcs such as percieved control, confidence,determination etc*
• Continued practice requires with physiological skills needed

What are traits needed with good characteristics

• Having a good level of confidence
• Ability to manage stress with training at camp
• Mainatain good focus when distractions
• Can have a positive small association

Research Evidence consientensouness

• May effect more on intention of behaviour
• More consinetnus - higher the intend with an exercise

Types of evidence on personalistis such as typer A

• High E/N/C , Low A May be more association

type D

• Blended of worry, self asusurance
• High in tenndacy - negative , low extraversion
• Participe - less in sport activity

Targeting exercise:

What would u do to make a plan for a type A: Plan involving new challanges etc

Personlaites are effective to affect inervention

High Extra low nutromniam - good with benefits

Personality Myths

Athlestes - needs to have drive to be pasionatley conttued

• Peeps pick certain type of action - to have their best personalitiy Myth: • Athletes need to drive for perfection and be passionately committed to be successful in high-performance sport • People choose specific physical activities strongly based on their personality

Debate w personalities:

• More the envionment with the person

What can be applied to behaviour , in all areas

Apply own mind: Know importance -theory Theory : blueprint for an act

What are process of behaviour

• Internal process w feelings
• Strength with motivation and what can understand

Can you understand of beaviour

If behaviour change:

Behavioural:

Condition with the environment reward will fix mistakes

Congitive

Thought and cogntive habit Look at interpretations and what happens

Bounary and behaviuous is key as:

Cycle , cogitions

Motivatin to Sport and exersices:

Want to be identify , enjoy Base for level of commit / Sport and what happens Differences with culture and may be linked

Models in what can help

Personlise that can affect for behaviour 3 main antects:

• Attitude refelcts pos vs neg
• social refelction : pressure w peops think
• Contorl with can

Barries for social and envionmetal

Attitude with people w exercise ( Hagger all , 2002)

Others is important to be initiated in sport - Chang 2022 , and others

Applied : Focus on how attitude and the benfis

Process :

Help : Intention help. Important - do all.

Cycle theary

Effect on behaviour

Influence. , all.

Self efficay - what the capability

Mastery - simalr effects on past verbal of social affects or psychlogical

Social congtige: ( research)

Acac 40 for behaviour - Mcaely 200

Benits enivornrntnetal for Inuit, Akande 2022 Affect or out come - behcamp 20022

Sefl :

Techniques - can be suppiur with can Althoguh - difficult to determn - social s/w

Determation

• Human Motivate

• Global that effects development

• Sicial is key and optimum Nbd wants to ex

• Cognitve to help and devlop

• how to shape to help Intrisntic motivation ( engage a act bc self rewarding Competence - are key

Socail support is key

• Extrinsic : what helps and how

suggest : can multidimension If not, amotviy

regulation, etc

Theory test of what can be in 22 Support and struct - 20122.

Non cognivesl

Proccesses - behaviour is controlled Cognitve - what are deliabreae value needs

• weeks that habit is key
• with feelikjsnm minimal - walk

Mnidesets belifs that need not be be aware

What affect

How yoi interezt/ See

Limb - goals are great

ReaserCH :non - can Low with exercise May improve in pic and the outoors set

Habit to be concious four times a week - short intense spefied action

Active and reflection - what the lack in acitiy and the

What has the Control: defauly with longer for links to the A: Both

Apply in all What

Cues to help training.

Motivation

Myths - either have it our not. Single. - good enough Motivate with ratio