Sport Psychology
 Sport psychology
 Study placed within context of sports
 How people think, feel, and behave in sporting situations
 The mental processes that motivate the way they behave in
training and competition
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©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
The Mental and Physical Connection
 Connection between brain activity and workings of muscles, joints,
limbs, and bodily systems
 In athletic performance, cerebral cortex plays key role
 Generates general mental state prior to athletic event
 Nervousness might lead to extra stimulus being placed on
muscles and the development of “nervous tension”
 Controllable through relaxation exercises and techniques
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This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Performance States
 Ideal performance state
 The complete absence of doubt and fear of failure, and a general
lack of inhibition
 A very narrow focus of attention with little or no signs of distraction
from the goals of competition
 A sense of effortlessness and simply “letting it happen”
 Powerful feelings of being “in control” of one’s performance
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Key Terms in Sport Psychology
 Arousal
 “Being psyched up”
 Athlete feels ready physically and psychologically
 Anxiety
 General sense of uncertainty
 Muscular tension/“Butterflies”
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This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Key Terms – cont’d
 Relaxation
 Mind-body state with no anxiety
 Concentration
 Ability to keep one’s focus without being distracted
 Determine what is relevant and irrelevant to performance
 Motivation
 Direction and intensity of effort
 Direction refers to attraction to certain sport situations
 Intensity refers to amount of physical and mental energy given
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This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Audience and Fatigue
 Role of the audience
 Some react positively to large
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
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crowds
 Encouragement
 Others better suited to settings of
isolation
 Tools to control responses to
audience
 Fatigue
 Mental state where feelings of
tiredness can lead to decreases in
performance
 “push through pain to realize new
performance levels
Factors Affecting Performance
 Self-Talk
 Internal monologue going through athlete’s mind before competition
 Can be encouraging or discouraging
 Athletes need to regulate and control internal talk in a “positive”
way to use it to achieve peak performance
 Imagery and Visualization
 Tools used to assist seeing oneself succeed
 A powerful impetus for success
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Factors Affecting Performance – cont’d
 Hypnosis
 Two types
 Heterohypnosis
 Placed under hypnosis by another person
 Self-hypnosis
 Placed under hypnosis by self
 Three phases
 Induction
 Create feeling of relaxation
 Subject feels sleepy
 Hypnotic
 Able to carry out suggestions
 Waking hypnosis
 Wake-up
 Coming out of “trance” upon therapist’s signal
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Factors Affecting Performance – cont’d
 Relaxation/Arousal Regulation
 Enforce a state of relaxation over mind and body leading to
enhanced performance by removing anxiety
 Tools include:
 Breathing exercises
 Meditation
 Imagery
 Developing concentration
 Selective attention
 Tools include:
 Positive self-talk
 Duplicating distractions during practice
 Cue words
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Factors Affecting Performance – cont’d
 Improving Motivation
 Four basic principles that
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
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relate to athletes:
 Personal traits vs.
environment
 Multiple Motives
 Staying Motivated
 Leadership
Factors Affecting Performance – cont’d
 Goal Setting
 Objective goals
 Empirically quantifiable
 Subjective goals
 Outcomes harder to quantify
 S.M.A.R.T. Principle
 Specific
 Able to be precisely defined
 Measurable
 Able to be quantified
 Attainable
 Within an athlete’s limitations
 Realistic
 Attainable within constraints
 Timely
 Achievable within a set time frame
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
The Quest for Excellence
 Orlick’s wheel of excellence suggest seven key elements of excellence:
 Commitment
 Focused connection
 Confidence
 Positive images
 Mental readiness
 Distraction control
 Ongoing learning
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Sport Psychology and Children
 Can have significant impact on
approach to sports from a physical,
social, and mental perspective
 Children respond well to praise and
encouragement
 Enjoyment of activities will help
them build skills and confidence
 Children benefit from participation
during both games and practices
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Questions
1. Explain three ways a person can increase
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3.
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5.
their level of concentration during
competitions.
Discuss why some athletes are more
motivated than others.
Why is goal-setting important for athletes?
Why might objective or quantifiable goals be
“better” than subjective goals?
What is “choking”? Why does it happen?
What are some important psychological
points to remember when dealing with
children in sports?
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
TEDx Talk
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG7v4y_xwzQ
 Sport psychology - inside the mind of champion
athletes: Martin Hagger at TEDxPerth
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.
Questions
1.
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5.
When you get really stressed-out, what do you do to relax?
Which strategies would work best the night before a big test
or exam?
What do you feel are some of the most important motivators
in your life?
How have you personally used imagery and positive self-talk
in your sporting experiences? What effect do you feel they
had on your performance? Explain.
What factors do you feel contribute most to your sporting selfconfidence? Why do you feel these factors are so important?
Can you think of anything you might do differently to feel even
better about yourself?
Would you rather think that your sporting success was the
result of hard work or personal ability? Why do you feel this
way? Would you feel the same way about your academic
success?
©Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc. 2003. All material is copyright protected. It is illegal to copy any of this material.
This material may be used only in a course of study in which Exercise Science: An Introduction to Health and Physical Education (Temertzoglou/Challen) is the required textbook.